Welcome to "Keeping up with the Joneses Online". We will be posting pictures regularly so you can see how Tyler is growing, and how we are staying busy. Please leave comments and sign in on the guest book, too!
Lots of changes!
The last few weeks have been a little crazy around our house (actually a lot crazy!). Things seem to finally be settling down a little bit, so I'm very grateful for that :)
At the end of August Tyler was tested for allergies, and we found out that he's allergic to dogs. We were relieved to find out what has probably been causing his chronic congestion, but of course this meant that we needed to find Abbi a new home :( Although we miss her, the good news is that we found a very kind and patient woman that already loves Abbi to pieces. Her personality is just perfect for sensitive Abbi. We've received email updates, and luckily everything seems to be going great for the two of them. Tyler brings up Abbi's name each day, but he seems to understand that she isn't living with us anymore. We just had every square inch of carpet steam cleaned in our home, so we're still in the process of putting all of our furniture back into place. It feels like we're moving in all over again! We're really hopeful that Tyler won't have as many colds now that we won't have any pet dander in the house anymore.
The same week we were finding a new home for Abbi, Nathan hit a deer driving home from work and our car was totaled. Thankfully he wasn't hurt at all, but we didn't have much time to find a new vehicle as a replacement. We ended up buying a Ford Edge, and so far we are really happy with it. It was a stressful few days trying to find just what we wanted though! The day before Nathan's accident, my windshield was cracked by a rock kicked up by a truck on the interstate. That was just one more fun thing to take care of that week!
This week was the first week that Tyler didn't attend daycare at all since Nathan and I are able to alternate taking care of him. With Nathan working at Covance on second shift now, we don't see each other very much, but we sure are saving a lot of expense on daycare!
I think that finally covers all of the changes we've had lately! I'm hoping things will stay quiet for at least a little while now!
18 months old!
When I was pregnant with Tyler, everyone kept telling me how quickly babies grow and how they seem to change before your eyes. I don't think I completely understood that until Tyler arrived. I remember when he officially turned 24 hours old, and already time was going by too quickly. Now he is a year and a half old! It's amazing to think about everything he's accomplished in that short time. He's learned to walk, run, jump...and don't forget climb! He can say almost 50 words as long as you include the ones that only his closest loved ones can understand :) I can only imagine what he'll have learned in the next 6 months when we celebrate his second birthday. It's fun to think about, but I try to enjoy each day one at a time since he really is changing before our eyes!
Mid-week vacation :)
On Tuesday after work, I went home to pack the car, and then picked up Tyler at daycare to drive to Wisconsin Dells. We met my mom there at the Kalahari Resort, which is beautiful! We got lucky because the weather was just warm enough to enjoy the outdoor waterpark in addition to the indoor one. Nathan joined us on Wednesday, and the three of us played in the water all day while my poor mom had to attend training courses. She was able to spend some time with us in the evening though :) She also stayed with Tyler so that Nathan and I could go out to eat dinner together alone, which is rare! We left on Thursday morning, so it was a quick stay, but we sure had a lot of fun! Tyler wasn't so sure about water slides yet, but he did like splashing around in the water :)
Talking up a storm!
I can't believe how many words Tyler has learned to say over the last month! I started a list over on the right side of the web page to start keeping track of them all. Some of his words are clearer than others, but he's definitely communicating! He's still doing really well with his signing too. His favorite signs are by far "more" and "eat". They even mentioned that in the last daycare newsletter :) It is so helpful for him to be able to tell us what he wants!
We had some really nice weather for the holiday weekend. We were able to get all of our landscaping freshened up with new mulch and planted a lot of flowers to brighten up the yard. Tyler had fun "helping" us with all of the yard work! I think he's going to have a green thumb.
Playing outside
It has finally been nice enough outside to spend some time playing out in the back yard! Tyler really enjoys walking (and running!) around out in the grass. His favorite thing is to chase or be chased :) Abbi gets in on the fun too. Tyler has also been spending more time outside at daycare. He moved into the toddler classroom a few weeks ago, and they go outside every day, as long as the weather permits it. He has been sleeping so much better for his afternoon naps, and I think a big reason for that is all the extra fresh air he's been getting. The toddler room is also very active, so I'm sure that helps to tire him out!
Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house
Tyler and I spent this weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Ackley's house. We hadn't been there for several months! He pulled out the pots and pans from the cupboard and had a great time "cooking" all weekend. It was warm enough for a few walks outside and he enjoyed looking out over the river. We had a fun play date with his friends Alaina and Sofia on Saturday morning. Luckily for me, Tyler did a lot better in the car this time! He slept almost the entire way in both directions! It was definitely worth waiting until his bedtime to start traveling.
When is Spring coming?
Tyler and I played outside with Abbi today, and although most of the snow has melted, it was still very cold! We're ready for Spring to come so we can spend more time outside. We only lasted a few minutes out there today. It will be fun to see Tyler play outside now that he can get around so well. Last summer he was only crawling so he couldn't get into too much trouble.
Be my Valentine
We had a fun Valentine's Day weekend, and Tyler enjoyed opening his Valentine cards and gifts from family and friends. He did a good job last week making some of his own cards with red finger paint! Washable kids paint was a great invention :)
Tyler is One!
Well, it's official. Tyler turned one on Monday, January 26th! It's so hard to believe that a whole year has passed since he was born. We've all come a long way since then! We celebrated his birthday last Saturday with family and friends. Tyler seemed to enjoy all of the attention, and loved playing with the other babies that were able to come; cousin Emberly (4 months), and friends Henry and Alaina (both 16 months). I posted several pictures from his party on the birthday page, so you can see all of the fun he was having :)
Happy New Year!
Over the last few months, Tyler celebrated his first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays. He's been enjoying visits from family, and is busy playing with all of his new gifts! I think we've all been enjoying the great food :) Now it is 2009, and his first birthday is just around the corner. We're looking forward to his birthday, but he's growing up way too fast! He's been walking from one end of the house to the other. All that exercise means that he's been sleeping great though! He is in his routine of sleeping from about 8:00 pm until 7:00 am. I can definitely live with that!
6/29/2009 1:37:28 AM - 002060673953
Absolutely awesome. The best father's day gift ever. No dry eyes in this home and made me love being a dad even more! I love you, Andrea.
6/28/2009 12:18:41 PM - 001099829250
OMG (I hardly ever say that, so you know it's serious when I do!), that was the coolest video ever! My eyes were definitely NOT dry by the end of it! :) What a wonderful Father's Day gift!
--Rachel
6/18/2009 7:46:31 PM - 001076929506
This video was an early Father's Day present for Nathan :)
3/6/2009 1:31:26 PM - 002059881464
This is great!. I will have to see if I can figure out all the workings of it, I don't have the patience when it come to this stuff. Tyler looks like a happy little guy! He certainly is a cutie!
Love, Bette Lou
3/4/2009 2:57:07 AM - 002022476745
Hi Andrea! I'm so glad you made this website, Tyler is too cute :) Hopefully, some day we can get together and all of our babies can play! Does Rachel have a website too? You can check out ours at www.mcginnsoccerclub.blogspot.com. Sending love to Wisconsin, Michele (Nathan's Ohio cousin)
3/3/2009 1:54:22 AM - 001048756349
Hey Andrea!!! Just wanted to write on your guestbook :) Hope we can have more playdates!!!
2/9/2009 1:43:55 AM - 002056883390
He is sooo cute. Love the one at the window. Hard to believe he's a year old. We so enjoy being kept in the picture loop. Thank you.
2/6/2009 5:02:17 AM - 001001590658
He's such a cutie! I love all the pictures!!
2/4/2009 10:16:27 PM - 002056535080
It is so hard to believe a year has passed. I thought it went fast when the girls were little, it goes even faster when it is a Grandson. The holidays and first birthday were great, I look forward to many more. Love, Grandma
