Trucking Along

So, we've had a lot happening around here since August but no time to document any of it. (Part of the problem was the fact that our camera cord went missing and we couldn't get any of our pictures uploaded.) Regardless, things have just been trucking along....literally. We have been watching, daily, the construction going on behind our house. So far they have leveled the ground that used to be covered in trees, grass, and bushes. They've also plotted out where each new house will go, and this week they started pouring the curbs for the new street. Needless to say the trucks are BY FAR Tytus favorite things right now. We've seen so many trucks come and go in the past few months and many of our conversations have to do with what the men and trucks are doing outside. It's so fun! Here's a little peek into what many of our days would include.

His most common words at this point were "up" "please" and "this". You'll also see him putting the car up on the truck because that's what we've seen them do as they bring new trucks in and take others away on huge trailers.

We also had our last visit to the river in September and Tytus loved swimming back and forth between Ian and I with his float on. He also really enjoyed watching Ian and Papou go down the shoot and cheering them on. He loves the water!

Fun at the San Marcos River

Just finished our sandwiches and ready to jump in!

Halloween was fun this year. Although we had the same set up as last year (Tytus played with some toys out in the driveway while we handed out candy to trick-or-treaters) it had a much different outcome. Tytus was less interested in playing with his trucks and wanted in on the costumes and candy. He doesn't really know what candy is, but he was definitely interested in why we were handing it out to everyone. It was also fun to watch his reactions to different costumes and show off his roar as he got more into character. He thought it was really fun to be a lion!

So excited about the candy!

Daddy's little helper

The whole costume....tail and all.

Most recently Ian and I had a relaxing get-away to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. It was so nice to be just the two of us and look back on all the ways our lives and marriage have changed over the past five years. We're so excited to be welcoming our new little guy into the family in December and know that these times alone will be a little harder to come by for a while.

Such a beautiful view from our balcony at the Barton Creek Resort in Austin

Here's a little sneak peek at the changes we've been working on in Tytus' new room to prepare for the next little one. Tytus loves his new space, and he enjoyed helping with the building, painting, hanging things, and rearranging. 

He's curled up on his bed fast asleep. 

This was about 6:00 one night when he was going through a growth spurt.
He would just sleep and sleep and sleep.

A fun play date with the boys

Oliver and Tytus taking a water break after some good sandbox time.

Aunt Lindsay and Oliver got to come over yesterday and spend most of the day with us. We had so much fun playing inside and out, making lunch together, and enjoying dinner as a group. Lindsay got to get her hair done and spend some time by herself while the guys napped....and her hair looks so cute!! Once the boys got up from their naps we went outside almost immediately to play in the sandbox. At first they just dug around and switched shovels a few times. Then Tytus wondered off to the side of the house to collect some rocks to bring back to the sandbox. Tytus came back about 5 minutes later and by that time Oliver wanted to check out what was over there. The boys had one shovel and would take turns holding it while the other collected some rocks to put inside. It was so much fun to watch them very carefully selecting which rocks they wanted and putting them in the shovel. We probably sat over there for almost 30 minutes because they were having a ball!

First, Oliver had the job of holding the shovel
while they both collected some rocks. 

Now it's Tytus' turn.....they did this completely on their own. So sweet!

All ready to take their rocks back to the sandbox!

I think once we got back to the sandbox Tytus started asking for a drink, so we all took a break and gulped down some water on the deck. The rest of our time, before dinner, was spent pouring and mixing water into the sandbox. We'd go fill up the watering can and pour it into part of the sandbox. They loved inspecting the different types of sand and trying to dump the wet sand in different things. 

Two side notes: 

1. Yes, Tytus is in his big boy underwear! It was about two weeks ago that Tytus would get his underwear and potty out while I was going to the bathroom. He would ask to put them on, but I would tell him he needs to go pee pee in the potty first. He would then sit on the potty (in his clothes) and then quickly stand up for me to put his underwear on him. That along with our constant battles with diaper changes started some conversation between Ian and I. So,we started potty training this week, and it's been an adventure for sure! I think this was Day 5. So, we've seen major improvements from Day 1 when he'd pee about every 5-15 minutes...yikes! Now he'll go anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours between needing to go, and we're getting better about telling before we go in our underwear. We've tried to stay around the house all week to make some really good and consistent habits, but we have now successfully taken two trips out and come back dry! On Wednesday we went to the park for about 45 minutes, and today we went to Target and Chick-fil-a for about the same amount of time. I'm so glad he's learning so quickly. All that to say we're going to give it some time and stick with it even though accidents do happen daily at this point. :)

This is a picture of Tytus around 12 months when we first showed him what a potty and underwear were. He wasn't quite ready...and we definitely weren't expecting him to be, but I think that interest has definitely helped him want to make the change.

2. This week marked the first week Ian got to work from home. Each Wednesday he's going to be here doing his thing while we do ours, but it's a major perk to save some gas money and get to eat three meals together. Most days we don't eat any meals together because he leaves early and gets home just in time for Tytus to get ready for bed. We're so thankful to for this to become a regular thing!

Tytus made some animal soup and asked daddy to
take a quick break to try it out.

I think they both liked it!

Some Tytus Hobbies

Man, it's fun to watch Tytus pick up some new favorite activities and little quirks as he gets older and his personality continues to develop! I've found myself thinking "I wish I had my camera" so many times lately when he comes up with something new or he's in the middle of doing something silly. Several times in the past few days we'll be talking to each other and he'll make a funny expression and we'll both end up cracking up. Those will be moments I'll just have to pack away in my memory somehow. Also, it's become very apparent just how much he's paying attention to us, retaining that information, and usually using it later to his advantage. Yesterday we were playing with Aunt Amy in the sandbox and I brought out his watering can to let him see what happens when the sand gets wet. Once he dumped it out in the sand I thought it might be a little while before we fill the can back up, but he went right over to the water faucet and asked for more water. I've only used that faucet once this summer. And it was probably several weeks or a month ago. How does he remember so much?!

Carefully stacking the blocks into a tower.
Another thing that's interesting to watch....his intense concentration.

He also pays attention to Ian and I when we're getting ready for the day. As we're in the bathroom or closet Tytus will get different pieces of clothing or accessories to add to either our outfits or his. His favorite items lately have been my white high-healed wedding shoes (it doesn't matter if I'm in pj's, shorts, swimsuit, etc. he still insists that I try them on) and a fluffy pink robe that hangs at the front of the closet. I did manage to catch some pictures of him dressing up as us. He wears his new clothing proudly all around the house no matter how daunting it makes walking and playing.

First thing in the morning he came in our room to put on Ian's shirt.
Then he went all around the house "getting things done".

Wearing mommy's robe

It looks like he's sitting on his knees. Nope, the robe is just that huge!
He still loves wearing it around, though.

Just one more humorous story from this past weekend. We were celebrating Ian's parents' birthdays and were on our way to lunch after church when the driver's side window decided to slide down into the door. I was so confused why Ian had rolled down the window because it was so hot outside and we had his grandmother riding with us. Needless to say....he did NOT roll the window down in the first place and he definitely could NOT get it back up. Since it was Sunday, we couldn't get it fixed anywhere so we plastic wrapped the opening and enjoyed our ride home as deafening as it was. We turned the music up because we couldn't hear anything else anyways, drove through the rain, and just laughed at the whole silly situation. Tytus and Mia were pretty confused but handled it wonderfully!

First Haircut!

Two weekends ago we took Tytus to get his first haircut by our favorite hair guy, Warren. Ian and I both get our hair cut by him and he does such a great job, but that became kind of an issue we tried to take Tytus in. We've gone in several times in the past month, but every time there's at least an hour wait for the next opening. Yikes! We finally got the perfect appointment one Saturday evening, and Tytus had such a good time! I don't know how you cut such a wiggly person's hair, but Warren did a great job cutting, visiting, and having fun with Tytus while we were there. They even gave him a little certificate with his first locks of hair so we can have a little piece of that beautiful baby hair.

To end it all, Tytus got to try his first lollipop. I think he was wondering why we've been holding out for so long.

So, here are some before pictures I took and some after. I'm thankful the curls are still there, but now it's  not hanging over his ears or down his neck. Yay!

Before

Before

After

After

Project Update and Messes Made

So, about this time last year I took a look back at our most recent projects around the house. Again this year I feel a sense of accomplishment as many things have been finished and some are still in the works. It's so fun to work on things (especially altogether as a family) and see them to completion. Here are some things that can show for our hard work lately.

First, you'll see the two tables I bought at GoodWill and a table that we got for free off a neighbor's curb. I sanded, painted, and stained the tables. It's added some new touches to the house (for almost no money), but it definitely took some time!

One of the side tables from Good Will. 

The side table (GoodWill) and coffee table (from down the street).

I stained the tops to match the other pieces of furniture we built for the living room.

recovered the pillows that came with our couch

A quilt that my mom and I have been working on. Ian and I have so many t-shirts from high school and college, so this will be a fun way to save some memories.

back of the quilt...I still need to finish the edge and do the stitching

recovered pillows for the guest room

Our beautiful garden that I weeded, cut back, and planted some new flowers in. The largest plants are from previous years/seasons and already need to be cut back again. They're huge!

The guys helping with the garden. 

We've also had a few messes made. It happens to the best of us...but hopefully we learn from our mistakes. Several weeks ago, Tytus was inspecting the things in my bathroom cabinet as I got ready for the day. He's done this before, and I usually keep an eye on him to make sure it's nothing that's off limits. Although this one day it took no longer than a few seconds for me to look down and see bright red paint everywhere. It was all over the floor, on Tytus' hands, shirt, feet, and little splatters up the door and wall. I didn't even hear the nail polish bottle break, but sure enough, that's what happened. I'm still not even sure how exactly it broke. It's by far the worst clean up we've had, but thankfully Tytus froze and was patient while we scrubbed everything down. I think he was just as surprised as I was. Needless to say, we both learned a lesson that day and made some changes. 

This is after his hands and the floor were clean, but you can see some evidence on his shirt. I definitely wasn't going to grab the camera in the middle of that kind of mess. Clean first, picture later.

Tytus also has some other "messes" or masterpieces to show for. He loves to color and has so many papers already hanging on the fridge.

"Do you want to go outside?"

If you look closely you may be able to see a new tooth popping through on the bottom right.

Tytus' vocabulary is growing...even if he can't really say the words he knows. It's fun to ask him where something is or if he wants to do something and see what he does in response. I've found that just by asking questions I can see how much our little guy really does understand! Lately, his favorite question is "Do you want to go outside?" and some favorite words are bird, ball, walk, stroller, car, truck, sandbox, butterfly, and pool. Most mornings we go out to wave bye-bye to daddy as he heads off to work, and then we spend some time out in the front yard watching the birds, cars, and kicking a ball around. Here's one morning from last week. (In the video you'll hear him saying "dada" and pointing which means he's looking for a bird. But then he started saying "dada" and waving which may have been him remembering that we just said bye to dad. I guess this is just the stage of uncertainty as we try to figure out what the other is saying.)

He loves to carry all sizes of balls around with him. He first figured out how to throw the ball and is now perfecting his skills in kicking the ball. We also put out our sprinklers for the summer. After placing them where we wanted them, they stayed on so we could see if we liked them and to give the yard it's first good water. Tytus thought it was great and went up close to check it all out.

He Is Risen!

Our God's alive!! Over the past couple of days Ian and I looked more closely into who the bible says Jesus is. We had some people questioning if Jesus really is God, and we wanted to find places that proclaim that clearly. We, of course, dug deeper and deeper and were lead to many other subjects which brought up really good conversation and thankfulness for the power our God has. One of the verses that stuck out to us was also the first verse that was read in the message at church today. "He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power." Hebrews 1:3. We are made in God's image, but Jesus was the exact imprint of God's nature. Fully God and fully man. The other verse that really stuck with me this week is Colossians 1:15-20 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."


We really stand in awe of the perfect Savior who made us for himself. He holds ALL things together. We can look back at times in our lives and say that we wouldn't be the same without the sure, strong hold Christ had on us. He's the only reason we live with so much joy and hope today, and He gets all the glory for where He's brought us and for where we'll go next.

He is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

Easter 2011

Easter 2012

Oh man, it feels like summer!

Tytus LOVES to be outside. It doesn't really matter what we're doing. He just loves it! Some of his new favorite things to do are: watch and point to birds (even if they are really far away or hidden between tree branches), throwing and kicking balls, walking in other peoples' yards, and playing in the sandbox. Yesterday we spent almost all day outside. First we mowed the yard, then we went on a walk/run, and finally came back for dinner and chased a soccer ball up and down the hill in the back yard. The thought of getting out our small swimming pool crossed my mind after our walk yesterday. When we got back we were so hot and soaked in sweat. I thought it'd be too much trouble and we'd just wait until it gets a little more like summer.

enjoying the sandbox on St. Patrick's Day

Well, today was the day. We spent a good portion of our morning outside again. Tytus is so busy outside that his cheeks almost instantly turn a dark shade of pink, so I decided it was definitely time to get the pool out. Tytus was a little unsure of the water at first because it was kind of chilly. But it only took him about 30 seconds to get used to it. He immediately started splashing like crazy. He would mainly splash himself right in the face and laugh or he'd try to splash some over the side. Even though we got out some of his sandbox toys, he spent most of his pool time splashing, walking around, and "talking" about the men building the house our backyard looks out on. Most of his words consist of the gurgling sound, but lately he has added some new words to his "mama" and "dada". He'll now say "a da" for all done, "ba ba" for bye bye, sometimes "ba" for bath, and "du" can mean either duck, dog, or truck depending on where he's pointing. It's so fun to watch him figuring things out!

getting a feel for the water

Those sweet cheeks that made the pool come out early....that and a big glass of water

SO excited to be splashing around!

There are so many good things about a shovel :)

watching the men building the houses across the street.....lots of loud trucks to look at