Friends...

Tyler loves hanging out with neighbor girl, Ashton.  At the last minute, we decided to go to the Urbandale 4th of July parade - in 100+ degree weather.  Not such a good idea, but the kids had fun!  We ended up sitting by a girl from daycare as well, so he had all kids of friends! 

 

So - one night I felt that both the kids and I needed some fun, and what's more fun that tee-peeing trees?  I gave the 2 kids a half-roll of TP and let them roll.  Man, were they giggling. Then, they had to go ring the doorbells of the houses to tell mom and dad's to come out and check out their work...

 

Driving Dad & Uncle Kyle's boat. 

 

Papa's Pond & Camping

What better place to catch your first fish and have your first real camping experience but at Papa's pond!  We pitched a tent and stayed 2 night, enjoying some fishing (1st fish caught in the pond!), hot dogs, and smores.  It was a great weekend! 

Tyler catching his first fish at the pond!

Playing in the sand...



Here Papa, here's how you do it!

We rode with Papa in the tractor for quite a while!

This is Grandma Denise's tractor!

Hot dogs from the fire.

 

Mother's Day

 Mother's Day is now my favorite holiday because it is almost the only one that's just for me.  Tyler gave me a home-made colored card and a rose from daycare.  Then he and Dad surprised me with a secret trip to a pottery place to paint my own pottery!  I did a Chinese bowl and Dad helped Ty paint a turtle.  It was a lot of fun, and our projects turned out great!

Easter

What is Easter without dressing up for Easter Church, dying eggs, and of course - Easter Egg Hunts!  Tyler did better this year on hunting instead of eating first. 

Tyler and neighbor girl Ashton looking at the flowers.



Dying Easter eggs...

Easter Egg hunt at Grandma Denise & Papa Knute's house.

Counting Eggs with Dad.

Another hunt at the Care Center.

Mom, Ty, and Dad all dressed up.

Tyler, cousins Johnathan and Mason, and Uncle Kyle hunting eggs at Grandma Julie and Grandpa John's.

And now we eat the candy!  Mmm chocolate!

Last but not least, the Easter Bunny came to our house!

Growing Boy

Since I don't do a good job with either his Baby Book or Scrapbook, this is my chance to document how Tyler is growing.....

He turned 2 1/2 May 3rd.  He has been at his new daycare/preschool for almost a year and it's amazing what he has picked up being around kids just a little bit older than him, and having someone who can spend time teaching him the fundamentals.  He knows his ABC's - including recognizing the letter and the sound it makes, can count to 20 and recognizes the number on paper, and knows his colors and most shapes.  He also likes to learn new songs - two of our recent favorites being "Toes" by Zac Brown Band (we did replace 'beer in our hand' with chocolate milk for a PG version!) & "Mean" by Taylor Swift.

He still loves sports like crazy, and I'm amazed at how well he grasps the concept of them.  He saw his first Cardinals baseball game in person this spring and had great fun cheering and finding the mascot. He connects the mascot with the right school often (Fred Bird is a Cardinal, Cy is at Iowa State, and the Jayhawk is in Urbandale).  He is almost always is playing with a ball of some sorts at home - shooting baskets, tossing the football and saying "Hut Hut" with Dad, hitting whatever he can with his golf clubs that he thinks are baseball bats (Hey, Batter Batter!). 

We are also well on our way to being potty-trained!  The past few weeks have been great, with him all of the sudden deciding he wants to be a big boy.  As a reward, he has been earning the movie Cars toy cars for big milestones.  It's so fun to see him get so excited about them, and telling us each of their names and what they do in the movie. 

We are so excited to enjoy all we have going on this summer with him.  We think he will love the water and sand, and time with family in both Mexico and Minnesota....so check back for more great pictures!           

Spring Fun

As the weather warms up, there is so much to do with this active little guy!  Below are some of the highlight!

Poor kid!  Pappa Knute and Tyler conspired one night to get a laugh - this is Emma's flower girl dress, on backwards, with a fancy Mexican hat!  I wish I had the video - he comes running into the room, stops with a jump, puts his hands out and yells "Ta Da!" with the biggest grin on his face!  What a goof!!

Nothing beats a night with your friend than wrestling with pillow pets and Dad!  You should have heard the giggling!!

What a great Dad, reading to both kids at bedtime!



Grandma Julie & Papa John gave Tyler a wagon for Christmas and it's finally nice enough to put it up!  Tyler had fun 'helping' Dad and loved the tools! 

Here is the first wagon ride down the drive with Dad!  Wheee!

Tyler & neighbor girls Ashton and Abby got everyone to give them wagon rides around the house.  I think they look like they are having fun!

Tyler still loves his basketball hoop, and likes that we will let him out on the deck to play by himselves sometimes.

Water Park Weekend!

Indoor water parks are the best way to spend a winter weekend, and it's just a bonus when you get to play with Uncle Kyle as well!  We only went a few miles to the other side of Des Moines, but it was still a lot of fun.  Tyler actually liked the big adult slides better than the kid pirate stuff!