Who needs Santa...I've got Grandma!

Tyler was so much fun at Christmas! He didn't quite get the hang of unwrapping presents...he just wanted to pull off just enough paper so he'd have something to chew on! HA! He was so funny. He was overwhelmed with the presents. He didn't know what to play with first. He was so excited. And I have to admit, between my family and Frank's, Santa looked pretty sad. He's going to have to kick it up a notch next year if he wants to hang. Here's some of my favorite Christmas pictures.

Our Happy Little Boy on Christmas morning.

My new ride...

After all these presents, all I want to play with is the paper... My first Boo-Boo! Mommy tried to tell me not to climb up the coffee table, but I didn't listen.
Ohhhh, look mommy. It's talking to me!
His first look at what Santa brought. What should I play with first?
Christmas Eve at Nana's....my first present I've unwrapped.
My family

Dear Tyler,

It's late at night, and I just checked on you. You were sleeping so soundly in your crib. All curled up with your little butt sticking up in the air. You're so sweet and innocent. And you are just growing up too fast! Tonight as I watched you sleep, I realized how big you've gotten so quickly. I wanted to just scream, "STOP! STOP the clock. Time is passing too quickly!" And then I just wanted to grab you and hold you tightly and rock you, because I know one day you will claim to be too big to rock. And I wanted to squeeze you and kiss you and take all your sugars, because I know one day you will be to embarrassed to kiss your mommy. And then I wanted to get on the floor and roll around and play all night, because I know one day you won't want to play with toys. And most of all, I just wanted to spend time with you. To tell you how much I love you and I how lucky I am to be your mommy. And how you are more than I ever could have imagined, dreamed, or hoped for. You are my sweet, sweet little boy. A little boy that can light up a room with his smile, and who has a giggle that's contagious. I wanted to tell you all of this because I know one day you will be too busy to sit down with mommy, and hearing this would make you blush. I wanted to do all of this at once because I am scared to miss a moment with you. You get bigger and bigger with every passing day and I love ever minute with you. I love you more than words could ever describe! And I am so blessed to have you! I pray that you will always be as sweet and as loving as you are right now. And that you'll be my little boy.

Love,
Mommy

Look What I Can Do...

This morning I heard Tyler playing in his crib so I went in to take a look. And this is what I found...

Tyler has figured out how to pull himself up and stand in his crib! I was so proud of him. And he was so tickled with himself. He would hold on to the side of the crib so he wouldn't fall.

Tyler is also getting a 2nd tooth! The first tooth is just coming in and already another one! It's coming in right next to the first one. He's going to be so cute with 2 little teeth showing!

Tyler is getting so big and I continue to be amazed at how much he is learning and growing. I love to watch him examine whatever his tiny hands can hold. He is such a happy baby. He cries when he's really sleeping or hungry and that's about it. Although he has learned if he "cries" when we walk out the room we'll come back in. And he's milking that right now, but when you walk back in he's just so darn cute! He keeps saying Dadadadadada. I'm working on Mama, but no luck yet. But he sure does love me. He gets so excited when I pick him up from 'school'. And when we are playing on the floor, he'll crawl up to me and put his hand on my face and cuddle next to me. And my heart just melts! He has definitely won my heart a million times over. I just can't believe how much I love this little guy. I read once that having a child is filling a place in your heart that you never new existed, and that's so true. My prayer is that Tyler grows into the child and man that God has designed him to be. And that Frank and I can be the parents that God has called us to be. What a huge blessing God has given us!

Supper Club Christmas Party

We had a wonderful Christmas Party with our supper club last weekend. Even Santa came and handed out presents to the kids! Tyler had a great time. He loves watching the 'big kids'. We're so lucky to have such a great group of friends.

Belly Flop!

Tyler has had another first....he fell off the bed! Actually, he crawled straight off the bed and did a full belly flop onto the hardwood floors! It SCARED ME TO DEATH!!! It was so loud! And it scared him to death to. He cried, I mean the "Mommy I think someone is trying to kill me" cry, or more like screaming at the top of my lungs type cry...for 15 minutes straight! Then he threw up and got sleepy. Now let me say, he just had a bottle, and he always spits up and then takes a nap after the bottle, so I don't really think that had anything to do with the fall, but still. I was thinking, ohmygosh!! He's got a concussion! I watched him for over an hour and he was fine. So I think it scared me more than anything, and my heart just broke into a million pieces when he cried. I know I will have this feeling a million more times as he grows up and I am not looking forward to it at all.

Now for the disclaimer (since my husband has already asked how I "let" him fall off the bed.) I put him in the center of our king size bed every morning so he can have his bottle while I get ready less than 2 feet away from him. I also surround him with pillows...tall pillows. So it wasn't that he just crawled off the end of the bed. He had to crawl up and over 2 big fluffy pillows (stacked on top of each other) and then go off the side of the bed. So it was not an easy task for a 7 month old. And, let me also mention, he only army crawls. So we are not even talking a full "stand on all fours" crawl. I think he's going to be athletic because that took some skill. So no Frank. I did not 'let' him crawl off the bed. Tyler saw the pillows as a challenge that he was determined to overcome. And our smart, athletic little boy accomplished his goal...but quickly realized that mommy put those pillows there for a reason.

Oh the joys, and tears of motherhood.

Be All That You Can Be!

Tyler has the "Army" crawl down pat! He can really move now! So much fun.....I'll post pictures in later on today. Gotta run....he hasn't mastered army crawling towards the bottle and putting it in his mouth. He gets mad when the bottle rolls away.

Dadadadadadadada

Huge Announcements!!!! Tyler is getting a tooth and is saying Dada. Now, his tooth is just now breaking the skin, so it's not in yet, but hey it's progress! And he's saying dada. More like Dadadadadadada....I don't think he realizes he's saying it, or even knows who "Da-Da" is, but again, it's progress :-) He's getting so big and so sweet! I can just eat him up!

CRAWLING!!!

Tyler can get up on all fours, and he can take one little 'step' (i guess that's what it is.) The funny thing is, he can't even fully sit up yet without tumbling over, but he's trying to crawl! He will get up up on all fours and rock back and forth and move his arm to take a step and then fall. How funny! I'm kind of worried b/c he can really move now sliding on his stomach and rolling, so I have a feeling when he starts really crawling, he's going to take off!!! He's going to be my new weight loss plan with all the running after him I'm going to be doing. He's into everything! He wants to touch everything, hold it, examine it. I have a feeling that he's about to be a lot of fun!

Grown Up Decisions

Well, I didn't go on my girl's trip. I just couldn't leave without knowing if Tyler was getting better or not. And I thought, I'm never going to regret spending time with my baby. But If I leave and something happens, I'm going to regret leaving. So that helped me make up my mind. As for an update on Tyler, today he has been happy one hour and miserable the next. Of course he made me look like a complete liar when the girls came to my house to leave. He was a complete flirt and showed off for them. He didn't even look sick! When they left, he cried, moaned and groaned for the next hour. All in all, I think I made a good decision. Although I must admit, when the girls left my house I was very sad and teary eyed. I LOVE MY GIRLS and I was so looking forward to this getaway and catching up with everyone. I have the best group of friends and I just don't get to spend enough time with them. But, I guess that's part of being a mom. Making tough decisions and hoping you made the right ones. I wish there was a manual for this type of stuff. And I can't wait until everyone gets back on Sunday so I can hear how the trip was.

Beautiful Words

I stole this quote off of another blog, but it just spoke to me.

Making a decision to have a child--it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.-- Elizabeth Stone

And I heard this on TV the other morning, it makes so much since because in today's world, we want and think we deserve to have it all.

You can Have it All, just not All at the same time.

Not Much Better

Little Man is still sick. I thought he was doing good Monday and Tuesday, but today he's been running a fever and was very fussy. So I am going to take him back to the doctor tomorrow and hope that they tell me that he's getting better. I am still supposed to go out of town this weekend, and up until now, I was OK with leaving (well, as OK as I can be leaving him for the first time.) But now that he seems to be getting worse, I am not sure if I can leave him. So I am going to the doctor tomorrow to get some reassurance. I have to admit, it's tough being the mom. You know as a child, and even now, you think of your mom as being the wisest person you know. Moms always have the answer and always know what to do. Now that I'm the mom, I realize what big shoes I have to fill, and to be honest, I just don't think I'll ever be as good of a mom as the one I have. I hope I get wiser as time goes on and Tyler thinks I'm the smartest mommy.

And I wish I could figure out what to do now. I think either decision I make I am going to have regrets. If I go and leave Tyler, I'm going to feel like I am abandoning my sick child. If I don't go, I'm going to wish I was there all weekend long. And plus, I was soooo looking forward to this get away with my girlfriends. And we're staying at an adorable Bed and Breakfast and I've NEVER stayed at one before. And I really need this weekend to get some sort of sanity back. But am I going to be a bad momma for leaving and enjoying myself while my baby doesn't feel good? Oh the tough decisions.......

Any Advice????? I could use some right now.....

Sick Little Man

Tyler has had a congested cough that started on Saturday. I didn't think too much of it, because he was still incredibly happy and playful. But at night time his cough would get worse and he'd wake himself up coughing. So I decided to take him to the doctor this morning to be safe. Well, primarily out of selfishness to be honest. I've got a girl's trip scheduled for this weekend and I am really looking forward to it. I didn't want him to get sicker this week, because I don't think I can leave a sick baby. So this morning we headed to the doctor, and boy am I glad we did. I told them I thought he had a cold because other than the congested cough at night time, he didn't really have any other symptoms. They decided to do a test to check his oxygen levels. The normal range is 100. His were in the low 70's. When the doctor listened to his chest, it didn't sound too good. So they gave him steroids and breathing treatments in the doctor's office and said they wanted to check him for RSV. After the treatments, they re-did the oxygen test and they were able to get him in the high 80's, which was much better. But the RSV test came back positive. The doctor said it was a really good thing that I brought him in this morning because I caught it very early. If we had waited until the end of the week, he might have had to go in the hospital. So we are at home for the week, and on breathing treatments every 6 hours for the next 3-4 days. The doctor said he should be good to go by the end of the week. But now I am so nervous about going out of town. I feel like I would be the worse mother in the world if I left him. But then on the other hand, the doctor said we caught it so early he should be good by Wednesday or Thursday. I am so torn. I really want to go on this trip, but the thought of leaving Tyler right now breaks my heart. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions????

P.S....I guess since he's sick he's off restriction :-)

Tyler is Grounded...Yes Grounded!

Tyler is in trouble. You see...everyone knows I am very 'conservative' when it comes to spending money. Well, I finally broke down and bought Tyler one of those cutesy boutique outfits. Primarily out of pure desperation. You see, I needed to get Tyler's pictures taken and everyone with a boy knows that there are NO CUTE BOY CLOTHES ANYWHERE!!! So I finally found a precious little boy outfit and I paid an arm, a leg, and a couple of toes for it. So, I get Tyler in his outfit and he is TO-DIE-FOR cute. I mean, I could have eaten him with a spoon! We start taking pictures. All is good. Final picture is taken and then there he goes...or I should say there he blows. Carrots come flying out of his mouth all over his brand new outfit. DID I MENTION THE OUTFIT IS WHITE???? Just my luck! I spend a portion of my retirement on his new outfit and now it's covered in orange carrots. Great. Just great.

So I rush home and treat it with shout. Well shout ain't doing anything! I'm on my 3rd wash right now, and I am really crossing my fingers. Otherwise Tyler's on restriction. And those pictures better turn out good!

***Update: After 3 washes, still no luck. It has faded down to a yellow color. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this out??? I've got it soaking in water (with shout) right now so it doesn't dry. HELP!!!!

6 Months Old!!!

My sweet, sweet little man. Oh how your momma loves you! I am so intrigued by your personality. You are definitely the nosiest little guy, but you got that honest. I am so amazed at how quickly you learn. And you have the most amazing facial expressions. You are just the brightest, most lovable little baby! I don't know how we got such a blessing. You've added so much to our life and I adore every minute I spend with you.

At 6 months, my little man can hold his bottle! I'm so proud of you!

Tonight, Frank watched Tyler so I could have a girl's night. Frank said the living room got quite, and he went to check on him...this is what he found. He played himself out!

Look at my little man. He's got such a sweet 'little boy' look.

When you wear overalls, you are officially a little boy! This laugh is priceless to me! I just can't get enough of him! He's the sun, moon, and stars all wrapped up in one!

Happy Halloween

We hope your day is filled with lots of Treats!

Bedtime With Tyler

I love my mommy and daddy. When they pick me up from 'school', we go home and have so much fun. After they play with me, they feed me some yummy food. I haven't quite got the hang of eating yet, but mommy says I'm still learning.

After I finish eating, I get to play some more in the bath tub. I am learning how to splash and I think it's fun.

All that playing makes me so sleepy. My mommy loves watching me sleep. She thinks I am so cute when my tushy sticks up in the air.
When I wake up in the mornings and see my mommy, I get so tickled. She smiles and says, "Good morning sunshine. Did my sweet baby sleep good last night?" And I just giggle and kick until she picks me up.


My mommy and daddy love me so much. I'm such a happy little boy because they always play with me and make me laugh.

Mommy, I want hair like that!!!

A couple of weeks ago, Madison, Walker and Izzie came up to keep Tyler company for the weekend. Tyler was in awe of Walkers hair....as you can see below (it was Freaky Friday at school so Walker had a special hair do!) Izzie got tickled every time Tyler "grabbed Izzie". And Momma Maddie was just that...a little momma. Here's a couple of pictures that I thought were cute.

A Powerful Love

Wow how time flies! My sweet baby is 5 months old! I can't believe how much my life has changed in such a short amount of time. It's amazing how quickly your life becomes so different... my life is so much more enriched, so full of love, and I am constantly in awe with this sweet, beautiful little boy that God has given us. It's a love that I can't even begin to describe...all I can say is it's a momma's love. And it makes me think about this...If I love Tyler this much, a love so strong that I would do anything humanly possible to protect him and provide for him, imagine how much God loves us. Being raised in church, you are always taught that God loves us and he gave us his son, but I don't think I ever truly comprehended what that love was like until I had Tyler. It's amazing how someone so tiny can teach us so much about life. Tyler has completely changed my outlook on everything and I realize that I am so incredibly blessed! I love you sweet baby boy...more than words could ever describe! And I am so lucky to be your mommy. I hope I can show you that love each and every day and you never doubt how much Daddy and I love you and how so very proud to have you as our son! God has blessed us beyond measure!

Look, I can Fly

I laugh because my daddy laughs, so it must be funny

I think I'm supposed to eat with my mouth, but I keep getting it in my nose.
Sleeping so good in my 'big boy' room.
The outfit's for my daddy...camo and blue jeans. But the smile is for my mommy!

My Big Boy

Tyler slept in his crib last night for the first time. He did much better than Mommy did. He slept like an angel...mommy on the other hand had to keep checking on him. I don't know why, but my heart just felt lonely without him in our room. And I missed waking up to him this morning too. Every morning he lays in his pack-n-play and plays and talks to himself. And this morning I didn't have that and it made me so sad. I had to rush in his room when I woke up...and he was still sleeping. In fact, he must have slept great because I had to wake him up for school (that's what we call daycare)! And he's just next door to my room....Imagine what I'll do when he stays away from me for the first time. I'll really be heartbroken!

So In Love

Dear Tyler,

Last night you did the sweetest, yet simplest thing in the world and but it just made my heart melt. I was holding you and feeding you your bottle and you stared straight at me the entire time. And then you took your hand and just put it on my cheek and held it there for the longest time. I know it was so simple, but my heart just melted. You have the sweetest, most cheerful personality and I love every single minute with you. I still look at you and can not believe that your daddy and I got so blessed with such a sweet and lovable baby. You have definitely won mommy over! You get cuter and cuter every day. I could just eat you up!!! And you have the sweet little giggle. Your daddy loves to tickle you. But now, when you see him coming you start giggling before he ever even touches you. It's so funny. You just light up my life. And I am so, so, so in love with you.

Love, Mommy

Angie's Big Splurge!

After months of debating I finally broke down and bought a Nikon camera! I reasoned that I was missing so many 'kodak' moments so I really, really 'needed' this camera. Needless to say, I wore Tyler out today taking pictures. I think I ended up taking 137 pictures!!! Yes...in one day I took that many. Here's a few of my favorites. (I don't think I did too bad for my first try. Of course, it may have something to do with this cute, adorable baby!) He is getting bigger and bigger each day! Today he laid in the floor and just squeeled and screamed with excitement...for 2 hours! Frank and I just sat back and watched and got so tickled watching him. He is just perfect and boy, oh boy do I love this little guy. I keep thinking, I can't imagine loving him more. And yet, everytime I look at him, my love grows and grows. He's just precious!

Happy 4 Months

My big boy is 4 months old today! Time flies so fast. I can't believe how much Tyler has changed in such a short amount of time. His personality is coming out more and more each day. He is laughing now and gets the biggest smile when me or his daddy walks in the room...which just melts my heart! Since he's a 'big boy' we decided it was time to put him in his jumper. He loved it! Here are some pictures of my sweet, sweet baby.

Poor Frank

My husband is dying. He has a sore throat and ear ache and we are certain that he only has a few days left to live.

Last night Frank had to watch Tyler while I went to dinner with the girls from work. He could not believe I was abandoning him during his hour of need. So he calls his sister (a nurse) because he is on his death bed. You should have heard how pitiful he sounded. But miraculously when he called me 5 minutes later, he sounded just fine. So I then said, "Frank, if you feel this bad, you shouldn't go to the Carolina Game tomorrow night. That night air and all that noise is really going to bother your earache." He replied, "I'll stick a cotton ball in my ear." So what a dedicated fan...Frank on his death bed, but still able to cheer his team on to victory. Sounds like a Lifetime movie doesn't it.

So my poor, poor husband is so sick. I'm glad I have life insurance on him b/c it's not looking good. So please remember, in lieu of flowers, you can just make a donation to the Tyler Mac college fun.

My Big Boy

My Little Man is getting so big! He loves to talk and is getting so expressive. I love watching his personality develop. He is feeling much better now...mostly due to NaNa (my mom) coming up and SPOILING HIM ROTTEN! She kept him from Wed. to Saturday and he loved every minute. And Frank and I got to get some sleep and a clean house...so that was really nice! Tyler will lay and play on his own right now and Frank and I just watch him and laugh. He gets so tickled with himself. He grins from ear to ear now and gets so shy. I could just eat him up! Here's some pictures from the last week or so and you'll see why we are so in love with out little man!

Sick Baby

Tyler has not been feeling too good since Friday. I called the doctor and they told me to give him the medicine they prescribed last time and see if it worked. So I began giving it to him, but he still had a pitiful cough that would wake him up at night time. So Monday I called and spoke with the nurse and she told me to bring him in on Tuesday. Well I had a big meeting today at work that I could not miss. So Momma came up and took him to the doctor. I felt like the worse mom ever b/c I couldn't take him myself. Any other time it would have been more than OK to miss work, but not today.

So momma took little man to the doctor and he told her that he didn't think it was allergies, which is what we thought it was. He thinks he may have asthma!!! POOR LITTLE GUY! The pitiful cough was actually caused by him wheezing. The doctor doesn't want to run any test right now b/c he's still so little. But he has him on albuterol drops. The good news is, he may grow out of it, which is what I am hoping for. Frank and I both have asthma, so we knew he stood a good chance of having it as well, but I didn't think it would show up this soon. Even though little man isn't feeling 100%, he's still the happiest little baby. He just grins and laughs. I love him so much . He's brightens our lives so much. Here's some recent pictures for you. I hope they make you smile!

He's getting so BIG!! Just look at that sweet face!

Izzie LOVES Tyler! She gets so tickled with him. She just smiles and says, "Tyler loves Izzie. He like me!" And Tyler gets the biggest smile on his face when she talks to him.

My 2 favorite guys. Don't they look so peaceful...you'd never know they were BOTH snoring in this picture :-) " Mommy...please don't put me in this car seat. I want to play!" 30 seconds after this picture was taken, he was asleep! But I thought this was so funny.