Grandma's Newest Trick

Last Monday I worked in Phoenix for a day and Grandma Judy was gracious enough to watch Tyler for me. They spent some time playing in the yard and Grandma taught him some new tricks. The first trick was how to carry water from the water table in one of his cups to different places in the yard. He now loves to water the plants, his truck, the ground - everything! Thanks Grandma for teaching him how to keep the yard all wet! Mongo better watch out, I think he may be next!

Doing Laundry

Tyler is at the helping stage. He enjoys cleaning things up and then taking them back out again. One of his newest tricks is to help with the laundry. Since the laundry room is downstairs now sometimes I just toss all of the dirty clothes over the banister and then pick them up and take them to the washer. Tyler now likes to bring me the clothes from the stairs to the washer and I can put them in the washer. It's so fun to watch him help. He just gets so excited and is sooo thorough! Here's a little video of him helping me with my darks!

I've Created a Monster

So a while back Tyler wouldn't eat. We were trying everything. We finally found something that worked - little chocolate donuts. He has now learned that they are kept in the refrigerator. So now his new thing is to walk to the fridge, bang on the door and say "doo, doo, doo" letting me know he wants a donut. So the good news is we have a new word. The bad news is we have a little chocolate donut monster!!! What a bad mother, huh!?!

17 months

Wow, where have the last 1 year, 5 months gone? Tyler is now 17 months old. That night we went to our first Level 4 Gymboree class. This class was much better for him because the other kids moved just as much as he did. The only bummer is that our Level 3 class was with his friends Keaton and Emma so it will be a little adjustment meeting new friends in this new class.

Here are a list of what he is doing at 17 months:

Favorite foods:
Tyson grilled chicken cubes
Black beans
Watermelon
Fruit cups
Chocolate donuts
Cinnamon cookies
Mini carrots
Grapes
Blueberries
Fusion juice
Milk

New words:
Mi- milk
Moe - Mongo
Mor - more
Ma - Mom
Da - Dad
Ba - book
Doe - donut
Bya - bye
Oh no - Oh no
Bla - block
Brr - bird

He still uses dog, ball, no, duck and ma all the time. Many of his words sound very similar but I can tell the difference. It's fun to watch and hear him say new things every day. He has also changed his babbling from tickle, tickle, tickle to more of a gurgle. I think it'll be any day now before we hear a great deal more words.

Other milestones:
Walks down stairs holding someones hand
Walks up stairs holding someones hand
Climbs onto the barstool
Uses a fork to pick up fruit and beans
Pulls out a colander to tell me he wants blueberries or grapes
Takes things out and puts them back away
Puts shapes in his shape sorters
Dunks the basketball (he's been doing this for a few months but I haven't shared it here yet)
Waters plants
Scoops sand into a bucket and can dump it out
Builds great things with his Mega Bloks
Rides his push toys by pushing backwards with his feet (he'll figure out how to go forward soon, I'm sure)
Finds objects in his book (points to ball, dog, cat, shoes and bear)
Signs bear
Rocks in his rocking chair
Pulling everything out of everywhere and leaving a mess all over our house! =)
Cuddling with blankets - he has two favorites - his Aden & Anais blankets and his fuzzy Swaddle Designs stroller blanket
Pulling toys around the house (his corn popper, his duck on a string, his phone on a string)
Zerberts - he loves to blow zerberts on anyone's skin - arms, tummies, legs, cheeks
Biting - he is definitely a biter but says "no" after since that is what we say. He now cuddles afterward since he knows it is wrong. Hopefully this little habit/milestone will go away soon
Putting coins in his play piggy bank
Walking on his tip toes
Leaning - he likes to lean as he is looking for something. It's sooo darn cute!

Body Parts He Can Point To:
belly button (lifts up his shirt - too cute)
feet
ears
eyes (sometimes his own, but usually just mine)
nose (again, sometimes his own, but usually just mine)
fingers (just learning to identify them - sometimes it works, other times it doesn't)


He is also really into reading books right now. Among his favorites at the current moment are:
Hop on Pop
Hands, Hands, Fingers, Thumbs
Brown Bear, Brown Bear
Baby Bear, Baby Bear
Goodnight, Gorilla
The Big Red Barn
Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
My Little Miracle
Goodnight Moon
Guess How Much I Love You
I Love You
Snuggle Puppy
How Do I Love You?
The Foot Book

There are many other books he likes but these are the favorites right now. We could read them over, and over, and over, and over, and over again. Sometimes 10+ times in one sitting. I've become very good at memorizing and can "read" them anywhere which is sometimes a saving grace for a tired or sad little boo-boo!

Two weeks ago he also had an ear infection. This was his third ear infection. Poor little guy is such a trooper. It takes me a day or two to figure out what is wrong because even when he doesn't feel well he is still a happy little boy. After seeing the doctor we went to get a blood test to test for food allergies. Last week one of the results came back for celiac disease - an allergy to glutens - as unusual. We are awaiting news from a pediatric G.I. to determine the next steps. I'm hoping that he doesn't actually have this allergy but if he does we will figure it out. As long as he is healthy otherwise we are in good shape!

These last 17 months have been the most amazing! Tyler is such a joy to both Collin and me. He has brought us closer together as a couple and as a family. Every day there are new discoveries, new giggles and great times together. I'm so thankful for everything he has brought to us and feel so blessed to be a mom to such a wonderful baby boy!

San Diego

We headed to San Diego for the weekend as a family. We were going to see some friends and if there was time, head to Sea World with another friend. I picked Collin up early from work and we headed down south. It took us FOREVER to get there with all of the Friday afternoon traffic. When we finally arrived, we checked into the hotel. Tyler was so excited to just run around the room and play in the pillows. 

Playing in the pillows - trying to avoid his pjs.

Running to Daddy - save me from Mommy and pjs!!!

On Saturday we were able to meet up with our friends the Simcoxs and enjoyed some time at Sea World. 

Ready to go!

Daddy bought the Southern CA resident tickets which allows us to go back one more time before 2011. We'll have to plan another trip down there to see everything we didn't have time to see on this trip.

Daddy got us good tickets!

Mommy and Tyler at the Stingray tank.

The weather was perfect - not too hot or too cold. We were able to see a lot of shows but Tyler's favorites were the tide pool, the ducks, the stingrays, the Pet Show with lots of dogs and cats and the Shamu show. He loved those whales. 

Braving the FREEZING cold water to hold a starfish.

Trying to pet a stingray. Notice Daddy is NO where to be found. He has a BIG fear of stingrays.

Quack, quack, quack

Shamu showing off!

We love Shamu!

Watching so closely. You can tell he is concentrating because he is holding his ear.

Jumping whales!!!

He liked when they jumped!

The Simcox Family

I think someone is going to get wet - luckily it's not us!

More than anything though, Tyler loved the popcorn bucket. He's definitely our child since we both love popcorn. We filled the bucket twice throughout the day. He was thrilled to have this souvenir. The next day he carried it around the hotel room and took it to the beach. Nothing goes better with popcorn than sand.

Popcorn bucket - yum, yum, yum!

So on Sunday we headed back up north. We decided to stop at the beach in Capistrano with the kids. Emma hadn't been to the beach all summer so it was time.

Tyler was showing Daddy the dolphins he saw in the distance.

Sharing with Emma

Cute Simcox family photo

It was a great weekend that went too quickly. We had fun seeing friends and hanging out with the Simcox family. We cannot wait to go again!

Beach Day

In late July, my parents came to visit for the weekend. On Saturday we prepared for a Pampered Chef party at the house and Sunday we went to Camarillo and Ventura. We had a great time shopping at the outlets in Camarillo. After a long day of shopping we headed west toward the beach. It was a lot chillier there than it was in Camarillo.

Tyler doesn't love the cold.

As we got up and wandered closer to the water, Collin noticed a hole someone had dug. He hoped in and that definitely cheered up. He couldn't wait to reach Daddy and jump in! Grandpa thought it was pretty funny too!

Hoppin' in the hole!
It's the perfect size!
Trying to climb out...
Making it out!
The boys - checking out the water!
Cuddling with Daddy, watching the surf.
Grandma Betsy and Grandpa JohnTrying to get a good shot - not really working

The best we could do.

As always, it was a fun weekend that went way too quickly with my parents. We enjoy spending time with them and wished we all lived closer together.

More, more, more!

We officially have another word - more. He has been able to sign the word for a few weeks but now he not only signs it, he says it. In no time at all he is going to be talking up a storm. There is a part of me that cannot wait for that day and then another part of me that doesn't want him to start talking more then the few words he has because it means he is growing up. It has gone sooo fast! I'll try to capture him signing and saying more soon and post it here.

Build a Bear

My mommy group took the kiddos to Build-a-Bear. The kids weren't quite sure when we first started but figured it out quickly. Tyler chose a dog we named Dawg. He had fun stuffing Dawg, adding a giggle sound and kissing the heart that went into it. Dawg didn't have many clothing options available so he got a collar and a leash. Tyler just loves pulling his own dog around the house and Mongo appreciates that Tyler has something else to pull on other than him!

Checking out the options for Dawg

Braden and Tyler with their animals, ready to go!

It was a fun outing for the boys and I'm sure it won't be our last trip there. Before long we'll have so many Build-A-Bears we won't know what to do with them all.

Two New Signs

I've been trying to teach Tyler sign language for a LONG time now. It didn't seem to be working until now! He has two new signs - bear and bird! Bear will come in handy for sure as he is roaming the forest and coming across them so often! =) Oh well, it's cute none-the-less. I wonder what his next sign will be? I'm hoping for Mommy and Daddy!

Underwood Farms

Last week our Mom's group went to Underwood Farms in Moorpark. I've wanted to go there for a while now so I was glad I could join them. In the end there were just three of us, but it was a perfect day to go out and explore the crops. They had over 20 fruits and vegetables available to pick. There were many animals to look at and some fun things to play on! Tyler hung out in the stroller while we wandered through the crops. We picked some radishes and raspberries from the fields! It was fun. Before we headed home, I let Tyler have some play time. He and his buddy Braden enjoyed the play structure and the mini tractors! I cannot wait to go back with Daddy another day!

Something caught their eye!

I'll race ya!
Enough...time for something new!