model

You'll remember the adorable photos we had taken of Tyler in March (see pics). Well, this is round two. These are some of our favorites!

9 months

Well, he's been in the world as long as he was in my belly. Hard to believe the changes in Tyler and our lives in just nine months. We look back at videos from his first months and it's hard to remember Tyler before we knew that he loves dogs, trees, music, books, water bottles, baths, technological gadgets and other kids to name a few. And he was just so small! We're looking forward to learning more and more about what Tyler will like and who he'll be.

play ball

Tyler experienced his first baseball game Friday night at the Orioles v. Red Sox game at Camden Yards. He was a little uneasy during the sudden erruptions of cheering but really enjoyed watching all of the faces behind us. He especially loved the music which he would dance to with a very cute (only when you're at this age) butt bop. He finally got cozy in mommy's arms and napped until the end of the game, which the O's won 6-5 in bottom of the ninth inning.

rainfall

Some of our most favorite family time is spent walking our dog together as a family each night. This night we were caught in a sudden summer shower. We got a little wet, but Tyler sure did enjoy himself. He cheered as the rain plopped on his head and arms.

checkup

Alex and I took Tyler to his 9-month checkup yesterday evening. He weighs 19 lbs. even and measures 28 inches long exactly. In keeping with the trend, Tyler is still hovering around the 50th percentile when compared to others his age. The doctor deemed Tyler healthy and meeting all of his physical and social milestones. We thought we were going to breeze through the exam since he didn't need any shots, but now they routinely draw blood at this stage to check for anemia. Tyler took the shot like a man (ok, there were a few tears) despite them having to try twice!

new heights

We've now had to raise Tyler's exersaucer yet again. He's now using it at the top height already. Considering the height of his parents, Tyler may be a tall guy!

biter

Tyler is very curious about most everything and likes to put things in his mouth. And now that he has teeth on the top and bottom, his bite hurts. Poor Audrey Kate learned this the hard way when Tyler nibbled on her hand. Ouch!

But he's also a biter in the other sense of the word. He copied Audrey Kate's raspberry noises and now practices them frequently.

top tooth

Another tooth has arrived! I just noticed Tyler's top left tooth is here. I'm not sure how long it's been there. He was just sucking on a water bottle and I spotted a white spot showing through!

bed issues

Tyler, Tyler, Tyler. Just prior to him fully crawling, the bed issues began. Each morning I'd come in to a new problem. First, he began to wiggle out of his incline sleeper. Out of the crib it went. Second, I found Tyler with the crib bumper up over his head. With the crib at the tallest height the top of the bumper couldn't be tied and our clever boy figured out how to take advantage of the weakness. Out of the crib it went. Third, I found Tyler with the blanket wrapped around his head. No worries, he was comfy (despite his legs going up the side of the crib) and sucking his thumb. Fourth, I heard Tyler fussing slightly through our monitor system. No crying so I gave it some time. Then the fussing took a more pathetic whimpering tone. I entered his room to find him on his belly with his legs stuck through the slats of the crib. He was still able to suck his thumb, but obviously he wasn't so comfy this time. Intervention time. We lowered his crib to the second setting and returned his bumper to the crib, but with all of the ties affixed. So far so good. And just in time for the mobile man.

bless the exersaucer

Tyler is so active now and grabbing at EVERYTHING. Especially what he knows is not his! This activity center is a godsend. I hope it can withstand Tyler's rough play, but even if not at least I can have my hands free for a few minutes.

happy 1st birthday ayla

We took at trip to York, PA to celebrate with Ayla on her first birthday. Tyler loved checking out all of her new toys!

good luck charm

Tyler ventured a trip to Mercy with mom and grammy on the evening of July 23. The last time he'd been there he was still in my womb! He might be dragged back each time we go since Grammy now thinks he's her good luck charm. When we met with the doctor, she was told that currently there is no evidence of cancer in her body!! The tumors have been resolved with chemotherapy, so now she can take a break from it for at least the next three months. Yeah!

Tyler was on his best behavior despite not getting his normal naps and charmed everyone he passed in his new umbrella stroller. Everyone couldn't help but stop to talk with him.

my G

Tyler loves his giraffe from Grammy. We had the mini version of the giraffe hanging from his infant carseat bar when he was an itty bitty baby. He loved that one so much that it was only natural that he graduate to the large version as he gets bigger himself.

lea & rob

Last weekend Tyler had a few visitors: mommy's cousin Lea and her boyfriend Rob. Tyler was so tired that he didn't smile as much as usual, but he did manage to skip the fussiness that usually comes with such fatigue. Oops, he did sneak a smile in!

crawlin'

Tyler has finally ventured forward on flat terrain. It's not pretty but he's crawling from one end of his crib to the other to get a toy. But our "off-roader" still prefers to climb the rough terrain (otherwise known as mom and dad).

escape artist

Jail break! Well, more accurately a bumbo break. Tyler's bumbo is a hard foam seat (see bumbo seat). Our little MacGyver can now make his way out all on his own. Aww, they grow up so fast don't they?

paws applause

Tyler has a new game that he loves to play with Mommy and Daddy. He claps his hands together until we say "Yay!" He giggles with delight each time he gets us to talk on command.

fidget midget

Tyler is still a little guy but he has a giant reach! His hands are always on the go and zap up anything close like he's a Tazmanian devil. He wants to move, touch, grab, squeeze, pinch, push and pull on anything his little hands can get. And of course he's still banging things with his hands (Tyler "Bam Bam" Campbell).

all terrain

Tyler wants to be mobile! In fact he's started to crawl but only when there is a challenge. Put him on the open floor and he gets annoyed and starts to whimper. Put him on the bed where he needs to climb up over Alex to get to his toy, no problem! He has ambition!

new carseat

Tyler is growing like a weed and has finally outgrown his infant carseat. After a brief visit to Babies 'R Us on Friday night and LOTS of online research, we decided on a Britax Decathlon convertible carseat. It's rear-facing and then can be moved around to forward-facing once he turns one. Unfortunately, BRU didn't have a color that we liked. So on Saturday we travelled to Buy Buy Baby in Rockville and picked up two Onyx versions: one for each car. Ugh, that is pricey but the manager offered us a discount that usually applies to parents of twins (who'd need to buy two of each big ticket item). We installed one in Alex's SUV while in the parking lot and Tyler slept soundly the entire ride home. Couldn't be that uncomfortable!

first fever

Tyler was really warm when he woke up on Thursday. No fever, so he went to daycare and Debbie kept a watchful eye over him. He just wasn't his normally bubbly self. He whimpered most of the day and stayed in Debbie's arms most of the day. That evening he had a temperature of 100.6, not awful but enough to keep our little guy in discomfort. We kept him home from daycare on Friday. I went into the office really early, took care of a few things and gathered my files to bring home. Then I came home and relieved Alex so he could go into the office. Thankfully with regular doses of infant Tylenol and some TLC, Tyler was feeling better in the early afternoon. By this weekend he was back to normal. Yay!

8 months

If time seems to go by faster as you get older, it goes warp speed once you have a little one of your own! I'm so impressed with the accomplishments that Tyler has made in eight short months and am looking forward to sooo many more. He is still happy and cute as a button. And getting stronger and more inquisitive each passing day.

playboy

It's a little early isn't it?

party animal

Well, we couldn't resist celebrating the nearby holiday on such a fun date - 07/07/07. With upwards of 50 people, including nearly a dozen kids, it was a packed house! But Tyler loved meeting so many new friends and seeing many familiar faces as well.

Tyler and Simon

My high school pals and kin (Kristen, Ayla, Gwen, Parker, Me, Tyler, Lindsey and Lucas)

Jacob and Wesley

Allison and Grace

Becca and Tyler

tongue roller, hisser, clapper

New quirky moves from Tyler Bean... He can roll his tongue (like Mom and Dad), but sometimes sideways. He likes to grate his tongue across those new teeth of his. Tyler is also experimenting with sounds. The lastest one is a breathy hiss that is close to a TH sound. And just tonight he started to clap. He was doing it on command each time Alex said "YAY!"

fireworks

Well, it was Tyler's first 4th of July, but he didn't get to see the fireworks. Besides the storms passing through the area, it was also well past our little guy's bedtime and he's not a fan of loud noises. He did manage to stay up a little late and play with some pals at a holiday party.

Tyler, Allison and Simon

wormer

Tyler really wants to crawl. He's close, but right now he squirms and worms his way forward. He walks his legs up underneath himself, but then they slide back down.

playtime

Tyler rarely enjoys playing on his back anymore. He's got to be sitting up and have several toys within reach. Albeit toys can range from a two-foot-long inchworm to a tag attached to a blanket or an empty water bottle. Nonetheless he sits like a champ and is contemplating crawling. He's close, even has the mechanics down. Now he just has to learn to lift up his torso rather than dragging himself by sheer force.

highchair fun

Tyler loves his highchair best when the tray is off and he can reach his feet. Woohoo!

good eater

What a good eater Tyler is?! He's tried and loved squash, bananas, green beans, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, rice cereal and oatmeal. I'd say bananas are probably his favorite. I really didn't enjoy feeding him the solids at first because it was just a big messy process. But Tyler has come a long way and now I can actually feed him without a bib most times.

second tooth

Today I found that Tyler's second tooth is popping through! The bottom right one. So soon you will see two, teeny, tiny, white, baby teeth anchoring the bottom half of his mouth.

mimic

About a week ago, Tyler started to mimic sounds that I made. For instance, I'd point to Daisy and say "Dog." He'd immediately follow with "Da....Da." I slowed my pronunciation down and said again, "Dawgah." This time he concentrated on the strong G sound and said "Gah." Alex didn't seem to believe me that Tyler was doing this until last night when I was holding Tyler in my arms in the kitchen. I pointed to Alex and said, "Hi Daddy." Immediately Tyler said "hi duh." I tried it again about a dozen times and each time Tyler directly repeated "ha da....hi duh."

Today Joy played with Tyler and was able to get him to mimic her hand movements. It was too cute watching him copy her clam clamp gesture.

ticklish

Last night Tyler was playing on the bed in between Alex and me. He is nearly crawling now. As he went back and forth between us, I accidentally found his ticklish spot - behind his knees. Boy did I get a giggle out of him!

first father's day

What a beautiful day! We started it off by playing in the office so Daddy could sleep in. Then we made Alex the breakfast of his choice and opened cards and gifts. Tyler and I got Daddy a double photo montage printed on canvas and mounted on wood stretchers. The overall image is of Tyler but it is made up of smaller photos of Alex and me. I liked the symbolism and of course the subject couldn't be cuter! (You might recognize the image from a photo posted in the 'pool party' entry less than a month ago.) To round out the day Grammy babysat in the afternoon so I could take Alex to see Ocean's 13 and get dinner.

name recognition

Tyler finally knows that he is Tyler. Not Patrick, Jason or Billy Bob. Although we get funny looks in public when we call out the latter to test to see if Tyler responds.

pincher

Tyler's dexterity is really improving. And now he's learned to pinch. Not in a malicious way, but out of pure curiosity. Like, what happens if I squeeze mom's eyeball?

7 months

I cannot believe how much this little guy has grown. He's not so little anymore. He rolls or inches his way to toys by muscling along on the ground. He sits like a champ and is getting good at keeping himself up rather than plopping on his back unexpectedly like in the past.

Tyler is still full of personality and loves meeting new people, investigating new objects and playing with the cutie in the mirror. I always hear from people, "He's just so happy," "He has amazing eyes," or "He looks like the Gerber baby."

Tyler can't get enough of gadgets that light up such as cell phones, remotes, screensavers and security system panels. He also loves necklaces, dogs, singing (especially Old MacDonald) and walks with Mom, Dad and Daisy!

first tooth

Tyler's first tooth appeared this weekend! I thought I felt part of it pop up on Saturday but he really didn't let me investigate thoroughly. Apparently it's ok to put everything in his mouth until I want to put my finger in there! :) But yesterday I was able to get a better look after feeling the top of a whole tooth. Sure enough, his bottom left tooth has made its entrance!

uncle brian

My brother came over Friday night to help us plan out some house projects. Oh, and of course to see Tyler! Awww, isn't that special?

grampy daycare

Tyler enjoyed a full day with Grampy since his usual daycare provider was on vacation. Grampy even managed to take him on a stroll along with Daisy. Both Campbells were thrilled to have Grampy's attention.

bridesmaid=boy?

On our return trip we stopped in NC to visit Teresa Gillespie, who was a bridesmaid in my wedding. Three of my four attendants had boys within months of each other. (Must have been something in the water at the head table.) Katie had Hunter in October 2005, Teresa had Ethan in December and Mollie had Logan in February 2006. Tyler joined the bunch in November 2006. This was the first time that Ethan and Tyler had met, but it hardly seemed that way.

playtime

While in FL there was no shortage of loving hands to hold Tyler. Granny gave him lots of hugs and Aunt Barbra gave him a new perspective on things. As you can see, he really enjoyed all of the attention.