Firsts

Some new firsts:

• Tyler took off his socks for the first time today. He usually asks us for help even though we have shown him how to do it himself. Today I think he got tired of waiting for me to finish what I was doing to help him.
• Tyler took his jacket off all by himself today. He is usually able to get the zipper most of the way down but has trouble getting the zipper apart at the bottom. Today he managed the entire zipper plus he wiggled out of the sleeves.
• Yesterday Tyler discovered how to open the drawer where I keep all his clean blankets. I fear this may mean more laundry for me if he gets them all out to play with!
• Tyler loves to jump. Today, despite me telling him not to, he stood up on the couch and jumped up and down on the couch. Then he piled all the throw pillows in the center of the couch and dove over them. So far Tyler only jumps up and down. I just hope he doesn't start jumping off of things.

Mr. Sports (videos)

Mr. Sports (photos)

Tyler is becoming quite the well-rounded athlete with all the right equipment, including some new basketball and soccer equipment he received for his birthday. I don’t know who has more fun- Tyler or Michael. The soccer net is moving outside because of its large size but we let him enjoy it inside the day we opened it because it was very cold out. The basketball hoop is staying in the living room until the weather is nicer. As Michael pointed out it is good for Tyler to have a target because lately Tyler has been intentionally trying to throw balls over the top of the couch and they are a pain to retrieve.

Tyler is ecstatic about all his new gear and has napped with his basketball and napped with his soccer ball.

The photo on the box leads us to believe that Tyler will be catching air and dunking in no time!

Tyler invented a new shot he calls the "Kiekie Dunk". He either dunks his blankie directly into the basket or he wraps the basketball inside his blankie and then puts it in the basket.

Box Full of Paper?

We were all quite amused by the size of the box and the amount of paper that Amazon used to ship Tyler a tunnel from cousin Noah (and his parents). The folded-up tunnel took up about 15 percent of the box.

Bulldozer Coming Through

Happy 2nd Birthday!

We can't believe our "baby" is 2 today! We opted for a low key birthday this year since Tyler seemed pretty overwhelmed by his big party last year and still doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. He did quite enjoy his birthday balloon, being sung to, and getting birthday wishes from far-away family via Skype.

Tyler made the birthday list on one of the local news stations this morning. He was not quite sure what to make of it but did excitedly point out that he was holding a rugby ball in the photo we sent in.

Ambidextrous?

I know it still may be a few years until we know if Tyler is a lefty or righty. For the time being he does not seem to favor one over the other. When it comes to eating Tyler uses both his right and left hands to hold a fork or spoon or just to shovel food into his mouth bare-handed. He does seem to consistently throw a ball with his right hand and to kick a ball with his right foot. On Monday afternoon Tyler and I were playing t-ball in the backyard and he insisted on batting lefty. I tried to show him how to bat righty just to show him all his options and he threw a fit!

Shoop

Shoop = Tyler slang for shoot hoops

Potty Time?

We are still trying to decide how best to go about potty training and when to start. Around Christmas-time Tyler started telling us when he has a dirty diaper and has recently taken an interest in the potty. He still doesn't care if his diaper is wet because diapers are so absorbant that I don't think it bothers him. A few days ago we put a toddler potty in the bathroom and Tyler was very excited. He essentially took the thing apart and checked out all of the compartments. We are going to let him get all of the playing out of his system (e.g. stuffing his blankie into the potty!) before we actually let him try to use it. I swear I did not pose Tyler for the photo of him reading on the potty. Tyler typically follows either Michael or me into the bathroom and on this occasion he brought along a book about trains and happily sat right down on the potty.

Word of the Day

Nope!

Heavy Hauler

Hmmm... can I fit any more of my favorite small toys into my dump truck?

I Wuv You

Tyler has started saying "I wuv you" at bedtime after we tell him "I love you." So very sweet!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The handmade Valentine came from daycare. We are surprised that Tyler put his hand in the paint to do a handprint. He recently turned down experimenting with play dough at daycare because he did not like how it felt on his hands.

Snow Boots as Slippers

Lately Tyler likes to parade around the house in his snow boots. Michael and I were quite impressed today when he put them on all by himself. This required undoing the velcro, inserting his feet, and then putting the velcro back in place.

Independent Climber

The last time we were at Pump It Up back in December Tyler wanted help getting up the ladders to the inflatable slides. We were just there a few days ago and Tyler walked right up to one of the ladders and climbed up as if he had been doing it forever. He and his buddy Calvin love the big inflatable slides and went up and down repeatedly. There is still one steeper slide with a different style ladder that Tyler needed help with and that was fine by me because it is pretty fun coming down those big slides!

What do ducks say?

Wack wack! Well... that is what they say if you cannot say the letter q yet. ; )

Did you say Tyler?

Sleeping Angel

Tyler typically sleeps with Wendell the Whale, T-Rex, and a blankie. We rotate the blankie pretty frequently so he doesn't get attached to any one in particular. Tyler sometimes sleeps under the duvet during naps or when he has on lightweight pajamas, but usually the duvet is in a heap somewhere in the crib.

Syrup

It is only natural that our waffle-loving son likes syrup. However, he tends to identify other condiments as syrup. While picking up barbeque sauce at the grocery store yesterday Tyler's eyes lit up as he pointed at all the bottles of barbeque sauce and he exclaimed, "Syrup!" Tonight at dinner Tyler had ketchup on his plate and he kept pointing at the ketchup bottle and calling it syrup. Then for no apparent reason Tyler started waving at the ketchup bottle and kept saying, "Bye bye syrup!"

Playing with Friends

Tyler Hurtado!

Whenever Tyler does something he knows he is not supposed to, I have a tendency to exclaim, "Tyler Hurtado!" in a semi-gruff scolding voice. Recently Tyler has decided that it is funny to say "Tyler Hurtado!" back in the same tone that I used and then he giggles about it. I have to admit that it is pretty darn cute!!!! But don't think for a minute that it gets him off the hook.

Structural Engineer?

Tyler loves playing with his train set. He was pretty excited that Daddy built a tunnel out of legos that goes over the tracks. Of course Tyler had to figure out how to make it taller and so he did what any structural engineer would do- he added a radio tower on top.