Remembering Mom

Today is the 3rd anniversary of my mother's passing. There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't think about her. I miss her and love her as much today as I did 3 years ago. The hole in my heart that she left is just as empty as it was 3 years ago. But there is a fullness in my heart that helps ease the pain of her loss. That fullness is Tyler, and it is because of him that I have not lost my mind over losing my mom too soon. There isn't a single day that goes by that I don't thank God for this little boy. And for the time that I had with my mother. And I know that my mom would have LOVED this little boy. She would have spoiled him and he would have been the center of her world. I hate that she doesn't get to know him, and that he doesn't get to know her. But we'll just keep telling him stories about her, and he will know her as well as he can.

This past weekend we visited Nana Scoggin and played in her beautiful yard, and with her neighbors' miniature horses. On Saturday, we drive to Union Mills with Nana, Grandpa, Uncle Eddie, & Miss Emily. We let Tyler play in the cemetery and he was introduced to catepillars, which he LOVED! The weather was beautiful, and we had a nice, quick visit there. And so, I won't say any more. Just enjoy some pics from our weekend.

We love you, Mom. And we miss you every day.

1st dental checkup!

Tyler had his first trip to the dentist this week! I was really nervous about the whole thing, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected! We talked about the visit all morning, and on the way to the appointment. When he got there, he had a blast playing in the waiting room. They also have all glass walls so you can see other kids having their teeth cleaned and having the dentist examine them, which I thought was awesome. So Tyler watched lots of the kids sitting patiently and we talked about how they were going to look at his teeth & clean them. The hygienist came out, introduced himself to us, then told Tyler about all of the prizes he was going to get if he was good. Bribery can be very powerful - sometimes.

Tyler calmly followed him back to the exam chairs, and picked out a toothbrush. And that’s where the calmness ended. He wasn’t having anything to do with Andrew, the hygienist. Andrew showed him every piece of equipment, told him what it did, let him play with them, etc. Tyler only wanted to sit in my lap, and even then he wasn’t buying what Andrew was selling. Dr. Dawson finally came over and calmly talked to Tyler and we got him to settle down enough to have Andrew brush his teeth and Dr. Dawson could look in his mouth (while I sat in the exam chair with my arms and legs over Tyler’s arms and legs to lightly restrain him). He did just fine during that part, it was just getting him there that was the challenge!

Anyway, no cavities and a mouth full of beautiful teeth! His second set of molars are on their way in, but we already knew that from the way he jams his hands in his mouth all the time! Tyler walked out of there with a handful of Backyardigans stickers, a bouncy ball, a new toothbrush, and a goody bag with “Bob Pants” (aka Spongebob Squarepants) on it. We go back in October for his next visit.

Even though the visit wasn’t peaceful and perfect, we’re really glad we decided to take him now. He’s got the first visit behind him now, and we feel good knowing that we’re taking good care of his teeth and that they have come in well.

We're headed to NC tomorrow for the weekend. We'll be staying in Browns Summit with Nana Scoggin, and making a trip to Union Mills on Saturday with Grandpa, Uncle Eddie, & Miss Emily so that we can visit Mom & Papa Scoggin's graves. April 27th is the 3rd anniversary of Mom's passing, and we thought that now would be a good time to visit. Pics to come.

Easter 2009

Well, the Easter Bunny did indeed visit our house this year. But not before we dyed some Easter eggs as a family! Tyler had a great time with the dye job, but got a little impatient as he had to sit and wait for the color to darken on the eggs. Travis read Tyler several Easter books in the weeks leading up to the big day, with his favorite being a Winnie the Pooh Easter book (which Tyler even took to school to share with his friends!). Easter morning, Tyler came down the stairs to find that the Bunny had left lots of goody-filled Easter eggs all over the house. He had a great time finding the eggs (and cracking them open to eat jelly beans at 8:00 AM), then pronounced loudly "EASTER BUNNY!!!!" as he saw his loaded Easter basket.