T for Tyler

While we were at a restaurant this afternoon, to help keep Tyler busy while we were waiting for our food to arrive, I asked him if he could write me the letter "T" for his name. Usually he says that he can't, but to my surprise today he did! He not only said it was a "T" for Tyler, but he said that it was a "broken T"...LOL I've been teaching him the different types of lines (broken, dotted, curved, etc.). Anyway, I was so thrilled that he wrote the letter "T"! I think he did a terrific job too!

Tyler Says the Darndest Things

One day we were reading one of those 'I Spy' books where you have to look for particular objects in a picture. There was one object I couldn't find, but Tyler found it no problem. I told him that he had good eyes and he replied by saying, "yeah, I have good teeth too!". LOL My good friend, Allison, is celebrating her birthday today. Here's wishing her a fabulous day filled with happiness that will last the whole year through.

Powerless

This morning and for a couple hours this afternoon we were without any power due to the high winds we were experiencing. The roads were terrible to drive on. School was cancelled. Tyler has been stuffy with a bit of a cold too. It was definitely a day for staying inside. To pass the time away, Mom, Tyler and I played several games of 'I Spy'. We had a great time! And before we knew it, the power was restored. Tyler celebrated by doing a little jumpy dance around the house. He was disappointed when we had no power because all the lights were off. He said he wanted to fix the problem by going out and buying new lightbulbs. LOL

No More Bob

Today was our big skating day! Tyler finally tried out his new skates. Up until now, he had been skating on bob skates, however he really wasn't doing well on them because they kept falling off his boot and they were very dull and couldn't be sharpened. Tyler did a great job on the one blade skates, considering it was his very first time. There were many falls today, but he was determined. At first, he wasn't interested in trying out his new trainer so we took him around the rink ourselves. Several times we let him go and try skating to us. He was pretty good! Then as we were heading back for a little break from the ice, we passed his trainer and he seemed interested in trying it again. So instead of taking a break, he wanted to stay on the ice pushing his trainer around. Tyler never ceases to amaze me! We have some things to work on that include letting him fall and getting use to standing up again on his own. This will help build his confidence. Also we need to get him to look up instead of looking at his skates, this will help his balance. This is a lot of fun for all three of us. Mom and I are learning a lot too. Hopefully once Tyler gets more use to skating, I'll dust my skates off and join him.

Special Prayer Request for a Very Special Woman

My grandmother (my father's mother) is going into the hospital this morning to have a tumor removed from her bowel. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers today. Nana is 90 years old and dearly loved by everyone. We love so much, Nana!!! XOXOXO Update: Wonderful news, my aunt phoned around dinner time and said that Nana is doing very well after having her surgery. We're hoping there won't be any more complications as she also has a large abdominal aneurysm as well. God Bless you, Nana!!!

We're Back!

There was absolutely nothing going to keep us away from playgroup today, not after being away for the past 5 weeks in a row! We even braved the below freezing temperatures today; it was -17 degrees Celsius today! To our surprise, Kathy our coordinator, moved some of the furniture around while we were on break and now there's even more room for the kids to play. It was great being back at playgroup and it feels good to be back on our normal schedule. All the moms/caregivers missed each other and we had a lot of catching up to do while our children happily played amongst each other. It was amazing how much the kids grew in just 5 weeks!

Peacefully Resting in Heaven

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our dear friend. Robyn passed away this morning after a courageous 5 year battle with lymphoma. She leaves behind her 5-year-old daughter and husband. Steve worked with Robyn for two years in Greece. She was his boss and weather forecaster. She then got stationed with us in Italy. It was there I had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful and warmhearted woman. From the moment, I first met Robyn, she has touched my heart. Her smile was so radiant and she offered me her friendship which in time blossomed. We would often sit and talk for hours while I waited for Steve to get off of work and while she just got off her night shift. We had some great laughs and deep conversations. Soon, however, she left to retire in Florida. She married her husband, who immigrated to Morocco to be with Robyn. Soon after, she was diagnosed with cancer. Heaven couldn't be more lucky than to receive such a beautiful angel. God bless her family during this most difficult time, especially her precious daughter Leila. Robyn will always remain close in our hearts. She is one of those special people you meet in life that you become so close to that you know you will forever be friends with. Robyn, you will forever be missed!!!

Gym Day

It being Saturday, the highlight of our day was going to the gym for Tyler's Tiny Tots program. When we first entered the gym, I was surprised to see Tyler a little shy. He held my hand and wanted me to take him to the different play areas. However after about 10 minutes, he soon warmed up and started to burn up his great bundle of energy. We had some nice comments today from some of the other parents on how well Tyler shares with the other kids, which is always nice to hear. Today Tyler discovered the hockey sticks! Though I really don't recall seeing them at the gym last week. Tyler is turning out to be quite interested in hockey these days. As we were driving pass the rink today, he told me that the reason why there were so many cars in the parking lot was because the people were inside playing hockey with their helmets and skates on. I'm not sure where he is getting his interest in the sport, I'm guessing being in Canada is influencing him.

Tyler Says the Darndest Things

One morning we were sitting down sharing a nice bowl of strawberries together, when all of a sudden Tyler makes a comment about how strong the strawberries were. I questioned why he thought they were strong. He then turned one of the strawberries upside and showed me the bumps on the bottom. He said the bumps were the strawberries' muscles.

Back on the Ice

It's been quite some time since the last time we took Tyler skating. The plan for after Christmas was to use Wednesdays as our skating day. Today was our first official skating day of the year. We had previous problems with his bob skates as they would constantly fall off while we were on the ice. So this time Mom fixed that problem by tightening the skates on his boots before we left the house. Good thinking! It worked! Mom has always been fantastic with tightening skates. When I was in school, she would always come to the rink and tighten mine and my friends skates too. Having his skates stay on really made a difference, Tyler had his best skate thus far. We even used a set of pylons that he pushed around the ice on his own. He did awesome! After skating we bought a trainer that he can use to help get his balance. If you look closely in this picture, you can see a kid using a red one in the background. We are also going to buy him a set of boot skates as the bob skates weren't working as well as they should, as suggested by a fellow parent. I so can't wait to get Tyler back on the ice and try his new gear. Tyler really had a great time today, but wanted to have so much more freedom. Hopefully the new skates and trainer will offer this to him. As of today, Tyler has another 3 year old cousin. Special birthday wishes are being sent to Garret.

Not Over Yet

Just when we thought Christmas was over, we heard a knock at the door and standing there was a man with a big box for Tyler. It was from his grandmother and papa in Florida! Of course, Tyler was extremely excited to receive more presents and so he wasted no time in getting the box open and to see what they so generously sent him. As always Grandma had lots of special gifts for her grandson. There were lots of new trucks and cars, beautiful sweater sets, a Christmas ornament, yummy treats from Disney, travel games, dinosaurs, paper for painting and drawing, and a gingerbread man which Tyler said was very tasty. His cousin, Bryanna, also put in a gift for Tyler which he really liked. It was a puzzle from one of his favourite movies, Cars. Thank you Brye!!! After Tyler opened up all his gifts, he enjoyed the rest of the afternoon playing with all his toys. He especially loved his new cars and trucks and said the dinosaurs were his favourite. He also had fun putting the puzzle together. Meanwhile Mom and I were watching Obama's inauguration on CNN. If someone asks us what we were doing on this special historic day, we can say we were home watching it on TV and also watching Tyler open his gifts from his very special grandparents from Florida. Thank you so much for all his gifts!!! Tyler will be calling soon to personally thank you.

At Home Play

Another day where we woke up to some nasty weather, even school was canceled today. It was definitely not a good day to be on the road which is unfortunate because today was suppose to be the day we finally returned back to our play group. This will make it a total of 5 weeks that we haven't had play group in our schedule. So to say the least, we were quite disappointed at another day being stuck inside. To make up for not being able to go to play group, we had have some extra special fun for today. First we made some banana bread using Grandma Smith's delicious recipe. Speaking of, Grandma hasn't been feeling very well lately, so special prayers to Grandma for her to feel better soon! I gave Tyler the job of mashing the bananas. He said it was a messy job, but took pride in getting it done right. While we were waiting for the bread to bake and enjoying its' memorizing aroma, I brought out the finger paints and let Tyler create some cool paintings. The last time we finger painted was in the summer, so he really had a blast with the paints. Finally the moment had arrived, the stove timer went off and the bread was ready to come out of the oven. We quickly got cleaned up and let the bread cool down a bit. Once it was ready for eating, it didn't take us long to get into that bread. After the three of us made pigs of ourselves, there was very little left. It was sooo good!!! In conclusion, even though we were disappointed that we didn't make it to play group today, we still found our own fun at home.

Working Out

With temperatures being well below freezing this week, today was -17 degrees Celsius with a wind chill of -34, we've mostly been stuck inside. Today, however, was the first day of Tiny Tots. This gym program was the perfect place to take my little bundle of energy today, especially after being cooped up for so long. Tyler practically ran right in and wasted no time trying out all the equipment. This was totally his thing. Tyler is a very active boy that always likes to be on the move. Even though there was high attendance today, there seemed to be no shortage of things to check out. Tyler was ever so glad to have his buddies Andrew and Cameron in his class too! We'll continue the class for 8 more weeks. There's no doubt that Tyler is looking forward to next Saturday; he had a smile the whole time he was there. I had a smile too knowing that he was finally using up all that built up energy. Birthday wishes are being sent to a very special aunt today. It is Aunt Norma's birthday!!! We hope you have a day that is filled with all the things you love, for you truly deserve the best :) Robyn Update: Though Robyn has shown us in the past that she is a fighter, the doctors are now saying that she has 10-14 days left. It is still so very difficult and sad for us to believe that our beloved friend may be departing us soon. God Bless you, Robyn!!!

New In Town

We couldn't be more happy to welcome to the world our nephew, Javan Dee. This beautiful healthy baby boy is the son of the proud parents Chellee and Peter. Chellee is Steve's youngest sister. Javan Dee was born last night and was 8 lbs. 4 oz. 21 inches long. He joins the Taylor family being their third child, along with sisters Bryanna and Abigail. This was a very special birth as it took place at their home with the assistance of a midwife. As you can see from these beautiful photos, Javan already feels right at home. Chellee and Peter, congratulations on your newest blessing!!! Can't wait to hold him. XOXO

Please Pray for Robyn

Steve and I received some upsetting news this morning about our dear friend, Robyn. For those who may remember we asked for prayers in July for her bone marrow transplant to go well. Since then she received treatment and things seemed to be going well for her, so they let her go back home to her husband and daughter. However as time progressed her illness grew more serious, including kidney failure. Robyn is not the kind to complain, but rather ignore the problem. Knowing Robyn, I think she knew that things were not going well, but wanted to spend as much time as she could with her family. The family agreed that it was in her best interest to receive care through hospice rather than go to the hospital. Steve and I are asking each of you if you can please take one moment after reading this and say a prayer for Robyn during her final days. A huge thank you from us, her family, and our loving, caring, friend.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

For quite some time now, we've been taking Tyler to get his hair cut at Wal-Mart. The first time we went there the hairdressers suggested we keep Tyler in the shopping cart. I thought it was a funny idea at first, but it worked great. He was already comfortable. Plus it offer them the prefect heighth to do a good job. Anyway, today I finally remembered to bring my camera along to get a shot. The hairdresser, a mother of four, was very pleased with such a good customer Tyler was and she was very impressed with his vocabulary. They had quite the conversation all throughout the haircut...LOL

Twinkle Little Star: The Heavy Metal Version

Winter Wonderland in Coxheath

Tyler Says the Darndest Things

This is the first posting in what I plan will become part of a series called "Tyler Says the Darndest Things". Tyler is often saying the silliest things that I just had to start writing them down, now I am sharing them with you all. Hope you enjoy and maybe get a couple of laughs too! One day I was getting Tyler out of his car seat and he said to me, "Mommy, I have hiccups in my pocket in case I need them for later."

Arrivederci

After extending their stay a few days, my brother and his wife finally left today for their long 3 day drive back to Arkansas. They originally were going to leave Thursday, then it got changed to Friday, however soon their day of departure was declared for today. Unfortunately, they ran into a winter storm along the way which slowed their trip home even more. The last we heard from them they promised us that they would take caution on the slippery roads. Joe and Kristin would like to try and make it into the U.S. border tonight. Please keep them in your prayers for a safe trip home.

Andrew & Tyler Go Sledding

This morning I received a phone call from Andrew's mom asking if we would like to join them for some sledding fun. Of course, we excitedly accepted their invitation. We met them in the field behind Nanny's house where there is a good size hill perfect for sledding. This is the same hill that Andrew's mom and I used to sled on. Back in the day, it was quite the popular spot. This was not the case today as we were the only ones there. The snow had a good top crust layer which proved to be excellent for the toboggan. Andrew's grandfather took the boys down the hill a few times while Andrew's mom and I watched and took photos. Then I had a turn taking Tyler down the hill. We started off kind of slow at first, but as we picked up speed I actually got scared...LOL Meanwhile Tyler laughed the whole way down. This was not the first time I was on this toboggan, however; Andrew's mom and I went down a good many hills on it. Providing what the weather is like tomorrow, we are going to try to meet again for some more sledding fun. It was wonderful getting together again with Andrew and his mom. We haven't done that in quite awhile and we really enjoyed their company!

Tyler's "Unbirthday" Birthday Party

It is a little over a month before our little guy turns 3 years old, however Aunt Kristin and Uncle Joe insisted that we hold an "unbirthday" birthday party for Tyler today. They wanted to hold the party mainly because they never get to spend his big day with him. This morning they surprised him with a big birthday present. They gave him a VTech computer game that teaches numbers, letters, and how to spell. We were quite surprised how well Tyler did when he tried it out for the first time. They also bought him Dairy Queen ice cream cake featuring one of his favourite buddies, Winnie! Tyler had a wonderful "unbirthday" birthday party thanks to Uncle Joe and Aunt Kristin. Even though it wasn't actually Tyler's real birthday, it was nice having the chance to celebrate Tyler's special day with such special people in his life.

Welcome Charlotte Lee!!!

We are very pleased to announce the arrival of Janell and Wyatt's baby, Charlotte Lee. Their beautiful baby girl came into this world this afternoon and is their first born. Janell and Wyatt, we are so excited for your precious little gift from God. May you be blessed with lots of happiness together. We look forward to seeing her in person. She looks very alert in the photo, especially considering she was just born today!

Playgroup Memories

We miss playgroup. Playgroup is currently on a 4 week break and after this week, we have another week to go. Being stuck inside today, we definitely could have used our playgroup fun. Because we were bored today, I thought I would reminisce about playgroup on our blog. I took this video at our last playgroup before we went on break.

On a Cold Winter's Day

We went for a little drive today out to Louisbourg. It was -6 degrees Celsius with a -14 degrees wind chill. I'm sure it was even colder out in Louisbourg, at least it felt like it. Above are some photos I managed to quickly grab before I froze my fingers.

Talking to Daddy on the banana phone.

Coasting

The snow had a layer of crust today, which is usually good terrain for sledding. Tyler and I were quite excited to try his sled that he got for Christmas. Actually there is a little story behind the sled which I think is cute. Tyler actually saw the sled in my mom's bedroom before Christmas and he thought it was a boat. LOL Not to ruin his Christmas surprise, my mom told him that the "boat" belonged to Uncle Joey. When Tyler saw it underneath the tree on Christmas morning, he was quite certain that Uncle Joey's boat wasn't suppose to be there. LOL So to say the least, that was fun trying to explain that it is actually a sled not a boat and it actually belonged to him, not Uncle Joey. Anyway, getting back to today's sledding adventure, we had so much fun trying out the new sled. Behind my mom's house is a huge field where we typically went sledding when we were growing up. Tyler and I tried sledding there, but there wasn't enough snow to pick up good speed. However we used the little hill between Mom's and the neighbour's house, which was just perfect. We enjoyed several rides down the hill before it was time to go in and have some lunch. It was also getting a little chilly as the wind started to blow the snow around. A big thanks to our neighbour, who took the photos today!

Tyler Meets Kota

This is the shortened video of Tyler's initial reaction of his new buddy Kota the Triceratops that Uncle Joe and Aunt Kristin gave him for Christmas. The video was taken by Aunt Kristin. You can read the story below.

Kota the Triceratops

Uncle Joe and Aunt Kristin gave Tyler a great big surprise tonight! Ever since they saw this big guy in a store back home in Arkansas they knew they wanted to get one for their nephew. Tonight they went on a quest to find one here in Cape Breton and low and behold they found one at the first store they looked. Kota the Triceratops secretly made it back home to Nanny's house where he was secretly assembled and then put in the living room while I distracted Tyler. We were dying to see his initial reaction to his new buddy and Tyler definitely didn't let us down. We gave him the leaf that came with Kota and told Tyler to go to the living room and help Uncle Joe feed a new friend. When Tyler made the corner into the room and saw the huge dinosaur in Nanny's living room his reaction was priceless. He was taken back at first and then started laughing. We told him to feed Kota and he threw the leaf down in front of him instead of putting it in his mouth. Then he yelled, "Eat! Eat!" LOL! Kota then moved and made a sound. Tyler jumped back a little. However it wasn't very long before Kota and Tyler became well aquainted with each other. Tyler was petting him and talking to him. Then Uncle Joe placed Tyler on Kota's back for some more fun. Kota bounces with a little help and makes lots of different movement and sounds. Aunt Kristin was taking video with the camcorder she just got as a Christmas/Birthday present from Uncle Joe. She recorded the entire meeting of Tyler and Kota. It is a riot to watch! She posted it on her FaceBook. It is a little longer, so I'm not sure if I can post in on the blog. There is no doubt that Tyler and Kota will remain best buddies for a long time. He loves climbing on top of his new pal and the look on his face when he sees Kota is so cute! Welcome Kota to the Smith Family!

In like a Lion

We welcomed the New Year with a blizzard here in Cape Breton. The blizzard warning is still continued for today. Near-zero visibilities are expected and we are likely to see a further 30 centimetres giving a total of up to 50 to 60 centimetres in some locations. Cape Breton will see wind gusts to 100 km/h with some exposed areas possibly gusting to near 120 km/h. These very strong winds will give widespread blowing snow and white out conditions, as well as cold wind chill values to much of Nova Scotia today. The current conditions at Nanny's house, is not too bad. It is still snowing, however the wind has died down considerably. Nothing like starting the New Year with a blast!