Nolan's Second Birthday...

I seriously can't believe that my nephew, Nolan, turned 2! Time flies! For Nolan's birthday, we went to Virginia Beach to celebrate with the family.

Nolan had cupcakes with green frosting. We sang happy birthday and he happily ate his cupcake!

Tyler and "Papa." My dad really wears glasses but Tyler likes to try to take them off so dad usually takes them off himself before they start playing!

Tyler and Uncle G playing cars!

Nolan and I watching television after Nolan woke up from his nap

Isn't he handsome?!

Nolan and Tyler are having a snack after Nolan's birthday party. Tyler is wearing a hat that Nolan got for his birthday.

The boys loved bath time together,  especially when they realized how much fun it would be to peek a boo with the shower curtain!

It snowed in Virginia Beach while we were there! Tyler loved playing in the snow!

Hang out time for the cousins before heading to bed!

This was my first visit to Jen's new house. I loved it! They live right on the water. The first picture is taken after the snowfall, the second is at sunrise and the third is at sunset!

Tyler and Nolan both walked around the house with a bag of veggie straws. It shouldn't surprise you that Tyler has Matt's hat on!

Playtime with Auntie Jaime and Uncle G

Nolan, Tyler and "Papa"

Tyler loved playing with the grill that Jen and Charlie had in the house. He spent at least two hours over the weekend grilling. He liked putting ketchup on the burger and hot dog. He also liked trying to flip the burger over on the grill.

We had a great weekend seeing everyone! Nolan and Tyler both did really well and slept great! Our next family visit together will be for Tyler's 2nd birthday party...coming soon!

Table Standing...

It really is true that if you take your eyes off of your child for one second, anything is possible...

Exhibit A:

When I picked him up off of the table and placed his legs back on the ground, he didn't skip a beat! Where does he get this?! It's not like Matt and I take turns standing on top of the coffee table!! Silly kid.

Hats Inside...

Tyler got an Elmo hat from Matt's mom a few weeks ago. He really likes this particular hat, however I should also tell you that he is a big fan of hats in general! When Tyler brings this hat to school with him, he often goes into his cubby during the middle of the day, takes it out and wears it around the classroom.

On this day, he insisted on wearing his hat in the car...okay, buddy! If you look closely, he also looks like he is asking or wanting something. He is probably asking for "gofishhhhh" or "waaatrrr!"

New Place to Slide...

We tried out another park! The part is about a 5 minute drive from the house but well worth the change in scenery! Tyler loved going up and down the slide and watching the other kids on the playground. When it was time to leave, he kept saying, "siidddeeee! siidddeee" (slide).

Snow, Sit and Play Date...

On Friday, we woke up to snow! We didn't get any snow last year. Unfortunately, I had to go to work the same morning so we didn't get to play in it, although, as you can tell, there wasn't much to play with!

Matt worked the night shift this weekend so before we left for school on Friday, Tyler asked to see "Dada." When we went into the bedroom, Tyler wanted to sit on Matt and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while he ate cheerios. If you look closely, you can see Dada's head on the pillow!

Tyler and I went over to Michelle and Wyatt's house on Saturday morning. When Matt works the night shift, I try to get out of the house if I can to give Matt some peace and quiet while he is trying to sleep. I also like to get out with Tyler in the mornings and do an activity with him so it usually works out well! Tyler and Wyatt are three days apart. Michelle and I met during prenatal water aerobics and have stayed close ever since! Tyler had a great time playing with all of Wyatt's toys (especially the cars and a bear that sang holiday tunes, although no surprise there!)

Go Go Go...

Tyler walked around the house saying, "Go, Go, Go" to Dresden while he attempted to push Dresden all over the place. Dresden didn't seem to mind...Ireland, on the other hand, was terrified! She is not in any of these pictures because she is likely far, far away :)

Tyler also moved our shoes from one side of the room to the edge of the carpet. At least he arranged the shoes together for the most part!

Bath, Bite and Puzzles...

Tyler got his first bite at school yesterday. I did not know about it until I went to take Tyler's shirt off before bath time and found it on his right shoulder. It turns out that his teachers did not realize that he had been bitten either. First, I'm aware that biting can be rather common around Tyler's age and I'm certainly not oblivious to the fact that as parents, we could be in this situation at one time or another with Tyler. Regardless, its still a hopeless feeling to know that your child was bitten and there is really nothing you can do about it and no control you have over it happening again. Good news: He doesn't seem to be uncomfortable...

Here he is after bath time. First shot: "Why mom? Why? No pictures." Second shot: "Ok, you win!":

Sometimes before Tyler's bedtime, I have to get household chores done (vacumming, laundry, folding, ironing, etc.). I'll do anything to entertain and get the job done, like putting him in the laundry hamper as a distraction!

This was taken right before bed. Tyler has been asking to "play" at night after his bath and has been interested in his puzzles. Sometimes, Tyler asks for "help" while he is playing with his puzzles. Other times, he makes this "uuhhhha" sound as he puts the puzzle piece back into the puzzle, as if he just accomplished a very strenuous task :)

Laundry Helper...

Tyler loves to help with the laundry. He likes to take clothes back and forth from our bedroom to the washer and dryer. He likes to put clothes in the dryer. He likes to open, close and operate the dryer by himself. He has tried to climb in tge dryer but I watch him like a hawk so he never makes it far. The picture is a bit blurry, but here is my little helper :)

Museum and Elmo...

Tyler and I went to the Museum of Life and Science while Matt was sleeping after coming off of a night shift. There was a new exhibit while we were there with big blue blocks of all different shapes and sizes:

We went to the usual room that we go into also. There were a bunch of kids playing when we first got there and Tyler wanted to stand to the side and watch them play. Once they left, he had a good time going down the slide and back around through the tunnel.

Of course, we made a stop at the lego station:

We went outside for a little while. I was so happy that Tyler wanted to walk around without me carrying his almost 27 pound self around. This was a welcome change!

 Tyler had a great time walking around. He stopped at the chimes this time and played with them. This was a first for him.

If you hadn't already noticed from some of the pictures, Tyler is a huge Elmo fan. His love for Elmo is interesting to me because he may only watch one episode of Sesame Street per week (if that)! He does listed to an Elmo CD at school and we will listen to one in the car if he asks for it. Tyler is a big fan of hats and he loves running around with this one!

Lastly...work hard, play harder! While Tyler does play alot, he also works on his laptop sometimes :)

Play Date with Cousin Bryson...

Matt and I like to attend church service on Saturday at 4:00pm when we are able. When my mother-in-law is available, this seems to be a good time to drop Tyler off for a play date at her house. My nephew, Bryson, lives at my mother-in-law's house so the boys get to play together also. While the church does have a nice day-care, I'd rather Tyler be spending his time with family when he is able! Here are some pics from their visit together:

Tyler playing with cars (no big surprise there!)

Tyler and Bryson:

 Tyler and Bryson with Grandma Farrell...I'm not quite sure what Tyler has on his head but he loves hats...so sometimes, he creates hats out of other objects :)

Little Blue Truck...

Tyler's absolute favorite book right now is Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle. He got it as a gift from his friend, Wyatt, for his first birthday. It took him a while to get into the book but now it is his number one request! Usually, he is in my lap while we are reading but someone has to be the photographer around here!