Push Truck

Tyler is getting better at walking behind his push truck. He still pushes it faster than he can walk behind it, so we often hold the front end of the truck to slow it down. Tyler is also getting better at standing by himself without holding on to anything. While standing solo he will often take a step or two and then fall to his knees or into our arms. It's amazing how fast Tyler is developing all these new skills!

Yucky Milestones

Yesterday during dinner Tyler discovered that his index finger fits inside his nostril as well as in his ear. Of course he discovered this while his finger was covered in baby food and afterwards he put his finger back in his mouth. Ew!

Portraits

We took Tyler to Sears today for portraits to commemorate his first birthday (okay- so we're only a month behind). Click on the album to see all of the photos taken. It was so hard to decide what shot we liked the best and we ultimately ordered prints of Tyler standing next to the #1 a close-up of Tyler laying on his stomach. The prints are actually in reverse order of how they were shot. Thankfully Tyler didn't start drooling excessively until the end of the photo shoot!

Sears Portraits

First Haircut

We finally took Tyler to get his first haircut yesterday. It was "long" overdue! Tyler was very cooperative and quite enjoyed flying the "Blue Angel" jet during his haircut.

Flashback to Michael's first haircut... and I thought Tyler had a lot of hair. What a cutie! ; )

Fall Down Funny

For some reason Tyler thought it was hysterical that Michael was juggling Tyler's blocks. As you can see in the video he laughed so hard he fell over! Baby laughter is so infectious and you just never know what they are going to laugh about.

Laundry Helper

Don't worry about your laundry Mommy & Daddy, I'll do it for you! Tyler enjoys pulling up on the laundry hampers in our bedroom and taking the lids off. Sometimes he is able to tip the smaller hamper over and yesterday I found a big green lego in one of the hampers.

Bath Time Faux-hawk

I had to snap some faux-hawk pictures because within the next week or so Tyler will probably be getting his first haircut. His hair is getting shaggy enough that it is starting to fall over his eyes quite a bit.

Another One Bites the Dust

Tyler loves knocking down towers! If he sees us stack even a few blocks he makes a beeline for the tower. The best is when you get a bigger tower built when he's not looking and then Tyler just lights up with a huge grin and crawls as fast as he can directly into the tower.

On the Move

Tyler has started to enjoy the push feature of his truck. He pushes the truck faster than his little legs can keep up, but he definitely has a good time. This weekend Tyler took his first unassisted step! Michael was holding his hands while Tyler stood, Michael let go of his hands, Tyler stood there for a few seconds, and then Tyler took one step and promptly toppled over. It was a pretty exciting moment!

Current Stages

• Separation Anxiety: Tyler has started experiencing separation anxiety. This past week he cried every morning when we left him at daycare. Apparently he has 3 favorite teachers at daycare and he also cries when any of them leave the infant room for a break or to change shifts. Earlier this week Tyler got upset when I left him at a table with a friend and her kids while I walked all of 20 feet in plain view to get some napkins! Hopefully this is a fleeting phase!
• Teeth Brushing: Tyler has started brushing his own teeth. He used to let Michael or me brush his teeth and then he started refusing to open his mouth. So we started handing Tyler his toothbrush and he will sometimes chew on it or try to imitate us as we show him how we brush our teeth. It often still takes some coaxing but it's better than no teeth brushing.
• Biting: Speaking of teeth, Tyler started biting Michael and me this week. Ouch! Those little teeth are sharp and hurt. Tyler has been biting his stuffed animals for a while, but decided to give Mommy and Daddy a try too. No blood has been drawn so I guess we can't call him a baby vampire.
• Finger Foods: Tyler has been eating finger foods for quite a long time now, but he is getting better at it and definitely likes to feed himself. He would probably eat Cheerios all day long for every meal and snack if we let him. Thank goodness they are healthy.
• Clapping: Lately Tyler really likes to clap his hands and gets excited and grins if we clap along with him.
• Pacifier: In an effort to reduce dependence on the pacifier, we have only been giving Tyler a pacifier when he naps or at bedtime. It took a little adjusting but Tyler is getting used to it. Our pediatrician recommends completely weaning him from the pacifier by the time he is 2.
• Eyeball Grabbing: When I read to Tyler before bed he tries to touch my eyes. He hasn't tried this on Michael. Nothing keeps you on your toes like a little hand reaching for your eyeball!

Spring Weather Rocks

Gotta love these dry days in the mid-60s!

Kiss Me I'm Wearing Green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm definitely not Irish, but what am I? Have you seen the 2010 Census yet? Mommy & Daddy aren't sure what to fill out for race for Daddy and me. I know I have Hispanic origins- that part is easy since Daddy's Mommy was born in Mexico and Daddy's paternal grandparents were also born in Mexico. According to the Census website they ask the Hispanic origin question to help figure out where bilingual programs are needed. Wouldn't it just be easier to ask people what their primary and secondary languages spoken are? I am fluent in Tyler babble, but will doubtfully be fluent in Spanish since Mommy and Daddy aren't fluent in Spanish. They will probably put down white for my race but what is white anyway? Mommy's ancestry is unclear but is probably mostly French and German. Daddy's ancestry is mostly Spanish with a little native Mexican thrown in. Aren't native Mexicans similar to native Americans? One website Daddy found listed some fun options to list under "Other Race", and our favorites include human, Vulcan, and Texan!

More Play in the Kitchen

What fun it is to mess with Mommy's nicely organized drawers instead of the Tyler drawer!

Tyler's Kitchen Drawer

Tyler playing with the "toys" in his kitchen drawer.

Little Skeleton

Helping Daddy Child-Proof

We finally finished putting latches on a few of the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen and bathroom that have cleaners, small choking hazards, and sharp knives. This still means there are plenty of drawers and cabinets for Tyler to explore including the lowest drawer in the kitchen. The lowest drawer includes items that don't appear to be toys (e.g. old tupperware) that we want to Tyler to play with instead of the nicely organized ones we prefer he steer clear of.

Gaining Balance

Tyler has been getting a better feel for balance.

Tyler the Gator

What better way to dry off after a bath than wrapped in an alligator towel?

Daily Agenda

• Diaper change
• Bottle
• Pull all board books off bookshelf
• Topple over lego container and strew legos around
• Pull out all other toy bins and strew toys around
• "Help" Mommy & Daddy around the house
• Play (park, play date, story time, etc.)
• Eat solids
• Nap
• Repeat!

Baby Steps

Whale is on the Menu

Tyler loves to take a bite of Wendell the Whale and then bury his face in the whale. Tyler has only had him a week and Michael and I are both already disgusted by how much dried drool and snot covers Wendell's face!

High-Tech Babe

Tyler on Skype with Nana and PawPaw. The hardest part about using Skype with Tyler is that he constantly wants to press all the keys on the laptop!

Welcome to Our Playroom

I'm sure this will only get worse, but the neat freak in me has to restrain myself as Tyler strews his toys everywhere within mere minutes.

Standing Alone

Apparently Tyler stood without holding onto anything today at daycare. I didn't read his summary sheet until the ride home so I didn't get a chance to ask if he went from the ground to standing or if he pulled up on something first and then let go.

1-Year Check-Up

Tyler had his 1-year well child doctor's visit on Monday. Here are the latest stats (not adjusted for prematurity):

• Weight: 22 lb 15 oz (51st percentile)- Over 5-1/2 times his birth weight
• Height: 30-1/4 in (63rd percentile)- He grew an inch per month
• Head Circumference: 18-1/4 in (49th percentile)- 1-1/2 times bigger than birth

Tyler's pediatrician gave him a clean bill of health. Since Tyler was a preemie she wants us to give him formula for 2 more months and then switch to cow's milk when his adjusted age is 1 year.

The poor little guy also received 5 vaccine shots at the end of his doctor's visit! Tyler handled it like a champ and didn't start crying until the second shot. Thankfully the nurse did the shots very quickly and I was able to distract Tyler with a bottle. On Tuesday Tyler came down with a fever and we're not sure if it was from the vaccines or the slight cold he has. He is back to normal today though.

Some other stats from the past year:

• Diapers: $632.50
• Baby Wipes: $99.61
• Formula: $804.10
• Being Parents: Priceless!

Those prices only cover 11 months as Tyler spent his first month in the NICU and all his hospital expenses were covered by my phenomenal health care plan.

Birthday Cupcake

Tyler did not dig into his cupcake at his birthday party- he just swiped at the icing a little bit. I think he was pretty tired at that point and was distracted by all the people and the singing of happy birthday. So last night we let him have at another cupcake. I stripped him down to his diaper first, which made it easier to put him into the bathtub when he was done.

Tyler suspicially eyes the cupcake.

After one bite though, Tyler is hooked! Who can resist cupcakes?

1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Tyler's 1st birthday on Saturday with a little party at our house. None of the babies or kids threw a tantrum or had a meltdown and so we consider it to be a successful party! ; ) We think Tyler was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people even though he knew most everyone. And since Tyler is not on a napping schedule per se, the timing worked out such that he got tired about halfway through the party. He powered through though and waited to take a nap until all the guests were gone. Thanks to everyone for giving Tyler a memorable birthday!

Click on photo below to see album of photos we took during the party. You can also check out Shutterfly to see the photos taken by Cherie's dad Clint, who was the party's unofficial photographer.

Tyler's Birthday Party

Our Big "Helper"

Let us know if you would like Tyler to come over and "help" out around your house. We would be happy to loan him out.

Tyler is fascinated by the dishwasher, especially since he sees us constantly loading and unloading it. He has figured out how to slide the drawers in and out and has even tried to crawl inside, but couldn't quite climb up onto the open door.

Tyler sorting through the junk mail before it goes in the recycling bin. He really loves playing with paper and the sound it makes when he crumples it.

We still need to put cabinet locks on the drawers/cabinets with hazardous items, but we are going to leave Tyler the bottom drawer to keep him entertained. I already have some old tupperware in there that he finally discovered this weekend.

I'm sure this is the beginning of a constant battle to actually keep toilet paper on the roll!