15 months

On the 15-month anniversary of Tyler's birth he celebrated with...shots! Boo hoo! But Tyler dealt with it very well and even managed a smile for Nurse Jane despite her having given him three shots a minute earlier. He also liked playing on the scale (no baby scale anymore, aww) and kneeling on a small stool and pulling out the stirrups (ha!).

He weighed in at 24.3 pounds (50 percentile) and measured 30 inches (25 percentile). Our doctor said we could expect a growth spurt, which we've already seen starting.

Howes' house

The Campbells and the Howeses had a play date! The mommies were even able to squeeze in some card-making time. But mostly we chatted about and laughed at our funny boys. When we first arrived the boys seemed like deer caught in headlights. They just stared at each other standing a few feet away standing as still as statues. But soon they came out of their shells and played nonstop and Tyler was ready for bed early!

cough cover

Debbie and I have been working on getting Tyler to direct his coughs into his arm rather than projecting them out in the air. This morning I asked him to cover his mouth and, VOILA, he did it! Now he's really good at doing it when we ask but we've got to nudge him because he forgets on his own.

bark

Tyler and I walked Daisy together tonight. He loved pointing to the planes overhead and touching the bark of the trees along our path.

nose blower

It's the little things. Many months ago Alex taught Tyler to blow his nose when Alex holds a tissue up to Tyler's nose. We didn't realize that nose blowing is such an impressive feat for a 14-month-old until Debbie told us that she knows 3-year-olds who can't do it. Go figure!

go giants!

The Redmons joined us for an evening of SuperBowl watching and Giant rooting. Audrey Kate and Tyler had a great time taking a ride in Tyler's wagon and playing with the ball popper. Oops, we're missing a red ball...oh Tyler, you know where it is? Way to go little guy!

twelfth tooth

This bottom left first molar must have popped in shortly before or during my week in Puerto Rico because it's clearly through the gum. But I've noticed that he is drooling like a dripping faucet so maybe his second molars are on their way soon.

happy birthday Oma!

Tyler's Grandma Reifin and Jones share a Jan. 31 birthday. Today Grandma Jones ("Oma") came to celebrate along with Uncle Dylan. Tyler enjoyed reading books with Oma and climbing over Uncle Dylan on the floor.

gateway

A big scare today: Tyler figured out how to open the baby gate!! He's into everything nonstop so we'll have to continue to watch him nonstop.

smarty pants

Do we have a little genius on our hands? Well Debbie sure thinks so. She takes care of him during the work day and told me today that he's far ahead of the normal curve of development. He follows complex directions and plays games like passing a ball back and forth with another person (something that some other 2-year-olds haven't mastered). Since Tyler is our first child we have no frame of reference for comparison, but of course we've always thought he was amazing!

round n' round

What a fun new thing Tyler picked up while I was away!!? -- He's SO into music and dancing and now when he hears a good tune, he twirls himself in circles while standing. Sometimes he's so dizzy he falls to his knees and then sways back and forth to the beat.

pointer

Tyler is using his pointer finger to direct us in the direction of his choice. He's so enamoured with it that he sometimes replaces a wave with pointing.

mama is back

My first time away from my baby!! And nearly a week at that (I've not been away from Alex that long either). Thankfully the conference (in San Juan, Puerto Rico) kept my mind occupied. That and the beautiful beach! Joy and I also loved touring the El Morro fortress. Very cool!

too cute

Isn't he just the cutest?

uncle ben's

Tyler went into the kitchen pantry and pulled a box of Uncle Ben's rice from the eye-level shelf. Instead of asking him to put it back right away, I asked him to shake it. He did and got a giggle at the noise (and maybe that mommy didn't say "no" for once). Shake-ah-shake-ah-shake-ah was the song we sang to go with our fun activity.

eleventh tooth

Another one popped in some time ago! This time it was his upper right molar.

snow man

What was not supposed to accumulate to much snow yesterday, ended up being over four inches! Tyler loved watching the flakes fall. And even more than that, he loved crunching it under his feet this morning!

back it up

Tyler is so funny! He giggles so much and has found his new trick to be a riot. He has learned to slide himself backward while crawling or lying down. He has used this to slide under the legs of our antique table (his head only has about a half inch clearance). And today he kept sliding his legs under the couch up until his tush stopped him.

christmas eve rain date

Due to illness we took a rain check on our Christmas Eve celebration. Now with everyone in good health we enjoyed dinner at my Dad's house. Tyler really enjoyed playing with Jeanne's musical figures and snow globe. He also got a big kick out of playing with Uncle Dylan as usual. And the rest of the family got a big kick out of watching Tyler practically run circles around everyone.

14 months

Our little guy is growing and growing. He is wearing size 4 shoes and size 4 diapers (he's been wearing the latter since July albeit very large on him back then). He seems to be growing taller but not much wider. Just today he got on his tip toes so that he could reach something from the table. It amazes me how fast he can go and how comfortable he is walking after such a short time.

antics

Tyler spent the day at Meg's. He was nice enough to let Audrey Kate play with some of her own toys (what a gentleman). He also taught her that bare feet are tempting, tasty treats (not such a gentleman, poor AKR). But she was able to crawl behind Tyler as he ran from room to room. Older men are so fascinating.

Daniel hadn't seen Tyler walk, so Meg set the bottle down in the middle of the room and told him to go get it. He walked to it with his arms in the air (like he does) and then instead of picking the bottle up, he bent down swinging his arms behind him and up high, like a swimmer ready for a dive, and then proceeded to try to drink from the bottle while it was still sitting on the floor. Kids are funny!

back and forth

Tyler loves playing games (his all time favorite is still peek-a-boo/jump-out-and-scream). Now we can toss a ball back and forth. When he throws it, the ball usually ends up under the couch but it's in my direction. Sometimes we switch out the ball with a toy truck and roll it back and forth.

walk, walk, walk

Tyler has been walking up a storm. He took a break while in Florida, reverting back to crawling half of the time. But as soon as we were home again he basically stopped crawling altogether. And he's so fast! He was even keeping up with us at the mall. Does running come next? I'm not sure I'm ready for that!!

ninth and tenth teeth

While in Florida Tyler popped two more teeth into place. I was watching his lower right first molar tooth and unbeknownst to me his upper left first molar popped in and seemed to have been in for a while before I discovered it! And the lower right one quickly followed. The others are on their way too.

first word

ok, we're finally convinced that he's said a word instead of just sounds. The word is "Mommy!"

utensil me

Tyler loves to eat like a big boy now. He used his spoon to feed himself applesauce (albeit messy) and at dinner used a fork to feed himself potatoes. He still has to work on his technique but he's well on his way.

merry christmas, part II

We made it to Florida on Dec. 27 (happy birthday daddy!) and celebrated Christmas again with the FL folks. What a lucky boy that he gets multiple celebrations! He napped for a good part of the gift-opening session, but woke up just in time to make out like a bandit. His favorites were his iZoom car carage, musical phone and Amazing Animals kangaroo and tiger. He did alright during a brief visit from Santa as well. Look who ended up in the Ho Ho bag!

funny trees

Tyler got a big kick out of seeing palm trees for the first time.

first hotel stay

The day after Christmas we piled ourselves into the Pilot and headed South. Tyler did really well on the trip. Nearing midnight we finally stopped for the night at the Holiday Inn in Santee, South Carolina. We tried to transfer Tyler from the truck to the room without waking him but were unsuccessful. He was so thrilled by the new environment that he jumped, clapped and explored until finally settling down to sleep at 2 am. It's the first time he's been up after 10 pm since he was less than two months old. And in our exhausted state we were not as happy as he was!

merry christmas

Tyler's 2nd Christmas was really fun. He still doesn't get the Santa concept, but he did like ripping the wrapping paper. I think his favorite gifts so far have been his Thomas the Train book that has musical buttons to go along with the story and his Radio flyer wagon. Uncle Dylan and mommy took him for a ride and he LOVED it! He also really enjoyed playing with Uncle Dylan. Everything Dylan does seems to highly amuse Tyler!

christmas eve

Well, not much this week as gone as planned. We were all sidelined last week with a really brutal stomach virus. Tyler got sick a week ago and just today did his appetite and personality seem to come back at 100 percent. We were really looking forward to Christmas Eve dinner at my dad's house, but unfortunately he and his wife, Jeanne, have caught colds. My dad and I decided it was best to postpone the festivities until after the new year to avoid getting my mom, who's getting chemo, and Tyler ill. We also don't want to pass anything along to Alex's dad, who just had heart surgery, when we visit for the holidays.

MaMmmMaMm

Tyler's learned how to get my attention! When he wants to be in my arms he uses his M-sounds. (Here are some photos from a play date with Simon a couple of weeks ago.)

walker

While Tyler took his first steps a month and a half ago, the concept is finally settling in. As soon as he decided he liked the action, he went full throttle. He's been walking across the room with ease, about a dozen steps at a time. Sometimes he'll stop and stand while watching Daisy and then quickly follow her.

on the mend?

Ugh! This has been a really, really tough week for the Campbells! We thought Tyler was on the mend when he had one more bout of vomiting on Thursday evening that caught us all by surprise. His appetite is still way down and he's not been quite his normal self, but we're praying he'll be all better in time for Christmas!

a family affair

Well, despite Tyler throwing up all day Monday, he started taking five or six steps at a time on his own. Not sure if it was the delirium of the illness or natural progress that gave him this newfound courage. He's also pointing to things that he wants such as his milk or a container of apple wagon wheels.

Unfortunately, Tyler was still ill a second day and I came down with the same thing. So between Tyler's bouts of puking, Mommy had her own! I can say that this was as bad as the time I had food poisoning so I can't even imagine how little Tyler must have been feeling. Alex has, so far, (fingers crossed) missed the rough parts, but wasn't feeling great last night. We're hoping it skips him.

first cookie toss

My poor baby! Tyler has thrown up three times so far today. He has no fever, and keeps going and going like he's fine, but he has trouble keeping anything down even the water and bland food I've given him. I'm so thankful that we were able to escape this until now.

eighth tooth

Tyler's front eight are now complete. His left lateral incisor popped in place sometime in the past few days. His four molars are still working themselves onto the scene but I'm guessing he has a little more time before they come through the gum.

happy birthday simon

Simon is just a week away from turning the big 0-1! Tyler enjoyed celebrating with Simon and friends.

seventh tooth

Oops, while I was so busy watching the four large mounds forming in Tyler's mouth (that will one day pop through to be his molar teeth) his right lateral incisor on the bottom made its debut.

T-dog

That's his new nickname given to him by Meg after she watched him push a toy along the floor with his nose. :)

13 months

What a big, happy boy?!

ulaaulaa

Tyler has figured out how to stick out his tongue and move it left to right to make funny noises.

first kiss

Today I was holding Tyler in my arms when I kissed Alex goodbye as he was leaving the house. I turned to face Tyler and he planted an adorable open-mouth kiss on me. And then a second one. I tried to get him to kiss Alex but he was too shy.

first bloodshed

We spent the rest of the evening pulling out the bins of Christmas ornaments and decorating the tree. Tyler was very curious to sort through the bins. He was standing in front of one when he fell on his rear and clipped the plastic bin with his chin. We think his lip bumped against his teeth because he started to bleed from the mouth although he wouldn't let us investigate fully. But no worries, he was back in high gear after only minutes.

tree hunting

We set out to pick up a tree to decorate for Christmas. Funny thing is that we end up purchasing it from a guy from Melbourne, FL (miles from where Alex is from).

lights on

I taught Tyler how to turn the lights on and off using the light switch. He was so pleased with himself.

pounce play

I'm thinking Tyler might have been a cat in a past life. Sometimes while we're goofing around, he's kneeling down and raises his arms above his head and then pounces on a toy or us with all his might. Meow!

meeting logan

Tyler finally got to meet Logan, Mollie and Andrew's son, who is 9 months older. Last time I saw Logan, Tyler was still in my belly. It was so neat to see them together with their own personalities still forming. Tyler was quite enamored with Logan and liked to watch everything the big boy was doing.

crazy happy

Tyler is so funny! He's such a happy boy and finds humor in so many little things. Daddy plays a particular song while in the car and Tyler just goes nuts. It's hysterical.

bear face

Joy took me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. Tyler tagged along since Daddy was busy that particular night. Tyler does so well when we are out and about. He's so eager to test out his nearly-walking-legs and to explore so we wind up touring the restaurant. As fellow patrons seated behind us got ready to leave their little girl started to chat away. She asked what I thought was, "Why does he have a bear face?" as she pointed to Tyler. Then again later I heard the same thing, "Why does he have a bear face?" I had to ask Joy, does my baby look like a bear and I just don't see it. And then the girl asked me, "Is she your sister?" pointing at Joy. If you don't know Joy than this might not sound particularly funny (I'm white, Joy's black). But between that comment and the bear comment, Joy and I rolled with laughter!

molar update

Correction: both of Tyler's first molar teeth on the bottom are headed our way.

pathetic

Tyler has been drooling up a storm for the last week or two so I've been expecting his next two teeth on the bottom row to start poking through. To my amazement those teeth don't seem to be close to popping through but one of his back molar teeth does! He's also been trying to kick the last of his cold so he's been coughing and his nose has been running nonstop! Poor thing. I can tell he's hurting but he's such a trooper you wouldn't guess he's been going through so much all at one time.

totally spent

For my birthday the family chilled all day at home playing games (and I finally won the Trivia Pursuit game we started on Thanksgiving). That afternoon we spent an hour at the Sprint store in an unsuccessful atempt to upgrade our cell phones where Tyler had a ball cruising around the store and ate dinner out at Panera. When we got home, Tyler was so spent he fell asleep at 6:30 that evening and never got up until 8:30 the next morning. Happy Birthday Mommy!

simon time

Tyler spent Saturday evening playing with his pal Simon. Well, when I say play together I mean they played in solitaire next to each other. Getting a photo of the two of them near each other and both looking in the direction of the camera was nearly impossible!

dozer

Tyler rebounded enough from the fever that finally broke the previous day so that he could enjoy Thanksgiving. (And that also meant that my mom could join us as well, thankfully!) He still wasn't nearly 100%, but that didn't stop him from playing with Uncles Dylan and Brian. Tyler's favorite game was knocking down the block towers that Brian built, earning Tyler the nickname Bulldozer or Dozer.

sicko kiddo

Poor Tyler. He came home last night and went directly to sleep. When we woke him we realized that he had a fever and was quite miserable. Thankfully he was able to still sleep through the night. But he was still feeling bad this morning so I stayed home from work to care for my baby. He slept most of the morning clinging to me and his blanket. But by lunch time his fever broke and he finally started chatting, moving around and playing as usual.

old blue eyes

ok, he might not be OLD yet, but Tyler has heard thousands of times about how gorgeous his blue eyes are. His super long eyelashes only add to the impact. This recent photo was taken by Daniel Redmon. Thanks so much for capturing these young blue eyes and the cutie baby they belong to!

my model

We got 1-year photos taken. (photos to come)

more moo

We're still offering whole milk to Tyler and he's entertaining the idea somewhat. He'll drink it, but doesn't nearly gulp it down like he did the breastmilk. But he drinks a little more each day it seems.

pounce

Tyler loves to play and lately he's engaged fun time by pouncing forward like a cat!

first steps

Tyler took his first steps this morning!! Alex thought he was close last night when Tyler stood by himself and then pivoted around not bracing himself on anything. Then this morning just after Alex left for work, I was standing over Tyler bundling him up to go to daycare. I was standing behind him leaning over as he stood on his own. He put out his hand wanting me to take it and help him. Instead I told him he could do it and tapped the back of his knee. Then he took three steps, left, right, left, before kneeling down and playing with a toy. Hooray!

1-year checkup

At Tyler's checkup today he weighed in at 21 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 28.5 inches long. For the time being he's hovering around the 25 percentile. The doctor was pleased that he met the typical milestones for this time period including relational interactions and motor development. He was so brave when he got his three shots. He didn't even flinch for the first one, but the last one hurt a little and sniffled in mommy's arms for less than a minute before he started smiling at the nurse again.

blue

FYI: Blue icing equals blue poop 24 hours later.