36 Weeks!

Yay!!!  We're officially 36 weeks this week and so ready for this journey to be over!  Only 4 weeks to go until we get to meet our new baby boy!  I start visiting Dr. Nance weekly starting Tuesday morning.  He's betting that I won't go into labor early with this little guy either (Tyke was 3 days past due date and came one day before I was scheduled to be induced).  It's so crazy to me how fast this pregnancy has gone!  This round has been a lot easier on me but at the same time I feel like it's been harder.  I have Tyke to chase around now instead of relaxing and trying to get comfortable.  I'm huge and sore everywhere!  I have cankles and can't stand for long periods of time.  I've got a good waddle going on when I walk.  I have a hard time catching my breath, I get exhausted super easy, and my stomach has no more stretch to give I swear.  I've been having braxton hicks daily and sometimes they're a little painful.  This baby is running out of room and he let's me know so!  Some of his movements take my breath away and make me flinch because they hurt.  I'm nervous that he's going to be HUGE compared to what Tyke was.  Being on a high dose of prednisone (which is why I have felt so great this round) has got me worried that this little guy won't be so little.  I guess we'll see...  We have a few things to finish up at home to feel really prepared for our baby boy.  We have the car seat cleaned and ready to go and just need to pack for all three, I mean four, of us (I have mine and baby's stuff together, just need to get it in a bag).  Hurry up October 24th!!!  Or sooner, I'd be just fine with that! =)

Pumpkins!

Daddy and Tyke cleaned out the garden the other day.  We failed this year at using most of our veggies that we grew.  Between work and not feeling good our poor garden got neglected.  It still produced plenty for us, but there was plenty of waste too.  We enjoyed zucchini, squash, spaghetti squash, peas, tomatoes, jalapenos and onions!  And to finish it all off Tyke got himself fifteen pumpkins, off of one plant!  He had so much fun helping his Daddy play in the dirt and load the pumpkins up in his wagon.  A lot of them were too heavy for him to handle but sure did try his hardest to move them.  

After loading up the wagon Chad pulled it around to the front of the house so we could do a little fall decorating, shocking, I know!  Without even having to be asked Tyke went to the back of the wagon and pushed, helping his Daddy out.  He sure got a little workout doing so!  He was darn proud of himself for the work he had done and so were we!  

Puzzles

Our little guy is smart!  Anything we try to teach him he picks right up on.  He may not do or say it right but he sure tries his hardest!  Aunt Jenny bought Tyke a few wooden puzzles a while ago.  We have been slackers and haven't gotten them out as much as we should.  We finally did the other night just to see how Tyke would do.  Well, he hasn't got the hang of it yet but he sure tries hard to make those little wooden piece hook together.  He has been spending lots of time concentrating on them and trying his hardest to make them work.  Last night he came into our bedroom super excited yelling for me, "Mom! Mom! Mom!"  I asked him what and he threw his hands in the air and exclaimed, "Tada!!"  grabbed my hand and took me into his bedroom.  He pointed at the puzzle and looked at me with the biggest, proudest grin on his face!  He hadn't put it together but he had managed to fit 5 or 6 pieces together and was so excited to show off his hard work.  It made me smile and tear up a little bit.  I'm proud of my boy!  I'm proud that he tries so hard to makes things work.  I'm proud that he gets so excited and proud of himself.  And I'm happy that he comes and gets me and Chad to show us just what he has done!  Life is good!

Routines

I need to write this down before it's forgotten.  I'm always telling my mom and sisters stories about Tyke, some are funny and some are frustrating.  My mom always tells me, "Write it down because before you know it he'll be done doing that and you'll forget."  It's true!  I miss my little guy telling me, "Eva!" is his sassy tone.  I didn't think I would, but I do.  There are other things too but I honestly can't remember them.  It's both sad and fun watching Tyke grow and learn so fast!  Tyke is a funny little guy.  He has a mind of his own and does things the way HE wants to do them.  He has a few little routines that he's done for a while now but they're slowly changing into new ones.

Every morning, without fail, he leans over me and whispers, "Mom, mom, mom" while tapping me on the shoulder.  As soon as I answer he lays his head down on my arm and says, "Mil?" (milk?)  I get up to go and get him some milk and he immediately dives into his Daddy's arms to snuggle and wait for me to come back.  As soon as I hand him his sippy, he takes three or four big gulps before coming up for air and saying, "Dank you!" and then goes back to drinking his milk.  After he's somewhat satisfied he'll stop drinking and point to the TV and say, "Toons?"  And we turn on some cartoons to watch while we get ready for the day.  He no longer puts up a fight while getting dressed and in fact tries to help us out.  He decides which arms and legs go in first, and which foot gets socks first.  After dressing him he makes sure that all of the doors are shut and then he carries his diaper out to the garbage and throws it away.  For breakfast (and sometimes dinner too) he always requests, "waffles!"  While we wait for his waffle, we make him some chocolate milk and he helps us put his shoes on.  As soon as every thing's ready to go he gives me a hug and kiss and he and his Daddy head out the door to Grandma's house.  

When we get home from work/baby sitters, the first thing Tyke does is to run in the house, grab his pool noodle horse and go around flipping on all of the lights and the ceiling fan.  He has to do this, and he proudly does, before he will play with his toys. 

When it's getting close to dinner time he helps me out in the kitchen.  He's usually right in the way, nearly tripping me, but he loves the action.  He's constantly saying my name, "Mom, mom, mom, mom!" and then telling me that the stove is, "Hoooootttttaaaaa!!!!" (hot) and shakes his hands in the air saying, "Ow, ow, ow."  He's never been burned before, I guess we've just taught him well that hot = ouch.  Once dinner is done and I start dishing up plates he tries so hard to take his clothes off. (We always strip him down to his diaper for meals, it's easier on the clothes that way even though he doesn't make very big messes with food).  After we take of his clothes he runs over to his highchair and tries to climb it.  We put him in and he's ready to go!  Of course he doesn't eat dinner very well lately, he's turned into a picky eater again, but I know it's just a phase.  Once HE'S done with dinner he cleans up and hands us his plate and sippy cup saying, "All don!"  He's very persistent and will keep repeating himself until we take his plate away.  He can't stand to have it sitting in front of him.  If we don't take it, he starts throwing food at us.  Little goof ball!

At night time before he gets bathed, I always ask him if he needs to go potty.  We strip him down naked and tell him to sit on his chair.  Before he can do so he has to shut the bedroom door, the bathroom door, the toilet lid, open his potty chair, goof off for a few minutes and then he finally sits down and goes potty.  As soon as he's done he dumps the dish in the toilet, flushes it, puts things back together, closes the lids and then tries his hardest to climb in the tub.

It's fun watching our little man be so independent and in such a routine that he doesn't skip a beat!

20 Months Old

Our big boy is 20 months old today!  It really is mind blowing how fast the months are flying by and how fast and big our little Tyke is growing.  This kid keeps us on our toes!  He's full of life and sass and happiness.

Tyke's little personality is exploding lately.  He is such a little goof ball and tries hard to make us laugh.  He's wild and has so much energy.  He's trying really hard to learn how to jump.  He practices jumping on the couches and his bed.  He also tries jumping off of the steps and logs outside.  He scares me half to death with his bravery!  He's pretty darn cute to watch tough.  He crouches down, springs up really fast, and then just steps off of the steps.  Eventually he's going to get it figured out.  For now though he's a bit clumsy about it and he's got the bruises to prove it.

Tyke loves to introduce Chad and I to each other, constantly!  He just gets so excited when we are all together after a long day at work.  He'll tap Chad on the shoulder and repeat "dad, dad, dad!" until Chad says "what?"  Then he'll point at me and tell him "momma!" with a big grin on his face.  As soon as Chad has been introduced to me, it's my turn to be introduced to him.  "Mom, mom, mom!"  "What?"  "Dadda!"  and this little ritual is repeated at least three to four times before he'll move onto something else.  And then, randomly throughout the rest of the day he'll start re-introducing us.  It's adorable!
  
Tyke is always babbling something.  Most of the time we can understand him but there are a few long phrases he says that have us confused.  He talks really well for his age and people are always impressed when they find out he's only 20 months old.  I think that his height and speech throw people off.  He looks and acts older than he really is.  Tyke communicates really well and lets us know what he does and doesn't want.  He's always requesting "mil hah hah" (milk, hop hop), aka chocolate milk, which is his favorite.  He even opens the pantry door and points to the chocolate milk mix.  If he doesn't want milk then he'll request "wa-wa" (water).  He will not drink something he doesn't want, if we get him the wrong thing he'll let us know until we dump it out and get it right.  Tyke is getting really good at saying words starting with the letter P.  I'm not sure how we got on this kick but his new words are: pinch, purple, push and pee.  He likes to pinch while saying the word pinch in a questioning tone, like he's asking if it's OK?  I'll tell him ouch and he'll immediately let got and say, "mom, mom, mom, dar-o!" (Dar-o is sorry in his language).  He is constantly climbing in his truck and asking us to push him.  He thinks that's the neatest thing ever and both Chad and I get exhausted with it.  Tyke can identify the color purple.  It all started two weeks ago when we went shopping and at one store the shopping carts were bright purple.  I told him they were purple and ever since then he points out that color whenever he sees it.  He's a smart little thing!  And his favorite word is pee.  He's constantly telling us he has to go pee.  Most of the time he really does but usually he's just teasing us.  Potty training, when we really get serious about it, might be totally exhausting with this kid!  Other words/phrases he says lately (that my preggo brain can think of...): no, no no!, ew, mom, dad (which have to be repeated three times before he'll tell us what he has to say), Gamma, Bampa, Nanna, Way (Quade), Eegon (Teagon), Way-Way (Waylon), Bowda (Bowdee), choo choo (he loves trains), ka-coon (raccoon),  eeze (please), fla (flag), and whoo hoo!  Anytime he gets excited about getting to see someone he throws his arms in the air screams "whoo hoo!"  It's adorable.

Tyke can identify quite a few of his body parts now.  We haven't really practiced much with him but somehow he just knows.  He can identify by saying and point to his: nose, eyes, ears, mouth, hair, belly button, knee, toes, elbow and fingers!  He can also identify his back but only when he's in the tub or getting lotioned up after bath time.  He likes to lay on his belly in the tub and pretend likes he's swimming.  As soon as I start soaping him up he says, "mom, back!" and points at his back.  When it's lotion time he always immediately flips over to his belly and points at his back while saying, "mom, back!"  He holds so still while I rub lotion on his back and give him a little back massage.  Chad says he's spoiled but that's OK.  It's nice that the little stinker will hold still for two seconds.

Tyke likes to be in charge of what he eats.  For the most part we let him decide what he wants.  Occasionally we just dish him up whatever we feel like which doesn't really work too well in our favor.  The kid loves cheese and will gobble macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and cheese quesadillas right down.  The only problem is if he eats to much cheese it results in him waking up the middle of the night throwing up.  Tyke is getting to the point now where he refuses to use a "baby" spoon or fork and has to have the real deal like us.  He does really well with it too!  He also is very persistent on getting to use the salt and pepper shakers.  He will throw the biggest fit if we don't let him use them.  It's getting to the point where we have to hide them from him and be sneaky about flavoring our food without him seeing.  Tyke doesn't miss a thing!

Tyke has a few new "obsessions" that he likes.  He will zone out if a football game is on, even if it's just a commercial he stops dead in his tracks and zones in on it.  Speaking of football, the boy can throw the ball really well and practices daily.  He will entertain himself for quite sometime throwing it over the couches and then running around to find it and throw it again.  He's also started "hiking" the ball, which we're not really sure where he learned that, unless it's from watching the games.  Tyke also really likes the actress Jennie Garth.  I have no idea why, but every time a commercial comes on with her on it he goes running to the TV set and just stares at her.  It's pretty funny.  Tyke's other obsession, that's been going on for a while now, is trains.  He likes playing with them, watching cartoons on them, and hearing them drive through town and he lets us know.  He'll pat us on the arm and say, "mom, mom, mom, (or dad, dad, dad), choo choo!"  While throwing his arms in the air like his honking the horn.

Sometimes we think Tyke has hit the terrible two's (we have been for a while now) and others we wonder if he's got a little teenager attitude in him.  He's starting to get really good at throwing fits now and can cry on the spot if he wants to.  He's stubborn.  He likes to tease.  He will do something like steal one of our pillows, or eat a chocolate chip without sharing and look at us, shakes his head from side to side and smile while saying, "Ha! Ha!"  It's adorable!!  He argues.  He has a mean punch!  He's sassy with his conversations.  He's starting to throw toys if he gets mad at us.  And he has got a hot little head when it comes to his temper and things not working out his way (he might have a little Grandpa Terry in him haha).  Even with all of that attitude though he is such a sweetheart!  He likes to cuddle and snuggle.  He gives us kisses and hugs.  He makes sure I have a blanket on my lap when we're sitting on the couch.  He shares his food with his Daddy.  And he's man of the house by making sure that things are taken care of.  He makes sure that all of the doors are closed before we leave the house in the mornings and he makes sure to turn on all of the lights and the ceiling fan when we get home in the afternoons.  He also lets us know that we need to go and check the mail by telling us "mayo" and pointing at the front door.  He loves doing chores (for now) and is the best helper!

Tyke is currently wearing size 18 month-24 month clothes and some 2T.  The 18 month shirts are getting to be a bit tight and we'll be retiring them soon.  He likes to help get himself dressed now.  Tyke's in a size 7 shoe!  And he doesn't have much growing room left in them.  We just recently moved Tyke up to size 5 diapers.  And our little guys still only has twelve teeth.  His canine teeth look like all four of them are getting close to popping through but nothing yet.  He did have one cut through in August, but a couple of days later it had disappeared.  I have no clue what Tyke weighs now but he is starting to get solid!  I also have no clue how tall he is now but he can no longer run underneath the counters without banging his poor little head, and height wise he hits me at the hips.  He's growing up too fast!

Happy 20 months little guy!  We sure do love you!!

Labor Day Weekend 2014

We had a great Labor Day weekend!  We camped, once again, with the Kay & Sutherland clan.  We had quite the crowd this year (not as big as last year but still fun).  Tyke had a blast playing with so many other little people.  He hung out close to cousins Kayson and Swasey.  Cousins Joey and Whitlee were so good to keep all of the little munchkins entertained.  They took them on walks, wagon rides and played games with them nearly the entire time.  It was fun seeing so many little kiddos playing together, another generation of the Kay's/Sutherland's.  These two families have been camping together for as long as anyone can remember!  

Saturday was full of yummy food and fun.  We did potluck breakfast with everyone and for dinner we cooked our own meat and brought potluck to the table again.  We ate so much food that day it was ridiculous!  Tyke did well to chow down on the yummy stuff everyone had prepared.  His favorites were: at breakfast the french toast and hash browns, and at dinner the jello salads and corn on the cob.  He thought he was so cool sitting at the table with his little friends.  Uncle Rick gave Tyke a horse ride and he thought that was pretty cool too.  

Sunday morning we got up and ventured out to the camp fire to hang out for a while.  Chad eventually started breakfast for us but not before Tyke helped himself to Lisa and Stephanie's grub.  They had just sat their families down for breakfast and Tyke climbed right up on the bench between Joey and Whitlee and fixed himself a plate of pancakes.  The little beggar!  He ate them and then left, leaving us all laughing.  Our breakfast was done and we went to sit with Uncle Drew and Aunt Char.  Tyke had his own little plate of food his Daddy had dished up for him but it didn't stop him from helping himself to Drew and Char's food too.  So for breakfast that day he had pancakes, an egg and cheese burrito, and french toast.  I couldn't believe how much he ate!  After breakfast Chad cleaned up most of our camp gear and left to go help on an elk hunt down south.  Tyke and I hung out at camp until nearly 4 p.m. and then we loaded up the car and headed home.  We had planned on staying the night up the canyon but Tyke had started to sound a little croupy and wheezy and I was afraid he was getting sick again.  I didn't want to be in the mountains, unprepared, if he did.  So we called it a weekend and went home.  I gave him a vapor bath and that helped a lot.  By the next morning he was good as new!

I'm so glad we got to camp with the gang again this year.  All in all it was a great weekend and our little guy never stopped playing.  There was never a dull moment and always tons of yummy food and good conversation.  We are so lucky!