Oh Boy, A Phone Call!

Yesterday we spent the day cleaning out the attic and the spare bedroom. There was a ton of stuff we sorted through that we have decided to garage sell, e-Bay, or keep. Tyler got some "new" toys out of the deal, such as a stuffed Mickey, Goofy, and Donald. He already knew Goofy's and Donald's name, which was neat. One of the items we came across was a Mickey phone. Steve was going to e-Bay it, but we checked out what it was currently bidding for and it wasn't much, so we have decided to keep it for Tyler's room when he gets older. However for now, we thought it would be pretty cool to set it up in the kitchen. When the phone rings, Mickey moves and talks. Tyler and I love it! So if you call the house and it rings a few times, don't despair, we'll eventually answer; we just want to have a little fun with Mickey first.

Look Ma, No Jacket

Spring has definitely sprung! It is currently 73 degrees outside. It's a great feeling being able to enjoy the fresh outdoors after being cooped up inside all winter. Our daffodils are in full bloom and look great. However, the temptation to pick one got the best of me and Tyler loves flowers, so I got some shots of him enjoying the warm sun and taking in the sweet fragrance of the daffodil. The temperature is suppose to be back down in the low 50's this weekend, so we are soaking in all we can get today before we have to return to wearing our winter attire again. Though I shouldn't complain, warmer temperatures are just around the corner.


Hope you all have a terrific weekend!

Let's Have a Potty!!!

This morning I told Tyler I was going to use the potty. While I was in the bathroom, I heard Tyler saying "Too", which means he wants to too. Then he went and got his potty out of his closet and brought it in the bathroom to me. So we set it up and after about 2 minutes later he urinated! It didn't exactly go in the potty. Most of it went on his little stool, but he still "pee pee'd" on the potty! Anyway, I just wanted to share with you all how proud I am of him! We might just try putting the cloth underwear on him today and see how he does.

Fast Asleep

It's been quite some time since I took some photos of Tyler's hands and feet. My baby is growing up way too fast. The other day I had my chance as I had to wake him up from his nap to get ready to go out. Even though I took several photos, he didn't even make a move until I picked him up.



26 on the 26th!!! Today is a very special day for Chellee! She's turning 26 today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Priceless

We found something very special at the store today.

CAM-athon

CAM has now officially started!!! If you don't recall last year's post regarding CAM, let me review what CAM is all about. First of all, CAM is Caching Across Maryland. There are 10 caches placed for the event and you have a limited amount of time to find them, if you would like to attend the CAM picnic. This year's picnic is in May. However not just any cacher can attend the CAM picnic. You have to find all 10 CAM caches and to ensure that you have found them all, the location of the cache is only given by obtaining the letters in each cache and then a decoder is e-mailed just before the picnic.

Friday afternoon, we all piled ourselves as well as our overnight bags in our car and headed to the western part of Maryland. Richey and Barbie drove with us. We stayed over night at a hotel and waited for the CAM caches to be published. They ended up publishing them at 10 p.m. that night, so we got up at 5 a.m. to start our CAM-athon. To our surprise we ended up completing 7 of the 10 CAM caches that day. It was a lot of driving and hiking, but we sure had a lot of fun! Since there was a group of us (Richey, Barbie, Glen, Beka, Sam, Jenny Sue, Steve, Tyler and I) CAMing together, we decided to have a team name. We are calling ourselves "Team I'm with Stupids". LOL Yesterday we did another CAM cache and so we only have 2 more to find on the eastern side of the state. We are having a blast CAMing as it gets us to experience Maryland in it's entirety. Of course, getting the chance to get out and enjoy our favourite hobby is a huge bonus as well. For us Maryland cachers, this is the event of the year and we are loving it!

Hoppy Easter

Hooray, the Easter Bunny came to our house today and he left a basket full of goodies for one special little boy. Tyler was so surprised to see the basket in his room when he walked in. I wish I could have captured his cute little face with my camera. His mouth was wide open and he covered his mouth with his hands. We told him that the Easter Bunny would be coming today and that he just might leave him some little things he would like. Inside the Easter basket was a kite, sneakers (how did the Easter Bunny know his were starting to get too small?) and a little chocolate bunny.

After Tyler had a blast taking everything out of his basket and inspecting it all, he then took out the Easter grass and had some fun with that. Next thing on his list was the chocolate bunny. We try to not give Tyler candy and such, so this was the first time he has ever had chocolate. It wasn't long before the bunny came out of the box, the foil off, and it was in his mouth. I'm not sure how he knew it was edible, though he does like to put things in his mouth. So I guess this passed the taste test and then some. We were only going to let him eat the ears today. I was afraid that after getting a taste for the chocolate he would want the entire bunny, but after a few bites he was OK with us saving the rest for later. Afterwards, we had a good brushing.
Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

My Sunshine

Everyone pretty much knows the song 'You are my Sunshine', so I'm guessing you are familiar with the lyrics. Since Tyler was just a few days old, I've been singing that song to him. Well, for the past few months or so, whenever I would get to the part where the song says the word "happy", Tyler would cut in and say the word himself. Now whenever he wants me to sing that song to him he says "Happy, Mommy, Happy". The song puts a smile on both of our faces and good feeling in my heart. Tyler will always be my sunshine and make me happy when skies are grey :)

Tea for Two in ENGLAND!!!!!

Guess what??? We're going to England!!!! Steve surprised me the other day with the terrific news!!!! I still can't believe we are going. Steve and I absolutely love Europe and we really miss it over there. We visited England in May 2004 and for me, it really felt like home but yet it was still exciting and foreign. Steve had the privilege of being stationed there when he first joined the Navy. Our friend, Maria, lives there and we are so excited to be staying with her for a few days and possibly going to Scotland as well. Unfortunately, Tyler will not be joining us. He will be staying with my parents in Canada. Of course, we'll miss him terribly but at the same time it will be good for Steve and I to have time for just the two of us. We've only been without our little boy for one night since he was born. He'll be fine though with Nanny and Poppy. So look for posts from us in May direct from England!!!! Yipee!!!!!!

A Faux Poo

Here's a funny story that happened during this past weekend. As I was changing Tyler he mentioned that he had to go "pee pee", so I let him go get his potty from the closet and we set it up in the bathroom on the big potty. By the way, we are still waiting until his bladder is mature before we officially start to learn how to use the potty. However when things like this happen, I let him try it himself to get use to the idea.

Anyway, getting back to the story. So here we were waiting for him to go potty and all of a sudden we hear this big plop sound. LOL I was all excited, Steve, who was in the living room at the time, was all excited. We were clapping our hands and cheering for Tyler. Tyler was all smiles and started to clap too. I just couldn't believe he did a "poo poo" for the first time, especially since we haven't really tried to yet. Anyway, so I asked Tyler if he was all done and he replied that he was. Still being ecstatic about his first poo poo in the potty, I wanted to show him what he did, so Tyler came off of the potty and we looked in the potty together. Meanwhile we were still so happy and excited. We looked in the potty, only to find a piece of his potty that was on the bottom came off. In conclusion, that's what made the splash and both Steve and I never laughed so much.

2 Year Checkup

After about a month too late, Tyler finally had his 2nd year checkup. The whole process of getting his appointment with the doctor was delayed because my military identification was expired. After we got it renewed then we all got sick. So today Tyler finally got into see Major Woolley. As always, Maj. Woolley was excellent with Tyler. She listened for monkeys beating their drums inside Tyler, looked for bananas in his ears, and checked him over completely. Tyler now weighs 30 lbs and 4 oz and is 35 inches tall. He ranged between 70-75% percentile for his age of which Major Woolley commented how nicely proportioned he was. We talked about potty training and she recommended waiting until he was physically matured.
After the appointment, we went and got our immunizations all up to date and Tyler didn't shed a tear. All he did was had a concerned look on his face and wanted up with me. The nurse gave him a Thomas sticker, so he was really happy about that. Then we went to the playground, but we didn't stay long because of the chilly temperatures. There were a lot planes in the air this morning. Tyler enjoyed watching fly over and he kept shouting out "airplane! airplane!". We soon went and watched them from the comfort of our nice warm car.


Then it was off to Exchange to pick up a few things, including a new truck book for Tyler for being such a good boy at the doctor's office. Tyler was also desperate need of a hair cut. We went to the barber shop and it was the first time they used the clippers on him. He sat on Mommy's knee and was such a good boy throughout the entire haircut! Tyler looks so different now. His hair is very short! Soon it was time to meet Daddy for lunch, but when Steve arrived to the car he said that his boss let him go for the day! Hooray!!! We've been up since 4 am, so it was nice coming home early.

Ta Da...A New Bathroom!!!

Hooray!!! We finally finished our bedroom bathroom makeover and I must say that we love the outcome. It looks so much more clean and offers a fresh new look. The colour we chose for the walls is called Lyndhurst Jade and really compliments our bedroom colour. This was our first real renovation done to the house it has been quite the learning experience. Steve did most of the work because of the work involved, such as installing a new toilet and sink, and the space to work in was quite limited. Steve did an awesome job!!!
Looking at the before picture and comparing it to the finished product is truly amazing and really inspiring to get the main bathroom started soon.

Easter Bunny Comes Early

The Easter Bunny paid an early visit to Nanny and Grampy in Canada this year, so Nanny gathered all the things that the Easter Bunny left for her grandson and mailed them in a box. We received that box yesterday and this morning I let Tyler do the honours of opening it. As he was opening it, he kept saying "Easter Bunny! Easter Bunny!" and he was quite excited. This was the very first time he said the words "Easter Bunny" too, so it was really neat.

One of the items in the box was a pair of coveralls and soon as he saw them he said "Luigi!". At first, I thought there was a picture of a cat on them since we have a cat named Luigi, but it was the car named Luigi from the movie Cars! It's amazing how he knows all the characters names from that movie, as well as Thomas the Tank Engine.

Thank you Canada Easter Bunny and Nanny and Grampy for all the nice things you sent Tyler. Tyler loves all his new clothes and especially the SpongeBob toothbrush. He had to try it out right away.

Going to the Board

We were just informed that Steve had passed his Chief's exam making him eligible to go to the board. This year they increased the limit you had to obtain for the exam grade by 10 points. Steve will now have to prepare a package to present to the board that will help determine whether he will be chosen to make Chief. This is Steve's first time obtaining the eligible requirements and in his rate of MC (Mass Communications Specialist) this is not an easy task. Last year they only chose one MC to be Chief. It is a tough process, but we are confident that Steve is more than ready to put on his khakis and become Chief. No matter what, we are very proud of his accomplishments.

Oh Poop!

Yesterday afternoon I was planning on doing some yoga. It had been 2 and 1/2 years since the last time I had done yoga and I really miss it. So after I put Tyler down for his nap, grabbed a bite to eat, and was about to change into some yoga clothes, I happen to pass by his bedroom door and thought I heard some low key talking in there. It had been close to an hour since I put him down and thought he should be sleeping by this time. I cracked open the door a bit and to my complete shock here was Tyler sitting in his crib stark naked with what appeared to be poop all over his hands, face, legs, hair, not to mention all over his crib and sheet. Whenever he wears a certain outfit, he all of a sudden turns into Houdini and a little something inside said to me that day when I put him down for his nap, to change him out of the outfit, but I neglected to listen to my intuition. I know better next time! Anyway, so instead of relaxing and doing my yoga yesterday afternoon, I spent the day giving Tyler a bath, washing down his crib, washing his sheets and clothes, and hand washing Winnie. I've had other moms tell me this exact same incident happening to their toddlers, so I guess this was Tyler's turn :P

Let There Be Light

The light fixture was installed last night. They look really good and really helps to update our new bathroom. Tonight when Steve came home, we went to the store and bought a new facet for our new sink. Steve installed the facet and the sink tonight. It is amazing how much more room there is once that old cabinet and sink were gone. The pedestal sink looks great too. They say that people prefer the pedestal sink nowadays. We're hoping it does the trick to help sell the house. We're not finished yet...stay tuned.

The Little People

Tyler enjoys playing with his Little People. Everyday I find him playing with them more and more. He will often take two of them and create little scenarios with them. This morning he had the cow and he was feeding the cow some of his Cheerios. Then at lunch, he took Sonya Lee and fed her some of the corn we were eating. Sonya Lee already has corn in her hand which he often likes to point out. He often uses Sonya Lee to feed his cow and pony. I even have fun playing with Tyler using the Little People. The Little People may be tiny, but they are big in our hearts.

"I'm looking for you!"

Potty Like It's 1999

So yesterday we left you off at Steve's dilemma of what to do with the rotted section of the floor that was discovered when we started this project. By the way, if you are just reading this now and you have not yet read yesterday's post where we first started our bedroom bathroom makeover, I suggest you start there and then read this post. Anyway, the next morning, Steve decided the best thing to do is to cut the section out and go back to the store and get new wood to replace the section. After he came back to the store, he came back and replaced the wood with new wood and we were good to go again. Then it was tile time! We originally bought peel and stick tile, but we ended up using sheet vinyl instead. We were going to use the sheet vinyl underneath to protect the wood, but we liked how it looked when it was installed.
The next stage was Tyler's favourite! He had been talking about how the potty was all gone ever since we took it out the day before. He brought in his own potty to the bathroom. I guess he thought we could use his since ours was no longer there..LOL! Steve finally took the new toilet out of the box and installed it. I had no idea before he started this step, that this was his first time installing a toilet. I was pretty proud that he did an awesome job. The final step was however completed by Tyler, himself. Once he saw Daddy use his hammer and found his hammer and started to use it, so we gave him the job of hammering down the cover to the seat. Our friends, Richey and Barbie came over to have a sneak peek. Richey is in the construction business and was offering advice to us as we needed it. We went for some ice cream for a break and then dinner (yes, ice cream first LOL) and came home and while I put Tyler to bed, Steve finished up the main painting. There was a couple sections we left out, like where the sink was. Stay tuned for more bedroom bathroom makeover posts...

Bedroom Bathroom Makeover

As of yesterday morning, this is what our bedroom bathroom looked like. However, since then we have made some changes to it. We woke up to a rainy windy day yesterday and since we were recovering from the flu, we were tired of being stuck inside with little to do. So Steve decided what better time than to start our bedroom bathroom makeover. Even though this is not the main bathroom we used, because it is taken over by our two cats and their litter box, we still needed to prepare it for our house sale next year. So with that being said, it was off to the home hardware store to pick up the supplies we needed. This is always my favourite part. It's fun to pick the colours and styles to create a whole new room.
When we got home, the first thing I did was take out everything in the medicine and sink cabinets. Then Steve had the glorious job of ripping it off the wall. Then he patched up the spots on the wall from where they used to be. Tyler was very curious about the whole project, especially when Steve ripped out the toilet. He kept saying "Potty all gone!" and he would go look out the back window to where Steve put it. Once the joint compound was dry, Steve took a sander to it to smooth it all over and prepare the wall for paint. That night after I put Tyler to bed, we both painted the walls. Steve did the trims with the brush and I did the main parts with the roller. After that was finished, Steve took the layers of tile off the floor. To our surprise, there were three layers of tile!!! It wasn't until we got to the wood underneath that we discovered that there was a section of the floor that was starting to rot. This may be the reason why the previous owners just layered the tile instead of properly installing a new tile. Steve then started to think what were we to do now? Stay tuned and find out.

"Boys Only"

Last night, Steve made a tent for Tyler in the living room to play in. When it was all completed, it looked like so much fun, however Tyler said it was for "boys only". Steve and I got a big kick out of that. He did ask for Barbie though. Barbie is definitely his buddy(and Beka, of course).

Well, it wasn't long before Sophie and I crashed the party that was going on inside. We brought in the flashlight and had some fun with that. Then Tyler decided to explore the outside and collapsed the entire tent. And this concludes this post. LOL

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!!! Sending lots of hugs and kisses your way.

Daddy's Turn

Well, that nasty flu bug found its' way to Steve now. It kept him up all last night. When he called into work this morning, they told him to stay home anyway because they didn't want to get what we have.

It was a sunny day and we thought the beautiful weather and fresh air might do us some good, so Steve downloaded some caches to do. We only got one done because then Steve's stomach was bothering him.

So we came home and we all took a nap. Steve is still sleeping. Let's hope he feels better soon.

Mommy's Turn

Last night, I started to feel queasy myself and it didn't take long to suddenly burst into complete misery. I was so sick that, not to be disgusting, but stuff was coming out at both ends at the same time! I was up all night last night, going to the bathroom about every 20 minutes. I wish this on no one, this is plain brutality! Today wasn't as bad, but I'm being very cautious of eating anything. Steve took the day off today to stay home and look after Tyler and I. I am very thankful for his help, as I was quite scared about how I would be able to take care of Tyler myself. Thank you God for giving me a wonderful loving husband!!! The good news is that Tyler seems to be completely back to being well again, however Steve is now complaining of a sore tummy, and that's how it all started for me. Please keep him in your prayers that he doesn't have to go through this as well. Wishing you all good health.

Still Sick :(

Just when we thought he was all better, Tyler became sick again yesterday during his nap time. I had avoided giving him milk for the fear that perhaps it was the milk that was making him sick. Instead I gave him watered-down juice and water. However for lunch, I made macaroni and cheese, which of course contained milk and this is what he got sick on during nap time. So Steve brought him a new gallon of milk to see if perhaps it was something in that particular gallon that was making him sick. We tried him with the new milk and about 30 minutes later, he became sick again. The milk was too heavy for his stomach to digest.
Other than the fact that he is getting sick on milk, you would never know he was sick. He is the same happy-go-lucky guy with lots of energy. There is no fever present. However this morning he did have a little diarrhea, but that might be as a result of the juice as juice usually does that to him. We are sure that it must be a little stomach virus that he has. Hopefully he'll be right on track soon, until then we are going to continue to stop giving him milk until his stomach settles down.

All Better

First of all, thank you for your concern and well wishes for our little guy. He gave us a scare! He just kept getting sick over and over again last night. This morning, he woke up all refreshed and feeling much better. Thank God! Looking back to yesterday, we think that maybe he got into something either at the playground or here in the house. There was one incident yesterday morning where we caught him playing with the flowers from Valentine's Day that we were in the process of getting rid of. They were sitting in stagnant water, so even if he sucked on one of the plants, he could have become quite sick. We are just so thankful to God that he is all better today.

Not Feeling Too Good

Tyler woke up this morning his normal happy, full of energy self, however while we were out caching this afternoon he became ill. We just got in the car after going to a park with a playground which he played in a little. Tyler was in the car about 10 minutes before he got sick. We cleaned him up and we were on our way home, when he got sick again. As soon as we got home, I gave him a bath, during which he got sick again. The poor little guy then requested to watch his Little People's DVD while laying on the sofa bed that Larissa and the girls gave him for his birthday and before we knew it, he was sound asleep. He is still not feeling great and he is still on the sofa bed laying down. Tonight we are all going to camp out in the living room together, so that we know he is OK through the night. So far, no fever, so hopefully it is just a stomach virus. We just hope he feels himself soon. It is so sad to see our little happy guy this way.