The Crawler on the Move

... to the remote of course!

Remote Control

Tyler loves getting a hold of the remote. Sometimes we even let him play with it... until he actually hits a button that does something!

Book Worm

Hey Mommy- I picked out a few books for you to read to me.

Forget the books, I have found a new toy. (Aren't the most fascinating objects always the non-toys?)

Back for more. Thankfully it's still too hard for Tyler to keep his balance and pull books off the top shelf at the same time!

I fear my days of having a clean, and more importantly organized, house have come to a close for a long time!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

Who is the most curious baby of them all?

Are you talking about me?

Let's see if I can open one of these drawers again. These drawer pulls sure are trickier than I remember.

Maybe I can pull these covers off the electrical outlet...

Oh... you weren't supposed to see that Mommy!

That's okay, I will just drool all over the carpet as I toodle about.

Hey, maybe I can pull over my clothes hamper. I bet there is lots of stuff to play with in there (like the clothes I just peed on when I was on the changing table)!

What do you know? This doorstop makes a great chew toy.

Feeling Better

Tyler is almost over his cold. He is still slightly congested and has an occasional cough. He hasn't had any major coughing fits since Thursday and he is definitely back at 100% energy! Michael and I didn't feel the full effects of this cold until yesterday. We both felt like we had been run over by a steamroller! This is definitely the worst cold Tyler has passed along yet. (I have forbid Tyler from bringing home any more colds. If only it were that simple!) It's really hard to keep up with an 11-month old who is back at full energy when you both feel like zombies. We're feeling better today and I actually managed to put on something other than PJs and venture out to the grocery store. And thanks to cold medicine I managed the grocery store without needing a box of tissues!

I Love Electronics!

Tyler is naturally drawn to everything he shouldn't play with. Michael left his wireless keyboard out the other day and in no time flat Tyler crawled over to explore it. Like his Daddy, Tyler loves electronics!

As you can see from Tyler's glistening face above, in addition to the snot from his cold he has also been drooling. And of course he hates it when we try to wipe his face! I'm surprised he doesn't have a pacifier in this picture. Tyler has been extra dependent on it during this cold, hence the red spots on his cheeks from where all the snot and drool get trapped behind the pacifier. And Tyler's cheeks had just cleared up from his last eczema flare-up!

Helping Mommy Work from Home

I did some work from home while Tyler had his nasty cold. I mostly worked while he napped. I also brought a bunch of toys into the office and he would play for a while until he got bored and decided to explore the room. The office is definitely not baby-proof and so I was constantly moving him back to his toys. He really liked to go to the back of the desk and start tugging on computer cords. He also liked opening and closing the desk drawers until he shut his fingers on one! Every once in a while I would put Tyler in the desk chair and spin him around slowly a few times. He really enjoyed that!

It's a good thing Tyler is too young to work a camera because that means there is no photographic evidence of me working in my jammies!

Chest X-Ray Machine or Baby Straight Jacket?

Tyler is under the weather (and consequently so are Michael and I)! Starting last Friday (Jan. 15) Tyler developed what we thought was a minor cold and was slightly congested. It seemed less minor than previous colds he has had. On Monday he developed a slight cough and Monday night we could hear him hacking away in his crib. Of course coughs are always worse at night. When we picked Tyler up from daycare Tuesday evening his teacher said he had been having coughing episodes where he would cough repeatedly, turn red, and then cry because of all the agony. They also measured Tyler's temperature around 100 degrees (not quite a fever) all afternoon. His temperature was more normal when we measured it before bedtime, but we did witness the coughing fits and in addition Tyler vomited at the end of one fit. Apparently this is a common phenomenon with babies. So yesterday morning I took Tyler to the doctor, who said he could hear wheezing in Tyler's chest when he listened with the stethoscope. Tyler then got a chest x-ray. I put some photos (below) I found online of what an infant chest x-ray machine looks like. At first Tyler was as cool as a cucumber but the novelty wore off when the x-ray tech started fastening the straps. Tyler was quite a brave little trooper though. The x-ray did show some fluid in his lungs. The doctor prescribed antibiotics to make sure Tyler does not develop bronchitis or pneumonia. The doc thinks Tyler probably just has a really bad cold. Tyler has only vomited after coughing one more time (last night). Tyler's cough seemed to be better today and he hasn't been crying after coughing bouts so that's a good sign. We will definitely be laying low for a few days until this blows over. Normally a happy camper in general Tyler has been in good spirits and still playful, but he definitely craves some extra holding and snuggles, which we are more than happy to provide.

Play Park

Check out Calvin's blog for a recent photo of Tyler and Calvin riding in a wagon at the indoor play park. Each individual wagon compartment had its own seat. Pretty sweet! Indoor play parks are pretty popular here in Oregon during the rainy months.

Pulling Up

Tyler finally pulled up all by himself today for the first time. I did not capture a photo or video of the actual event (shocking I know!). I took the photo above of Tyler trying to pull up on his ExerSaucer. Then I went in to the other room to get some hangers for laundry and when I came back Tyler pulled up onto the ExerSaucer all by himself... and then he almost immediately sat back down. I would have thought Tyler would have savored his victory longer (at least long enough for photographic evidence).

Clean Up on Aisle 4 Please

Not quite... but almost! I have to start keeping a closer eye on Tyler at the grocery store. He can reach pretty far from the seat of the shopping cart. A few days ago I was picking out bread and all of a sudden I noticed him reaching for jelly jars. He did get his hands on a few but I was able to stop him before he pulled any off the shelf.

Demolition Man

Tyler really loves knocking over towers of blocks at the moment. Sometimes if you build a tower too close to where he is sitting he will knock over what you have started before you even finishing building it. Sometimes Tyler gets really excited about knocking over the tower and other times it's all in a day's work. He will be playing, turn and knock over a tower, and then go right back to what he was doing.

Up-Standing Guy

Tyler absolutely LOVES it when we put him in a standing position! He has been trying to pull up on his own but usually just makes it up on to his knees. Tyler likes standing at the coffee table and banging on the glass. We still need to put something soft on the protruding prongs so he doesn't hurt himself. (I myself have scraped/banged my legs on the prongs a number of times over the years!)

Tyler has a long way to go with balance. He can stand for a while if he holds on with at least one hand but all bets are off once he lets go with both hands. We're just thankful when he lands on his bottom!

Happy Eater/Drinker

Lately Tyler has been drinking less formula and eating more solid food. As you can see above he also likes to drink water from a sippy cup. He usually drinks a little bit of water and then proceeds to rub the spout of the sippy cup along his gums, which probably means he has more teeth on the way. Tyler now has 6 teeth that have broken the gums. The bottom two front teeth are all the way in, his top two front teeth have slowly been growing in since Thanksgiving, and he has two side teeth on the top that are just barely through the gums. So far Tyler has not tried any foods that he hasn't liked. I hope that continues as he gets older, but I know most kids are pretty picky! We have mostly been sticking to pureed baby foods and cereals but now that Tyler has more teeth he has also been eating other solid foods such as Cheerios.

The Crib has been Lowered!

Our baby is not such a baby anymore! We lowered Tyler's crib this evening. Just recently Tyler figured out how to get from a laying position to a sitting position. He typically rolls onto his belly, gets up on his hands and knees, and then flops over sideways until he is sitting. Once sitting, he was at eye level with the top of the crib and was trying unsuccessfully to pull himself up. Now Tyler is at a much safer level in the crib. Of course now it is quite a bit more difficult to get him in and out of the crib since I am so short!

On the Move

Within the past week and a half Tyler has become very mobile! Thankfully he is not breaking any land speed records but the boy can get around. He has mastered crawling backwards and often finds himself backing into walls or furniture or corners as pictured above. To move forward Tyler uses various methods such as scooting, rolling, or army crawling. He still has not figured out how to efficiently crawl in a forward direction. Now that he is mobile Tyler is in to everything! I even saw him lick the wall the other day. We are in the process of babyproofing all the most hazardous stuff around the house, but mostly we now just have to keep a close eye on him and think twice before leaving him alone for a minute.

Tyler also loves to stand! Although he really can't pull himself up yet, if you put him in a standing position where he can grab on to something he gets really excited. He can semi pull himself up from the floor while holding onto an adult's hands, but he is definitely not scaling the sofa or coffee table yet. I'm sure it won't be long before he does though.

He who controls the remote...

controls the world! Well, at least until he changes the channel during an NFL playoff game and then he loses remote control priveleges. Tyler is fascinated by the remote. I don't know if it is because it has a mini LED screen on it or if it is because he sees Mommy and Daddy use it.

Bad to the Bone

Tyler wearing his new shirt from Aunt Susan. I forgot to get a photo from behind. The whole top panel of the back of the shirt also has the skull and crossbone fabric and is too cute!

Toy Taste Testing

All toys must be taste-tested to ensure they meet Tyler's discriminating standards!

Mr. Playful

Lately Tyler loves to stick out his tongue and wag it around. Michael claims he picked this up from me! I admit, I do have a tendency to stick out my tongue when I am deep in thought. Maybe it is a sign of genius or talent (think: Michael Jordan!)? It's pretty cute when Tyler does it, but I just hope he doesn't accidentally bite his tongue while he is playing/flopping around.

"Crappy" New Year

While we did enjoyably ring in the new year with friends, the rest of new year's weekend was literally "crappy" here at the Hurtado household. All three of us had a bout of stomach flu and even passed it on to our friend Desiree, who had the worst side effects of all. We are so sorry Desiree! I will spare everyone the gory details but I am definitely glad we have two bathrooms and a functioning washer and dryer. We suspect Tyler may have picked something up at daycare as he showed symptoms first. Although Tyler mild side effects he was in good spirits all weekend so I don't think he felt too ill.

Nana & PawPaw's Visit

Click on photo below for album of miscellaneous photos from my parents' visit.

Nana & PawPaw's Visit

Run from the Monster

[Video of Jack, Bebe, Clara, Viola, Tyler, and Michael.]

One of our friends' kids designated Michael and Tyler as the "monster" and proceeded to run through our house being chased by Michael carrying Tyler. Tyler loved this and was grinning from ear to ear.

Holiday Gathering

Click on photo for album from gathering with our good friends the Hirsch's and Salatino's.

Holiday Gathering

Riding the Lil' Quad

Although it only goes 2 mph, the tachometer decal on the quad shows the current speed as 18 mph. We are really in trouble once Tyler figures out how to operate this thing for himself. Since we hadn't taken it outside yet, we did a few test laps in the house.

[Video of Tyler riding the Lil' Quad.]

Riding His New Pony

[Video of Tyler on his new rocking horse.]

It came out too dark because of the sun in the background, but you can hear the fun noises the rocking horse makes.

Christmas Day

Click on photo to see entire album of photos from Christmas Day. I tried to trim them down from the billion my dad and I took (okay, so that's a slight exaggeration).

Christmas

Christmas Eve

We actually made a trip to Urgent Care on the evening of Christmas Eve to have Tyler's chin looked at. What had started as a pimple a few days earlier had spread into a massive red swollen bump. It turned out it was a staph infection. Tyler was not a happy camper when the doctor lanced it and tried to drain it. Luckily a course of antibiotics cleared it up. And although we have been really careful about washing our hands, I ended up with a staph infection under my armpit less than a week later. On the bright side, while leaving Urgent Care on Christmas Eve we did see an average sized man dressed up as an elf, similar to the outfit Will Ferrell wore in the movie Elf. That gave us a good chuckle!