My Little Treasure

Sometimes Tyler gets a little too excited about his toys when he retrieves them from his treasure chest. In the morning after he wakes up and has his "morning sippy cup", he will go straight for the box and take out practically every little thing that's in there!

Welcome Marco Roy!

Some of you may recall from my previous postings, my friend Desire was expecting. Well, she finally gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Marco Roy in Sicily, Italy on December 20th. Desire, Ernie and Sofia are so proud of their new addition to their family. They are currently in the process of getting stationed in Germany.

Desire and Ernie were stationed with Steve and I in Sicily for about a year before they were PCS'd to California.

Congratulations on your adorable new family member!!!

Allison's Birthday!

Allison is one of my closest friends who I have known for a long time. I first met Allison when she was visiting her cousin, Janna, who happened to be my best friend at the time. Allison and I were both in grade 10. We had a lot in common and when it was time for her to return back to her home in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, after spring break was over, we thought it would be neat to exchange mailing addresses. Well, after many many years of writing to each other, still keep in touch almost on a daily basis. Of course, technology has advanced since we first met and we no longer write through snail mail.

Today is your special day, Allison and I hope that all your wishes for today and forever come true!

Your Friend Forever,
Heather

Sippy Cup Success!!!

While in Arkansas, I saw a cool sippy cup with a softer spout so I decided to buy it and give it a shot. With us constantly on the go since Thanksgiving it had been several months since the last time we tried Tyler with a sippy cup. The softer spout made the difference! We found that using the hard spout, all he wanted to do was chew instead of suck. It was success at last! Yesterday we put away all his bottles and accessories. It was a sad moment! My little baby is becoming a big boy, already :(

Happy 1st Birthday Maggie!!!
Our friends Allison and Dave of Halifax, Nova Scotia are the proud parents of their fur baby, Maggie, who turns 1 year old today! She is a cutie pie modeling her new coat.

Little Secrets of Little Rock

One of my favourite aspects about geocaching is that it sometimes takes you to places that you never knew existed. While caching with Kristin in Arkansas, we got to go to some really cool places. One of the caches was located in front of the Skippy peanut butter plant. Who knew that only place in the world that Skippy peanut butter is made is in Little Rock, Arkansas?! In fact, they make over 4 million pounds of peanut butter a week!!! It was a lot of fun doing this cache and I can't wait until Tyler gets older, so I can tell him that his Aunt Kristin took us to see the peanut butter factory.

Do you remember the television show 'Designing Women'? I used to watch it when I was in high school. The house that they show in the opening credits is located in Little Rock! We were driving through Little Rock one day and Kristin mention that the house was there. I really wanted to go see it and it turned out that someone placed a cache right in front of the house!

Thank you Kristin and Joey for taking us to see where you live! We had a fantastic time!

My Musical Nephew

For our last night in Arkansas, Joey and Kristin took us to the high school basket ball game to see Nick play in the band. Although I heard audio of my nephew Nick playing before, this was the first time I heard him play in person! I was very impressed! They even gave him a solo part! Nick is the only sophomore to be chosen to play in the school band!!! He is extremely gifted! Nick not only plays the trumpet, but he also plays the violin for church. We are very proud of you, Nick!

This was the first time we had taken Tyler to any kind of sporting event. At first, he didn't know what to think with so much going. After he got more familiar with his surroundings, he looked around to the people sitting near us. The people got a kick out of him playing his new favourite game: sticking his tongue out at people and then when they would do it to him in return, he would laugh.

We're Home!

Yesterday we got back on the plane, equipped with a tupperware container full of fried pies compliments of Kristin's aunt. However we were very close to missing our flight. For some reason, they decided to take off much earlier than stated on my itinerary. I ran to get on the plane after hearing my name called twice for last call for boarding. Once we were up in the air, I couldn't believe how fast the flight was. We were in back in Maryland in no time. Steve met us at the baggage claim with a beautiful bouquet of roses and a very sweet card! I missed him very much!!!! It's good to be back home with the best husband in the whole world!!!!

Olivia the Friendly Cat

Uncle Joey and Aunt Kristin have 4 cats. Their names are Ginger, Sable, Olivia, and Sophie. Eventhough they are all indoor cats, Tyler and I rarely see any of them until Joey and Kristin come home from work, however Olivia is the exception. Olivia is a very affectionate cat and just loves Tyler. She is amazingly good with him. She rubs up against him and lets him practically do just about anything to her. Tyler pats her and even gives a little tug on her fur every now and then. She is really wonderful with him and he really likes her. As with all cats he sees, he giggles and tries to catch her. Olivia actually comes up to him. I think Joe and Kristin must have got Olivia from a petting zoo. I've never seen a cat act so good with a baby before.

Oh and I can't forget about Tom. He is their outdoor cat.

First Snow of the Season

Well, winter has finally arrived. Today's high temerature was about 32º. The snow began falling around noon and continued to flurry all day.

Garret turns 1 Year Old Today!!!!

Just one year ago today, a very special baby boy was born. His name is Garret. Garret is very special to us because not only is he Tyler's cousin, but he was born EXACTLY one month before Tyler! Whenever we get the two boys together, we try to get them the same outfits and take their photo together. It's so hard to believe that a year has past already. Garret is growing so fast. He is walking already and saying many things! Aunt Heather, Uncle Steve & his cousin and buddy Tyler wish Garret a very very special day today! God Bless you always!

Tyler's a Fry Guy and Fried Pies Rule!

Yesterday Aunt Kristin bought Tyler Arrowroot cookies. It was the first time he tried them. He really liked them and munched on them the whole drive back to the house after we went caching yesterday. So today I decided to see if he would like McDonald's fries. At first, he made a funny face, but after he tried chewing a small piece, he wanted some more. He ate about 3 fries.

Also today Kristin phoned and said her dad just brought into to the office two fried pies that her aunt made and that she would be by the house soon with them. Boy, was I happy to hear this! I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday's fried pie! Thank you Kristin's aunt for the delicious pie! I tried the apricot pie and it was extremely tasty. There is also an apple pie that I put in the kitchen and if no one claims that by tomorrow morning, it may go "missing". Thank you so much Kristin's aunt!!!

Tyler Goes to Work ,Caching in Arkansas & Fried Pie

Kristin came back home this morning to see if we wanted to go see the newspaper office that her family owns. Of course, I said yes and quickly got Tyler ready. On the way, we stopped in to see where Joe works. It was really cool to see his office and to meet the people he works with. They all said he looks like Joey, but with a lot more hair. The Kristin took us by the newspaper office and I finally got to see where it all happens. Tyler was his usual charming self around the girls at the office.

Kristin took the rest of the day off to spend with Tyler and I and we had a blast! We drove around and found some caches. A lot of the caches we didn't have descriptions for, however Kristin knew right where they were because she knows the area so well. One of the caches took us to the exact middle of Arkansas. It was really cool! I think I managed to get Kristin and Joe hooked on the sport because they are out trying to find their very first cache right now.

The best part of the day was trying fried peach pie for the first time. Oh was it good!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT NORMA!!!! HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY :)

Kitty Tent Fun

Tyler and I are having a fun time here at Joey and Kristin's. Tyler has discovered their cat tent. What we usually do is, I put my head inside the tent and Tyler laughs and crawls over to me and puts his head inside the other hole on the other side of the tent. Today he managed to crawl right inside the tent and then when he crawled out of it, he took the tent with him.

Merry Christmas Joey

Since my brother, Joey, could not go home to Cape Breton for Christmas, his wife Kristin bought me a ticket to fly to their house in Arkansas to spend some time with them. Tyler and I flew out here yesterday afternoon. The flight went very well. The flight attendants kept coming by and commenting on how well behaved he was throughout the entire 2 hour and 45 minute flight. They gave him airplane crackers, which he enjoyed very much.

Today Kristin, Tyler and I went shopping at the antique malls in Little Rock and Bryant. It was a lot of fun walking around. The malls were just full of interesting things. Kristin is into collecting these really pretty floral glasses that used to hold peanut butter. She managed to find one today. I saw a lot of things I used to have when I was growing up too. It brought back a lot of memories.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TEDDY!!!!
Today is Tyler's cousin's first birthday. It's so hard to believe that a year has gone since Sue gave birth to their cutie pie. We hope Teddy has a fun time on his very special day!

It's Oh So Quiet

Well this morning, Chellee, Peter and Brye got on the road and started to head back home to where it is much warmer. We enjoyed having them here for a visit and we hope they had a great time in Maryland. There isn't much to do where we live, but it's a nice area and we like our home. Tonight they will be staying with friends in North Carolina overnight and then making the rest of their journey home tomorrow.

Also today, for some unknown reason, Tyler has been crawling around on his hands and knees. He typically prefers the "army style" of crawling with his arms and stomach on the floor, and just once in awhile crawling on hands and knees basically to go to short distances. Today he seems to have an abundance of engery, probably as a result of being restrained to the play pen the past few days. He even made an escape into the kitchen, which he hasn't done in quite awhile!

Mommy really cares

While Chellee, Peter and Brye are out braving the chilly temperatures in DC to get in some sights before heading back on the road tomorrow, Tyler and Mom are inside where it's nice and warm. There was absolutely no way I was going to take Tyler out in this kind of cold, especially since he still has his infection. He is, however, doing wonderful despite his cough. Today he had fun crawling around the house and playing with his toys. It was a nice break for him after being coped up in his play pen for a couple of days. Hopefully the next time Chellee and Peter come we will all be well and be able to do things together. Temperature in DC today was 40!

A Day of Rest

Today we all just stayed inside and rested up after our many illnesses of the past week. Tyler seems to be doing a lot better today. He woke up with a small fever but as the morning progressed his spirits picked up and his fever went down. He spent most of the day in his playpen so he could properly rest. His cough is still raspy and his nose is still runny. He is currently taking Infant Tylenol and he really likes its' bubble gum flavour, so much that he actually cries for more after I give it to him.

Tyler's Visit to the Emergency Room

This morning our little baby woke up sick. I thought it was kind of strange that he slept in until 9:30 when he usually wakes up around 7:30. When I went to get him in his crib after I heard him wake up, his little body was really limp with no energy whatsoever and he was really hot. He then coughed and it sounded like the really raspy cough his cousin, Brye has now and that Steve did have just last week. I checked his temperature and it was 100.8, so I called Steve and he called the clinic on base to see if they could get us in to have him checked out, but they didn't have an opening until this afternoon and they don't take emergencies there. They referred us to a nearby hospital.

When we got to the emergency room at the hospital, they took his temperature again and it was 102.4! The nurse immediately gave him some Tylenol and Motrin to help bring the fever down. She ordered some chest x-rays to ensure there was no fluid building in his lungs. Seeing Tyler getting his chest x-ray was one of the most upsetting things I have ever experienced. They had to put him in this plastic tube like gadget with his arms up in the air. He looked all squished in there. He was such a good sport though. Actually throughout the entire hospital visit, he still remained his same old happy self.

After the x-ray and after a bit of a wait, the nurse took his temperature again and the temperature was down to 100.4 and he appeared to have a lot more energy. He was bouncing all around and reaching out for things to explore. The doctor came in and looked over his chart and checked his chest. He said it sounded like a bad viral infection, but with time he should be better. He said Tyler just needs lots of rest and doses of Tylenol and Motrin.

We have all been battling illnesses here. Steve just got rid of his cold. Brye is still battling hers. Peter has the flu and I am just getting over the flu. The only person that hasn't been sick yet is Chellee!

Thank you Lord for looking after my little boy today and always!

What rolls over your neighbour's dog?

Today we went to the Calvert Cliffs State park to do some caches. After finding two caches, we noticed there was a playground so we headed over and let Brye and Tyler have some fun. Peter and I pushed Brye and Tyler on the swings and then later on we went down the slide. The playground was really neat because it was made from recyled tires. I noticed there were a lot of other moms with their kids there today. When Tyler gets a little older this may be our hang out too.

Steve phoned just as we were leaving the park to say that he came home because he was not feeling very well. He has been battling a terrible cold and sore throat ever since we left Florida. We ate lunch and then headed out to try and get a First to Find for a cache. Unfortunately, we were the Second to Find. Oh well!

Then Steve wanted to place a new cache of our own, so placed it at a really neat cemetary. The cache is one that Steve made of a log and we are going to call it 'What rolls over your neighbours dog?' just like the Ren and Stimpy song.

A Fun Day with Chellee, Peter & Brye

It was a beautiful sunny day today so I took Chellee, Peter and Brye for a little walk around nearby Solomons Island. Afterwards we for lunch at our local favourite restaurant, Five Guys for some burgers and fries. While in the area, I took them around to do some caches and even managed to add some to our find list. I also took them to do the caches we had hidden. It was fun to see their reaction to some of them. Too bad Steve had to work today, we missed him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STEVE'S BROTHER, MARK!!! HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY :)

We're Home!

After what seemed like a never ending drive, we finally made it back home last night. Chellee, Peter and Brye followed us up in their van. Even though we stopped to do a few caches to break up the trip, it still seemed like a long drive; it took us a total of 16 hours! We did get to see the Smallest Church in America, which was really neat. It was at a cache location.

While we were gone a road crew started to dig up our old drainpipe in front of our house and they are currently in the process of replacing it with a brand new one. We are really happy about it because we desperately needed a new one. Every time we would get any substantial amount of rain our front lawn would be flooded.