This is going to be a long post...so hang in there! On the 20th of June, we hosted a 2nd birthday party for Tyler in our backyard. It was a truck-themed event, as Ty is pretty much obsessed with all things trucks! I went with more of a construction theme and made the black tablecloths roads and the centerpieces trucks of all sorts. I also decided that instead of doing BBQ I would make something Tyler really loved, so I went with Italian (or noo-noo's as he calls them). It seemed to be a hit. It was also fun this year because Tyler could play and run around with all of his friends. Last year he was just beginning to walk. The kids blew bubbles, played with their pails and shovels (that was their "goody bag") in the sand, ran through the sprinkler, and had a blast on our new swingset. I was pleased with the party...and glad the stress was over. Ty seemed to have a blast too...which melted my heart! Now we have to figure out what to do with all this plastic. I think it's time to box up some of his baby toys and call amvets:) Here are some pictures of the party for those of you that couldn't make the trip. His cute truck cake and my attempt at a dirt cake in a truck!
Some of the decor
Opening gifts with his buddies Connor and Logan (and Daddy too)
Mimi and Auntie Cindy looking on
His cute Miami backpack from Mimi and Papa Dave
Sprinkler fun with his friends (thanks Uncle Brian and T for the cool gift!)
Bubbles with T
A tired, wet boy after his party...getting ready for a LONG nap!
My fam, who were an incredible help during the party
As far as Ty goes...he's just the most amazing and loving little boy! It's incredible how much he has changed, and how blessed I feel to see it all first-hand since I'm home over the summer. His vocabulary has gone into overdrive in the past few weeks. It's amazing! He is also the king of repeating every word, no matter how hard...so I have to be very careful these days with my road rage:) Here are a few new things he does/says that I find funny or entertaining:"oh my" or "oh geez" or "oh boy" or "oh yeah", he kisses my boo-boos (and his own) often, gives the biggest hugs, sings twinkle twinkle little star in the grocery store...loudly, sings spongebob square pants theme song in his toddler language and it's hilarious, he says "whee" every time we push him on a swing, when I come into a room he says "hi mom" like a teenage boy (hilarous!), kisses the dog and hugs her everyday, he tries to whistle for cincy (it's more of a screech but it's adorable), "hi Cinc" or "good girl" or "go potty Cincy" because he loves his doggie, he has to go into the bathroom with us and say "bye bye poo-poo bye bye pee-pee" and flush (it's really fun when we're in public bathrooms and he's announcing to whoever is listening that Mommy is going pee-pee and poo-poo even when I'm not), Ty can count to 10 but never says the number 1...so his counting starts with 2. When he counts to 3...he says "two, three, two", Ty is swimming and jumping in the pool/lake without any adult help (he has no fear!), says "thank you mom" without being prompted, he's obsessed with shoes and is very particular with which pair he wears everyday, Ty lines up everything...his cars, books, whatever, in perfect lines (thanks to his OCD mom...oops), when he has poop he backs his butt up to us and says "oh poo-poo mommy, yeah poo-poo" then he grabs is diaper caddy and brings it to us (now if only he would sit on the darn potty!), he can throw his dirty diapers and anything else we ask him in the trash (handy!), he'll randomly come up to me and say "I wuve ooo" and gives me a kiss (heart melting!), when he farts he says "oohh" then whispers "I toot ma-ma", calls milk "mop" and it's too cute to try to correct just yet, when we take his shoes and socks off for the day he smells his feet and says "oh pee-ewww, stinky feet", he washes himself in the shower and follows the prompts we give him on what body part to wash (he knows every...I mean every...part), when he can't find me he says "oh mama, where are you?".
There are so many more great things...a million...but I am sure I have bored you thusfar, if you are even still with me. I just can't believe he's 2! Time truly flies when you're having fun, and we certainly are having a blast with our little man! We love him more than words...and can't believe he's not our baby anymore.
Our little fish loves bubble baths and swimming pools. He's now jumping off the side of the pool by himself and thinks he can swim. He wants no help from Mommy...even though he still needs it. He even practices his strokes in the bath frequently.
This was priceless! After one of my evening runs, I was doing my abs on the family room floor and look over and Ty was doing them with me...hilarious!
What was I thinking?? Another of my crazy ideas that will remain in infamy is deciding that Mike and I would give Tyler a swingset for his 2nd birthday, along with my parents. I found a great deal at Walmart and was pumped when we found it at one of the local Walmart Supercenters, after many phone calls and trips to various locations. I sent Mike to get the boxes and he came back with 3 huge boxes full of WOOD! It looked daunting...but luckily I have the handiest guy around...no seriously I do...so I wasn't worried. Mike spent an entire night after work arranging and labeling the wood and various screws, bolts, etc. It was quite a sight (wish I was smart enough to take a picture...but I wasn't)! We thought...oh 1 entire day should do it...yeah right! I had to attend Loveland graduation on a Saturday, and Mike was going to start tackling the swing set while I was gone. When I got back...there was not much to see...I started to get very nervous! After two long days and some change...we finally got it done, and it looks fantastic! Tyler is in love with his swingset...it made all the work completely worth it with one excited squeal and broad grin! 
How cute is this? Ty helping Daddy. I just hope he ends up with one ounce of Mike's handiness!
My boys
The first time Ty saw the finished product
slide fun...he can do this for hours...literally
big boy swing
the finished product...well...there are actually monkey bars too...but we figured we could leave that to another summer, as he's to young right now anyway.
Memorial Day weekend was my big 31st. I thought at first that it would come and go without a problem, I mean what's one more year after thirty. However, as it crept closer I started to feel more and more depressed. I definitely think 31 was much harder than 30 for some reason. Maybe because I am now officially "in" my 30's! We spent the weekend in Sister Lakes, as usual, and were blessed with perfect weather. I feel so lucky to still get together with my parents and brother every year on my birthday weekend, the perks of being a memorial weekend baby I guess;) Ty loved the water and was a dare-devil jumping off the seawall with and without our help. He's definitely a water baby...the water was not exactly warm. Ty also loved the speed boat and my Dad's new gift to himself, the pontoon. He got lots of attention from my parents, his Uncle Brian and my brother's girlfriend Therese. I also got to swim in open water in preparation for my upcoming triathlons, which was helpful...and not fun at all:) All in all, it was an excellent weekend full of family, laughs and good memories. Here are a few random shots of the weekend. 
The fam enjoying the Lake
Ty and Daddy jumping off the seawall 
Our cool dude in the tube 
Loving his little pool...notice no suit (he always wanted to go in when he was not in a suit!)
Quality time with Uncle Brian...
...and Grams and Granddad with their monkey:)
Uncle Brian teaching Ty to drive the Mastercraft right (notice the beer)...and he was REALLY driving...no joke!
Daddy and Ty on the boat loving the speed
Giving hugs to "T"...my brother's girlfriend. She's great with Tyler and he loves her!
Hanging with Granddad in the Lake on a beautiful Sister Lakes day
Yes I know...I'm very behind on life around Mason, OH...but I swear I have great reasons for being a horrible blogger. The end of the school year is the busiest time of year for me hands down! Anyway, on the weekend of May 15-17 we had lots of events going on. I chaperoned the 
The next day was our first 
