Toys are discovered!

This past week we bought a new "mommy mobile". It was long overdue since Mike was driving a 2-door Mitsubishi Eclipse, which isn't exactly "kid friendly". We car shopped for a while and ended up buying a Honda Pilot. We just love it. We felt that car was meant for us because when we went to look at Hondas, after we had pretty much settled on buying a Toyota Sequoia, there it was...Nimbus Gray, 4wd SE, with a third seat, no leather seats (I hate them because they are cold in the winter and warm in the summer), a DVD player in the back, keyless entry (which I've never had before) and a sunroof! We love it! So now I'm driving the new car and Mike is driving my 10 yr old CRV. Gotta love those Hondas!!

In other news...Tyler had has 3 month pictures taken at Sears this weekend. The session didn't go all that great, he was crabby and didn't smile as much as normal, but we got a couple of usable pictures we can put in the album. Also, Ty has finally started playing with a few of his toys. We gave him a football-shaped rattle this week and he grabbed it and shook it repeatedly. He also moved it to his mouth and back out again. We were so excited! Ahhh...the little pleasures of life! See below pictures of the momentous occasion!


I love this shirt. It says "Milk Patrol...Seek & Enjoy"!

Daddy and his little Browns fan after they beat the Bengals! Woo Hoo!

Tyler "playing" with his toys for the first time

Auntie Amy visits & Logan gets christened

The Frantz Family and godparents at Logan Christopher's christening

Ty and Daddy at the luncheon for Logan's christening (are they twins or what?!)

This weekend was a very special one for two reasons 1. My best friend from college, Amy, came in town to visit and meet Tyler for the first time. I was so excited to share my joys with her and catch up. It was really a wonderful weekend spending time with her and having her finally meet Ty in person. We had a great time! 2. Logan Christopher Frantz, Melissa and Kevin's second son, was christened on Sunday. It was a special day for their family and Amy, Mike, Tyler and I were honored to attend and share it with them. Melissa really did an amazing job with the luncheon (as usual) and Amy and I got to catch up with old friends and go to church together. It was a really great weekend!

In Tyler news...Ty has a few new tricks lately. He has just discovered his feet and stares at them endlessly. He has also started to play with his toys on his playmats. Prior to this time, he just stared and accidentally hit them once in a while. Now it seems like he grabs and hits them on purpose and it's amazing to watch. Finally, Tyler has discovered that he prefers sucking his thumb, or his entire fist, instead of his binky. Ty has never really been a pacifier baby, it only works on occasion, but he really loves sucking on his hand. We're not sure how we feel about it but it soothes him when he's upset so we'll take it for now. We are waiting for him to roll over and think it will be any day now.

Amy and me before we went to have a drink and catch up, thanks Mike for babysitting the little man!

Auntie Amy with Ty
Mommy, Auntie Amy and Ty at the christening

Go Cubbies!

Our little Cubs fan is rooting on our first place team!

The Many Faces of Tyler James

What can I say, we just love taking pictures of our little man! Tyler has really started to develop a personality that Mike and I can't get enough of! We just adore watching him smile, laugh and wiggle. He's really a happy baby with some unbelievably strong legs. We sometimes think he will get up and walk around. He only gets crabby when he's hungry or tired. Otherwise he loves to play on his playmat, bounce on his bouncy chair and smile and laugh at his parents who constantly try to entertain him. Ty has finally started following a routine that we think is working. It took us a few weeks to get our routine to work, but Mike and I start putting him down around 8pm and he's usually asleep by 9:30pm. He does wake up 1 time a night, but it's getting less and less everyday. We actually get an hour or so to ourselves now, which is a relief. I'm still trying to figure out how to juggle school, coaching and motherhood, and still have time for myself and Mike. I tried a strollerfit class this week. It is a class where you take your stroller and your baby and do cardio, stretching, abs, and band work with other moms. It was fun to meet some new people but I found it hard to get over the fact that they made me sing "I'm a little teapot" while we stretched. I do plan to try another class though;) But Tyler is an absolute joy and worth every second of frustration, exhaustion and confusion. He has turned our lives upside-down and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Taking a million pix of our happy boy!

Ty's first Ohio State Football Game

The Frantz family came over for Tyler's first official Ohio State game. We got to dress him up in his OSU gear and he and his friends, Connor and Logan, enjoyed watching Ohio State beat Akron! GO BUCKS! It was a great day and a real milestone for Tyler's Daddy, who is an Ohio State superfan. Mike looks forward to Ohio State football all year. I think he was really excited to finally share this with his son!

Tyler and his friend Connor Frantz. We tried to get Logan in the picture too but when one baby cried, the other one fussed as well. It was impossible to get a good pix! Ty and Logan with Auntie Cindy and her BF Allie, in from Columbus
I love the back of this onsie and had to take a pix of it
Go Bucks!

A visit from Great Grandma Neida and Great Aunt Weeze

We had a visit from Mike's grandma and aunt. They drove in from Cleveland to see Tyler and we had a really nice dinner together. Ty really loved all the attention and the kisses. He's so lucky to have such great women in his life!

Tyler and Great Aunt Weeze right before Ty had an accident
Ty loves his Great Grandma Neida
Asleep on Daddy after a tough day

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend we headed up to Michigan to our family lake house. It was Tyler's second trip to Sister Lakes and we had a great time with my parents. The water was much colder than last time we were there so, unfortunately, Ty didn't get to go swimming. However...he took his first ride in our boat. He really loved the vibrations. We also had Tyler's first campfire. We were sure to keep him out of the smoke and bundled him up. However, we forgot a knit hat for him so my mom aka Grams got this ingenious idea of using a tube sock of my dad's as a hat. Hilarious pictures of that not so perfect idea are below. We were laughing so hard!!! We had a great time, and got some much needed rest and relaxation! Plus, it was the first Ohio State football game and my parents were nice enough to watch Ty while Mike and I went to a bar to have a few beers and watch the game. Gotta love NCAA football season! It was a wonderful weekend spending time with family!


Tyler and mommy getting ready to enjoy a day in the sun. Thanks Auntie Pam for the cute outfit with the boat on it (perfect for the lake).
Tyler's first boat trip on Big Crooked Lake


Grams, Granddad and Daddy cracking up as they try to fit the tube sock over Ty's head

He'll really hate us for doing this to him one day and then taking a picture of it!
Ty and sunburned Mommy
Our happy boy after a much-needed nap! We just love when he wakes up happy and smiles at us!
Granddad and our little Ohio State fan
"Mommy...I think this jacket is a little too big for me"