#3

He drives me bonkers sometimes....but I love this little terd. :)

I always marvel at how skinny he is (especially considering how much he eats!). Owen and AJ were fatties...always in the 95th percentile in height and weight. But Ty is just so.....little. :) I kinda like it.

Happy weekend!

His Wings

After Tyler gets a bath, or after he wakes from a nap, his hair flips up around his ears. It's one of my favorite things about him - his little wings. :)

My Boys

The other day I was attempting to clean up the kitchen (in order to make a mess of it again when I made dinner) and was very nearly close to sticking a fork in my eye what with the baby pulling on my leg, the dog laying under my feet, and the two older boys "swording" each other and running about the house.
So I banished them all to the bedroom with instructions to "just play together nicely for 20 minutes so I can get dinner ready please for the love of all things holy"

After 10-15 minutes, I was suddenly alarmed by the intense quiet that had overtaken the house. If you have kids, you know that QUIET=THEY'RE PROBABLY LIGHTING MATCHES IN THE BEDROOM.
I quietly creaked open their door and saw that they were, indeed "playing nicely together". So I ran back to the office and grabbed my camera and took a few before they noticed. :)

Moments like this warm my heart.

Baby Likes Sushi

Cream Cheese Roll, to be exact.
Want some?? He shares.

Top 'O the Mornin' to Ya!

I realized it's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of Tyler, so here's one from this morning. He squawks and whines and yells until you come to get him after he's woke up. You open the door, expecting him to be mad and crying because you actually took more than 12 seconds to come get him after he woke up - the nerve - but as soon as you open the door he's all smiles.





And in other Ty-News....he's spoke his first two words in the last week. Mama? Dada? Nope.

It was "uh-oh" followed by a close second of "Wow"

Fun game to throw things down on the floor and say "uh-oh" repeatedly. And it's adorable too. At least the first 55 times. And then it gets old. REAL old.

:)

Happy Wednesday!

Little Fire

To my middle. To the one I hoped for, prayed for, yearned for, fretted over for 9 months until I finally saw your face. To the one who I pushed from my body for over 2.5 hours. To the only one with startling blue eyes and shocks of blond hair. To the crazy one - the one who makes us laugh - who has the biggest heart - the gentlest soul. To the one who drives us bonkers with his whining, exasperates us with his mischief, melts us with his softness. The one with the vivid imagination - the one who frequently turns to "da kitty" and asks us to pet and play with the kitty, or "throw the bawl for da kitty, mama". To the one who has ended up sleeping beside me since the day he was born - to the one who still wants a binky - to the one who craves our touch and always asks, "will you ruuuub me?". To the athlete and the acrobat - the the lover of swords and trucks and guns and dirt. To the one with the twinkle in his eye and the strong desire to please - To the one who adds such fun and vibrancy to our family....
To A.J.....

Happy 4th Birthday Skittle
We Love You to the moon and back.

Busy Busy Bee

Tyler has had a busy couple of weeks, and I haven't got a chance to blog (i.e. brag) about it yet.

In the last month, he has :
1.) Got his first tooth (tried to take a picture but it's a bottom tooth so I never could get it)
2.) Started clapping his hands
3.) Been pulling himself to stand and using furniture to move around
4.) Used his first 2 Baby Signs ("more" and "all done")

Big stuff! :)

Owen's Nimnastics

After we signed up AJ for soccer, we were trying to figure out something for Owen to do recreationally as well. We mutually landed on Gymnastics, and this past Thursday marked O's second time going. Initially, I was a little worried about how he would do, as he has trouble sometimes processing directions and following instructions as other kids do, but he has done GREAT. I've been so proud of him the past 2 weeks as I watched him from the balcony listen carefully to his instructor and learn to do the things she teaches. Owen asks all week when he can go to "nimnastics". AJ likes to come as well and watches with us from the balcony with a mild envy. Owen has done so well, that if he wants to do it again when this session is over we'll probably let him do it again. And AJ too, when soccer is over. AJ especially likes watching a group of elementary aged boys do their class while Owen does his. I'm glad that there is an entire class of boys for MY boys to see that "nimnastics" is not just for girls.

They usually warm up on the trampoline a little to get the wiggles out...Owen says the trampoline is his favorite.

Last Thursday they worked on forward and backward tumbles on this triangle-shaped wedge. Owen had some trouble coordinating the backward roll, but the forward roll he did just fine.
Owen says that rolling is his favorite.

Like I said, I've been SO surprised at how well he listens and how patiently he waits his turn. On his first week, one of the other mothers observed and commented to me how well he listens and the first thing that popped out of my mouth was - "I know! I can't believe it!"

Oops. I mean, thank you.

Proper form...keep it tight baby.

He is the BEST at this dismount pose thing that they do. Look how tight his form is (says mother with abnormal amount of pride)

This is where the real work begins. If 5 year olds can do real work. AFTER they do crunches (yes, crunches - to tighten up their core and prepare them to be future gymnasts, I guess), they go to the bar. No chalk on their hands yet, I guess that's for the 6 year olds.

They practice what they'll do on the bar with the mat under them first...

And then they move off the mat. He grabs the bar, does a chin up. Then the instructor helps him flip under the bar, and then he has to hold himself up above the bar, like so:

And then, the dismount!

Perfect! Almost.
Owen says the bar is his favorite.

Eight Months....

Tyler turned eight months old last week and he truly is such a great baby. I've said on multiple occasions to Steve that I've just really enjoyed having Tyler. Not that I didn't enjoy the other two, but Owen was a surprise, and our first so I think with him there was the first time parent panic of are we doing this right? is he growing right? am I feeding him enough food? will he make it to his first birthday? and those type of things that babyhood seemed to fly by so fast. And AJ...well, with AJ there was also 1.5 year old Owen who kept me so crazy busy that I hardly had the time or presence of mind to really just drown myself in the beauty of my baby.

But Tyler is different for some reason. AJ and Owen are older, and more self-sufficient. Tyler is a solid 3 years behind AJ and the true and solitary baby of the family. And I've just really enjoyed loving on him for the past 8 months.

I had a migraine today and my husband blessedly, in a saint-like manner offered to take ALL THREE kids and go over to our friends' house and let me rest and shake off my headache. I took a glorious 2 hour nap all alone in the middle of our bed and I dreamed about skydiving and that I was on America's Next Top Model (hey, it could happen). I did NOT dream about Cheerios, or packing school lunches, or laundering muddy jeans, or making dinner, or poopy diapers, or editing photos, or my never-ending to-do list. It was FABULOUS - thanks Steve-o! You rock my socks!

Here's a couple of Tyler when all my boys got home this afternoon.....

AJ's First Soccer Game

AJ had his first soccer game this morning, so we can officially join the ranks of "those people" who do the whole "Saturday a.m. soccer-parent-fanatics". I guess I'm literally now, a soccer mom.
Anyway, AJ did GREAT and Steve and I had a great time at his game and we laughed A LOT. Watching a group of 6-12 4 and 5 year olds chase after a soccer ball is funny stuff. Seriously.

AJ even got to kick off the game. Here's his coach telling him what he's supposed to do.

And yes, their jerseys are SALMON. Not pink. Not peach. SALMON. And they are, without a doubt, the ugliest jerseys EVER. Really, they'll make your eyes bleed. At least we won't lose him in a crowd.

Anyway, he got right into it....




Then he morphed into a chimp. I'm not sure what's up with the monkey face, but maybe he's just REALLY concentrating.



Owen cheered for AJ for a few minutes, reminding him that there's "no crying in soccer and you have to score a goal, okay AJ?" and then he wandered off to play in the dirt for awhile. And by "awhile" I mean the rest of the game. Hey, dirt is a RIVETING substance, man.


Kick'n some girls butts in a race to the ball....



He would occasionally get caught up in admiring his own shoes and cleats while he ran. It IS a rather handsome get-up, don't you think?
Notice in the background, the team whiner (see previous soccer post)



Fighting it out with his own teamate for the ball. This is the kid who we originally labeled the "the super athlete" in the first soccer post, but we have since renamed him "the mean kid". More on that later...


Notice his stature. He's just slightly er....smaller than the other kids. By an average of 2-6 inches. But he hangs with 'em just fine.

He even scored a goal.


Hey, when you're freaking awesome and you know it, you just have to celebrate it.


Love that kid.