Panama City Beach

This past weekend, Matt had three days off and we stayed over in Panama City Beach for three nights. It was our first vacation as a family of three. We stayed in a beautiful two bedroom condo overlooking the gulf. It was a much needed vacation with a lot of family bonding time.









He loved looking at himself in the mirror:


After settling in on Saturday afternoon, he headed down to the beach. The waves were pretty rough and Tyler was eating too much sand to sit on the beach, so we didn't stay long. After bathing Tyler and putting him down that night, we cooked dinner and sat out on our balcony. Sunday morning, we went to breakfast. After Ty's first nap, we went down to try the beach again. Tyler cried initially when we put him in his float, but eventually he calmed down. He looked so goofy floating around wearing his big, floppy hat repeating the sound "boe". After his second nap, we went down to the pool. Tyler had much more fun crawling around the edge of the pool than actually swimming in it. He was putting on a smiley baby show for the guests at the pool. Everyone loved him. After the pool we went over to a restaurant called Sharkey's. We sat out on the deck, ate, drank, and listened to live music for a while. It was so nice. Tyler was up past his bedtime that night. On Monday, we went to the beach and the pool again. We also took a trip to Zoo World. It was small, but they had a good number and good variety of animals. Tyler seemed very pensive as he watched all the animals. He laughed and smiled when a zookeeper came by with a wolf and let him pet it. He also seemed to like when I was feeding the goats at the petting zoo.










It was such a wonderful trip.
















In other news, Tyler is getting into EVERYTHING.


He is crawling almost 100% of the time now (instead of the army crawl), he's opening cabinets, pulling stuff over, etc. I also noticed on the drive home yesterday that he had cut his fifth tooth. I didn't realize he was teething. Last week, it seemed like he was a little sick. He was waking up at night and his nose was stuffy and runny. I thought he had a cold since I also had one, but maybe he was just teething.

Here are some additional pictures I've taken this month:

Detroit

This past weekend I was the Matron of Honor in my dear friend Corrie's wedding. We have known eachother for 20 years, so it was a big deal! I traveled to Detroit, Michigan for the weekend and was away from my babe for the first time. I was happy to discover that it wasn't very difficult to be away for a few days. I must admit that I enjoyed seeing old friends, meeting new people, staying out late and sleeping in. Corrie looked like Bridal Barbie (I've known the other bridesmaids in the picture below for about 20 years also. Thankfully, we have stayed close and it was so great to see them.):


However, I could hardly stand the plane ride home because I couldn't wait to see this again:


When I saw Tyler for the first time after deboarding the plane, my dad was holding him. Ty smiled at me but seemed very confused. Then when I held and kissed him, he reached for his grandpa! Boooooo, not cool. Not quite what I had envisioned! Post vacation relaxation is not really an option when you have a little monster to come home to. My parents were gracious enough to come up and take care of Tyler for the weekend since Matt had to work. They had a wonderful time spoiling him all weekend at Gigi's in Appalachicola.

Tyler is nine months old now. He is pulling up on everything. It's so strange seeing that tiny little body standing up all the time. His poor head is covered in bruises because he's still very unstable when he's standing. He can also crawl now, but usually chooses the army crawl as his way of getting around. I can't believe he'll most likely be walking in a few months.

Standing

My boy can stand up! Tyler has been pulling up on different things the past few days. His triumph is usually quickly followed by an ungraceful tumble to the floor.

Tyler's two top, front teeth are definitely in! So, we've been seeing a lot of the "old man face" which is hilarious.




He also grinds his teeth together which produces more funny faces:



I tried the jumper again, but didn't have much luck. Tyler will stay entertained by playing with the toys for a minute or two, then he lets me know he wants to get out. Oh well, I tried!

Milestones

Is it true? Is this little bug almost 9 months old?

How could I ever express how much I love this little soul? My heart literally aches when I think of it. Being a mom is the hardest thing I've ever done. Period. At times, it's exhausting, frustrating, and impossible; But the joys are indescribable.

When I was seven years old, my mom bought me a pair of lavendar double velcro tennis shoes. I wanted them so badly, and when she caved and let me have them--beautiful purple ones, not sensible white lace-ups like most practical mothers would purchase--I remember feeling loved. And as I held my feet up to admire them in the back seat on the way home that day, I remember smiling. "She must really love me. She got me purple tennis shoes."

When Brett bought me my first piece of jewelry and waited with it behind his back as I stepped off the plane, home from my week-long trip to Michigan, I remember feeling it again. Loved. It was a heart necklace in white gold with little diamonds curled around the edges. Then I read the card and the sweet words that his lefty hand must have labored so hard to neatly write. I knew it then. "He must really love me. He got me a heart necklace."

When I was reading books to her tonight, watching her pudgy fingers trace the pictures, her lash-laden eyes looking up at me seeking my recognition; her toothy grin reassuring me that my presence is all she needs; her arm resting subtly yet oh so deliberately on my knee to keep me close, I felt it...tears. They come often these days, brought on by the smallest of things. For years, I was confused about God and the portrayal of Him as someone to be feared. Someone who demanded perfection. Someone who I thought of only as scary. Out of reach. So far above me. But, now I know. He's right here. He gave me a gift so far valued above purple tennis shoes or diamond heart pendants. I know it now. "Wow. He must really love me. He gave me Everything."

--Kelle Hampton (Blogger, mother, photographer...Seriously, if you're not reading her blog, you should be.)

Tyler has been doing the "army crawl" since he was 5 months old. Lately, he has been getting up on his hands and knees, but only rocking back and forth. Yesterday he actually "crawled" to me from over 5 feet away. I was so proud of my little guy. He looks so funny as he's trying to figure it all out. Sometimes he'll get up on his hands and toes, but he will just get mad because it doesn't really work like that.

He's also sitting up on his own. This has been in the works for a few days now, but today he really started doing it regularly. And by "sitting up on his own", I mean that he will be "crawling", then he'll stop and sit up. After putting him down for his first nap today, he was crying so I went into his room to check on him after a few minutes and he was sitting up in his crib. This kid is going to be launching himself over the crib walls (just like his daddy used to) before I know what hit me.

He is not quite pulling up into a standing position yet. However, I think that it's quickly approaching. If I'm sitting on the floor, he will crawl to me and pull up to his knees while holding onto me for support.

Tyler has been teething. I thought his two top teeth had come in last week, but today I realized that had NOT happened yet. Hurricane Tyler has been wreaking havoc on our apartment, but the storm had subsided by this afternoon. I can feel both teeth and I'm hoping the others decide to stay put for a little while.

I don't know if it's because he has been teething or if it's just a stage he's going through, but Ty has been very needy of his mommy lately. He has been favoring me, but not in the cute way he had been favoring his dad. If he sees me, he starts whining and crawling towards me until he reaches my feet. Then he just cries until I pick him up. If I leave the room, he starts crying. It's very strange; I'm not used to this.

Tyler is now only taking two naps each day. This started when he turned 8 months old. Just so I can remember this later, here is Tyler's typical schedule:

6am: Wake up, 6 ounce bottle, 3 tbsp cereal, 2 ounces fruit
9am: 5 ounce bottle, down for a nap
10:30am: Wake up from nap
12pm: 2 ounces veggies, 2 ounces fruit
2pm: 5 ounce bottle, down for a nap
3:30pm: Wake up from nap
5pm: 2 ounces veggies, 2 ounces fruit
7pm: 8 ounce bottle, Bedtime

I was pretty excited to feed Tyler some new food, and I've spent hours making baby food this week, only to be rewarded by a shivering, gagging, and coughing baby after trying most of the things I made. Awesome.

I should record his various nicknames because I will surely forget later: Benjamin Button, Magoo, Monkey, Mister, Boo Boo, Hurricane Tyler, Ty-Ty, Osborne Cox, Bugaboo, Tylerest. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting. Our future children will have no nicknames because we've used them all up on Tyler.

Some mornings I find Tyler in Buster's cage:



With his Louisville Slugger from Papa:


In 3 weeks, I am off to Michigan for a friend's wedding. I will be leaving my baby boy for the first time. It will be hard, but this milestone had to come sooner or later.