Curious

My little boy is so curious about everything.



I took him to Eastpoint to his great-grandma's house on Sunday. My mom and her four sisters were there celebrating my grandma's birthday, so we wanted to spend a little time with everyone. Tyler had a blast. He loved walking around her yard exploring and observing everything.

He was really interested in this bucket.



He even found a lizzard in there. I gave it to him to hold, and he was totally fearless as he picked it up and threw it down on the ground.







There was a squirrel that ran up under the deck and Tyler spent quite a bit of time looking for it.





The horseshoe game was also of interest.





He loved my grandma's boats, especially the canoe. On Monday morning, he was even crying at the door, wanting to get outside, repeating, "boe!"







He's really beginning to understand so many things that we say and do (yikes!). When it's time to put his shoes on, I sit him down and he hands me each shoe and lifts up his feet for me to put them on. When bed-time is drawing near, he starts to put a few books up on the table next to the rocking chair because he knows I will read to him before bed. He's so smart!

He's going through another stage where he will wake up really early (between 5:30 and 5:45). Nothing I've tried is fixing the problem, so I have just decided to accept it. I won't get him up for the day until after 6am, but I've given up trying to fix the problem because nothing is working. I'm just praying that one day (maybe when we Spring Forward?) he will sleep later.

What a great weekend. Wanna hear something sad? I went to sleep before my grandma on Sunday night. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was listening to my grandma's commentary of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. The best comment had to be (referring to the Black Eyed Peas), "They look like a bunch of devils!"

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend!

127 Hours

Matt and I had a date night last night and we went to see the movie 127 Hours. We had been waiting for the Tallahassee release for about 4 or 5 months. What an amazing story of survival. I can't stop thinking about it.

To summarize, Aron Ralston ventured into Canyonlands National Park without telling anyone where he was going, ended up falling into a canyon and getting his arm trapped under a boulder. He spent 127 Hours in the canyon with limited food and water, and in the end, was forced to amputate his own arm in order to survive.

There was a point in the movie where he was talking about how this rock had been waiting for him his entire life. Since the moment he was born, the rock had been waiting. Incredible to think about. (This makes me think of one of my favorite parts in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button where a series of intersecting lives, events and "coincidences" led to something tragic and he says, "Sometimes we're on a collision course, and we just don't know it. Whether it's by accident or by design, there's not a thing we can do about it.")

I got the idea that much of what followed this experience (Realizing the true value in relationships with family and friends, meeting the love of his life, the birth of his son, etc.) never would have happened if he hadn't gone through this nightmarish experience because he would have continued on the selfish, closed-off path he was on.

I wonder what "rocks" are waiting for me? For Tyler? So many things are out of our control and I am so inspired by this man's will to live and his willingness to fight through this seemingly hopeless ordeal he was faced with.

I'm really looking forward to reading his book, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place."

Moving on...

Most of the country is getting blasted with blizzards as this very moment; Schools and offices are closing down, roads have become trecherous, and people are bound to their homes.

Not us.

We're going to the playground, walking around Lake Ella, enjoying outside seating at Momo's, and sitting in our backyard wearing shorts and drinking cold beer. We're having the most mild winter I can remember having in Tallahassee and I am not complaining one bit.



Tyler and I went to Lake Ella the other day to see the birds.





There were so many and Tyler just followed them around everywhere.







Sometimes he'd get really upset when the birds would fly away from him.





He's so funny. Doesn't he look so grown up in this next picture?







Random things that have been happening:

The other day I put some Goldfish Crackers in the cup holders of Tyler's little "Cozy Coup" car, so he sat in there and ate his snack. Now, almost every time I give him a snack, he takes it and eats it inside his car.

Ty has 10 teeth now.

Tyler has mastered the sippy cup! After I took his bottle away, he refused his milk almost every time it was offered for about a week. Then, something just clicked and now I can't mention the work "milk" without him running to the kitchen, laughing, and clawing at the refridgerator door. He literally fell over one time because he was so excited for me to hand him his cup.

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, we made a spontaneous trip to Jacksonville to meet up with my parents. We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the riverfront and had a fabulous time. We spent some time at the beach and at the Jacksonville Landing.









Ty is so happy when he's running free and exploring.











The highlight of the trip was our trip to the zoo. Tyler was so engaged and interested in everything. He watched the animals, followed them and pointed at them.









He even fearlessly fed a giraffe. It was so sweet seeing his little hands reach out and feed this enormous animal without hesitation.







Tyler was so funny at the petting zoo. He just ran from one goat to the next, yelling and petting (well, more like hitting) them.













We don't get the chance to spend a lot of time together as a family, largely because of Matt's demanding work schedule. It was so nice to be together this weekend. It was a reminder of how blessed we are and of how special and amazing this little soul is:



(To my friends in Jacksonville who I didn't get to see, I plan on coming back in a couple of months, so I'm really looking forward to getting together then!)

Growing Up

My baby boy is growing up...I took away his bottle today. I was supposed to do it over a month ago, but I couldn't bring myself to face the challenge. Today went much smoother than I expected. Tyler didn't drink much milk from the sippy cup in the morning, but he still went down for his first nap. Then, he ended up drinking about 5 ounces of milk from the cup before his afternoon nap. Before bed, he wouldn't drink any, but he still fell asleep easily. We will see how tonight goes! I have to admit that I cried a little bit as he was drinking from the cup before his nap. I will never nurse him or feed him his bottle again. He's not a baby anymore. Was it supposed to go by that quickly?







We've been spending more time outside lately. Tyler loves just walking around and exploring. I took him to the big playground today at Tom Brown Park and he had a blast. He just walked around, laughed at the other kids, climbed and walked all over the playground, went on the swings and went down the slide. Although toddlerhood has already presented new challenges and we really miss the baby stage, Matt and I were discussing how much fun he is right now. He makes us laugh every day.







A few things about my boy:

He plays with Buster. He will run around with Buster's ball, Buster will knock him down and Tyler will just crack up.

He loves to Skype! When he hears the noise Skype makes when I'm calling someone, he starts laughing and runs toward the computer. He shows off by making baskets with his basketball and dancing.

Foods he loves: Pasta, cheese, cereal (Cherios, Chex, whatev), fruit.

A few months ago, Matt taught Ty how to click his tongue. Now, when Tyler sees his dad he will just start smiling and clicking his tongue.

He hates having his nails clipped. A couple of months ago, I had Matt hold him down while I did it. He made up a song about Tyler on the spot and sang it to him while Tyler just laughed the whole time. This tactic worked one time, and one time only. There is no cheering him up now.

He dances when he hears music.

He loves to watch the Elmo video his Nana bought him for Christmas.

He throws tantrums when I won't let him have something.

He screams at the pantry door when he wants crackers.

If he hears the word "outside", he goes to the back door and tries to pry it open.

He wears size 3 diapers.

He still uses the pacifier, but mostly when he's sleeping. That will be the next thing to take away.







Not too much else is going on here. Life has been pretty slow and simple lately, but sometimes, that's the way I like it.

If you can't tell, I got a new camera and I've really enjoyed trying to take better pictures of Tyler. I've attempted some editing, but I really have no clue what I'm doing! I'm looking forward to finding a few classes to take, but for now I will just be doing it on my own. Tyler is the perfect subject.