6 Month Well Check

Tyke had his 6 month well check yesterday.  He turned 6 months old 11 days ago but yesterday worked best for us schedule wise to take him.  We've been trying to schedule him on Friday's in case he has a hard time with the immunizations.  We figured that way we would have all weekend to recover and not have to worry about missing work.  His appointment was scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Tyke was a curious, happy little guy pretty much the entire visit.  He was able to sit on the counter while we waited for the nurses and the doctor.  He had a great time playing with the tissue paper stuff.  He ripped it and crunched it and tried to eat it.  Give the boy anything that crinkles and he's happy!

We stripped Tyke down to his diaper and the nurses took all of his stats.  He did so good and cooperated well.  He grinned at them and tried to grab their tools away from them while they were checking him over.  He barely fits on the scale anymore, so sad.  We attempted to get his weight with him just sitting on the scale but he was too snoopy which made him too wobbly so we just did our best to lay him down in it.

Tyke's 6 month stats:

Weight: 17 pounds (36%)

Height: 27.8 inches (88%)

Head: 18 inches (96%)

Dr. Fullmer came in a few minutes later and gave Tyke a good look over.  Tyke just stared at him and smiled and talked.  He really likes his doctor!  Tyke would kick like crazy with excitement when Dr. Fullmer would pick him up.  Tyke received a clean bill of health.  He has no sign of teeth coming in, he's growing right on track and developmentally he's ahead of the game!  Dr. Fullmer was impressed with all that our little man is doing right now at this stage of life and so are we!

We had a good discussion with Dr. Fullmer about our growing boy.  It's getting close to time (well actually it's past time) to put Tyke in his own room.  We are still hesitant about this but know it will be good for all of us.  We're still trying to decide when the best time will be for this transition.  Also, it's time to start searching for a big boy car seat!  Tyke is ready for a change.  We've noticed this the past few weeks when loading him into his baby carrier and that's why we asked.  He doesn't fight us but he dreads having to lay back and relax.  He just wants to sit up and see what's going on around him.  I don't know how he doesn't get a sore neck from straining so hard to be up right when he's in that seat.  We don't need to be in a huge hurry to change seats but if we find a good deal on one we'll snag it and make the switch.  

With Tyke's eating solid foods we were informed we can't overfeed him and that he'll know when to stop (and he does, he has started refusing some foods).  Dr. Fullmer told us to "stuff the boy" so he'll sleep better at night (probably explains why he hasn't slept through the night since June).  We can feed him baby food twice a day now and he'll need 4-5 ounces of milk as well.  We asked about the whole celiac thing and giving Tyke wheat.  I'm scared to death about it!  We were told that there's no hurry to introduce that into Tyke's diet.  The longer we wait the better but when we do, Dr. Fullmer told us about a few things to look for: throwing up, upset stomach, whiny, etc.  I'm not looking forward to it.  I don't want our Tykers to suffer, it's no fun!  We also got the go ahead to start feeding Tyke dairy products.  No cows milk yet, but he can have tastes of ice cream, yogurt, etc.

After a good long visit with Dr. Fullmer we got Tyke ready for his shots.  The nurses came back in and gave him his oral immunization and then the real torture began.  This time Daddy took charge of comforting our little guy.  The first shot got him concerned, the second shot made him cry, and the third shot really set him off.  It was so sad but so cute to watch his little face.  Chad got him calmed down quickly, like within 2 minutes Tyke was done crying, and held him tight for a few minutes.  We got Tyke dressed and left the building.  He doesn't have to go back for another well check until 9 months old, and luckily there won't be shots involved.

After leaving the clinic we took Chad back to work and then Tyke and I headed to Walmart.  I needed to grab a few things, and I had forgotten to pack Tyke's Tylenol for the pain, so I grabbed some new Tylenol for him so I could get it in his system quick instead of waiting until we were home.  I only gave him a half dose and he fell asleep pretty quickly.  That's the only Tylenol he received for this set of shots.  He did so good this time!  

Today while getting him ready for the day I attempted to take his band-aids off.  They were stuck on good and I knew they were going to hurt to tear off.  I slowly peeled them back, one by one, and he would wince and look at me like what the heck!  Then I would rip it off quick, to ease the pain.  Well by doing so our tough guy busted out laughing so hard!  I definitely didn't expect that reaction.  He laughed at each band-aid coming off.  I then gave his legs a good rub down because they had lumped up where he had had the shots.  Again he giggled.  The last two rounds of shots doing this stuff made him cry.  Silly boy, I'll take the giggles over the tears!  

We're so proud of our boy and how healthy, strong and good natured he is!  In our eyes he's so smart and perfect!  We love you Tykers!!!!

Missing Dada

I think it's safe to say that Tyke is missing his Daddy while he's away working two jobs for the next week or so.  Little guy loves his Dada.  Usually, when Tyke has had enough of me he gets fussy and Chad is able to calm him right down.  Well with no Chad there's no calming down and our little guy just cries and cries and cries.  I feel his frustration!

Yesterday after work I picked Tyke up from Aunt Jenny's.  She said he had been so good and he just grinned and loved on me when I got a hold of him.  We visited for a while and then headed home.  Tyke was good for the first hour and then he gradually got more and more cranky.  I finally loaded him up in his stroller and we went for a walk.  That calmed him right down.  He needed a change of scenery and I needed a nap, he won =)  We walked over to the ball park and met up with Aunt Jenny and the crew to watch Quade play soccer.  About halfway through the game Tyke started getting fussy and I realized it was late and time for his bath and jammies so we headed home.  He was so good on the walk home that I figured we could hurry and water the garden and flowers.  His cool temper only lasted a few minutes and then he became hysterical.  Tyke was mad enough that the neighbor kid came over to see if everything was OK and if we needed help?  By the way, we live in such a great neighborhood and have the best neighbors!

I took Tyke in the house and got his bath ready and bathed him.  He cried the entire time, like hysterical cry.  There was no calming him down.  It was frustrating but mostly sad.  Thankfully my Dad called and said he and my mom were coming to get us for dinner, I declined because of my fussy Tyke.  Grandpa Terry and Grandma Cheryl grabbed some food and came to our rescue.  Tyke was still crying but I could tell he was getting exhausted.  As soon as Grandpa Terry got a hold of him he calmed right down and all was well.  Tyke still had a hard time catching his breath but he was happy and talking to his Grandma and Grandpa and never even looked my way the whole time they were there.  They left shortly after 10 pm and said I could call if I needed anything.  I fed Tyke and he fell right to sleep.  I put him to bed and then I crashed too.

Around 2 am he woke up screaming again!  Chad was home by then and tried to calm him but it wasn't working.  It took me a few minutes to get him calmed down, in the process I got a "kinda" black eye, and I fed him and then it was right back to crying.  We finally fixed him a bottle of 4 oz and he guzzled it right down and fell back to sleep.  To say it was a long night would be an understatement!

It's frustrating not being able to get Tyke to calm down.  Thankfully it doesn't happen very often.  We like a happy Tyke, not a sad one.  We can't wait until cherry season is over so we have the Dada back! =)

Today while I was at work and Tyke was at the McPherson's, Stephanie called to say that they were going to go to Nephi pool and play for a while, I could pick Tyke up there.  Awesome!  Saved me a trip to Mona.  The more I thought about it the more I was convinced that I needed to grab our swim suits so we could play too!

I got off work at my usual time, sped home and got our stuff, and then headed to the pool.  The kids were having a blast playing in the splash pad.  Stephanie was stuck tending Tyke on the side lines.  We hurried and got him changed into his suit and it was game on!  At first he wasn't too happy about the water but he quickly warmed up to the idea.  He had a blast splashing and checking out all of the cool little fountains.  I think it's safe to say we have a water baby!  Which makes me super proud and excited.  One thing I want for our Tyke man is for him to not be afraid of the water and be a good swimmer.

We played for a good 45 minutes, Tyke kicked and splashed the entire time.  Stephanie, Bowdee, Tyke and I were sitting in the shallow part talking (it's all shallow but we were practically out of the water) when Tyke flipped around, dove into my shoulder and then looked up at me.  His poor little chin was quivering and I knew it was time to call it quits.  He was happy to be out of the water, out of the wet swim suit, and out of the soggy swimmer diaper.  I got him dressed and loaded into his car seat, packed up all of our stuff, said our goodbyes and headed for the car.  Before we made it to the sidewalk I heard the cutest little sigh.  I looked down and Tykers was fast asleep.  The poor kid had worn himself out, which worked out great for me because once we got home I had lots to get done and he slept good and long.  It was a fun afternoon and I'm so glad that Steph invited us to come play.

 

New Toys

Last night Tyke and I ventured to Payson to go meet up with Chad for a few minutes in between jobs.  Before meeting Chad we made a quick stop at Walmart to pick up a few things.  I decided to go down the toy isle and see what they had to offer, it's the first time I've really looked for anything for Tyke.  I wanted to get him the stackable rings toy, which I did, but we also found a cute little Vtech cell phone.  I handed it to Tyke to see what he thought about it and he liked it, a lot!  He held onto that thing tight through out the whole store.  When we met up with Chad I took the phone out of the box and gave it to Tyke and he got so excited.  It kept him entertained the entire ride home.  This little cell phone lights up and plays music, counts to 10 and sings the ABC's.  I've noticed that when it sings the ABC's Tyke becomes still and listens, he stops hitting buttons until it's over with, then it's back to playing.  I think it's safe to say this might be his new favorite toy along with the little stuffed football!  It always has that thing in his little hands.  He loves his toys and we are having so much fun buying them for him.  Our boy is going to be so spoiled!  Love you Tyke!

Pioneer Day!

Yesterday Mona City celebrated Utah's Pioneer Day!  It's official date is July 24th, but last few years it's been celebrated on the Saturday closest to the 24th.  This years July 24th lands on a Wednesday so Mona opted to celebrate on the 20th.

We got up bright and early, not as early as we had hoped, and Tyke was feeling great so we got ready and headed to Mona.  We made it just in time for the parade at 10 am.  We sat at our usual spot with the Kay's.  We had quite the crowd this year: Grams and Gramp, Drew, Char, Layne, Em, Carson, Shayla, Braydon and Baylie, Tonya and all of the kids.  It was fun to get to visit and cheer on the cute little kids in the parade.  Tyke was lucky enough, NOT, to get a purple otter pop.  We let him play with it and he somehow managed to open it up and it leaked all over his cute clothes, his new shoes and Chad's pants.  He was a little ticked off when we took it away.  Silly boy!  I don't know how he manages to do some of the things he does.  We noticed that there wasn't one Kay in the whole parade and that really bugged Grams and Gramps so next year Chad and I are in charge of getting something put together.  We'll see...

After the parade we walked across the street to the city park and found our usual shady spot by the pavillion.  Grandma Cheryl had it saved and we added to it.  We layed out a blanket and set up our chairs and got comfy.  We enjoyed hamburgers and hot dogs and nachos for lunch.  Grandma Cheryl, Aunt Stephanie and I went and bought raffle tickets.  I bought $10 worth and put Tyke's name on them all, hoping he would be more lucky than his parents are.  He ended up winning a blanket, yay!

Chad headed home to do some things around the house and Tyke and I stayed at the park to visit with family and friends.  Around 4, after the talent show and raffle tickets were over with, we all loaded up and headed to Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Terry's house for a little BBQ.  Stephanie and Grandma Cheryl had planned it kind of last minute.  The McPherson family (Seth's parents and brother) showed up to party with us.  We had BBQ hotdogs, salads, fresh fruit, zuchini and squash and yummy scotcheroos!  We played volleyball and visited for a while and then headed back to the park for the big firework show.

The park was packed!  It always is but I think word has gotten out about just how great Mona's fireworks show is.  It's so neat to get to sit right beneath the fireworks.  I borrowed a pair of Grandpa Terry's earmuffs for Tyke because the action is so loud.  I thought for sure he would hate wearing it but he never once tried to take them off.  They were actually pretty adorable on him, squeezing those chubby chubby cheeks.  My good friend Brandy gave Tyke a glow stick.  He thought it was pretty awesome and tried his hardest to eat it but I wouldn't allow it.  After visiting with her and Aunt Jenny for about 20 minutes we headed to our usual corner, where all of the Kay's sit, and got comfy.  Brooke and Callie Jo gave Tyke a few more glow sticks and he was in heaven.  He thought they were pretty cool until the fireworks started and then he never noticed them again.  Once the fireworks show started our little man went stick straight and never flinched a bit the entire time.  He LOVED them!  He was more fun to watch than the fireworks!  After the show we headed home.  By the time we got home little man was out for the night!  It was such a perfect day spent with family and friends!

Flu Bug

It seems that the flu bug has been going around.  On Wednesday morning Stephanie called to say that Bowdee had thrown up in the middle of the night so I might not want to bring Tyke.  I agreed and Tyke spent the day at Grandma Cheryl's house.  Disaster avoided, or so we thought.  Wednesday night Tyke hardly ate at all, and I didn't force it or think anything of it.

On Thursday morning, after feeding Tyke he spit up, A LOT!  Tyke is not a spitter baby so it really caught us off guard.  I had just layed him down on my side of the bed to get him changed for the day when he started throwing up.  I hurried and grabbed him so that he wasn't drowning in his own spit up.  After he was finished I asked him if he was OK and he shook his head no.  It was the cutest little thing ever.  He completely soaked my side of the bed, himself and I.  I ended up being about 15 minutes late for work thanks to cleaning up.

Tyke spent the morning with Chad and Aunt Jenny came and picked him up around 10 am.  We warned her that he had spit up and wasn't eating very well.  He was perfect for her and she said he ate really well.  The only "off" thing he had done for them was a major nasty blowout all over Darian.  I picked Tyke up just before 5 pm and we headed to Payson to get Chad and went to dinner and did a little shopping.  We dropped Chad off at his second job around 7:30 pm.  We hung out for a while, put Tyke to work, and then when it was time for Chad and them to get serious about getting to work Tyke and I left.  We made a quick stop at Walmart and then went home.  Tyke was fussy the whole ride home, I figured he was just hungry, which he was.  When we got home I fed him and about half way through he stopped and refused to eat anymore.  I tried and tried to get him to eat more.  After struggling for a few minutes I gave up, he coughed funny, and then threw up all over the both of us, the couch and living room floor.  I felt so bad for the little guy and over reacted after getting cleaned up.  I called Stephanie and told her I wouldn't be bringing Tyke the next morning because he was sick.  After talking to Chad, and realizing he had only spit up twice and was otherwise fine, I called Stephanie back and told her I'd be bringing him out after all.

Friday morning we got up and dressed and headed out to Aunt Stephanie's.  Tyke acted fine, looked fine, etc.  Stephanie wanted to go up north shopping so I told her to bring me Tyke when she was ready to go.  I didn't want her to have to deal with the hassle of a sick baby while shopping, if it really was the flu bug.  At work, we had a company summer party/BBQ at the city park.  Stephanie dropped Tyke off around 11:30 and said that he had been so good and had eaten about 5 ounces.  Tyke was a champ at the party.  He was pretty popular and talked a lot and smiled a lot.  When there was about 20 minutes left to go he coughed that weird cough and then started heaving and throwing up.  We walked away from the crowd over to a tree and he continued to throw up.  This time I knew for sure it wasn't just baby spit, it was the flu bug.  I felt so bad for our little guy =(

We loaded up and headed straight home.  Tyke was fussy and couldn't get comfortable.  I finally got him calmed down and he took a good long nap.  He looked really flushed and felt warm but wasn't running a fever.

I called up to Dr. Fullmer's office to see if there was anything special I needed to do for my baby.  They called me back with an answer within the hour and said to just make sure he was having wet diapers every 6-8 hours (fear of dehydration), nurse him if he'd eat, and to get him some pedialyte.  I tried calling around for someone to come and sit with Tyke while I ran to the store quick but everyone was out of town.  I hesitated loading Tyke up and going to the store but we went anyway.  We were in and out fast.  I got home and fixed him a bottle of grape pedialyte.  He wasn't too sure of it at first but quickly gulped down an ounce and fell to sleep.  He seemed to bounce right back to normal after that!  He ate good and never threw up again but he did end up with a little bit of diarrhea that lasted about 24 hours.

Tyke + flu = one sad momma and dadda!  We are so glad to be past the flu bug!

Sweet Sleeper

We love watching the Roni-man sleep.  He's a fairly light sleeper.  The smallest sound or touch and this kid is wiggling awake.  I had to laugh at how fast he changed positions the other night (7/15).  I layed him in bed and he immediately rolled to his side.  He does this quite often and I think it's just adorable!  I covered him up with his blanket and within minutes he had wiggled until it was under him and he was turned.  I can't believe how fast he can move into position.  Silly boy!

Cherries

This week cherry season at our house officially started.  Chad, for the next couple of weeks will be working two jobs, his usual and "picking" cherries.  Week one is almost done and we sure miss him not being around as much.

Tonight after work, Tyke and I ventured north to go and see Chad.  We got to spend a couple of hours together doing some shopping and going to dinner.  At around 7:30 it was time to drop him off at the farm so he could start job number two.

While visiting Tyke got to go on a couple of "tractor" rides (I say tractors because I have no clue what the equipment's real names are).  Uncle Chris put Tyke right to work with helping unload the big bins of water.  I was a little nervous about our baby boy going for a ride but he loved it.  He was such a little snoop, as usual, and was grabbing at the steering wheel and knobs.

When it was time for Chad and them to get on their machines and get busy we followed along and watched.  Tyke got so excited seeing the trees shake.  He was even lucky enough to get to help his Daddy shake a few trees.  He thought he was pretty cool I'm sure, and I thought it was pretty cute how curious he was about what was going on.  This boy of ours enjoys everything we introduce him to.  He studies hard and gets excited about all of the new things in life.  After "working" on four or five trees it was time for Tyke to quite so that Chad could really get things going.  We watched for another few minutes and then headed home.  It was an adventurous night for our little Tykers!

 

Football

Last night after enjoying his chocolate covered fingers, and getting bathed and ready for bed, I layed Tyke down on his playmat with a few of his toys.  His little football that his Daddy got for him at the parade (Ute Stampede week) is quite possibly his favorite little toy.  Tyke got really quiet really fast.  I smiled when I looked down and saw that he had grabbed his little football, rolled over on his side and fell fast asleep cuddling with it.  Cutest little thing ever!

6 Months Old

Our little Roni Baloni is 6 months old today!  I can not believe that our baby boy is half a year old already!  How is it possible that 6 months have gone by so fast?  We are so in love with our little Tykers!  He's so much fun and makes life complete.  We love our little guy and love watching him grow and learn.

To celebrate I baked him a half cake for being half a year old.  Kind of silly I know, but it was a good excuse to bake and enjoy some chocolate cake.  I felt guilty that Tyke wasn't going to get to enjoy his cake so I gave him a slice and let him play in it.  We skyped with Chad so he could watch too (he was working cherries).  Tyke didn't quite know what to think about the cake.  He played with it and smeared it all over.  I eventually took the cake away so we could finish our conversation with Chad without the distraction of cake.  Once we hung up with Chad, Tyke found his little chocolate covered fingers and went crazy sucking on them.  I think it's safe to say he's a chocoholic like his momma!

Tyke is getting big!  I'm not sure what his stats are now (we'll find out in a few days) but the kid is getting solid!  He's long and skinny looking but to pick him up he's like a brick.  He's right on with clothes though, wearing 6-9 month clothes.  I'm sad to see that it's almost time to retire more clothes and jammies but excited to get to shop a little.

Little man is still a very light, jumpy sleeper.  He can be fast asleep and as soon as we lean in for a good night kiss or touch his cheek he jumps, wiggles and is wide awake.  He's really hard to put in bed because of this.  He can be so deep in sleep and as soon as we put him in his bed he's wide awake and wiggling and the process starts over again.  It's frustrating at times but the extra snuggle time is worth it.

Tyke is getting more and more ticklish and giggly.  We've found new tickle spots and I'm not sure if I should share, for his sake, OK I will...  Little guy is ticklish behind his left upper leg.  He's also super ticklish on his right ear (found out on 7/2/13).  If you whisper or kiss or blow on his right ear he cringes and giggles.  I love it!  I know it's pure torture to be tickled but Tyke giggles are worth it.

Tyke is sitting up really good now.  His back is straight as a board and he'll sit for long periods of time. He's especially good on soft surfaces like our bed and the grass.  He LOVES sitting in the grass.  I think if we'd let him he would spend all day outside in the grass.  He's a huge fan of his exersaucers, that's right, we have 2 thanks to family.  He also really likes his highchair (Thanks Aunt Steph and Uncle Seth!).  We started using it on 6/29/13, he enjoys sitting up at the table with us like a big boy.  He keeps us entertained while we eat.  He sits so casual in the high chair that it makes his little belly look huge!  We are happy to say that little Tykers has joined us at the dinner table for meals every day since we brought him home.  The highchair makes it more enjoyable for him.  Love our little family!

Roni has found a few new tricks that just absolutely make us smile.  We're so proud of every little thing this boy of ours does.  He kicks, a lot!  And when he does, we've noticed that there's a very distinct rhythm to it.  It's hard to explain.  I suppose we should get on the ball and video record it so we have it to show off.  He kicks so hard!  When we change his bum or get him dressed or just play with him he kicks.  Sometimes it hurts.  It amazes me how strong he is getting.

Tyke entertains us lately with shaking his head no.  It cracks us up.  We'll ask questions and he'll shake his head no.  We'll tell stories to people and he'll shake his head no like we're telling big stories.  We tell him to be a good boy for his Aunt's Stephy and Jenny and he'll grin, laugh and shake his head no.  When feeding him, when he's had enough or just doesn't like the food, he shakes his head no.  I'm stubborn and will keep trying to feed him until I get the hint.  He's more stubborn than I and always wins.  The best part about him shaking his head no is I can trick him into giving Eskimo kisses!  While he's shaking his head I'll move in and shake my head too so that our noses are touching.  He think it's pretty funny and giggles and shakes some more.  I love it!  It totally makes my day to get Tyke Eskimo kisses, even though I know it's not intentional.

Speaking of kisses, I don't know if this is just a Kay family thing or not, but Tyke has started giving "ahhhhwahhh's" and I love them so much.  Nothing better than getting slimy kisses from the Roni-man!  He's especially giving of them when I pick him up from the babysitters.  He's so lovey when I get him.  He just grins and dives into my shoulder and looks up at me and grins and dives back in.  And in between that I get his slimy kisses.  I definitely like picking him up from the babysitters better than dropping him off.  He makes my day with those loves!

Tyke is really starting to enjoy swinging in his swing outside.  We don't use it often enough but when we do he is all smiles.  He leans forward and grabs hold of the ropes and holds on while we push him back and forth.  It's adorable, but so is everything that he does.

Tyke's hair is starting to really come in and it is thick!  He has a good quarter inch layer of fuzz.  His spiky's are getting really long too.  They're about a quarter inch too long to look decent.  I really fought with the idea of having Aunt Jo give him his first haircut while she was here.  I totally chickened out.  I'm not ready for my baby boy to have his first haircut just yet.  He needs one but I'm not ready.  His eyes are still an odd color too.  We kept debating on whether they would be blue or hazel.  Well the only way to describe them is they're chameleon!  They change daily depending on what he wears, the lighting and his surroundings.  Sometimes they look like they're going blue and then just as fast they change.  They vary in colors of blue, green, hazel, brown and grey.  They're the oddest, coolest color we've ever seen.  Our boy is unique!

Tyke says "Dada" almost non stop now.  He knows his Daddy and hollers for him when he leaves the room or I'm picking on him (cleaning his nose and putting lotion on him, I always get in trouble).  I think it's safe to say that Chad is super proud about this.  I'm super proud too.  I love that Tyke and Chad are such good buddies!  My boys are my world!

And last but not least the Tykers has learned that we are completely wrapped around his little finger.  Little man knows how to get what he wants.  I'm afraid we have spoiled him, and I don't care one single bit!  I know that this time in our lives is going to be gone all too soon so I'll take every chance I get to spoil Tyke.  We've waited a long time for this little man to come into our lives and we're going to soak in every little minute and thing.  Tyke throws the biggest fits complete with crocodile tears if things aren't just how he wants them.  He totally knows what he's doing because as soon as we give in he stops immediately.  It's a little frustrating and funny and exhausting but we love it and would do anything, ANYTHING, to make our little guy happy!  He is a very spoiled boy, but in the words of Great-Grandma Jean: "He's not spoiled, just loved!"  And that is totally true!  We love you Roni Baloni and can't believe how big and smart and OLD you're getting!  Happy 6 months buddy!

Patriotic/6 Month Pics

We had Tyke's 6 month pictures taken on July 3rd.  It was a couple of weeks early for his 6 month, but Amanda Livingston (same person who did Tyke's newborn pictures) was running a patriotic mini session special for $30 and we couldn't pass it up.  Amanda did a great job and we're impressed with her skills and turn around time.  We would have had the pictures back a lot sooner but I'm a procrastinator and it took me forever to get her my order of what prints I wanted.

We love these pics of our handsome little man! We have to laugh at some of the pictures though, with the angle and the way Tyke is sitting he looks like he's all head.  I mean we know he's got a big noggin, we were told that at our 36 week ultrasound and he's in the high ninetieth percentile on the charts with it, but these pictures really show it.  I swear he doesn't look like that in person, it was just a bad combo of a few things.  Regardless, we love this little guy and his sweet personality more than anything in this world!

Ute Stampede Weekend 2013

Thursday marked the start of the 79th Ute Stampede Rodeo.  The Ute Stampede is kind of a big deal around here.  I have gone to it my whole life.  I can't remember ever missing one.  We were excited to get to take Tyke to his first Ute Stampede Rodeo and festivities!

On Thursday after work we got cleaned up and headed down to main street to watch the "western" parade.  Basically a bunch of horses trotting down main.  I'm usually not a fan of this parade but figured that Tyke would be interested to see the horses.  We sat under a pavilion at the city park to watch the parade because it was raining and a little bit chilly.  At one point we did venture out in the rain to get closer to the parade but decided quickly to head back for cover.  The parade didn't last long and Tyke only seemed interested for a few minutes before getting growly with us.

After the parade was over, and we were headed home, we got a call from Heather Jo to meet at One Man Band for dinner.  Who are we to turn down dinner dates with the fam?  We ended up having dinner with Grandma and Grandma, Heather Jo and girls, and Tiffany and David.  Dinner was good and the kids kept us well entertained.  Tyke is getting pretty grabby and kept trying to grab our drinks.  He made me nervous that he was going to spill something.  Before we got our dinner the little stinker actually picked up the phone that rings in to place orders.  He's a busy body for sure!

After dinner we all headed down to the fairgrounds to play at the carnival.  Tickets were cheap and all of the rides were only 1 ticket per ride.  The prices are ridiculous at the carnival but Thursday's prices made it worth the visit.  We only took Tyke on one ride, the carousel, because he was too small for anything else. He seemed to enjoy it, I on the other hand got a little motion sick from it and was glad when it was over.  Next time Chad can ride with him!  We watched Sophie ride the roller coaster and then we headed home for the night.

Friday Tyke spent the day with Aunt Stephanie and the kids while Chad and I worked.  I ended up getting off of work about an hour early and went and got Tyke.  Chad had been to work for a few hours and then got to go to a little golf tournament up at Midway.  He made it home just before 4, when the parade started.  After I had picked up Tyke we rushed home to get Chad and then headed to the city park to try and find a spot to watch the mammoth parade.  This parade is the big one of the entire weekend with lots of floats, bands and candy.  We lucked out and found a small shady spot.  I spread our blanket out and we got Tyke out so he could stretch and enjoy the show.  He LOVED sitting up like a big boy, taking in everything that was going on around him.  We ended up having a good little family crowd for the parade.  Grandma Cheryl, Stephanie and Bowdee (the girls were in the parade), Heather Jo and girls and Tiffany and David.  At one point Chad grabbed Tyke and went out to fight for some goods.  Uncle Seth was also in the parade and he and the girls were throwing out Frisbees and little footballs.  Tyke was lucky enough to get one of each.  He no longer cared about the parade and was obsessed with this new little ball of fun.  We were excited he got one because we had been looking for the past few weeks for one for him and this one was just perfect.

After the parade we came home to clean up quick and get changed and then we headed on down to the fairgrounds for our family night at the rodeo.  My parents buy tickets for the entire fam every Friday night of the Ute Stampede.  This year we were missing Ashlee and her family.  We had a great time and Tyke was a good boy and watched most of the show.  He didn't sleep through one bit of it!  He spent most of the night alternating between Daddy and Grandpa Terry.  It was a great night of rodeo and we had so much fun spending it with the Kay fam!

Saturday was very low key for us.  Chad worked out in the yard, finishing up the deck project and getting things set up for a BBQ later that day with his side of the fam.  Tyke and I slept in and then spent most of the day being kind of miserable.  I was exhausted and poor Tyke had quite the runny nose and kept tugging at his right ear.  He was so sick of my wiping his nose and I don't blame him one bit.  We got more snot out of him in that one day than we have his whole little life!  Around 6 pm everyone started showing up (Chris and Danielle and kids, Cody and Jenny (the kids joined us a little later) and Annette and Ted) and we got things cooking.  We had BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs, fresh corn on the cob, watermelon, zucchini from our garden, and yummy peach cobbler and cherry chocolate cake cobbler with vanilla ice cream.  We were all so stuffed!

We spent quite a while outside enjoying each others company.  Jenny and Cody decided it would be fun to do some fireworks so Cody and Teagen ran home to get some from their stash and we all got situated in the front yard for the small show.  Tyke enjoyed watching the fireworks at first, they weren't anything big and fancy, but they were bright and noisy.  About halfway through the show he turned around and looked at me like I was crazy and then buried his little head into my shoulder and fell fast asleep.  I LOVE when he does that!  There's nothing better in this world than when our little guy snuggles up like that!  Luckily I had him in his jammies and ready for bed.  After the fireworks everyone headed for home and I went and tucked Tyke into bed.  It was almost 1 am before Chad and I finally got everything picked up and put away.  It was a long, perfect day!

Sunday we decided that we were going to sleep in.  Well Tyke had other plans and he and I were up a lot that night.  He was pretty miserable with that snotty nose.  We all woke up around 7 because he was being fussy.  I fed him and tried to get him to go back to sleep, I could tell he was just as tired as we were.  Chad fell back to sleep and Tyke wouldn't calm down so he and I went out into the living room and turned on Mickey Mouse cartoons.  That calmed him!  I had a bowl of cereal and did a few chores in the kitchen and then Tyke and I took a good long nap on the couch!  I love snuggling with that little boy of ours!  I woke up around 11 because my phone was buzzing.  Tyke was still fast asleep so I moved him onto the couch a little better so the he wouldn't wiggle off.  I went looking for Chad thinking he was probably up hours ago and was out puttering but to my surprise, and his, he was still fast asleep!  He couldn't believe how late it was and freaked out a little but was excited to have finally gotten some much needed good sleep (he's been working crazy hours at his job).  We made lunch and decided we'd load up the rhino and head to Mona and maybe go for a ride.  Somewhere in between our lazy morning hours Stephanie sent me a text inviting us to dinner at my parents at 5.  We were going to have a big dinner party because Heather Jo and the girls were heading home the next day and we wanted to make sure we got our goodbyes in.

We got everything loaded and headed to Mona.  We had put our back seat on the rhino and had to try it out with Tyke and his car seat so we strapped him in and went for a little ride down the driveway and back.  He held on to his seat belt the whole time and didn't seem too happy or too upset about it.  Typical, no reaction at all from the little stinker.  The other kids thought they needed a ride and Chad was more than happy to take them.  It was so cute to look out the window and see a bunch of little arms in the air like they were riding a roller coaster.  Our nieces and nephews sure think Uncle Chad is the coolest!

Dinner got started a little late but that's okay.  My mom dutch ovened some yummy potatoes, BBQ chicken and ribs!  Ashlee brought a salad, Tiffany brought brownies, Stephanie brought fresh rolls and a salad and we brought two peach cobblers and ice cream (we were on a cobbler kick you could say).  Dinner was good and we were lucky enough to have Grandma Jean, Grandma Gaye and Grandpa Wally join us.

After dinner and dessert pretty much everyone got on the 4wheelers and rhino and headed up Mona Pole for a quick ride.  I, my mom, Rachelle and Heather Jo stayed behind with all of the little kids.  It was nice but chaotic at the same time.  10 little rug rats running wild made for an exhausting evening!  It was another late night for us.  By the time Chad and them got back off of the mountain and we visited and said our goodbyes it was close to midnight when we got home and almost 1 am before we hit the bed.

It was a great 4 days of fun and we were lucky to get to spend it with so much family!  We had so much fun and can't wait until next year to do it all again!

House Work

Since the day we set eyes on our house one of our favorite features was the back porch.  We had been wanting to give it a little remodel, the boards were beat up fairly good and the paint was mostly gone, but we kept brushing the thought aside.  We knew what a big job it would be, sanding and stripping the paint, so we weren't really in any rush to get it done.  When we saw a commercial on TV about Behr "deck over" we got curious.  Supposedly you can just paint over old wood/concrete without really having to sand or anything, and it will fill holes up to 1/4" deep.

One day while at Home Depot (I swear we spend so much time there!) we found the "deck over" and checked out all of the colors and the info, etc.  We decided to go ahead and get it.  It was a little on the pricey side but much cheaper than what the remodel would have cost us.

Chad did 99.9% of the work.  He had to dig up dirt and rocks to be able to paint the side boards.  He power washed and scrubbed the entire deck and when it was dry enough to paint he got down to business and painted.  Of course this hot, dry Utah weather, perfect for this painting project, decided to switch things up and rain and rain and rain!  Rain delayed the project a couple of days.  Chad was so anxious to get it done that it about drove him crazy waiting it out.

All in all it took less than a week from start to finish: clean up, clean deck, first coat, touch up paint to fill in the holes, a second coat and putting the dirt and rocks back in place.  We ended up landscaping another little step off of the deck (we now have 3, when we bought the house there were none, the deck was completely surrounded by dirt, plants and rocks) and buying rubber mulch to put down in place of all of the mulch we hauled off.  We LOVE the way things turned out and we are so excited to enjoy many, many bbq's on our "new" deck!  Now to get some nice furniture and ceiling fans....

Silly Boy

Tyke sure was on a silly kick tonight.  He had Chad and I laughing hard.  Our little guy is sassy and knows what he does and doesn't want.  He ate so much for dinner tonight!  A small bowl of rice cereal, a whole container of carrots (he LOVES them!) and about 3 ounces of milk to wash it all down.  I'm pretty sure that's the most he's eaten in one sitting.  He had finally had enough and we got a kick out of teasing him with what was left of his bottle.  He would giggle and shake his head "no" every time Chad tried to give him more.  The boy knows when he's had enough!  He's just started up this little trick and it's pretty fun to play along.  What a smarty we have! =)

Chew Toy

I guess the binky just doesn't cut it anymore.  Whenever the playmat is around the binky is out!  Tyke enjoys this big chew toy of his, silly boy!

First Fourth

For saying we had no plans for the 4th of July we sure ended up having a busy day!  We were lucky enough to sleep in until around 8:30, that doesn't happen often enough.  After a quick breakfast we got ready and headed to the city park to enjoy the festivities.

We lucked out and got a close parking spot this year, only a block away from the park.  We got Tyke loaded up in his stroller and walked on over.  We visited with lots of family and friends: Uncle Brent and Aunt Tammy and girls.  Nana, Grandma Clayson, Aunt Jenny and Quade.  Grandma Cheryl, Heather Jo and the girls, Tiffany, and Stephanie and fam.  We watched a little bit of the quilt auction and then went looking for food and drinks.  We finished our visit at the park with a snocones and then headed home.

We came home to a cool house and we all crashed for about an hour.  It was a much needed nap after spending the afternoon in so much heat.  Grandma Cheryl, Heather Jo and the girls stopped by for a visit and we ended up making plans to grab some KFC and head up the canyon for dinner.  We made a few phone calls and got Tiff and David to do the KFC run.  As soon as they got to our house we all loaded up and headed up the canyon, destination: Devils Kitchen!  There was our family, Grandma and Grandpa, Steph and fam, Jo and girls and Tiff and David.  We enjoyed dinner and each others company and most of the kids ventured to go see Devils Kitchen.  After cleaning up we all went our separate ways and headed back down into town.

When we got back to the house Ashlee, Jerremy and kids were waiting for us.  We dished up ice cream and waited for the fireworks to start.  We assumed we would have a decent view from our backyard but we were wrong.  When the fireworks finally started we had to hurry and gather our blankets and chairs and move to the front yard.

Tyke and Ellie Jo loved watching the fireworks.  They were pretty mesmerized for about 5 minutes and then they got restless.

It was such a great day getting to see so much family!  We a lot of fun and ate way too much food.  I think it's safe to say that Tyke's first fourth was a success.

Sick Boy

Last Thursday our poor little guy woke up with a small cough, a little congestion and gooey eyes.  His eyes were practically sealed shut because of it.  I felt so bad and may have panicked a little too much.  I called in to work and told them I had a sick baby and then I called to make Tyke a doctors appointment.  We got scheduled with Dr. Lauritzen because Tyke's doctor, Fullmer, wasn't in that day.  Before leaving the house I noticed that Tyke's eyes were getting pretty swollen and he kept rubbing them like they were itchy.  Poor guy!

  

We picked Chad up from work and before heading to the doctors office we both checked on Tyke.  He was totally cleared up and happy as can be!  We decided to cancel the doctors appointment because we thought it would be silly to take a "sick" Tyke in looking so happy and healthy.  We went to lunch and then headed home for the day.  We decided that we, I, may have over reacted with trying to take Tyke to the doctor.  We decided to watch him over the weekend and see how things went.

Friday Tyke woke up with goopy eyes again but other than that he seemed fine.  Stephanie babysat that day and when she dropped Tyke off at home around 1 she told me he had been a sad little boy all day.  I could tell he didn't feel the greatest.  We watched him over the weekend and he did really well.  Every morning and after every nap his eyes had little crusty's.  His sounded congested and his cough got more consistent.  

This afternoon while Chad had Tyke and I was still at work, Chad text to say he thought it was time to finally take Tyke to the doctor because his breathing was sounding pretty raspy.  I called and was able to get Tyke scheduled for 4:40 pm.  We got up to the pediatricians office and got Tyke checked out by Dr. Lauritzen (Fullmer's schedule was full for the day).  So far we've seen 3 out of the 4 pediatricians in that office and we've been impressed with them all.  

Tyke weighed in at 16 pounds 13 ounces!  While the doctor was checking him over Tyke just held his hand and smiled and talked.  Dr. Lauritzen diagnosed Tyke with a viral cold and possible pink eye.  His ears and lungs were totally clear.  The raspy we were hearing must have been things draining while he was lying down.  Dr. Lauritzen gave Tyke a prescription for eye drops and told us that if things aren't sounding better cough wise by Friday to call the office and they'll send in a prescription for an antibiotic. 

Our first round of eye drops went well, no struggle at all.  Hopefully it continues, yeah right!  We can't wait until our little man gets feeling better!