Chocolate Chips

Is this not the cutest little chocolate chip thief you ever saw?!  We usually keep a very large bag of chocolate chips in the freezer door.  Occasionally they get used in recipes but most of the time they don't.  We usually end up eating them before hand.  Every time we get a chocolate craving we just grab a couple and head on our way.  Tyke has learned this and now every time the freezer door opens he comes running and digs right in.  He loves them!  I was a little nervous at first about him eating a hard, frozen chocolate chip, but he takes his time and lets it melt before swallowing it.  He is adorable to watch as he bends over and stuffs his entire arm into the bag to grab them.  We love our little chocolate chip thief!!  

Long, Party of....FOUR!!

Saturday night I finally gave in and took a pregnancy test and the results were...POSITIVE!!!  Chad and I were, once again, just like: "hmm, I'll believe it when I see it."  (Is it horrible that we don't get overly excited?  We're cautious with our feelings when it comes to baby's, since it took so long to get Tyke here and this one has happened so "easily"...)

This morning I took another test and again it was a positive, a dark little blue plus sign!  I think it all was finally confirmed when I gagged while getting ready for work.  The flashbacks of my mornings at the toilet came rushing back in an instant and I almost cried.  

I called Dr. Nance's office and made our first official baby #2 doctors appointment for March 14, 2014 at 3:00 p.m.  We are 5 weeks 3 days preggo right now!  It's so crazy!  

I have so many emotions right now that it's overwhelming.  I'm feeling so excited and so blessed right now but also a little scared and a little sad.  It's all so hard to explain.  I'm scared and sad because Tyke will no longer be my only baby.  He was heartbroken when I held his new cousin the other night and that look on his face makes me feel guilty bringing him competition that will never leave.  I know it's life but it still makes me tear up thinking about it.  I'm scared to death at the thought of having two babies!  Sometimes I feel like I can barely handle Tyke!  Also, two babies under two!!!!  I never in a million years thought I would be in that position!

We're not sure if we'll find out the gender or not again.  I don't want to, Chad does.  Time will tell.

As luck would have it, and we totally saw this one coming, our tentative due date is October 24th, right around deer hunting season!  Of course Chad and I are certain we will draw this year, finally, because we won't be able to go.  That's alright, I'll take another cute, healthy little baby any day!  Here's hoping and praying for another perfect, healthy pregnancy!! 

SF&W Banquet

We had the opportunity to attend another hunting banquet, this time the SF&W Banquet.  Grandpa Terry and Grandma Cheryl purchased a corporate table so we sat with them (we still paid our own way).  We had a good evening filled with good food and company.  Tyke ate like a champ!  He helped me clean my plate and then he devoured my dessert: brownies and ice cream.  Chad couldn't feed him fast enough!  Tyke started pointing at the ice cream and then at his mouth.  Tyke's very own version of sign language!

We weren't very lucky with the raffle drawings.  Tyke however won himself a cute blue fishing pole (most of the kids did).  He was pretty excited about it and so were we!  We're now ready for camping season: a fishing pole and a B.B. gun to play with!  We're officially done with banquet for this year.

Animal Sounds

We've been working with Tyke on his animal sounds and words.  He has deer and elk mastered.  He will point at each and say their name.  He does fairly well, but most of the time everything is a deer with our little Roni!  Deer is pronounced without the "r" sound.  Elk is pronounced "el!"

Tyke can make dog and cow sounds now.  When we ask what the puppy says he usually does a full body shaking grunt/growl/bark twice and then stops and smiles.  It's about the cutest thing ever!  When we ask what the cow says he say "ooooo."  We occasionally walk him across the street to see the cows (gotta love having a mini farm near home, the smell is oh so good, not!).  He gets so excited and just squeals and "ooooo's" the entire time.  It's always sad when we have to go back home.

The other night while we were quizzing Tyke on his animal sounds, and he was doing so good, Chad jokingly asked Tyke: "what does the momma say?"  Tyke shook his head and his finger back and forth and said "nah!"  We both busted out laughing!  I'm not sure who taught him that one but I can sadly say that it's true.  I'm always telling Tyke "no no."

He's such a smart little thing!  He seriously amazes us every day.  There's always something!

Our Handsome Boy!

Sunday after struggling to get Tyke's 13 month picture taken (the boy can not and will not sit still for more than two seconds!) I caught him playing in the blinds.  He's obsessed with them and Chad and I are mean and pull them up so that he can't pull them down.  Tyke loves to hang out at our front window.  He kept pulling the blinds over his head so that he could see.  As soon as I pulled the blinds up he gazed outside.  I took the opportunity to take these shots and play with the shadows.  I LOVE how these turned out!  Our little boy loves the great outdoors!  We can't wait until spring/summer so we can spend our days outside.

6th

Today Tyke's 6th tooth popped through (his top left lateral incisor)!  He now has his four top front teeth and his bottom two front.  His goofy, toothy little grin is to die for!

13 Months Old

Tyke is now 13 months old!  One year and one month!  It's so crazy that it's been a month since his birthday already!  Our little guy continues to amaze us everyday with all that he does.

Tyke is certainly getting to be a handful!  He's got a sassy, stubborn, fun attitude that he's developing.  He is a very determined little guy and he knows what he does and doesn't want.  It can be frustrating at times, but for the most part we enjoy watching our little guy learn and develop and grow into his own little self.

He's a little sweetheart and will randomly come and give Chad and I kisses and snuggles.  I can't get enough!  Occasionally that sweetness wears off like a switch and he turns aggressive.  He'll pinch and pull hair and throw toys.  It's the oddest thing to see him change back and forth.  We get after him a lot for that naughty behavior.  It's finally starting to set in and those fits are happening less and less.  

Tyke thinks he's so big.  He walks all around the house and even outside if we leave the doors open while we grab firewood or the mail.  Nothing really phases him as an obstacle.  He will climb over whatever he needs to to get what he's after.  I love watching him walk around the house like he owns the place.  Most of the time his walk is more like running.  The boy has places to go you know and fast!

Tyke is really good at entertaining himself, when he wants to.  He will play with his trucks and toys really well by himself.  He loves company too but it's nice that he can self entertain.  When we try to cook dinner or do any other activity though he needs to be held and help.  It's exhausting but also fun I suppose.  I'm glad he finds interest in cooking and doing dishes.  Hopefully it stays that way for when he's old enough to do them.

Tyke has a Jake and the Neverland Pirates book that has the tabs you lift up to find new pictures.  He loves that thing and plays with it daily.  I am super surprised he hasn't ripped a single tab.  The pages are bent because of all the love Tyke has shown that book, but the tabs are all still intact.  There are a few tabs that open up to show Tic-Toc Croc and every time Tyke opens them he squeals and giggles.  It's so cute to watch!

Tyke loves nursery rhymes.  I'll admit we don't do a whole lot but the couple that we do he enjoys.  The itsy bitsy spider puts a smile on Tyke's face every time!  It will calm him down and get his attention and is my go to nursery rhyme when he's restless or ornery.  He just sits in a trance and smiles the entire time.  When it comes time to "wash the spider out" he will move his arms back and forth with me, but other than that he doesn't do any of the actions.  We also play "Pat a Cake" and that gets him pretty excited.  We've been playing Pat a Cake for a while now and he thinks it's pretty funny.  He will clap and throw his hands in the air.  It's adorable when he plays along!

Tyke is still obsessed with the remotes even though we refuse to let him touch them, he loves playing with our iPhones and with the Wii and surround sound buttons and now strings.  If he can get a hold of his Daddy's shoe laces they go right into his mouth.  He has a few toys with strings on them and he only plays with the strings.  He puts them in his mouth and slowly pulls them out, running them behind his teeth.  I think it's soothing to him.  With the one toy he will take the string and stick into a teeny tiny hole with no problem.  His coordination like that is amazing!  Tyke loves playing under the kitchen table and pushing the bar stools around the kitchen.  Tyke is obsessed with our new kitchen rug.  When we give him a treat he takes it and goes and sits on the rug to eat it.  If he gets in trouble he goes and sits on the rug to pout.  He even takes his toys to the rug to play with.  It's hilarious!  It's not that big of a rug but it is very cushioned which is what draws him to it.

Tyke is into everything he shouldn't be and tries to grab everything he knows he shouldn't have.  Tyke never misses an opportunity to get into trouble, aka help out.  One night while I was making dinner I discovered that our little guy can now reach the counters in the kitchen.  I had just opened and (luckily) drained a can of corn and was getting ready to use it when I heard a big crash.  I looked down to see Tyke covered in corn with a big happy, pleased grin on his face.  There was corn everywhere and I was in disbelief that he had just reached up and pulled the can down on himself!  I'm not kidding when I say this boy is a snoop and has to discover everything (which I am so glad that he is!!!).  I've caught him on his tip toes trying to reach whatever he can reach that's lying on the counter.  He likes to play with the knobs to the stove and he hangs on the oven door.  He doesn't like it too much that we locked that thing up and he can no longer open and close the door to watch the light blink on and off.    

Tyke had gotten really picky about eating.  He refused most everything.  It wasn't that he didn't like the food, he just didn't want to try it.  We had to practically force feed him a taste and once he got that taste he was OK to eat.  Silly boy!  Now he eats like a champ!  It's unreal how much he has been eating the past few days!  He'll eat pretty much anything, except for tomatoes and I can't say that I blame him.

Tyke has also gotten really stubborn about letting his Daddy and I help feed him.  He has to be in control!  He has to have the spoon in his hand.  Eating dinners, or any meal really, have to be done by his rules.  Chad and I have to just sit back and mind our own business.  If we watch Tyke he won't eat but if we don't he will.  He's a little goof ball like that!  Chad and I watch out of the corner of our eyes and we are quite impressed with Tyke's skills with the spoon.  He's good at shoveling food into his mouth, and his lap.  He's especially good with his left hand.  He makes the biggest messes but that's just fine with us!  The boy is learning and growing and keeps us well entertained!

Tyke is getting so tall it seems.  Most of his pants are starting to get a little short in length and will be getting retired soon.  This makes me sad but it also excites me because it means I get to go clothes shopping again!  The thing I can't figure with his pants length is: his legs seem so short to me.  His torso is long which is what makes him tall.  Either way, the boy is shooting straight up!  Tyke is mostly in 12 month clothes but we have started getting out the 18 month jammies and overalls and they fit him pretty good.  Tyke has pretty well outgrown his size 4 shoes.  They still fit but they are definitely getting tight.  And he's still in size 3 diapers.

Tyke gives the biggest goofy grins ever and I just love them!  He moves his lower jaw a lot while he smiles and sometimes it worries but it makes for the cutest smiles.  He likes to click his teeth together and he still pops them which drives me nuts!  When he smiles big he makes sure to wrinkle his nose and squint his eyes.  It's hilarious and he's a goof ball and goes along with our laughing and keeps doing it.  He is seriously a little clown!  He has the funnest personality!

Tyke will NOT sleep in his own bed!  We did that to ourselves.  In January we were all sick with colds and spent our nights in our bedroom so we could all use the humidifier.  Now Tyke won't sleep in his own room in his own bed.  He was to be in with us, between us and boy is he a bed hog!  For the most part he sleeps in one position through out the night.  Before he falls asleep though he has a hard time getting comfortable and will toss and turn for nearly twenty minutes before finally exhausting himself enough he sleeps.  The entire time he tosses and turns his eyes are closed and he grunts.  I'm not sure what that's all about?  It's cute but it's exhausting for us as well because we are the walls that keeps him on the bed and we get kicked and head butted a lot!  Every morning, like clock work, the tossing and turning starts up again around 5:30 a.m.  After about twenty minutes he wakes up either crying or demanding for a bottle.  5:52 a.m. is his breakfast time!  Most mornings, after tossing and turning, he will kiss me on the cheek, point at the empty bottle on the night stand and grunt, then point at the door and grunt, telling me to go get him food now!  It cracks me up every time!  He's too dang cute for words!

We love our little Tykers so much!  He is the best part of our day!  He's Daddy's buddy and Mommy's sweetheart and our whole world!!!

Hunt Expo

We decided to load up and go to the Salt Palace for the big Hunt Expo earlier today.  We try and go every year (last year we didn't make it because Tykee was only a couple of weeks old).  We invited Grandpa Terry to go with us since he was home alone for the weekend (a few of the gals in the fam had loaded up and headed on a mini vacation to meet up with our Oregon gals).  Tyke was pretty excited to have his "Gampa Terry" sitting by him in the back seat and kept giving us the biggest cheesers ever.  He's such a goof ball!    

Chad and I were excited to see how Tyke would react being surrounded by so many deer and elk mounts, along with all of the bear, cougar, etc. and guns.  We had a hard time finding a parking spot and eventually had to give in and fork out $12 for parking!  Chad and I got put in for a few hunts (they do a "$5 each" draw for a bunch of hunts, it gives us more chances to hunt besides the usual hunts we put in for yearly.  Yeah right!  Haha, winning/drawing a hunt is like winning the lotto, you're dang lucky if you do) while Grandpa Terry chased Tyke around.  Tyke had a blast just playing out in the foyer while we took care of business.  

When we finally walked into the expo Tyke freaked right out!  It was hilarious!  He was so excited and just scrame and kicked his legs and waved his arm.  Chad had a hard time holding onto him!  Tyke kept pointing at the mounts and yelling "a deer" (minus the "r" sound because that's how he says it, it's so cute!).  He was wild with excitement and Chad and I just laughed about it.  We knew for sure that Tyke would lose his voice from all of the happy squealing but he never did.  We walked through all of the booths and checked out a few fun toys that we'll only dream of ever owning.  Tyke did his fair share of walking too.  He loved helping me push the stroller around and took off on his own a few times, little stinker!  After a few hours we left and went searching for some lunch.

We ate at a Carls Jr somewhere near the point of the mountain.  It wasn't the best food but it did the job.  After that we went straight to Cabelas to wander around.  We took Tyke to see the fish display and once again he went crazy.  He kept pointing and banging on the glass and yelling: "a deer!"  We tried to correct him but he didn't feel like learning any new words.  After wandering the store for a while we headed home.  We had a great day and decided that it was so worth it to take Tyke to the expo.  Our boy is most definitely going to grow up to be like his Daddy and his Grandpa Terry: an obsessed hunter that loves the great outdoors!  

Valentines

We had a very low key Valentine's day as usual.  Chad and I don't really like to go out and deal with all of the hype so we opt to stay home and cook up a good meal.  This years dinner didn't work out quite as good as I had hoped.  I felt rushed and out of time and I'm not sure why.  Tyke was a little whiny and needed to be held, so that added to my stress.

Tyke got spoiled by his cousins and grandparents!  He got lots of yummy treats, a balloon and a stuffed puppy dog.

We had plenty of visitors, including Grandma Cheryl and Grandpa Terry who joined us for dinner.  For dinner we had lasagna and salad.  I usually make eclairs too but like I said, I had run out of time.

For my valentine Chad had a yummy gluten free heart shaped cake delivered to me at work via Amanda Lunt (the same gal that made our wedding cake).  It was so good!  Chocolate with peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups crumpled on top.  Chad's valentine from Tyke and I wasn't near as fancy.  We got him some ice cream and root beer and finger painted a card that said: "Valentine, you "float" our boat!"  It was cheesy but Tyke and I had fun painting it.  In fact, Tyke got super mad at me when it was time to clean up our project and finish dinner.

All in all it was a great day spent with the ones we love!  Happy Valentines 2014!

5th

Poor Tyke has struggled with teething this round.  His first four teeth didn't seem so bad.  Painful? Yes, but nothing like these next two have been.  Tyke has fevered on and off for weeks now and has had a constant runny nose and drools like crazy.  We've given him Tylenol and Motrin and teething tablets (Thanks Aunt Rachelle!) all to calm our poor guy down.  I kept looking in his mouth to see what I could find and there were no new teeth to be seen.  Finally I spotted two new ones coming in, his top "lateral incisors" (each side of his top front teeth).  I kept telling everyone that I'd bet his right tooth would be in, over a week ago!  It didn't, I'm always proven wrong with my bets.  Every day for the last week and a half I have tortured Tyke by trying to look in his mouth.  He hates it and throws the biggest fit!  I just knew that that tooth was going to be through but it never was.  Today when I checked it had finally broken through!  Yay!  Tyke now has five teeth in his cute little mouth.  His sixth one looks to be following close behind.  Yay for more little chompers!!

Big Boy

What can I say?  Tyke is trouble!  He's into everything he shouldn't be and he never misses an opportunity to discover (aka cause trouble) in our home.  Tonight while I was making dinner I discovered that our little guy can now reach the counters in the kitchen.  I had just opened and (luckily) drained a can of corn and was getting ready to use it when I heard a big crash.  I looked down to see Tyke covered in corn with a big happy, pleased grin on his face.  There was corn everywhere and I was in disbelief that he had just reached up and pulled the can down on himself!

Tyke has gotten really picky about eating.  He's also gotten really stubborn about letting his Daddy and I help feed him.  He has to be in control!  He has to have the spoon in his hand.  He usually only uses it to stab at his food while screaming before throwing everything overboard onto the floor.  Eating dinners, or any meal really, have to be done by his rules.  Chad and I have to just sit back and mind our own business.  If we watch Tyke he won't eat but if we don't he will.  He's a little goof ball like that!  Chad and I watched out of the corner of our eyes tonight and we were quite impressed with Tyke's skills with the spoon.  It was the first time he had used the spoon correctly, and without any help!  He did good at shoveling food into his mouth, and his lap.  He was especially good with his left hand.  He made the biggest mess but at least he's finally eating a little better!  Way to go Tyke!!

Spoons

Tyke is still going through his "picky eater" stage.  He is surviving off of treats, mac and cheese and milk.  He pretty much refuses everything else but we still battle with him to get him to try new foods (and old foods that he used to like but spits out now, if he even lets them touch his mouth!).  Last night we went and had dinner at the local Mexican joint because Chad and I didn't feel like cooking and it sounded good.  Tyke ate a couple of tortilla chips and had his first taste of guacamole.  He pulled a disgusted face but ate it anyway surprisingly (he usually spits it out faster than it goes in if he doesn't agree with it).  When our food was finally served we offered Tyke some rice, which he usually loves, but he wouldn't even look at it let alone taste it.  He reached and grabbed a spoon and started digging into Chad's refried beans.  He played with them for a minute until there were enough stuck to the spoon that he pulled it to his mouth and ate them!  Chad and I were shocked!  Shocked that he ate them, liked them, and he used a spoon correctly by himself for the first time!!  He continued to eat beans until he eventually dropped his spoon on the floor.  At that point we were pretty much done with dinner anyway.

Today for lunch Chad fixed Tyke a cup of his macaroni and cheese and gave him a spoon to see what he would do.  Chad was able to help Tyke hold the spoon and show him how to scoop up the noodles and put them in his mouth (usually Tyke will throw a huge fit if we touch his spoon!).  After a couple of tries Tyke started feeding himself really well!  He made a huge mess and more noodles ended up down the front of him than in his mouth, but he ate!  And he did it all by himself!  It's amazing how our little guy learned this new life lesson in just a matter of hours!  We're so impressed and so proud with all that Tyke learns and does!  He's our little genius baby!

Monster??

Chad and I have created a monster!  When we all got sick with the cold we moved Tyke into our room so that we could all benefit from the humidifier.  This cold has lasted longer than we had expected and now Tyke is so used to sleeping in between Chad and I that we are having a hard time moving him back into his own room.  His first night back in his own bed he threw the biggest fit and made himself throw up all over the floor.  This was after struggling for nearly an hour.  Throwing up is his newest trick.  At first I thought it was just because he coughed so hard he'd puke, but now I've noticed that he gets worked up when he does or doesn't want something and he'll cough and gag until he throws up!  Tyke falls asleep so quickly most nights after giving him a bottle and rocking him.  He'll be sound asleep and as soon as you try to lay him down he cries out, before ever even hitting the mattress.  He's a spoiled little guy!  If we try to lay him down on our bed he's just fine.  He'll wiggle until he gets into his spot and then he's out for the night.  He sleeps great, us, not so much.  I love snuggling with Tyke but he nearly pushes me out of the bed.  In the mornings I wake up with a sore back from lack of movement and being kicked and pushed.  Last night Chad was able to get Tyke to sleep in his own bed but it only lasted for a couple of hours (that's better than nothing right?) and he was back in with us.  Our little monster is spoiled and knows how to work us!

Our cute little drooling bed hog!  We sure love this little guy of ours!!!

Lucky Weekend!

Tyke is our lucky little guy!  On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend the RMEF banquet this year (last year Chad went while I stayed home with our newborn!).  RMEF stands for Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.  Uncle Trenton is on the board and offered us tickets but we declined to go because we wanted to attend a different banquet this year.  Grandpa Terry called us up the next day and informed us that he had bought us tickets to the RMEF dinner.  We were hesitant about him buying our way in but we went ahead and went.  It was a fun evening spent surrounded by family and friends.  We had dinner (which we weren't totally impressed with this year) and then the raffles began.  There were so many different raffles to put our money towards that we did a little of each (except for the big spender ones).  Chad and I of course put Tyke's name on all but two tickets we bought.  We knew for sure he would have better luck than us.  With the balloon game (you buy balloons for $5 a piece and then pop them as the night goes on.  In each balloon there is a paper for a prize won) we won an elk calendar (which proudly hangs above Tyke's crib now) a 2 liter diet coke and three water bottles.  At the children's raffle Tyke's name was drawn first and he won a bb gun!  I was more excited than him or his Daddy!  I've been wanting one for a while, strange, I know.  And then he won again and we chose a Cars themed sippy cup.  Tyke was pretty proud of his winnings and so were we!  We didn't win anything out of the general raffles or the unlucky game but we feel that we walked away OK!

Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday!  We got our names and Tyke's put on Uncle Seth's board to try and win some money!  We donated $19 and bought three adult squares at $5 a piece and four $1 squares for Tyke (plus he had one that Grandma Cheryl had bought for him, she bought one for each of the kiddos).  Even though it was a lame game and our Denver Broncos lost terribly, our $19 more than multiplied.  Tyke won two of the quarters equaling $10 for him and his piggy bank, and Chad won two of the quarters equaling $50 for him!  Yay for my lucky boys and bringing home $60!