Early Birthday Celebration

Since everyone was back in Ankeny, Karen was nice enough to bake me a birthday cake. It was very yummy...and one of my favorites!! Carrot cake! And fortunately Kyle helped me blow out my candles.....with that many on the cake....I knew that I needed help!! Thanks again Kyle! You helped make my wish come true! :)





Here are a few pictures...

Yes.....I made the room that SMOKEY!! :) Thank goodness Kyle saved the day!!

Easter in Ankeny

We had a WONDERFUL Easter holiday, and so I want to share a few pictures from our weekend.

Tyler had a hard time with a molar that was coming in, so we had a late Friday night....well early Saturday morning. But eventually Adam and I figured out that he was teething and were able to get him to settle down. Just too bad it took us an hour to do so because we were tired from the drive! But Tyler now has two bottom molars and it was a good thing because he was able to enjoy all of grandma's amazing cooking while we were in Iowa.

Tyler also wasn't the most cooperative with pictures. But I don't blame him. With grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins to play with, who wants to take a timeout with mom to take pictures. :) So we didn't take any on Saturday....but took these on Sunday.

Making a few calls early in the morning.
Telling me that he needs some privacy for his phone calls...must mean he is making some business calls. :)



Grandma and Tyler. :)
Dad and Tyler checking out his Easter basket.


Tyler helping dad with the computer. (I like the reflection here).

A family picture - part II.

Like father like son! :)

Where's Tyler???
Here he is!!!
Telling grandma a story. Helping cook in the kitchen (wink).
Playing with grandma.

Laughing at Grandma who is being silly.
Finally figured out how to get the dog to do tricks. :)
Hoping the girls will help him get outside.
Hanging out with Evan
Playing with Aunt Mary

Thursday

I don't have any pictures to post today. Sorry. Just wanted to share that Tyler is working on signing "frog". We were at the store today and he was a little cranky (but we needed to stock up on some Tylenol becuase his molars are coming in quickly). So, I grabbed a stuffed frog (the nearest thing to me) to entertain him until we checked out (thank goodness for Easter displays at the entrance!).

So we used that time to work on signing. He kept trying to say "horse" at first....and even made a monkey sound a few times. But finally would put his hand under his chin and mimic the frog sign I was doing. He would then clap for himself when he did it right (he LOVES to clap for himself). He looked very proud of himself.

We also used the time to practice our monkey and dog sounds, and he showed a lot of people how to sign "baby". Two different people stopped to talk to him and he started telling him that he was a "baby". One lady got it, loved it, and kept talking to him. The other understood once I explained what he was doing but didn't stick around as long as the first. :) Hopefully, they understand that we are working on signing and not just calling him a baby all of the time!

I even had enough time to pick up some other things we needed (like covers for the stove knobs since Tyler likes to help with everything and I don't want him to blow up the house). :)

However, he was keeping the frog in sight at all times...and I was beginning to worry that we would have a scene at checkout (since I wasn't going to buy it for him since he just got a stuffed fish last weekend). Fortunately, once we got in line, the checkout lady understood my problem and helped distract him while I took it away and handed it to her. He didn't even notice that the frog was missing as he was enjoying having someone who wanted to chat with him. :)

Shedd Aquarium

Tyler sleeping in...isn't he so cute?? (He would not sleep in his crib Saturday night...so we finally brought him to bed rather than wake up the rest of the hotel...and he out slept us (granted he literally kicked me out early in the morning)...





FINALLY, he woke up...and so we turned on the t.v. since it is his vacation too....I love the bedhead....





And then were reminded why we don't do t.v. at home....he didn't move until we turned it off...




A quick nap after our lunch with Angie and Steve...




We realized that we didn't do the best job of taking pictures because we got none of Tyler with his Aunt Angie/Uncle Steve or Uncle Mike/Aunt Elaine. :( We also didn't stop to pose for many pictures...but here are a few from outside of the aquarium. We promise to do better on our next vacation!! But then that will probably mean about 800 posed pictures! :)

It was also very cold and windy...so I blame our lack of picture taking on that....



Mike, Tyler, and me with Chicago skyline



Adam, Tyler, and me at Lake Michigan



Tyler at Lake Michigan. Don't worry. I have the brakes on. And yes...he is wearing Adam's gloves.... :) I didn't bring gloves for him, so Adam was nice enough to let his son wear his (and yes...people walking by did comment on them).

The penguins..




Checking out the penguins...

Showing Mike his nose...

A Tyler fish...

Sad that we have to leave...

A souvenir...his very own fish to take home...

Lincoln Park Zoo

Checking out the controller in the hotel...
He loved spinning the chair in circles...
Getting dressed and ready to go see some animals... Our tour guides
Checking out a chimpanzee...
The chimpanzee checking out Tyler...

Trying to keep warm (other leg is by the body).
Reminded me of Ellie...

Ready for a nap....

Quick picture with dad....

A big and noisy cat...or as Tyler said...a "dog".
The cat coming towards them...

PEEK

A

BOO

Chicago

We decided to get out of town last weekend and we drove to Chicago. Tyler did AMAZINGLY well in the car. He napped a little and barely cried at all. We read a lot of books and worked on some signing. On the way to Chicago he learned how to sign "horse" and "phone".

Saturday we went to the Lincoln Park zoo with Mike. It was a little chilly and Tyler was ready for nap so we only stayed long enough to see the big cats, monkeys, gorillas, and reptiles. Tyler did notice the animals and everything with four legs was labeled a dog by him. :) He was pretty tired though, so he wasn't too engaged.

After a quick nap we went out to dinner with Mike and Elaine where Elaine taught Tyler how to sign "baby". It got to be pretty funny since Elaine also got him pointing to Mike after signing baby. And as the meal was ending, Tyler reminded us that it was well past his bedtime and that he was ready to go to sleep.

On Sunday, we meet up with Aunt Angie and Uncle Steve for lunch before they headed back home. After that we headed back downtown to go to the Shedd aquarium and thanks to Tyler having a stroller didn't have to wait in the long line out in the cold and wind for tickets. :)

Tyler seemed to enjoy the aquarium a lot more than the zoo. Maybe because he was a little more rested. He pointed to ALL kinds of fish and generally seemed to be having fun looking at all of the new animals.

Once we were done with the zoo we ventured out for some Chicago-style pizza and then went back to visit with Mike and Elaine, where Elaine taught Tyler how to walk with a "walking stick". :) Tyler enjoyed getting to play with them, and they were kind enough to humor our obsessed little boy. He probably spent most of the time handing them a coaster and then taking it back, and repeating. :) Doesn't it sound like an exciting game? :)

He also learned how to sign "cat" while there...though Sammy (their cat) wasn't a big fan of Tyler. She kept her distance and watched him from afar. I don't blame her though...I would probably hid from a baby who needed to use a walking stick too! :)

We drove back on Monday and it went pretty quickly. Tyler slept almost the entire time. And for the last hour or so of the trip when he was awake and ready to be done with his car seat, Adam played with him.

The girls are exhausted too. They got to go to Woof Dah, a cage-free doggie daycare/boarding facility. Basically, they play all day with other dogs and then at night get to sleep where ever they want (the facility is lined with couches/chairs). Needless to say, they are tired. They immediately ran to our bed when they got home and are still sleeping now.

A few more pictures from Sunday...

Playing with Ellie through the window.

The boy loves his dogs. :)
But can always take a break for some milk. Playing again with Ellie.

Telling us Ellie wants in.

A quick guys-team picture.

A quick family picture.