Our weekend

This was the real first weekend of the summer for us, meaning that the spring soccer season is over now. It was an eventful spring culminating in a road trip to Dayton Ohio with 4 of our girls teams who won State Cup and earned the right to represent the state at Regionals.  Tyler made the trek so Grandma and Grandpa took one for the team and came too!

This weekend, which included a friends wedding shower, a family get together and another friend's daughter's bday party, was action packed in the best way ever. And included enough quiet moments at home to balance us out.

We seized the moment of Tyler's afternoon nap to retire the newborn bucket seat and break out the "big boy" car seat. I snapped this photo once he woke up...and yes, he was crawling away as if to say I'm too big for that thing Mom!

Maybe someday we will break it back out if Tyler is meant to be an older brother, but for now we are just amazed at how Tyler has turned into a little boy right before our eyes and loving all these mini milestones!

The Day I Braided My Hair

So, this morning I braided my hair.

This may seem insignificant. It is not. It is literally the first time in my entire life that I have braided my hair and intended to wear it like that for the day. 

I've lived almost 30 whole years without doing this. I have always gotten hung up on this fact...not the 30 thing, not the braid thing, but the doing new things thing. In fact, for much of my adult "post-college" life I have continued to do things the way I have mostly always done them for the simple fact that I've always wondered what kind of reaction the small re-inventions would get. For example- why are you braiding your hair? You've never braided your hair. 

During my senior year of high school, I only wore jeans on Wednesdays. On all the other days, I wore some variation of soccer/athletic clothing. This carried over to college, where by default most days while running from morning workout to 8am class, I wore sweats the majority of the time. It turns out, I like wearing jeans. 

During high school, I never wore v-neck shirts. I thought it was too revealing. It turns out, I like wearing them AND for more than just the ease of nursing Tyler in public settings. 

Since I got contacts way back in middle school, I have never worn glasses. I just got my first pair of real glasses a few weeks ago...disregard the fact they are pink and black, that's a whole other story for another day... and it turns out, I really like wearing them.

Last summer, I wore tank tops for the first time. Seriously. In all previous summers and occasions, I was self conscious about wearing them. Then I was pregnant and caught up in the wave of needing maternity clothes so I bought some. And wore then. And it turned out, I really liked wearing them. 

It turns out, for the last hour I've had my hair braided, I really like it. Probably factoring in is the reality that I seriously don't think I've had my hair cut since Tyler was born but it feels cooler, more organized and in much less disarray (my hair, that is). 

I have considered multiple times- even going so far as to mention it to Kevin one day a few months ago- that I might need (no, actually WANT) to do some clothes shopping. But not without significant purpose or change in mind. Right now, most of the shirts I own were found on the nearest sale or clearance rack and most of the pants I own are at least one size too big (thanks to the glories of nursing and chasing Tyler around, I'm a lot lighter on my feet than I was before I got pregnant). 

The point is, there are a lot of changes- most appearance based- that I've kicked around inside my head for a long time. Or at least, on and off for the last however many years. Only never pulling the trigger or making small changes because I've been worried about what people would think or if they'd wonder why I was doing "xyz-new thing". So, my friends, after all this honesty...it appears my next 30 years might look different than my first 30 years!

The Adventures of Tyler, part 1

So, this happened today when I went to get Tyler from his nap. Who knows how he accomplished this. Can't wait to see what he comes up with next. 

Tyler- 10 Months Old

Yes, Tyler has been 10  months old for almost a month now...sometimes life happens and blogging doesn't.

Tyler's first trip to the Des Moines Zoo on Memorial Day with Dad, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Renae & Makenna

There are so many times when I look at him these days and say to myself, or out loud to him or Kevin, "you don't even look like a baby any more, you look like a little boy!" He's got a great mop of blond curly hair- thanks to his Dad. He's sits up on his knees and stands up on his tiptoes to reach high places. He climbs up the stairs like they aren't even there and also knows to go down on his belly (although I don't fully trust him on this one yet).

Still holdin' on tight to Dad

Our latest breakthrough in the eating department is picking up and putting food into his own mouth. Last week, I got the baby puffs out....because it was suggested that now would be a good time to try them...I set them on his high chair tray and he immediately reached to pick one up and when he actually got it in hand, he commenced to playing with it- waving it in the air- slamming it down onto the tray- etc without coming close to putting it in his mouth. A few days went by, we kept trying, he kept playing. Eventually it dawned on me that I should show him how to put it in his own mouth. He grabbed it in his hand I grabbed his arm and shoved it toward his mouth, he got it in his mouth and crunched down on it and the rest is history. In hindsight, he thought they were toys until I showed him it was food. How is he supposed to know?! So fun to watch him learn and investigate every new thing he sees.

He dislikes grass. So much so that when he sits in it, he holds one leg up at a time to get it out of the grass and holds his hands and arms just above so they don't touch it. Note to self- take a picture. It's pretty hilarious.

He loves walking while holding onto toys. He has even figured out that when he runs into a roadblock, he should walk around to the other side of the toy and start pushing it back the direction he came from.

Another favorite right now- he knows how to give "kisses". If you're holding him and say kiss, he'll lean in and open his mouth. So cute.

He still loves turning book pages, one of his favorites for the last 5 months. He also loves electrical cords...which is not so cute.

Bath time has turned into a full on water assault, everything and everyone within a 5 foot radius of the tub gets a bath. He loves every minute of it and could care less when he splashes himself in the eyes/mouth/face/etc.

All in all, time flies and we're having fun.

Tyler and Makenna playing together