Busy Easter weekend

Last week, Travis & I had the day off for Good Friday. So we decided to make the most of our long weekend, and do some new activities with Tyler. We took him to the Children’s Museum of Richmond on Friday. Travis’ company has a substantial relationship with the museum, so as an employee, he (and his family) get in for free! It’s a wonderful perk, and one that we plan on taking advantage of often. Tyler had a great time. He played in some “fossil brushing” boxes, and really enjoyed watching the other kids play. He also got to pick apples off of the apple tree (which are red balls that shoot out of the holes in the trees), and sit on dinosaurs, and build with all sorts of blocks. We also took him over to the 3 and Under area, where he had a blast running all over the place and playing. They had some oversized Legos for building, lots of books and puzzles, and a kitchen stocked with all sorts of fun stuff. Tyler also got a kick out of watching the other kids play, and liked to go up to mothers that were holding their teeny, tiny babies to see what they were up to. He behaved so well, we were so proud of him. We will definitely be making return trips to the museum. After the museum, we went out to eat and we saw firsthand that Tyler was ready for a nap.

We had decided that on Saturday, we would head to Maymont for their Easter festivities. (Maymont is a park in Richmond, and some may remember that Travis proposed to me in the Japanese Gardens there.) Apparently, about 30,000 other people in the city had the same idea, so it was pretty packed. Btu they had lots of things set up for kids, and most of it was for older kids, but there were some things that Tyler could do. We met up with our friends Lori & Evan, and took the boys in the petting zoo where they met face-to-face with a sheep, and got to pet some baby goats and see baby bunnies and chicks. Tyler was enthralled with the animals and loved walking through the exhibit. We also took the boys to have their pictures taken with a live bunny. Tyler did very well with the bunny and wasn’t rough with it at all. I think he was a little sad when the bunny went away. We then put the boys in their strollers and just took a nice walk around the park and looked at all of the other animals. Travis made sure that we stopped by the white tail deer exhibit to show Tyler what his target would be in about 10+ years. (Travis says it will be sooner than that. I disagree.) It was a beautiful day, but it’s a good thing we brought the sunscreen! We still have a few exhibit tickets leftover, and we can use them at any of the park’s Barn Days during the spring. We’ll be heading back for those.

Sunday was Easter, and the Easter Bunny visited Tyler and dropped off some eggs filled with his favorite snacks! He was very excited to see the eggs, then even more excited to shake them, and even MORE excited to have one burst open and find that snack came out of it!!!! He also got some special Easter gifts from Gramme and Granddad Snead, and from Maw-MAw & Paw-Paw Radick in Lynchburg.

So thankfully, the warmer weather is on its way. Tyler loves to be outside, and we love to take him outside. It’s going to be a fun spring and summer, I do believe!



One sad note to pass along tonight: My grandfather, Wyatt Edward Woody, passed away this evening. He shared his birthday with my mother, as both were born on October 22. He was born in 1919 and was married to my Nana Woody for over 50 years. He leaves behind his wife, Mildred (my Nana), 2 children (my Aunt Kay and her husband Mike, & my Dad), 5 grandchildren (Gray, David, & Anne, Eddie & myself), and 1 great-grandchild (Tyler). I am so glad that he got to meet Tyler and I am so thankful that I got to see how happy his great-grandchild made him. Granddaddy had Alzheimer's, and while he didn't always know who Tyler was, he knew that Tyler could make him smile. I'll never forget sharing Certs candies with Granddaddy at his bar in his basement, or the way that he loved on our old dog, Dudley. He was a wonderful man, and may he rest in peace in a better place. We love you and miss you already, Granddady.

New shoes & the Easter Bunny

We had a pretty big field trip today. We headed to Regency Mall to go to Stride Rite to get Tyler his very first pair of "real" walking shoes! He has soft-soled shoes, but now that he's really toddling around, we felt that he needed something more substantial. And who better to fit him for the shoes than Stride Rite? So we used a bit of his birthday money and bought a very cute pair. I was pretty bummed, as I forgot my camera for the historic event, but have no fear - Stride Rite will take your baby's picture and frame it for you!!!! Tyler seems to like his new shoes, though it is a bit more difficult for him to get around. The shoes, though good for his feet, are heavier and built differently from the shoes he's been used to. But we know that he'll adjust and be running along even faster soon!!!

After we bought the shoes, we headed to see the Easter Bunny. Tyler did very well, and was quite intrigued by the Rabbit. We got a pretty good picture from the encounter. Looking forward to Easter this Sunday!

Tyler-Fest 2008 - The Mechanicsville Stop

We had Part 2 of Tyler's birthday celebrations last weekend at our house. We had a ton of rain the night before right up until an hour or so before the party was to start. Thankfully, the rain stopped and the sun came out. However, the rain was replaced with a strong wind with strong gusts. But it was a warm day, and there were lots of people in our house, so the wind was nice with the windows open.

I once again started out the day by bringing balloons into the house. This made Tyler's day. He was so excited to see his balloons again! He just toddled around the house with one (or more) of them in his hands at all times. Almost a week later, we still have several of the mylar balloons floating around, and he's still as excited about them. Travis and I, on the other hand, are thinking of creative ways to make the balloons disappear. It was adorable the first day, but now it's a little frustrating to have to constantly work around balloons and strings and what not.

Our first guests to show up were Travis' Uncle Wallace & Aunt Brenda. They also brought Tyler a balloon. Then Matt & Laura showed up (meatballs in tow - yum!), followed by a couple of out-of-towners - Julia & Claire from Arlington! (We had been to Claire's 1st birthday party at the beginning of February with our friends the Clarkes from SC.) Also in attendance: Gramme & Granddad Snead, Aunt Jenn & Uncle Brian, Great-Grandma Smith and her friend Julia, my Uncle Nathan, Aunt Donna, & their girls Jessi & Becky, the Griffiths (with their boys CJ & Gage), the Welshes (with little Abby, who is 6 months old & was in Tyler's infant room at daycare - I work with her dad), the Kreckmans (whose son, Evan, turned 1 just 6 days before Tyler), "Uncle" David (who works with Trav), and neighbors the Brants, the Grahams, & the Ailstocks. Talk about a full house, especially with that many little ones running around!

We all enjoyed some food and visited for a while, and the Birthday Boy walked around and impressed everyone with his skills. He was a very gracious host (that is, once he woke up from his nap AFTER most everyone had gotten there, but at least we knew he was well-rested). After a while, we got ready for Cake Part 2. This one was made by Williams Bakery, a local bakery near our house that's pretty famous around here for donuts, cake, whatever. VERY tasty stuff. The cake was a full sheet cake with 3 cupcakes on top - Elmo, Big Bird, & Cookie Monster. I was so excited when I picked it up, they did such a wonderful job. So this time, instead of Tyler getting his own cake, he got to have the Big Bird cupcake to do with as he pleased. And just like the weekend before, he wasn't really interested. He barely touched it or anything, and wouldn't even let us put icing on his lips to taste. He wanted nothing to do with it. Gave him some ricecakes and the kid went to town on those - again. Guess I should be happy for now that he chooses the healthier snack.

We then retreated to the living room to watch a wonderful video of Tyler's first year. My friend, Lori, made one of these for her son's birthday and I absolutely loved it. So she volunteered to make one for us. I am so thankful to her for taking the time to do this. It turned out beautifully. THANK YOU, LORI! Watch the video here.

Next up: presents! And lots and lots of them. Again, our little man was quite spoiled. Lots of clothes and LOTS of toys. New trucks, cars, Little People, ride-on toys (complete with sippy cup holders - haha!), beach toys, you name it. He racked up. And he's having a great time pulling each and every new toy out to play with it. We've got so much going on in the living room now that we finally pulled out the plastic bins that my Uncle Nathan's family gave us at my baby shower last year. Until now, the bins were being used to hold some of our things in the office. But not anymore. Now we have blocks, and balls, and Little People, and stuffed animals, and whatever else in there. Tyler likes to pull all of the bins off of the shelves, and sometimes wear them as hats, but in time we hope that he'll learn their true purpose.

After the party, we headed out to dinner with Julia & Claire. Tyler & Claire did pretty well, but you could tell that the lack of an afternoon nap was starting to catch up with them. So we ate pretty quickly, and Julia & Claire hit the road. And we took our Birthday Boy back home to catch some Z's. Yet another successful party, though, and we are so thankful for everyone that came to celebrate with us!!!

And now begins the Road to Two.

Tyler-Fest 2008 - The Lynchburg Stop

We had Tyler-fest 2008 (Part One) in Lynchburg this past weekend at Grandpa's house. It was a great day with lots of visitors and lots of fun! First of all, we got to Grandpa's on Friday afternoon. Tyler started to show off his newfound walking skills, and it seems that hardwood floors are very good for new walkers! He took off! Travis & I were shocked at how many more steps he was taking, and how bold he was. He did a great job! And he continued this practice for the rest of the weekend.

Party Day started out on Saturday morning when I went out to get some balloons for the big day. I mentioned to the woman who was helping me that the balloons were for a 1 year old's birthday, and that this would be the first time he'd really ever been around balloons. I wasn't sure if he was going to love them or hate them. (Which, by the way, I ended up hating them by the time I got home. Saturday was a VERY windy day!) As soon as I brought them in the house, Tyler was intrigued. So intrigued that he toddled over to take a closer look. He kept calling the "balls" and then later it was either "ball" or "ooo", so maybe he was starting to attempt "balloon"? Maybe not. Only Tyler knows.

The cakes were delivered around 1:00. We had Geisel Nye make the cakes for us. She also made our wedding cake and groom's cake. My mom was a huge fan of her chocolate truffle cake, and thus a huge fan of Geisel's. Geisel made a big Elmo cake for the guests, and a smaller Elmo face cake for Tyler to dig into. As you can tell from the pictures, she did an amazing job, as always. The cakes were cream cheese pound cake with buttercream icing. YUM!

We made sure that Tyler had a decent nap before the festivities. Guests were scheduled to arrive at 2:00, and boy did they arrive! Uncle Eddie, Bridges and her boys, Maw-Maw & Paw-Paw Radick, Sarah & Steve English, Nana Woody, Nana Scoggin, Heath's family (all the way from PA!), Snookie & Lawrence, the Leamons, Berkley & Grace, with later appearance from Larry & Davina Hall and Robert & Debra Hamric. Tyler did a wonderful job around all of the people, and was certainly putting on a show!

We got to the cake portion of our program, and dressed him in his special t-shirt. It says, "I'm One! Got cake? I need something to wash down all that milk." Tyler was a little confused as to why everyone was singing and looking at him. I placed his Elmo cake in front of him, helped him blow out his candle, and watched. He gently placed his fingers in the rich icing and immediately started to try to flick it off. So he grabbed a little more, and flicked a little more. I tried to put some on his lips and in his mouth, but he wasn't having any of that. So I dug into his cake for him to get him started. Still not really interested. More interested in the flicking of the icing. And his balloon. Boy did he love his balloon. He did finally put a few pieces of cake in his mouth, and played in the icing for a bit, but in the end he ended up snacking on his rice cakes instead. Guess I shouldn't complain about my little boy choosing a healthy snack over cake, huh? But the rest of the guests dove into the big cake and boy, did we enjoy that! We have some leftover at our house now, and Travis & I are savoring those slices. Reminds us of our wedding!

Tyler did "help" us unwrap his gifts, and he seemed to have fun with it, especially when he got to the toy cell phone from Berkley & Grace. For weeks now, we've been trying every kind of phone imaginable to keep him away from our real cell phones and the cordless phones at home. We've taken the batteries out of old cells and cordless phones to no avail. He wants the real thing. Well, this phone talks and rings and lights up, so he's much happier. It's been a real hit. He also got a pedal car from the Scoggin side of the family. It should be lots of fun for him when the weather is nicer! He got lots of spring and summer clothes too, which is great! And lots and lots of books, which we all love!

After gifts, he got pretty tired and we knew that a nap was lurking. But all in all, he did a great job for his 1st birthday party! Thanks to Grandpa for having us all weekend and for letting us use his house! Thanks to Geisel for making such beautiful (and yummy) cakes. And thanks to everyone who showed up to help make Tyler's day even more special. He is certainly one loved little boy!

Stay tuned for Tyler-fest 2008 (Part Two).....

One last thing - we had Tyler's one year appointment this week. 22 lbs. 5 oz. and 30.25 inches long! Everything looks really good and he's now a forward-facing rider in the car now - and loving it!!!!