Cherry Blossom Festival

This weekend D.C. is celebrating their annual Cherry Blossom Festival. It had been awhile since Walt had been down to D.C., so we thought what better time than now to show him around. The blossoms were out in full bloom. Most of the trees were the white blossoms and it really reminded me of snow covered trees. We had a nice afternoon walking along the pretty trees and visiting some of the nearby memorials. As always when we come to D.C., we did a lot of walking and we were glad to finally get on the subway and rest our legs. I tried to take a lot of photos, so you too can enjoy the beautiful blossoms.

Too Quiet, Something is Up

Walt and I were here watching TV and all of a sudden I noticed that Tyler was not around and it was much too quiet. Usually when it's quiet, Tyler is busy getting into something he isn't suppose to be.

Sure enough, I was right. When I walked into his room I saw his clothes all over the floor and there he was taking the rest out of his bottom drawer. When he noticed me, he offered the hat that he had in his hand to me. What am I going to do with that silly boy???

Goodnight Grandpa!

Welcome Grandpa Smith! Steve's dad arrived this evening for a visit. After a lot of walking around the house with his walker and of course the excitement of seeing Grandpa, Tyler was more than ready to go night night time tonight. Walt picked him up and Tyler's head could barely stay up. His little eyes were slowing closing and he kept burying his head into Grandpa.

See you tomorrow for lots of fun, Grandpa!

Strolling Around the Block

We had our first official stroll around the neighbourhood yesterday! The high for yesterday's temperature was 86 degrees! I wore a short sleeve shirt and jeans and I nearly passed out by the time we got back the house.

It feels so good to be able to spend some time outside after being cooped up in the house all winter. It really breaks up the long day waiting for Daddy to come home and Tyler just loves the outdoors!

Ciao Bella

Our good friend, Larissa, arrived in town yesterday for a navy conference that she will be attending today. Larissa was stationed with us at Sigonella, Sicily. We insisted that she stay at our house while she is here.

After Steve picked her up from the airport and brought her home, we met up with another one of our Sigonella pals, Thea, and her chief for dinner at Outback. We had a great time catching up and reminiscing about our Sig days. Unfortunately, the evening seemed to go by much too quickly.

Larissa, you definitely have to come back soon and bring Corey and the girls with you. We miss you already!!!

All Better

Thanks to those who said a little prayer for Tyler's well being. We saw an immediate improvement Saturday and even though he had a little diarrhea Sunday morning, it was just the one time and he hasn't had any since. The rash cleared up as well.

We did switch him to soy milk as suggested by the doctor. The doctor said that the soy milk will help his intestines get back to normal. We will continue giving him soy milk until it is finished and hopefully when we switch him back to cow's milk everything will still be back to normal.

Happy Birthday, Chellee!!!

Today Steve's youngest sister, Chellee, celebrates her birthday! I remember the first time I met Chellee, she was just so kind and sweet and eventhough I was nervous meeting Steve's family for the first time, she made me feel so welcomed and we became instant friends.

Chellee, we hope you have a nice birthday today! You totally deserve a day devoted to celebrating the wonderful person you are. Steve, Tyler and I would be there with you today, but by the time we drive the 3 hours to get to your house after Steve gets off from work, it would be too late.

Love you Heather, Steve & Tyler

That's My Sailor :)

Yesterday we found out that Steve was made Sailor of the Week last week, though because he was away in Alaska on assignment he didn't find out until then. As part of the title given to him, he also received a couple of gift certificates and a day of liberty to be taken at his leisure, though he says he is so busy at work that he probably won't even get to use it.

Steve has always been a hard worker and I always hear from his peers how much of a professional he is. He truly deserves this wonderful recognition. Way to go, Steve!!! Tyler and I are always very proud of you!!!

You will hear more about his exciting adventure in Alaska and see the photos he took to be published in the All Hands magazine in the next week or so. He is currently busy putting it all together.

Trip to the Doctor

The past few days Tyler has been suffering a bad case of diarrhea, so this morning I took him into the clinic on base to get checked over. His regular doctor, Capt. Wooley, was not available at such a short notice so we were seen by Capt. Kent. Capt. Kent was absolutely wonderful with Tyler and after a good thorough examination, he concluded that Tyler had a case of the Echo virus. He said that it is currently going around and it is highly contagious among children. He assured me there is nothing to worry about as it appears it is only a minor infection and with lots of fluids, Tyler should be just fine in no time. Other than the fact that he has a rash on the trunk of his body and diarrhea, Tyler is practically him old self and as happy as can be. Other symptoms, such as fever and nasal and throat congestion he does not have.

As with most check ups, he did get weighed and measured. He now weighs 22 lbs and 3 oz and is 29.5 inches long. Wow! He has grown a lot in the past month!

I will try my best to keep you all up to date on his well being on the blog in the next while. Until then, please keep him in your prayers for a quick recovery.

The Brave Little Squirrel

The squirrels seem to follow us around wherever we move to. We currently have two squirrels that come to visit us and get peanuts every morning. While one of the squirrels takes precaution when we are around, the other is a very brave little guy. There have been days when Tyler will go to the patio door and he gets so excited about the squirrels getting their peanuts that he will bang on the window and yell out to them. Of course, one of the squirrels takes off like a speeding bullet to his little home in the neighbour's tree, but the other one will just act like there is nothing going on. He will sit and continue eating his nuts and once in awhile stop and look at us. This little guy must be quite hungry to put up with all the banging and yelling that Tyler does when he gets excited.
*We got the results from the blood tests that Tyler had a few weeks ago in the mail yesterday and everything came back normal :)

Thank You Grandma Forst!

I got this really pretty box in the mail the other day. Grandma Forst did such a nice job wrapping it up and I was just so excited to see what was inside. I had so much fun opening up the box, of course Mommy helped me too. The tissue and the ribbon were fun to play with.

The card you gave me was so sweet and I will keep the $2 in a safe place and give it to my kids when I get really really really big.

Oh and wow, I just love the storybook! There are lots and lots of stories in it that Mommy and Daddy can read to me. I don't think we will ever run out of stories to read in that big book.

And oh my goodness, the clothes!!! Mountains and mountains of clothes you gave me. The little dog on the sweater is so soft. I just love patting his fur!






Grandma Forst, I know it's been a few months since we last saw each other, but those socks, they are a little big for me. Actually lots and lots too big. I guess I can put them on my head to keep my ears warm. Oh that's right, now I remember, Mom did say those were Daddy's. I am silly!

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you so very much for all the nice clothes and the book and the $2 and the tissue and the ribbon and the box I am having fun playing with. I miss you Grandma Forst and I hope we can see each other soon.

We're Back!

After several days of having no internet connection, I am back online. Steve came home last night from his trip to Alaska! We've missed him so much!!!! This was the first time that we didn't have any means of contacting each other while he was away. As soon as he left Prodhoe Bay, Alaska to fly to the ice camp there was no cell phone reception or internet connection. To say the least, it was very sad and lonely not hearing from him. Anyway to help welcome him home, I made him heart shaped cookies. I used a traditional Canadian shortbread recipe that we have used in my family for years.

Walking on Thick Ice

Man, is it cold out! After six days "out to sea" Steve is finally on his long trip home. He has been covering the Navy's Ice Exercise nearly 200 miles north of Alaska over the Arctic Sea. The weather has been good; sunny and calm with temperatures ranging from -20F t0 0F. Once he is home he will add a bunch of photos from his trip.

"uh oh"

Tired of Parks Yet?

Today was another fabulous hot day at a temperature of 79 degrees, so there was no doubt that we were headed outdoors again today to find something to do while soaking up this wonderful weather. What better way to spend the afternoon in the sun, then to go to another park. Tyler and I are having a blast trying out different parks eventhough, today we picked one that we had already explored we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves more because it was much colder out the last time we were here.

The park that we went to today was made of recylced tires. They had everything you can imagine made of old tires, such as swings, a car, and even a huge tire monster. Tyler liked the tire monster the best.

Afterwards since he had on his walking attire, we practised walking holding on to Mommy's hand for awhile. Then we took a little break by sitting on the grass. By the end of our visit, Tyler was full of little tire shavings and so we headed home for a nice relaxing bath.

Feels like Summer

It was definitely a "must wear short sleeves" day! We have been having record breaking temperatures. Today was a hot 74 degrees! What a nice change from the chilly weather we had been experiencing lately. As a result of gorgeuse weather today, we just had to jump in the car and go somewhere. So today we went to a different park.

When we first arrived, Tyler was overwhelmed by all the kids around. He usually likes to go on the swing, but today since there were so many people, he wanted to stick close to Mommy. However, it wasn't long before he adapted to his surroundings and he was ready to have some fun.

We went on the merry-go-round and the slide. He just couldn't get enough. He kept pointing to things he wanted me to take him to. His very favourite of all was the Boppy Tocan Bird. Tyler would go on one thing and then it was back to the bird again. He had so much fun and it was also good for Mommy to get out as well. It was nice to talk to some other mommies. Maybe Steve is right, maybe we do need a second car.

Our Trip to the Garden

It was a "no jacket required" day today so Tyler and I took full advantage of this beautiful sunshiny day. I've always wanted to go to the Annmarie Garden, however the fancy gates outside the park gave us the impression that it probably required an admission fee. To my surprise when I did some research, I found out the the park is totally free. So today since we had a vehicle, Tyler and I headed down to check it out and I'm so glad that we did!

It turns out that the Annmarie Garden wasn't just any ordinary park, it is actually a park full of really neat sculptures. It provided a really nice and relaxing walk through a paved trail.

Tyler and I had a great time looking at all the art work and I got him out of the stroller to explore some upclose and take some cute photos of him.

We had so much fun that we are definitely coming back, next time we'll bring Daddy. This is also a place that I just know that Steve will really appreciate.


Check out Tyler's photo shoot at the Annmarie Garden. The one that he is pointing to while he is in his stroller was made by a Canadian artist.

Activity Table/Walker

Tyler was seen the other day walking down the hallway not with his walker, but with his activity table that his Aunt Janell and Uncle Wyatt gave him. I thought it was so cute that I just had to snap a photo to show you all. Thank you Janell and Wyatt for the activity table, as you can see he likes it so much that he has to take it with him everywhere he goes!

California Dreamin'

It's sunny today, but it's too bad it is so cold. We are looking forward to those days where we can enjoy a stroll. The weekend's weather is calling for temperatures up in the 50's, which is a little warmer than the past week. We are more than ready for Spring to start!

Hold On, While I Transfer Your Call

My mom calls and talks to Tyler just about everyday. Tyler likes to listen to her talk to him and he likes to press the buttons to make the different beeping sounds of the phone. Well, this morning he discovered the transfer button. Oh my, this was a new game for him; while he pressed the transfer button, the other phone would start to ring. He had a great time, pressing the button and listening to the other phone ring. He did this over and over again. Of course, my mom didn't care. She likes to listen to him no matter what. What a wonderful grandmother!

Bananas for "Nanas"

Tyler added another word to his vocabulary! Last night, when I was feeding him his dinner he looked over to the counter and kept pointing and saying "nanas nanas". I finished feeding him the jar of sweet peas and then looked over to see the bunch of bananas. I went over and asked him "Bananas? Is this what you want?" He smiled and giggled and said "nanas nanas". It was the cutest thing!!!

It amazed me because it had been weeks since we had bananas in the house. We kept forgetting to get them. It was only last night that Steve brought them home last night from the grocery store. I've been noticing how incredible he is able to remember certain things. He is such a smart little boy!!!

Sophie's Twin

Once in awhile a cat outside will come and visit Sophie and Luigi. This morning, their little outdoor friend came by for a little visit. Lately we have been seeing a little black cat around, but this morning it was Sophie's twin. We have seen her around lots of times, but lately she seemed to have disappeared for awhile. Sophie and her "twin" will just stare at each other through the window. It is amazing how much they look alike. It almost looks like Sophie is looking at her image through a mirror. I wonder what they are thinking when they look at each other for such a long time?

New Best Friend

Last Friday evening, we received a box from my best friend, Erika. I opened it while Tyler was taking a nap. I was totally amazed by what I saw inside. She had made a little dog for Tyler out of socks. It is really the cutest little stuffed dog I have ever seen!!! I just couldn't believe how good a job she did on it. Anyway, soon Tyler woke up and as soon as he wakes up he wants to be fed, as I was preparing his dinner we happened to pass by the counter where 'Jack MacRuff' (the adorable name Erika gave him) was sitting and as soon as Tyler's eyes met Jack's he was very curious as to what it was. I just casually mentioned to him that it was the 'puppy' that Auntie Erika made for him and continued making his dinner. When I sat him in his high chair and started to feed him, he took 2 bites of food and then he kept pointing to the counter to where Jack was. He wasn't at all interested in his food, which is totally unlike Tyler. I brought him over to see the puppy and he became so excited! I wanted to call Erika right away to tell her. I just couldn't believe how excited Tyler was over the puppy. I sat him down with it and he gave it a big hug and all night he brought it around with him wherever he crawled. He would hold it by one of his legs and at times, we even saw him take "puppy" around by carrying him in his mouth! Steve and I just thought it was the cutest thing! We asked Tyler where "puppy" was and he would point and go get him and even pass it to us!

Thank you so much Erika for all your hard work in making "puppy"!!! Tyler just adores it so much and they are going to be best buddies for a long time. You should really consider going into business making these cute sock dogs. You did an awesome job!!! Tyler couldn't be more happy with his new best friend. Scroll down to see more photos of Tyler and Jack MacRuff...

We Love You, Daddy!!!

We love weekends because it means we can spend even more time with Daddy. Have a great weekend everyone!