Tyler knows his bedtime routine

Sunday was a LONG day for us. Adam fought an oil filter for almost the entire day. And after I made countless trips to two different auto parts store, we were still unable to find the right tool to get the dealership's filter off. In fact, the last suggestion by an auto store guy was to jam a screwdriver through the filter and hope for the best. Given that Adam had spent the day getting his arm scraped up and doing other household chores outside while I was trying to find something to get the filter off, he decided to just leave the oil filter on and call it a day. I don't blame him one bit. It seems that every time "we" try to do the first oil change on a car, it is impossible to get off without a struggle. Sigh.


So after a long day, we came inside for a late dinner and wanted to just sit and do nothing for awhile. The only thing though was that Tyler took a REALLY long nap and wasn't ready to go to bed (he had already eaten dinner) and despite observing the oil change from his fire truck (where he sat most of the day while we did chores outside) he wasn't as tired as Adam or I (I am just always tired these days it seems). So Adam and I plopped him in the pack and play in the next room, ate dinner, and just sat for awhile.

Tyler played for over an hour with his toys, only occassionally waving at us and identifying who we were. We were very grateful that he could do that, and that he seemed content to sit with this toys.



When we decided that he would likely go to bed, I grabbed him out of his pack and play and we all headed upstairs. He was all smiles to see us coming to get him, and immediately started saying "dada book" over and over and over again as we climbed the stairs and headed for his room. He knows the bedtime routine it seems, and was so excited for it.



Adam grabbed two books, and despite Adam starting the first one, Tyler quickly informed him that he would rather read Goodnight Moon (he says "ni moon"). And when we finished that book, he announced that he wanted his truck book read (he gets very intense when staying "truck stuck".....Truck Stuck was a book we had from the library for months and now ALL truck books are called truck stuck I guess). :)

So Adam read the truck book, making up a great story since the truck book is only pictures and no words. Then Adam sang some songs while rocking Tyler. At the last song, Tyler asked for his bear and dog, and gave them each (and Adam) big hugs and kisses before Adam put all three of them back in the bed.



Then not a peep out of Tyler. And given how tired we were, we were so thankful that he has become content with his bedtime routine.

T-shirt

He looks excited doesn't he?
Little does he know how his world will change....

In my excitement, I had this shirt made for Tyler. I figured that come February I could just put a long-sleeve shirt under it. Now it has hit me that he may grow between now and then....oh well....at least I got my picture of him in it. :)

A choo-choo in the printer

This weekend has been a big weekend for Adam and Tyler. Tyler has been attached at the hip to Adam. This isn't super unusual because Tyler usually hangs on Adam on the weekends, but it has gone so far that he was denied me holding him (which makes it unusual). So, Adam and I are of the conclusion that Tyler has officially joined the boys team and is proud of it. :)

It started on Saturday when we went to a hardware store to browse as Adam had a gift card burning a hole in his pocket. I went to put shoes on Tyler, and he told me "nooooo" and flung himself into Adam's arms, even though Adam was trying to put his own shoes on. He refused to leave Adam's arms. From this point forward, Tyler only wanted Adam and my two attempts at the store to grab Tyler so Adam could browse better were rejected with some very cute, but adamant "nooooo's".

As hard as it is to take, it is pretty cute because Tyler looks so proud to be held in Adam's arms. And when we would ask him if it is just because he is on the boys team, he would smile and give Adam a high five. This behavior continued on today, with him only wanting dad to play with or to hold his sippy cup when we were outside. He even helped Adam dig in the dirt, despite our best efforts to keep him away. We guess that Tyler just had too great of a time on their adventure to Central Park without me. If only I had pictures to convey how proud he looks as he grins and says "nooooo" to me and clings to Adam.

The other cute thing of the weekend is that Tyler's obsession with choo-choo's continues. I was on the computer this afternoon and Tyler was next to me playing when he turned the printer on. It made a noise and that peaked his interest. After a few more minutes he learned to open up the lid to the printer and would see the cartridges roll across a metal bar to get in place to print. After this, he LOST it! He was loving that a choo-choo was in the printer and just kept saying choo-choo. I could only take it so long, as I really didn't want him playing with it, so I told him to not touch it after taking a few quick pictures of course. This brought tears almost immediately as he kept saying choo-choo over and over again. It was pretty obvious that he was mad at me, and when Adam came over he told him all about the choo-choo despite us trying to tell him it was a printer.

Here are a few pictures. I played around with them a little bit before posting as I am delaying doing the things I really need to be doing (i.e. figuring out dinner). I hope that everyone is having/had a great weekend!

Thursday in NY

Today was an experience to say the least. We thought that our flight left at 11, but were gladly surprised to find out Wednesday night that it was 2. So we all slept in a little and then packed our stuff. It was definitely bittersweet because we were loving the city, but also couldn't wait to get Tyler back on a schedule (though I must admit that he was even better than I could have hoped for and did great considering he only got about a 45 minute nap the entire time we were there and put up with late nights and a strange crib).

We headed out about 10 to get to the airport. We took a taxi. Again, I have never been so thankful that I brought a car seat for Tyler. There were a few times during that ride that I thought we were going to crash. Though, I must admit that Adam and I learned a few things about driving. Like if you just honk, you can switch lanes even if a car is there that doesn't want you in. Or you can use the off ramp to avoid the slower cars that you can't weave between, speed up, and then get back on the on ramp at a ridiculously fast pace to beat those slow cars. And finally, a posted speed limit sign is just a sign....nothing to pay attention to....especially if you are passing the other cars on the freeway that it makes them look like they are parked.

Needless to say, when we arrived at the airport, we were all carsick yet more thankful to have made it there safely. Unfortunately, I forgot the airline that we were flying on and had us dropped at American. I was about 90% sure that I was right, and hence tucked my tail when I was informed that we were on Delta. Fortunately, we had just stopped at information to ask and didn't have to wait in line. So after a few elevators and a small hike, we found the airtrain and headed out to the right terminal. Fortunately, Adam had been insistent on leaving early, so we weren't pressed for time.

Once we got to Delta, things were a breeze. There was no line at security and we got to our gate and some food quickly. Then we hung out for a little while while Tyler pointed out all of the airplanes and trucks outside, before heading to our plane. After a long walk out onto the tarmac (yep...a flight from JFK to MSP is a small commuter plane) with Adam dealing with Tyler, a stroller, a backpack Tyler carrier, and a computer bag and me trying to juggle a car seat, a backpack, and a purse (that would not stay on my shoulder) we finally made it to the plane. We checked the stuff that wouldn't fit and got on. We were thankful to be heading home, and on time actually.

We pulled out and were on time......but then things went downhill. We were the 18th plane in line to takeoff and the gate was launching a plane only every 3-4 minutes. So they announced that we could pull out electronic devices because it would be awhile. They were right. An hour later and we were taking off. Ugh. The most disturbing was that they called it "normal". And all of the passengers were like if this was "normal" then why board us on time???

So the flight went well....well....no major crying from Tyler. He was battling a nap all the way and about 30 minutes out of MSP finally sprawled between Adam and I, and crashed. We got comments from other passengers as they were leaving about how good he was, so either Tyler was good or they were fearing an all out baby crying tantrum and were just glad it didn't happen. :)

We picked the dogs up on the way home, and boy were they glad to see us. I loaded them in the back of the Highlander and they immediately jumped clear into the front seat. This is normal behavior for Ellie, but not for Carlie, so we knew that they were excited. Tyler was thrilled too. They greeted him with some kisses and when we got home he kept going up to them to pet them. He was more focused on Ellie and Carlie than we have ever seen him be. He even went and found some toys for them and kept trying to give the girls the toys. Unfortunately, they were focused on all of the squirrels that seemed to have made themselves at home while we were gone and just wanted to go in and out to reestablish their turf.

Finally, we all crashed early as even Ellie and Carlie acted exhausted and are spending the day and rest of the weekend recovering. Tyler slept until 10 Friday morning, and went back down for a nap around 2. I am struggling to stay awake myself right now and Ellie and Carlie have been asleep all day. I am sure that Adam is feeling the trip catch up to him as well and is probably grateful that he has the weekend ahead of him to recover.


Showing dad all of the airplanes and trucks.

Excited to go home we think. The shirt is Tyler's souvenir.

Killing time with a tickle war. Somehow, dad always knows where Tyler's best tickle spots are.

Being boarded is hard work. The best is that she couldn't keep her tongue in last night because she was so tired. I just wish that I could have gotten a picture of what we all looked like last night because Adam, Carlie, Ellie, and I were all laying around the living room within a few minutes of unloading and no one really wanted to move (unless of course a squirrel needed spoken too). And then there was Tyler. Tyler handles tiredness is a very unique way. He becomes wired. So he ran around the house rediscovering all of his toys, and then coming to check on all of us to make sure that we were okay. Adam and I were worried that it was not tiredness, but stored up energy from not getting to walk much this last week. Fortunately, it was tiredness as Tyler went to bed at his normal time.

Tyler trying to give Carlie a toy to play with.

Wednesday in NY

Wednesday was fun. Again, Tyler and I slept in and Adam headed out early. Pattya met us again today mid morning and we headed out for a day of walking around. We walked down and saw Grand Central Station before heading out to Union Square. When we got to Union Square we let Tyler play in the park while we rested. I was carrying him in the backpack carrier (instead of the stroller) so my shoulders were already tired. He enjoyed chasing the birds that are used to people feeding them (so they looked a little surprised to be getting chased) and getting to walk around for awhile.

Then we headed towards The Village, but first stopped and walked down St. Mark's street. It was pretty interesting to say the least. People were dressed pretty unusual and I saw more tattoo parlors in a one-block radius than I had ever seen before. After touring The Village we headed to Chinatown where Pattya had a restaurant she wanted us to eat lunch at. Tyler was debating a nap at this point, so I wasn't sure if he would eat lunch or not.

We walked quite a ways through Chinatown, but finally got to the restaurant. It was known for its great dim sum, and I have to agree (granted I have no real knowledge to compare it too....just enjoyed experience). I tried things I have never eaten before and was just glad that Pattya had an idea of what we should eat as I quickly learned that none of the wait staff spoke English, and picking off the carts as they went by was intimidating. Not speaking English proved interesting as I tried to ask about a highchair or booster chair. It took a lot time, and with a lot of hand motions involving Tyler and the chair, I finally got a booster seat. :) And Tyler didn't fall asleep but did sit quietly after a few repeated "no's" when I tried to get him to try things.

After lunch, we walked around Chinatown and looked at all the shops before heading back to the hotel and to get Tyler some lunch. We got back early enough that we were able to cool off and relax before Adam got home. When Adam arrived we all headed back to The Village where Pattya had a pizza parlor she wanted to take us to for dinner. The pizza was great, though I could have used some air-conditioning.


After filling up, we headed back to Times Square where we all went to St. Andrews, a scotch bar. Tyler and I split some bread and dessert, while Adam revealed in the menu being over four pages long of just scotch. Finally, he charted his path on what he was going to try and in what order, and just enjoyed having so much selection. Tyler did great for a toddler and for being so tired. We were in a back booth, which allowed him to walk around between Pattya and I and that gave him enough of an outlet to sit through Adam and Pattya's taste testing. It was a really neat bar, and hopefully we can go back someday. With them having over 260 scotches, spending only a couple of hours there wasn't enough. :)


Here is the side of the theatre advertising Lion King.

This is at the corner of 42nd and 7th Avenue. It was the shear number of people that shocked me. At all times of the day, people are everywhere.

After St. Andrews, Tyler and Adam snuggle up for a good book.

The view from our hotel room. The building that is lit up blue, white, blue is the Empire State Building. Each night the tiers were different colors.

Tuesday in NY

Adam snuck out to his conference, and Tyler and I slept in on Tuesday. When we finally did wake up and get around, we ventured up to the Children's Museum in Manhattan. It was a really neat place for kids, though it did lack seating for adults. We stayed for about three hours before venturing back to the hotel.

When Adam got out of his conference, we walked over to Rockefeller Center before getting dinner. After dinner, Tyler and Adam walked me to the Minskoff Theatre. Adam surprised me with a great ticket to the show Lion King. I have been begging him to see this show for years, but the timing has never worked out when it has been showing near us. So I was pretty thrilled to get to see it, let alone actually on Broadway. The seat was great. I was ten rows back and right in the middle of the row. And it was an amazing show.

While I was at the show, Adam and Tyler ventured up to Central Park to watch the NY Philharmonic. They had a great time hanging out together, even though it was very crowded. Adam said that Tyler clapped with everyone else when a piece would end, and that Tyler was not at sharing. Adam bought two bananas on his way up, thinking that they each would have one, but it turned out that Tyler wanted both. They stayed for awhile and then ventured back to the hotel in an attempt to get Tyler to bed. This was our big struggle with Tyler was he refused to go to sleep most nights. Adam finally managed to get him to sleep, and about two minutes later I walked in the door.

As I was walking home I was battling crowds and annoyed with how many people were just stopped on the street. Since I like to weave through crowds normally, I did just that as I was ready to get home to tell Adam about the show. No one seemed annoyed with me as everyone acted like they were waiting for someone. And sure enough, I found myself standing right next to Peter Gallagher as I broke through the crowd. It turns out that everyone was waiting for him to get their picture. So I stopped and stood and there and waited for a lady to take her picture, and then took off (walking next to him) until someone else stopped him in front of us to get a picture. So once again I stopped and waited. At that point he just gave me a "sorry" grin/look and then took off across the street and I headed the other way. He looked super familiar to me, but honestly, I can't think of a thing that he has been in. Which reminds me that I should google him. But at least I got a celebrity sighting in while in NY. :)

Playing in the sand. He had never done this and spent more time trying to grab the sand than anything.

Playing in the water. This was probably his second favorite after the firetruck based upon his response. It was hard to get him to leave. I just like the smocks that they had them wear. Too cute.

Splashing.

Helping move the boats downstream. He LOVED this part and would help push the boats downstream, rather then wait for the current to take them.

Rolling the balls down to me. We loved this game!

He found a bookcase. He didn't want to read the books. He just kept picking them up off the floor and putting them back.

Riding a bike. No clue what to do here, but he loved getting on and off.

This was a neat truck and we spent probably an hour playing in it. It had real sirens that went off when you pressed the buttons. To make the sirens stop, kids have to run to the back of the truck where there are water guns that shoot at fake fires. Once you shoot the water enough the sirens go off and you can keep driving. ;)

Making the siren go off for the other kids to put the fire out.

About the only time he would actually look up at me, as he loved that the buttons and switches actually did things on the fire truck.


Sliding down a slide. He looks exhausted all ready doesn't he?

Of course he had to stop and play with a car/truck puzzle that they had out.

A HUGE light-brite. He LOVED playing with this and we did this for quite some time.

This was pretty neat. If you stuck you arm in and waved it around, it would play music.

Playing with the balls. His concentration was great. I love the tongue being out here too, as you can see how intense he was with this.

Monday in NY

We all woke up early on Monday and went down to eat breakfast together. Adam had to get to his conference, and Tyler and I were meeting Pattya (my stepsister who lives in Queens) for the day. After a big breakfast we went our separate ways. Pattya, Tyler, and I headed up to Central Park. I wanted to go to the zoo and walk around the park. We did end up walking there because I was still too chicken to attempt the subway with Tyler in a stroller.


Right when we got there, Tyler fell asleep for an unusual morning nap. It was okay though because Pattya and I enjoyed seeing the animals. And we still took time to get Tyler's picture with a lot of them. As we were about to leave, Tyler woke up. So we walked him back to the penguins (which he LOVED) and then headed over to the Children's Zoo (a petting zoo). I let him out of his stroller and he went NUTS (and that is putting it lightly).


Right when he got out, he chased two birds and then spotted another bigger one. He chased that poor guy, while screaming at the top of his lungs "bird" and pointing back into the birds home. He went nuts for a statue of a rabbit and a turtle. And screamed fish and ran off to see one of the biggest fish he had ever seen (that goes for me too). While I was trying to lure him away from the fish tank with promises of seeing the turtle (I was thinking statue), Tyler walked right up to a real turtle that was making a break for it. Both the turtle and Tyler looked shocked. The turtle was walking towards him and was being very brave, until Tyler tried to pinch his head. At that point, the turtle went into his shell.


We then headed off to see and feed a cow, a llama, billy goats, and a pig. He was loving every second. The only downside was that the feed was itty bitty, so it wasn't as easy to get the food in their mouths like it was at the Des Moines zoo. Tyler wasn't letting that stop him though as he would shove his hand into their mouths and giggle hysterically when they would nibble on him. Sigh. What a boy........


After that, we headed back to the hotel to meet Adam for lunch, and used the subway this time. I was definitely a tourist this time. I got Tyler's stroller stuck in the turnstyle as the door entrance said emergency only and had an alarm attached. I sinced learned that you just go through the door and set the alarm off. No one cares. So no more stroller incidents during our stay. Then on the subway, you DO have to hold on. It is not like the D.C. subway at all where the takeoff's and stops are smooth. These are jerky. So after stumbling around like a newbie, I finally figured it out.


Tyler didn't seem to care becuase he was LOVING being on a choo-choo. We finally made it back to the hotel to meet Adam for lunch. As we were sitting there at lunch, Adam was telling us how nephew Kyle's favorite Chipmunk song that has a chorus of "had a bad day" in it had been stuck in his head all morning. And just as he said that, the non-Chipmunk version started playing over the speakers. It was such weird timing that I had to post about it, and of course wanted Kyle to know that his song is being played out in New York.


After lunch, Adam went back to his conference and we headed back down into the subway to venture up to FAO Schwartz. This was the ultimate for Tyler as they had a big train track set up with automatic trains. He stayed there FOREVER just waving at the choo-choos. Then we all went back out to tour the city before going back to the hotel to rest.


Once Adam was done, we all headed down to the World Trade Centers site to see that. It was super crowded since it was rush hour, so we stayed long enough to get some pictures and do a little shopping across the street. After that, we ventured up to Little Italy for dinner and then called it a night as we were exhausted and Pattya had an hour long ride home to endure.


At this point, Tyler has started waving at EVERY car and truck we pass. How his arms were able to stay in the air for that long is beyond us. He has also gotten to the point once where we start walking down the stairs to the subway he starts to yell choo-choo. He will wave at every choo-choo that rushes by, and waves bye-bye when we get off of one. He also liked to wave at people on the choo-choo with us, which seemed to catch them offguard, but usually lead to them chatting with Tyler or us or just smiling.


The closet in our hotel room had mirrors for doors. This was Tyler's favorite play area as a result. I think that he knows that it is just his reflection, but he was laughing so hard when he kept trying to give his reflection something (like a book in this case) and the other boy would just drop it on the floor. Eventually, he moved to hiding in the closet to scare us.


Aunt Pattya and one excited Tyler by the sea lions.

Tyler with a red panda. This panda was pretty neat. Too bad he missed out.

Tyler with some monkeys. If you can't tell, we thought that it was funny that we took Tyler to the zoo and he decided to sleep. We ended up taking his picture with every animal in his sleeping state....but I will spare you and just post my favorite animals. :)

He finally woke up and spotted a bird at the petting zoo.

And with determination chased the bird until the bird jumped back into some brush.

He was screaming for these fish! It was pretty cute as he went running up there trying to get at one.

He LOVED this bunny. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was fake!


Checking out a real turtle. This turtle was FAST. I think that he knew he had to get off the sidewalk quickly before he attracked more kids.

But Tyler slowed him up as he tried to pinch his head.

Feeding the animals. I was FREAKED about....so Tyler took up the slack and feed them all for me. ;)

Trying to get ahold of the goat. This goat was pretty nice since Tyler kept wanting to shove the food down his throat rather than hold his hand out. Plus, Tyler wanted to feed him one little piece at a time. This goat stuck around for a long time and seemed to enjoy nibbling on a giggly Tyler's hand.

World Trade Center site.

New York City

Adam, Tyler, and I left on Sunday to go to NYC. Adam had a conference to attend, and Tyler and I decided that we would tag along. In the next few posts, I will post a few of the hundreds of pictures that we took while we were there.

We got a late start on Sunday, so we had to rush to the airport and after a very long security checkpoint, we made it to our gate just as the final people were boarding. The flight was fine....Adam and I were just exhausted from battling Tyler. Tyler wanted to walk around and visit with everyone....and we wanted to sleep. Fortunately, we made it through the flight without a crying tantrum and finally touched ground in NY.

After a harrowing taxi ride (in which I was very thankful to have brought Tyler's carseat), we checked into our hotel in Times Square. Adam's conference was being held in that same hotel so that was nice, and as it turned out, it was also Deloitte appreciation week. I saw lots of Deloitte nametags, but no one I knew.

After getting settled in our room and letting Tyler run around, we ventured outside. We walked along 42nd street until we got to 5th avenue. Then we hiked up 5th avenue to Central Park. Along the way, we saw all kinds of fun buildings such as Rockefeller Center, Trump Towers, and St. Patrick's Cathedral, and lots of shopping. Tyler started to have a meltdown around the three story Disney store, so we ventured in figuring that we could let him run around for awhile. He of course gravitated to all of the cars and trucks for sale, and liked getting to walk. After picking him up a tshirt (to be seen in a later post) we continued to Central Park, where we got to see lots of horses. When we were certain that Tyler was tired of the backpack carrier we headed back to the hotel.

We rested at the hotel for awhile before venturing down to the piers. We had booked a two hour night cruise to see the city. We had thought that Tyler would nap at the hotel, but it turned out that he just wanted to jump on the bed. So of course, within five minutes of heading out to the cruise, Tyler was out cold in his stroller. He slept through the walk, boarding, and about half of the cruise before waking back up. He was a little shocked to be on a boat when he woke up.

The cruise was nice as we got to see a lot of things that weren't on the top of our list, and seeing the city at night with all the buildings lit up was very neat. Tyler spent the last fifteen minutes entertaining it seemed (rather than annoying) the people around us as he pointed out EVERY airplane and helicopter that passed us. People were amazed with his obsession and little did we know how much it would take over while in the city.

Tyler checking out all of the cars down below. We were on the 38th floor, so they looked like hotwheels. He LOVED looking down at the cars. And the look of amazement (in his reflection) just sums up how his trip was with all of the cars/trucks.

Excited to be in NY.

Being goofy on the bed. Looks like his posing, doesn't it? :)

Taking a break at the Disney Store.
Pretend calling papa on the phone.

Asleep on the boat.

Statue of Liberty.

A neat picture looking back at the city.