Spring Break!

I just had (well, a few weeks ago) one of the best Spring Breaks ever.  I got to spend TEN days in a row with Tyler.  And Eric took some days off too, giving us some excellent quality time.

We went to Vail for two nights and saw lots of friends.

Tyler loves Melissa, especially when we can hang out on the sunny deck at Garfs.
Tyler loves Melissa, especially when we can hang out on the sunny deck at Garfs.

We went to Basalt for two nights for the First Annual Babyfest.

Weston, Tyler, Burke, & Hadley
Weston, Tyler, Burke, & Hadley
So much pretty.
So much pretty.
You can always tell a Euchre deck...
You can always tell a Euchre deck…
Floods, Holles, Taylors in downtown Basalt.
Floods, Holles, Taylors in downtown Basalt.

And best of all, Nana & Grandpa drove in from Ohio to spend the week with us Tyler!  We dined out at Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar on the rooftop deck–the Colorado sunshine was a welcome change from a Cleveland winter and the burgers were OUTSTANDING.

Grandpa's here!
Awake with Grandpa.
Asleep with Grandpa.
Asleep with Grandpa.

We visited brewery numbers 31 and 32 for Tyler (Finkel & Garf and Sanitas).

Cool little dude.
Cool little dude.

We golfed, shopped, walked, and took Tyler to the park.  We finally tried the raved-about Pizzeria Locale (delicious).

Lilly gets jealous and sits on benches.
Lilly gets jealous and sits on benches.

We celebrated Easter.

Spring is finally here!
Spring is finally here!
Hadley-bunny.
Hadley-bunny.
Egg-stra cute, indeed.
Egg-stra cute, indeed.
One of my all-time fave photos of my babies.
One of my all-time fave photos of my babies.

And we got very used to having two nannies available to tend to Tyler’s every move all week long!  Tyler says he loves his Nana & Grandpa very much and can’t wait to see them again!

Tyler: Eight Months

Tyler can:

  • sit up on his own
  • clap
  • wave
  • cry when mommy leaves the room
  • laugh hysterically
  • go for a two-hour hike in the backpack

Tyler can not yet:

  • nap
  • sleep through the night
  • sleep for more than 4 hours at a time, fingers crossed and hold your breath

As far as eating, Tyler fought us on the homemade baby food scene.  He would tolerate it in his mouth but didn’t seem to be swallowing much of anything.  So we decided to skip baby food and give him tiny bits of food.  Still not much swallowing (the proof is in the pudding diaper).  So last week we went against our Boulder County brainwashing and bought some baby food.  Jars and pouches.  Organic and non-organic.  Premium and store brand.  And he LOVES THEM ALL.  He loves them most when Nana or Miss Val at daycare feeds him. And he still loves to nurse.  He officially weighed 16.8 lbs last Tuesday, but I think he’s gained another two pounds in the last week.  And to everyone who said he’d sleep through the night when he began eating more…you were either saying that to placate me or you’re just a liar.

These are some of the cutest “basket photos” we’ve taken so far.  So there’s quite a few, just to warn you.  Eight months–we can hardly believe it!  Hoppy Easter!

IMG_9869

IMG_9868

IMG_9864

IMG_9863

IMG_9855

IMG_9853

Nana has a look-alike!
Nana has a look-alike!

IMG_9845

IMG_9842

IMG_9839

He does still fit inside the basket.
He does still fit inside the basket.

IMG_9820

IMG_9813

Tyler’s First Christmas

Now that the evenings are getting longer, the daffodils are pushing up, and we are on the brink of Spring Break…here’s a long post about Tyler’s first holiday season.  In case you were missing all things red velour.

Fourth Annual Happy Holledays Ugly Sweater Party
Fourth Annual Happy Holledays Party!  Thanks to a hand-me-down bag for Tyler’s awesome Ugly Jumpsuit with Matching Hat.
Because the party was on  December 6th, our tree was pretty sad by the time actual Christmas rolled around.  Here are our gifts in front of the undecorated, half-lighted, dying pile of needles.
Because the party was on December 6th, our tree was pretty sad by the time actual Christmas rolled around. Here are our gifts in front of the undecorated, half-lighted, dying pile of needles.

We traveled to Nana & Grandpa’s house in Ohio, where my brother David, his wife Heidi, and their two sweet boys met us from Chicago.  Talk about a full house…but we had a blast!  Here are the grandkids attempting to fulfill Nana’s dream of a holiday photo of her three boys.  Lots of credit is now given to the kind people at portrait studios who can actually make babies and toddlers cooperate/sit up/look at the camera.

Judd (3 mos), Everett (28 mos), & Tyler (4 mos)
Judd (3 mos), Everett (28 mos), & Tyler (4 mos)

We opened gifts on Christmas morning in front of the impeccably decorated tree.  Nana & Grandpa went overboard for their grandbabies, as was to be expected.

10946083_10204307958714002_236349237_o

Tyler's new school bus.
Tyler’s new school bus.
Everett's new weed wacker...he thought this was hysterical.
Everett’s new weed wacker…he thought this was hysterical.

IMG_8025

We enjoyed hanging out at home and gorging on treats and Great Lakes brews.  We also got out and about, including a snow-less, muddy field trip to the Metroparks.

IMG_8118

IMG_8133

IMG_8155

Eric and I get cabin fever pretty quickly, so we made an excursion down to Huntington Beach on a gloriously sunny day.

Cleveland skyline in the distance.
Cleveland skyline in the distance.
Daddy's gift to Tyler is his cool CO hat (with ears!) to match Daddy's.
Daddy’s gift to Tyler is his matching cool CO hat (with ears!)
Beer on tap at THE GROCERY STORE?  What is this place, heaven?!
Beer on tap at THE GROCERY STORE? What is this place, heaven?!  No…just Heinen’s.

Tyler also got to see his twin buddies, Audrey & Brody.

10943428_10204307938673501_880030969_o

And no trip to Ohio is complete without breakfast at Bob Evans!

I still love sugar for breakfast...that didn't go away post-pregnancy!
I still love sugar for breakfast…that didn’t go away post-pregnancy!

But the best part of being in Ohio for Christmas was spending time with family.  Tyler and Judd are a mere 5 weeks apart in age…this will only get more fun as they get older!

Thanks, Nana, for the matching outfits!
Thanks, Nana, for the matching outfits!

IMG_8094

IMG_8101

Holding hands in diapers...does it get any cuter?
Holding hands in diapers…does it get any cuter?

At age two and some change, Everett is the star of the show.  He is such a fun kid–he remembers everything (the magnifying glass in Grandpa’s office!), loves books, and chats up a storm.  He always uses your name when he talks to you (“Will you play with me, Aunt Amy?) AND he’s potty-trained.  Everett, you’ve set the bar rather high for Tyler and Judd!

IMG_8086

And we can’t forget dear old Macie, who will be FIFTEEN in June.  She loves the boys, too.

10936885_10204307936793454_1793898893_o

And now for one final dose of awwwwww…

Tyler: Seven Months

This kid just keeps getting better.  He is just so HAPPY, almost all of the time!  Thanks, Nana, for the sweater unitard.  It’s currently his most hansomest button-up outfit.

Incidentally, photos in front of a gas fireplace with no hearth aren’t as endearing as our wood-burning fireplace-and-brick hearth photos of my childhood.

Tyler eats rice cereal and sweet potatoes with gusto but is undecided on carrots and green beans.  He is starting to sit up.  No crawling yet.  Our baby yogi has an excellent baby cobra as well as boat pose.  Killer abs on this kid, but he remains stationary.  He still prefers not to nap, and he still doesn’t sleep through the night.

Daddy taught him to clap, clap, clap.  We’ll try to catch it on video!tyler 7 mos 2tyler 7 mos 1

Tyler: Six Months

Well, now he’s closer to seven months old, but these photos are darn cute.  Also particularly nostalgic for me because of the outfit he is wearing.  It is the lone outfit I purchased when I was pregnant with Tyler, and very early on, maybe in my first trimester. We knew we weren’t going to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl, so that made it easier to refrain from purchasing baby items.  But I also didn’t want to get things ready for a baby because I was afraid that something might happen.  Not cause-and-effect, as I knew that buying things for our baby wouldn’t actually make something (bad) happen.  I wasn’t comfortable making preparations because it wasn’t easy for us to conceive and I just couldn’t get into nesting…just in case.  Eric always remained positive to counteract my (very out-of-character) negativity, but it was still there.

There were many times during pregnancy I would comment that I couldn’t believe I was pregnant, or that it just didn’t feel real.  Even when my belly grew, and grew, and grew….it just never felt real to me.  Until our baby was born, and it was a boy…it was Tyler.  THEN I was as happy and joyful and crying like crazy as a person could be.

So this little outfit, in gender-neutral aqua and navy, reminds me of how happy/scared I was when I was pregnant with Tyler.  An outfit that I bought probably over a year ago for this baby we wanted to love so badly.  The ONLY outfit I’ve ever purchased for him (thanks to hand-me-downs and gifts and of course Nana.)

I can’t believe it finally fits.

tyler 6 months 1

tyler 6 months 2

tyler 6 months 3

He fell over on his own.  But he didn’t cry, so we took a picture.  He’s even giving us a thumbs up if you look closely.

Rice Cereal: Good Days and Bad Days

We went to Tyler’s well-baby checkup on Monday, and the doctor asked if he was babbling yet.  Nope, we said, he screeches and squeals and is otherwise very vocal, but no real babbling.  Two days later, he’s chatting us up over rice cereal.

However, there are days when he’s not so enthused.  He’s still darn cute though.

IMG_3052.JPG IMG_3054.JPG IMG_3053.JPG IMG_3055.JPG

Ours is Not The Napping House

If you have friends in Colorado, and you participate in social media, then you already know it was 75 and blue skies today, February 7th.  Thank goodness for that because Tyler and I spent the majority of our day frolicking in the sunshine, trying to tire ourselves out.

It is now almost 4:00.  Tyler awoke at 6:45 this morning.  He has not slept, not even for a minute, all day.  Five mile run?  Fully awake.  Two more walks?  A tad drowsy but not even close to sleep.  Reading books?  Nope.  Nursing?  Nada.  Cry it out?  Twice, twenty minutes each, with no sleep.  Why doesn’t this kid nap?

Some theories:

  1. FOMO.  (fear of missing out)
  2. He’s sick.  (unlikely, perfectly happy)
  3. He’s teething.  (maybe?)
  4. He loves me so much he can’t stand to sleep and miss me for one second.
  5. He hates me.
  6. Now that he’s six months old, he’s given up his twice-daily 20 minute naps.
I'm pretending to doze off, but I'm just kidding.
I’m pretending to doze off, but I’m just kidding.

He’s currently right beside me, playing with a toy, and laughing.

One Sleeper, So Many Looks

Blue Steel
Blue Steel

This kid has an uncanny ability to look like a different baby every five seconds.  Not just every morning when we peek in his crib and wonder what happened to our baby (who put this little boy in here?) but different angles, different lighting, and his many different expressions really change the way he looks.  Thank you to Eric, who always has the camera ready for an impromptu Saturday morning photo shoot.

Chillaxin'
Chillaxin’
Smiley
Smiley
1950s Baby
1950s Baby
Bashful
Bashful
I don't recognize this dude.
I don’t recognize this dude.
Requisite spit-up action shot.
Requisite spit-up action shot.