Spring Break - SeaLife

We took a late Spring Break trip this year as one of our first real family vacations as a family of 4 to Kansas City.  Tyler loved the drive because we let him rent Frozen from the redbox!  Our first stop in town was to eat at Blu Koi, a restaurant Andrew found on a Food Network show.  We then headed to SeaLife.  It was fun and the perfect size for the boys.  

9 months!

This little guy is already 9 months old!!  He has 5 teeth, loves eating new table food, has 'planking' mastered, and just this week learned to crawl!  Can't believe how fast he's growing! 

 

Weight:  18 lbs, 2 oz (22%)

Height:  28 inches (31%)

 

 

 

Basement Upgrade!

We moved into this house in June 2007 - since then, we have had about 4 different drawings, one contractor estimate, and a water pipe break.  But - we FINALLY have the basement almost done!  Big thanks to bro-in-law Matt Perkins and my husband for putting these up a few weeks ago.  I can't explain how happy I am to start putting stuff away! 



This is the far corner of the basement at it's worst when we had the water damage and were mid-way through painting.  We've since rolled the carpet back down and the far-end is my scrapbooking area with a futon for guests.  The middle is now Tyler's play area, and boy was he happy to have it back!




This is the area we now have cupboards in.  Think I'll have a problem filling the cabinets??  :)



Indoor Fun

After busy holiday seasons visiting our old home town and a cold winter, it's nice to stay home, and even nicer when we get visitors!  So far we have been lucky to have Aunt Inky, cousins Johnathan and Belle, and Papa John and Grandma Julie visit this month.  We also occasionally pull out Christmas gifts Tyler forgot he got!  Aunt Inky, check out the camo tent action!

 

I love my Grandma Julie!

I couldn't resist a story - Tyler is working on patterns at school (either that or we have some serious OCD!).  He decided to line up our shoes - Blake, Tyler, Mom, Dad.  He went to great lengths to find Blake's shoes, then pull out of the closet my sandals and Andrew's hunting boots to pull it off!  Got to love that kid!



Thanks Perkins for the tent, fishing gear, fire pit, and ISU camping chair!  The boys had great fun this week getting it out in full force.  Blake even dressed the part!!

Cookies

Tyler was learning about baking at preschool, so what else sounds like the perfect thing to do on a snow day when dad is out of town?  Make cookies!  Both boys were great help and we made a small batch of chocolate chip cookies!  I taught Tyler all the important things - how to dump ingredients in, stir, and of course - eat the dough!  Needless to say - we only made a few cookies for dad!

 

8 Months!

A new month, more new tricks!  He still loves sitting up and playing with toys.  But now he has added rolling over to the mix!  He can hold his own bottle and absolutely LOVES table food.  We have two top teeth, with more that look on the way.  He will gobble most baby foods, but it never fails that no matter how much he eats, he wants whatever mom is having.  This has included pasta noodles, rice, couscous, and parmesan fish!  We still are majorly attached to Mama, which is both good and bad.  I love that I make my little boy happy, but it leaves little room to get stuff done or get out of the house! 

   

All About Tyler

I felt bad that most of my posts have been about Blake when Tyler is also changing every day!  First - he is getting tall!  I often look at him and am amazed how big he is - where did my little boy go!  He is loving preschool and learning so much.  He is becoming very independent at home, playing in the basement by himself - and very imaginative.  I love listening to him play with his race cars especially, because they are never just racing!  He attends Sunday School as well, and we often hear him singing songs he has learned either there or at school.  There is never a dull, or quiet moment at our house!

 

Showing off his coloring skills - what a difference a few months at preschool makes!

Dr. Newman?!  Thanks Grandma Denise for the toys!

Oh Tyler.  We are stuck inside so often this cold winter, and Tyler most weekends decides he needs to put on his "team" clothes, which always involves a jersey and shorts.  This must have been an especially cold day where mom made him keep pants on as well!

This was the boys on Valentine's Day!