Happy Halloween!!!

When we tried his costumes on him before Halloween, Tyler had a fit. You would have thought that we were amputating something. So we feared that we would have to go to our "backup" costume. But something clicked tonight, and we were able to dress him in the costume bought by his MawMaw Ange. THANK YOU MawMaw Ange (and Wagner & Waylon too!). We took him to a few houses in our cul-de-sac, and it didn't take him long to figure out just what was going on. Once he figured out that people were giving him something, ANYTHING, for looking cute and saying "pleeeeeeease", he was all into it. (And as you can tell from a few of these pics, he was inspecting the "goods" in his pumpkin often tonight.) Happy Halloween all!

Fall is here!

And with fall comes changing leaves, pumpkins & Halloween, and cooler days. We took Tyler to Ashland Berry Farm this weekend to pick pumpkins. It’s not too far from our house and is a very popular place in the fall. We drove up so that we got there right as we opened, and boy, are we glad that we did! When we got there, there wasn’t a line or a long wait for a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch. We were able to hop right on and go. But when we came back, the line was really long and we probably would have had to wait 30 minutes or so. That wouldn’t have been fun, since yesterday was actually pretty chilly with a light breeze. Anyway, we got on the tractor and we think Tyler enjoyed himself. He sat perfectly still in my lap and just looked all around him as we rode.

We got to the patch and let Tyler run around and look at all the pumpkins. (And he can say “pumpkin” pretty clearly now too!) The crop looked really good and Tyler helped us pick out a couple of really good ones, and he carried around a very, very, very small pumpkin (that he ended up smashing when we got back home, but whatever). Ashland Berry Farm has an “all you can carry for $20” deal, so we loaded Travis up with the four decent-sized pumpkins to take advantage of that deal. And thankfully, the rain from the previous days had dried up for the most part, so it wasn’t too terribly muddy, but we definitely walked away with a much dirtier little boy than we came with! Poor thing lost his footing several times, through the vines and irrigation pipes.

We took the tractor back to the farm, and walked around a bit more. We went into one of the farm houses, which had lots of Halloween and Christmas decorations on display, and also had 2 pigs! They weren’t doing anything exciting, just sleeping, so I think that’s why Tyler wasn’t too terribly interested. But it was still neat to see them. All in all, we had a great time, even though it was a bit chilly. We look forward to being able to take him there each year.

Also this weekend, Travis started the dreaded chore of raking leaves. Our trees in the backyard have been dropping leaves for a few weeks now, and we’ve been waiting in agony for the big tree in our front yard to start dropping. Once that tree starts, it feels like it never ends. So Travis got to work on that, and Tyler thought that was the most fun ever. He loves running through the leaf piles and jumping in them. He liked to ride in the wheelbarrow as Travis made his trips to the back of the house with leaves. And he even got his own rake from Gramme and Granddad this weekend, which he simply calls “stick” (and sort of uses like a weapon – oops). But he had a great time “helping” in the yard, and even helped me pull up some of our old, dead pansies. There’s lots more “helping” to be done so hopefully his love of yardwork will stick around a while!

We made it!

Well, folks, we made it through our first child-free mini-vacation. Last week, Travis and I headed to Las Vegas for 4 nights and left Tyler with his Gramme and Granddad for the duration. We dropped Tyler off on Thursday night. We ate dinner with him, got him bathed and dressed for bed, and then came the worst moment of my life. Leaving my baby. Tyler shed many tears, but I think that I win for most hysterical breakdown. I was inconsolable. Even the thought that I was going to be in Vegas for a few days with great friends and no parental responsibilities didn't calm me down. I was leaving my baby. I cried most of the way down 295 on the way home. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go to Vegas anymore. But once we got home, got packed, and didn't get any frantic phone calls from the grandparents about what to do, I was able to sleep and be excited about the adventure ahead!

We left for Vegas on Friday morning, and this started Tyler's fun time with Gramme and Granddad. He got lots of outside play time in his log cabin that they have for him, visited with his Great-Grandma Smith, went shopping, played with his Aunt Jenn and wrestled with his Uncle Brian. We called and checked on him every day, though he rarely wanted to actually talk on the phone. We knew he heard us because he loves to hold a phone to his ear, but he rarely said much. I was starting to think that he didn't really miss us much at all!

Though he was confused when we got home and he was back in his own house, he warmed up quickly and he's back to being the clingy Mama's boy that he's always been. And I wouldn't have it any other way. He picked up lots of new words and sayings while we were gone. He says "Aw, man!" (which is hilarious) and "diaper" to name a few. And I swear that he got bigger and that his hair got longer in the 5 days we were gone. He uses a fork and spoon really well now. He walks down stair unassisted. It's amazing how much you miss in just those few days.

We did come back with gifts. We stopped by FAO Schwartz in Caesar's Palace, and bought Tyler a Brio train set, which he loves. I'm hoping to find him a wooden train table for Christmas (shhh, don't tell him!) so that he can have his track and trains out of the way and easily accessible! All in all, Travis & I had an amazing time with friends in the great city of Vegas and we all survived being apart from each other. I'm not ready to do that again anytime soon though. For now, I'm ready to just keep soaking up as much time and love from my little boy as possible.

We're off to Lynchburg next weekend to visit Grandpa Ed, Uncle Eddie, & Great-Nana Woody. We haven't been there since mid-August, so it will be great to spend some time with them.

And a final note: CONGRATULATIONS to our friends Marty & Meredith and their little girl, Elise. They welcome Lucas to their family this past week. CONGRATS!

Are you ready for some football?

Apparently, we are. Tyler has 2 new jerseys to wear this football season. A new Virginia Tech jersey from Uncle Eddie, and a new Tony Romo jersey from Gramme & Granddad Snead. It's really easy to pick his clothes out on the weekends now. Just have to know who's playing when.

And I've become a bit obsessed with Tyler's curls lately. I can't seem to take enough pictures of them! I guess I want to enjoy them for as long as we can. We know that the "first haircut" has to come....one day. But for now, we're keeping his sweet, blonde curls - until someone mistakes him for a girl. Then all bets are off!

Tyler has really taken a liking to stickers lately, and that's been helpful in establishing a reward system. We give him stickers when he's being good (i.e. this morning when we had to take him to LabCorp), and hope to be able to use stickers as a reward for potty training. Speaking of potty training, no, we are nowhere near ready for that yet, but we did go ahead and invest in a potty for Tyler. And he'll sit on it (while saying "sit, sit") but that's about. That's OK, we just want him to know that it's there for him, and to explore and get used to it.

We've got a busy end of the month around here. Travis and I leave for Las Vegas to meet up with some friends on the 26th. We get back on the 30th, and Tyler will be staying with Gramme & Granddad Snead for that time. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, we weren't able to have more than one "test night" at their house, so here's hoping that we all do well! Trav has been away from Tyler when he travels on business, but this will be my first big outing without him. And while I'm nervous about that, I'm also excited to have some "play time" for Travis & I. So keep your fingers crossed for us all!!!

18 months old - and a language explosion!

No need to check the calendar behind me, it’s true. Tyler is really 18 months old! It’s so hard to believe how quickly time has passed since he’s been here. I thought back to this time last year, and all of the things that he was doing then – sitting up unassisted, just starting to use (or play with) a sippy cup, eating his first foods. And now look at him. We’ve got a certified walking, talking, climbing toddler. (And I’ll go ahead and cut you off now – no, that does not mean it’s time for us to have another one, but thanks anyway.) We took him to get professional pictures done, something that we hadn’t done since his birthday. What a big boy he’s becoming, right before our eyes. And, if we do say so ourselves, a very handsome boy at that.

According to every parenting book out there (which I don’t have time to read anymore), 18 months is a pretty big age. Lots of things start to happen. Toddlers generally start testing more limits (yep), talking more (absolutely), changing the way that they play to use more of their imagination (you betcha), and so on. The biggest development that we’ve noticed is the change in Tyler’s vocabulary. I swear he says a new word (or 2!) a day. Just yesterday, we were at the pediatrician’s office for his well visit (stats later) and he looked at Travis and pointed and said “book”. I asked when he started saying that because I had never heard it. Travis said it just happened a night or so ago during storytime. See? We can’t keep up with the new words! Some favorites: “No-no, Gracie. Not nice.” (I should add that Gracie is usually not doing anything wrong. He just follows her around the house wagging his finger at her, saying this.) “more” (followed by “milk” or “snack” usually), “shoes” (the kid loves shoes), “blocks”, “outside” which is followed by “hat” since he knows that he has to wear a hat to go outside. There’s a ton more, but I won’t bore you (further) with a comprehensive list. We get a couple of strings of words from time to time (see the Gracie comment above) and we heard “I got shoes” once. It’s so nice to be able to really communicate with him now though! We have fewer frustrations when it comes to what he wants. Notice I said fewer and not “no frustrations”. The doctor said to be prepared for even more words to come at a rapid pace as he nears his 2nd birthday.

And speaking of the doctor, all is well. Tyler weighs 26 lbs. 12 oz. (60th percentile), is 33.5 inches tall (80th percentile), and still has a whopper of a head, but that’s ok. Developmentally, he looks great and is doing all of the things (and more!) that a “normal” 18 month old should be doing. He’s even doing many of the things that she said that he should be doing at 24 months (i.e. pointing out body parts). At 18 months, the doctors have the parents complete a checklist which would potentially point out warning signs of autism. Thankfully, there are no warning signs where Tyler is concerned, not that we ever thought there would be. We do have to go for some bloodwork soon so that they can rule out anemia. Tyler’s past couple of finger pricks in the office have come back slightly lower than normal for his iron levels, so they want to figure out just how low his iron levels are and what might be causing it. So we’ll have that done next week sometime and once they get the results, we’ll talk to the doctor again and see what, if anything, needs to happen. It may be something like an iron supplement, or it may be nothing at all. We’ll just wait and see. But overall, it was another great appointment, and we don’t go back until he’s 2!

The end of summer draws near

Travis has been taking Tyler to the pool at least once a weekend (which, we guess, will close after Labor Day which is too early this year!) and he has been getting more and more fearless each time he goes. I got to see this first hand this past weekend. We went to Lynchburg to visit Grandpa, Uncle Eddie, and Great Nana Woody, and the Hill City Fishing Club’s annual end-of-season get together was Saturday. So we got to go too. It’s always held at John & Helga’s house, and they have a pool. Tyler had a blast jumping in from all sides, splashing at us, sticking his head in the water, and playing with the pool noodles, kickboards, and other pool toys. He also had a good time watching Wagner & Waylon (who were there with Bridges) play, swim, and splash. We definitely have a water baby on our hands! I’m frantically searching for some place to enroll him in swim lessons this winter so that he’s ready for next summer. The problem I keep running into though is that it seems that most toddler classes of ANYTHING are held during the weekday. Well, that’s just great for those people who are fortunate to stay at home with their kids, but what about us working parents???? Argh, rant over.

Anyway, we had a great time visiting with friends, and playing with other kids. Tyler did really well and entertained the masses. He had a blast looking at a set of twin boys that were at the cookout. They were 10 months old, and Tyler liked to look at them in their carriers, or spy on them while they were in their floats in the pool, or sneak a peek while they played on a blanket on the pool deck. With all the little ones around that day, I’m sure he felt like it was just another day at daycare! Tyler got to help Grandpa with his cooler maintenance, which he loved. Apparently, those skills stick with you for life.

Tyler’s been enjoying the summer with his Gramme & Granddad Snead too. On a few visits, they have taken him over to Short Pump Town Center to play in their play area, and to ride the train that goes through the shopping center. I don’t think that he was really impressed with the train the first time, but he seems to be warming up to it. They also were given a “log cabin” toy house by some neighbors, and Tyler has had a great time playing in that. It’s a house that’s just his size!

Travis & I also took Tyler to Trav’s alma mater recently, since we had visited Mary Wash. We headed up to Ashland to Randolph-Macon College (VERY short trip – only about 20 minutes or so), and sat at the train station to see if we could watch some trains go by. We only saw one, which was disappointing, but we’ll head back up there again to try. We also walked around the campus and let Tyler dip his feet into the RMC fountain, which he loved. It was pretty cold, which shocked us all, but he had a great time anyway. I’ve been in the Richmond area for 6 years now, and this was my first time on the RMC campus. It was nice to finally get a chance to walk around and take it all in. There were a lot of features that were very similar to MWC.

So we’re at the final countdown for summer, and we’ve got lots more to cram in before it’s over!

A Mary Wash reunion

This past weekend Tyler & I got to visit with some dear, old friends of mine from Mary Washington. Californians Meredith & Ryan (along with almost 8 week-old Evan) were on the East Coast for a wedding, and to visit family, so they made a pit-stop at our friend Heidi’s house in Fredericksburg. Heidi has a 3 year old daughter, Riley, who we met last summer when Tyler was a few months old. Meredith, Marty, & Elise (2) made the trip from Pennsylvania, and Shoshana came up from Raleigh with her two little girls, Reagan (3) & Lauren (just 2 weeks younger than Tyler). It was a house full of good friends, and our little ones. It had been many years since I had seen the majority of everyone. Meredith Thomas – 4 years ago at our wedding. Meredith Molloy – we think we figured out it was 2002, and so of course, we had never met each other’s little ones. Shoshana – I’m pretty sure it’s been since 2000. Like I mentioned before, we did see Heidi & Riley last summer, but unfortunately had not seen them since.

When Tyler & I got to Heidi’s, we went outside to see Heidi & the Merediths and to meet little Evan. What a cutie! It’s amazing. I had forgotten that Tyler was ever that small. Teeny, tiny little hands and feet. He’s so cute, and was such a good little man. I know he was trying to take in all of the excitement around him, with his wide & alert eyes. I did get to hold him for a short time, which was wonderful. Well, it was wonderful until Tyler realized what I was doing. I didn’t expect him to be jealous, but boy was he ever! He stood at my feet and whined and fussed, he tried to climb onto the ottoman that I was sitting on, and tried to climb on me while I had Evan in my arms. Needless to say, I had to give Evan back to his daddy before I was really ready. Once Evan was back with Ryan, Tyler calmed down and went back to playing with all of the little girls. I realized that this was the first time that Tyler had seen me hold another baby, and I guess that he just wasn’t ready to share his mommy with anyone.

Riley was a perfect little hostess, allowing the other kids to play with all of her toys and play in her bedroom. She also went around the room offering snacks. Reagan & Lauren were too sweet, and they both played with Tyler very well. Tyler seemed to always want whatever toy poor Reagan had, but she handled it so well and shared with him, even when it wasn’t Tyler’s turn. And beautiful Ellie was exactly how I pictured her to be. I know that seems like an odd thing to say about such an adorable little girl, but it’s funny, I had never met Ellie until that day, and I felt like I already “knew” her from reading the Molloy’s blog since the day Ellie was born. For two years, I’ve read a weekly blog about her, and all the things she’s learned and does. We all commented on that a lot that day. While we hadn’t seen each other (or even talked on the phone) in years, we felt like we hadn’t missed out on much in each other’s lives, thanks to the internet.

After a few hours of indoor & outdoor play (it was SUCH a beautiful day, with temps in the 80s and low humidity), we decided to parade on over to the Mary Wash campus. Thanks to Marty for taking a lot of really great pictures with my camera. It was so neat to see four old girlfriends walking down Campus Walk, pushing the strollers of their little ones. (Shoshana had to head back to NC, unfortunately, and couldn’t make the trip to campus.) Four old girlfriends sitting in front of the fountain that they had met at to go to lunch 10 years ago, now sitting there with their children kicking and splashing in the water. Four old girlfriends reliving fun college memories, while the kids babbled away in their strollers or ran around playing. I was really glad that we were able to get over to the campus.

After campus, we headed over to Carl’s Ice Cream to get some frozen custard. Now, if you’re not an MWC alum or have never been to Fredericksburg, you probably don’t know what I am talking about. But Carl’s is just great. (Click here to find out a little more about what makes it so special.) We all got ice cream, or slushees, or shakes, and sat down to enjoy. Tyler loved his first taste of Carl’s, as I knew he would. And just as I also knew would happen, he became a wired little boy after that!

We headed back to Heidi’s after that and had hot dogs and hamburgers before the Thomases, Tyler & I had to hit the road. (Yes, ice cream before dinner. What about it? Haha!) It was really cute to watch Ellie, Riley, & Tyler sitting at little tables together in their little chairs. I took advantage of the opportunity and got a few more minutes of “Evan time” in, before Tyler realized that I had run off and found me cuddling up with the little guy. I quickly handed him back to his daddy, finished our dinners, and off we went. Tyler & I had such a good time that day, and I thank Heidi for inviting us all into her home. It was so good to see everyone, and to finally catch up in person. I loved meeting all of the new additions, and hope that we’ll all be able to get together again sooner rather than later.

Goodbye living room, hello playroom

When we moved into this house 3 years ago, we were at a loss with what to do with our formal living room. We have a couch and a loveseat in there, my scrapbooking stuff (that's still collecting dust), a TV, bookshelf, and the corner hutch from my Nana & Grandaddy Woody's house. We rarely used the room at all. But I told myself from Day One that I wouldn't use that room as a playroom. It was too nice of a room for that. Well, fast forward to present day, and we're swimming in toys in our family room. Furniture has been rearranged to accomodate said toys. We haven't been able to use our ottoman in months, because we've had to keep it pushed up against the hearth as there's just no more room. And then there's the formal living room. It's just sitting there. Unused. Devoid of toys of any kind.

So Travis & I were talking on Friday night. Let's change the formal into a playroom. We'll buy a nice (but not too nice!) rug and will move all of the bigger toys in there. And so we did. We got a great deal on the rug at BJs, and with all of the wonderful natural light that we already get in there, really helps to brighten the room up even more. We've enjoyed spending time in there this weekend. And so has Tyler. His eyes just lit up when he saw many of his toys in what used to be the "forbidden room". He even went back and forth to the family room to bring a few of his smaller toys and books into the new playroom. And to make matters even better, we have (somewhat) reclaimed our family room. As I write this, I have my feet kicked up on the ottoman that I have so badly missed. It's a win-win.

Tyler turned 17 months old today, believe it or not. Just recently, Travis & I have started to notice that he is really changing a lot more. He's looking less and less like a baby, and more and more like a toddler. A big boy. No longer the helpless, tiny being that we brought home from the hospital. He's now a walking, talking, little man with his own thoughts & ideas. He's indepedent and ready to take on the world. And it's been so much fun to watch him grow up. But I would like time to slow down....just a little bit!!!!

Beach bums

We're back from beautiful Emerald Isle, NC! We had beautiful weather and a great time with family and good friends. We once again had a nice oceanfront duplex and on our side was Grandpa Ed, Uncle Eddie (with his girlfriend Emily joining us at week end), and the 3 of us. The other side had Angela & Jim, the Hamrics, & the Johnsons. Across the street we had the Dunlaps and the Maybaums. We had quite the crowd this year!

Tyler did really well on both the trip down and the trip back. We ended up buying a portable DVD player and pulled it out for emergencies, when books, toys, and singing just wouldn't cut it anymore. When he saw the Backyardigans for first time on the back of Trav's seat, his eyes got large and he looked at me as if to say, "Mom, do you see this? I mean, really, do you see this? You won't believe what's going on on Dad's seat!!!! Why have I never noticed this before??" It was a lifesaver, to say the very least.


We did have a few challenges for the week. Tyler is teething - again & it looks like eye teeth this time - and so he was waking during the night. We shared a room with him, and so when he woke he would see us next to him and want attention. It made for some long nights, but all in all he did very well for a week long vacation away from his own bed. He also started regularly saying "mama", but it is usually attached to a tantrum. And we heard a LOT of "mama mama mama" last week. But the fun and the good times definitely outweighed the bad.

Even though Tyler ran for the water on Day One, it took him the better part of the week to get used to the beach. We bought him a plastic baby pool that we kept down with our chairs and such so that he could shovel sand in there, play with his toys, and splash in that water if he didn't want to go to the ocean. Hands down, that was the best $9 I ever spent. When he got fussy, we'd just give him a ton of shells and he'd have a blast just throwing them with all of his might into the pool. On Friday morning, we got down there and as Tyler was playing, I noticed the eyes of a ghost crab sticking up. I thought the thing was dead, and another of the girls came over and poked it with a toy. It jumped to life and scrambled all over the pool, as we squealed and Tyler watched with wide eyes. We finally got the poor thing into a bucket and set it free on the beach, but boy that was an exciting way to start the last day!

One of Tyler's favorite things to do at the beach was dance. And dance he did. He put on some good shows for everyone. Grandpa brought his iPod, along with his boombox docking station, so he always had music at the house, on the deck, and at the beach. It didn't take Tyler long to really start to get into it and before long, he was asking Grandpa to let him listen to the iPod through the earbuds on the beach, and was asking for music on the boombox! And when he wasn't listening to the iPod, he was jamming to his Elmo "iPod" that came with a book of his (it plays all nursery rhymes, and he carried it almost everywhere). Quite the music lover!

Tyler also learned the fine art of cooler maintenance, as my Dad calls it. This process involves taking the cooler outside to drain the ice from the day before, replenishing the beer/soda/water supplies, and adding new ice to the cooler for the day. Tyler thought this was the best game ever. Whenever someone made their way to a cooler, he ran to help them. His main role was in replenishing the drinks (usually by throwing them in there) and shutting the cooler lid. He was a natural, and we're looking at letting him try out for the Cooler Maintenance Games of 2009. :)

We did make it back to the NC Aquarium this year, and that was a lot of fun. We took Erin & Sara with us (12 and 14 years old), and they were a huge help in keeping Tyler close by. Last year, Tyler was carried around in the Bjorn all day, but this year he was running all through the place looking at fish, turtles, and everything else that he could take in. We heard "fish", one of his new words, come out of his mouth at rapid speed. Just like his mommy, some of Tyler's favorites were the turtles. He would just follow them around the tanks, pointing at them, and trying to touch them. We thought we heard something that sounded a lot like "turtle" while we were there, but can't be too certain. We never heard it again.

But speaking of new words, we got quite a few of them over the week. Fish, ice (from Tyler's new talents in daily cooler maintenance), all done, all gone, no (yeah that one's been fun), juice, cheese, and Eddie (at least we THINK we heard that a few times). He's also still regularly signing the words "please" and "more". Before we left for the beach, he was doing modified signs for both words, which daycare said was normal. But by the time we left, he was signing them correctly! "Please" has been a hard one, only because he doesn't understand why he can't have something if he has clearly signed "please". Sorry, sweetie, just because you said please, you still can't play with those knives. Or "I know you're saying banana and signing "please" but we are all out of bananas!!!" It's tough sometimes. And frustrating all around. But we're really proud of him for using the signs as much as he can!

Overall, we had a wonderful week and it was great to spend so much time with Grandpa, Uncle Eddie, and everyone else. But now we're trying to work our way back into the real world or work and daycare. So far, so good! And speaking of daycare, one last update. Tyler has moved full-time to the toddler room at school now and seems to be adjusting very well. He has already attached himself to one of his teachers, but is having a ton of fun. There are a lot more kids in this room, since the age range is wider (16 - 24 months). So he always has lots of kids to play with and lots to do. They do a lot of interactive stuff with the kids at this age, and it's neat to see him bring those newfound skills home. (And hey, it doesn't hurt that his tuition went down about $15/week with the move!)

This Friday night, Tyler will have his first overnight visit without Mommy & Daddy, as he'll stay with his Gramme & Granddad Snead while Travis & I see comedian Jim Gaffigan here in town. We figured that we needed to test drive some overnight visits before we head to Las Vegas at the end of September, so this will be the first attempt. Wish everyone luck - Gramme & Granddad with Tyler, Tyler with them and without us, and us without Tyler! I don't think Travis & I will know what to do with ourselves!!!! We'll be sure to update next week!

Oh and overdue congratulations to our friends in Lynchburg, Sarah & Steve. Their little girl, Kyra Skye, was born on July 2! Congrats and can't wait to meet her!

This year's crab picture at the Auarium

And last year's - look how he's grown!

Changes at home

When we bought this house in 2005, we knew that we would eventually need to replace the windows and the siding, as both were original to the house (built in 1985). Well, this was the year. We replaced the windows and got vinyl siding and shutters!!!!! (which our house desperately needed)

Before:
















And After!!!! We chose a sand colored siding, with white trim and dark brown shutters.


















And since The Home Depot did the work on the house, here is Tyler wanting to be one of the workers: