My little Sweet Potato

Tyler is growing with leaps and bounds. He has begun to roll over from front to back on command. He's also laughing and grabbing at absolutely everything Mike and I have in our hands. Lately it is whatever we are eating or drinking. Yesterday he spent more time playing with my water bottle than his own colorful toys. He is one talkative baby...to say the least. He babbles and giggles and talks away constantly, sometimes at a high-pitched shrill. My mom says they are happy sounds...I hope she's right! He is also now putting his entire foot in his mouth. Tyler is finally able to put his feet flat on the floor in his Baby Einstein and he can play for up to a half hour in it. It's amazing watching him actually move the parts and learn how they work. The most amazing new change is that his is starting to recognize me as mommy and often cries if I get too far and he can't see me when someone else is holding him. He reserves one special smile just for his mommy! I just melt!

Breastfeeding has been very successful and I am still doing so both at home and pumping at work. Ty has never had to be supplemented with formula. I am pretty proud of myself for making it this far. 5 months is a long time when you exclusively breastfeed and work full time, and my original goal was just 2 months while I was home full time. It is pretty stressful trying to find time and privacy to pump in a high school situation, but I've somhow figured out how to swing it 2 times during my very busy day for 3 months straight. I am...however...growing tired of lugging the pump and stressing out about being able to provide enough for him while I am away at work. I have managed to freeze over 240 oz of milk, so I am hoping to transition him to some oatmeal and baby food and slowly wean him around xmas with the help of the frozen stash, which will be 6 months. We decided a few weeks ago to start to slowly introduce oatmeal to him. That went well so we've done it 2 or 3 times since. This past weekend began with a meal of oatmeal, and my parents watched and were entertained. After a hearty bowl, Ty didn't seem satisfied so we decided to try baby food. It was nice to have my parents there to see it for the first time also. We got out the sweet potatoes and they were a huge hit. Although it was messy...it was a great success. We plan to do sweet potatoes for a week, then introduce another food then to be sure there are no allergies. It's so much fun! Ty is more interested in holding and sucking on his spoon than actually eating the food, but he was definitely "eating" it...as best as to be expected!

The other big milestone is that we finally moved Tyler to his own crib and out of our room. I think it would have occurred much earlier if it wasn't for his paranoid mommy. He was ready a while ago but I've been dreading it and putting it off...that is until he figured out how to pull down the bumpers we had up in his little craddle. I knew that was it. He' s on day 3 and it's going well...for him! For me...I don't sleep very well worrying about every little thing and I awake with every whimper and every move, I think more than when he was actually in our room. I know it's a necessary and a very positive step...but I'm having a hard time. Hopefully the introduction of a breathable bumper and a video monitor will help me get some ZZZZ's again. Here's hoping!

Holding my own spoon

The first bite of baby food ever...mmmm...sweet potatoes

I like my baby food...preferably all over my face:)

GO FISH!

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we took our first trip down to Newport, KY with my parents to take Tyler to the Newport Aquarium. We were so excited to see if he had any reaction to the exhibits because almost all of his toys have something to do with swimming fish. He loves his aquarium bouncer and can be lulled to sleep by his ocean wonders aquarium in his crib (thanks Becky!). It was so much fun! Not only did we all enjoy the fish, birds, snakes, penguins, otters, etc. but we enjoyed it twice is much watching Tyler's reaction to everything. We got to see some amazing animals. My personal favorites were the otters and the alligators. Ty seemed to like the large sharks swimming above him. That was an amazing part of the aquarium, watching the fish swim above you and feeling extremely close to them. As you can see by the pictures below, it was obvious he really "saw" the swimming fish and was really enjoying himself, until he got his belly full and passed out. It was fun to bring my parents down to Newport on the Levee and spend some time showing them around and sharing one of Ty's firsts with them. We hope to go back again soon!

Would have been a cute picture if Ty wasn't more interested in the floor...and yes...those are real penguins behind us!
Looking at all the fish from his stroller

Mommy & Ty "petting" the horseshoe crabs and the starfish
2 days after Thanksgiving...everyone gears up for Christmas...Happy Holidays
Looking at the fish swimming above himGrams, Mommy & Tyler posing with an octopus

We are thankful for...

...our family! This long weekend was wonderful spending time with my family who came in from Chicago. My brother hasn't seen Tyler since he was just 2 months old so it was really exciting to share all the ways he's changed and grown since then. We are also thankful to have the blessing of Tyler's Mimi (Mike's mom) taking care of him everyday. We are so grateful to her for taking time out of her retirement to give us the gift of piece of mind so we can go back to work and feel comfortable that Tyler is being taken care of. I don't think she knows quite how much we appreciate what she is doing and we are so very thankful for her love, her time and her kindness. It is more than a blessing...it is a miracle! It has definitely made my transition back to work much easier than it could have been and I really appreciate it so very much! Tyler is so obviously surrounded by love and we couldn't be more grateful for our family units and our great friends who support and love us.

Ty and Uncle Brian

Granddad and his buddy

my Dad has the touch when Tyler gets fussy

Ruf ruf...Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving from our little snuggly puppy dog! :)

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday. We got to spend it with both our immediate families. My parents and brother came down from Chicago and we all headed to Mike's mom's for the Thanksgiving feast...and what a feast it was...food glorious food!! We had a lovely time hanging out with family and friends and eating ourselves silly. Tyler was a hit with the crowd...as always...and he was such a well-behaved baby during dinner.

rockin'...and ROLLIN'

Mommy's favorite look, when he bites his bottom lip (we think it's a sign of teething but what do we know) :) Our little man hanging out and staying warm in his carseat

My baby rolled over last week. Although he did it all week over at Mimi's house, I didn't see it until Friday, November 16th when I picked him up from his Mimi's house after work. He rolled from front to back and has continued to do it a few times everyday since. Mike saw it on Saturday. We were so excited about the milestone! He now rolls over every morning and after every nap. We are looking forward to when he starts being more mobile. He's definitely changing with leaps and bounds every day. It's amazing how much he can change in just a week. Along with the rolling, he's also laughing a real laugh now. It's so fun to try to coax it out of him! He' s more fun everyday!

Indianapolis Adventures

Mike, Tyler and I took a trip to Indy this weekend to meet the Faulkner and the Gustafson families and spend some quality time together. We stayed downtown at a hotel overnight and spent time walking the mall, sitting down to dinner, having fun with the kids and having a few drinks. It was the first time that Bob and Corey got to meet Tyler. Additionally, it was the first time Lisa's kids, Addision and Lucas, and Tyler met each other (and hopefully the first of many times to come). We hope that we can make meeting in Indy more of a habit, because it is the perfect midpoint between Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati. Lisa and Marina are my closest friends and their friendship means the world to me. It definitely means a great deal to share our families and our lives together. We had a great time catching up! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Lucas and Ty meeting for the first time. "Hello new friend"

Lisa & Addison coloring

Lucas finding Corey very interesting!

Old friends and new friends!Tyler and Lucas hanging outCorey and Marina hanging out with TyAddison entertaining Mike with her Mickey figurines

This little piggy went to the market...

Tyler has started to grab his feet and try to suck his toes lately. It's hilarious to watch! He likes to make it as difficult as possible to change his diaper by grabbing at his feet during diaper changes. He's also begun to roll over from tummy to back, but only when he's frustrated by tummy time and wants to flip over. It's such fun watching Ty hit all his milestones.

Back in the Saddle Again

This weekend was a BIG milestone for me...I ran my first race since giving birth. The town we live in, Mason, has a mini marathon they hold every year. The race is a 15K, for you non-runners that's 9.3 miles. I signed up a while ago thinking...oh I'll be ready by then (yeah right...what was I thinking?!). Well when the time came...I was SO nervous I wasn't going to be able to finish. The longest I had run since Tyler was born was about 6 miles, and it was a real struggle. I decided as long as I finished, even if I had to walk or run slowly, it would be a great accomplishment and give me the confidence I needed to strive for another marathon in the near future. Well...needless to say...I DID IT! I am so proud of myself and really feel back in control of my body...which is a nice feeling after surrendering it to someone else for 10 months, and 2 months of recovery at least. It was a full year of pregnancy...and I'm finally back in charge! My goal was to run it in under 90 minutes (at least a 10 minute mile) but I finished in an unofficial 76:20. I was elated! Mike and Ty came out to watch me run and I loved having their support. We bundled him up and Mike took him out in the baby jogger. I think some of the runners thought I was going to do the race while pushing him...YEAH RIGHT!

Stretching before the race. It was a chilly morning but a beautiful day for a race!

Our little burrito settling in to watch Mommy start the race

After the race...looking good!

Holy Cow...Happy Halloween!

It was Tyler's first Halloween and we dressed him up as a cow. Tyler loves the sound cows make and often laughs when we press the "cow" button on his exersaucer. The costume was available, cheap and adorable so Mike and I decided together that it would be Tyler's first. I think he's the cutest cow ever! He was quite a hit sitting outside with us and "helping" hand out candy to the neighborhood kids. They kept saying "you have a cute cow". Although he had no idea what was going on, and fell asleep halfway through handing out candy, we really enjoyed carving pumpkins together and celebrating Halloween as a family. Here's to many more fun Halloween memories!

Mike & Ty carving pumpkins

Our little cow with his pumpkin

Mommy with her little boy

Trying to eat the pumpkin