Summer Fun!

Summer is almost coming to a close, so we wanted to catch you up with what we've been up to for the past two months. A lot has been happening around here! Even with it in the hundreds almost every day, we've been able to spend some time outside on our new deck! It's amazing what a little shade and some wind can do on a scorching day. Tytus loves to watch the cars zoom by. He'll be in deep thought watching Mia or playing with one of his toys when he hears a car (or ice cream truck) drive by. He'll carefully watch it over the fence until it's out of sight and then squeal with excitement.

Oh, the fascination with Mia.
He wants to be best friends with her and she could care less.

Such a nice day to be outstide!

He's SO big but still SO small. These
are the chairs we usually sit in to watch the cars.

 Since it's been so hot outside, we have also taken advantage of swimming in our small pool in the back yard, our neighborhood pool, and going to Deep Eddy in Austin with Mark, Oliver, and Lindsay.

About to get in at our neighborhood pool

Having so much fun kicking in the water!

The boys loved stomping in the water and splashing around in the shallow parts of the pool.

We've also spent a little time away from home. We took a trip to see Lilly when she was born. She's so precious!  We also got to hang out with Byron some while he was in town for work. We took him to one of our favorite pizza places in Austin and followed it up by having a Hey Cupcake! Yum!

Growing....from 5 to 6 months

5 months

He wanted to see what Leonard the Lion felt like.

From five to six months many things have changed. Tytus loves to pull up on our hands and his crib, rock back and forth on his knees, and he's so curious about everything. If he sees something interesting he'll probably figure out a way to get to it. Right now he mainly scoots backwards, but it's only a matter of time before he figures out how to push himself forward. His personality is growing as well. All of the monthly pictures had been pretty uneventful until 6 months. I set Leonard down next to Tytus, and he immediately grabbed him, put him in his mouth, threw him down, lunged for him, squealed and growled at him. It was so entertaining! But needless to say it was hard to get a picture with him and Leonard sitting still next to each other.

Tytus also has a very healthy appetite and has been such a good eater from the beginnig. He now enjoys the things we eat (for the most part) and loves eating and talking with us at dinner each night. I think all the healthy eating is just helping him get closer to conquering some new goals of his. I really think if he could walk, he'd skip the crawling all together. He loves to pull up on my fingers and then reach over to the coffee table to play with whatever has been put up there recently. In just the past few days he's actually started to move his feet a little as he slides down the table to follow a runaway toy. Along with pulling up on our hands, he's attempted to pull up on almost anything these days.....including the bathtub.

His bath is still one of his favorite parts of the day. It probably has to do with the fact that Daddy bathes him and plays with his toys. After his bath he gets his pj's on and then it's wind down time with Mommy and Daddy before we thank God for our day and say good night. It's such a cool thing for us to think about the fact that one day soon Tytus might say his own prayers before we tuck him in and say good night!

Prunes,Cooking,and Sitting Up

Tytus started solids about a month ago and has found it interesting (and tasty) to try lots of new foods including: apples, pears, cereal, carrots, sweet potato, banana, peas, and avacado. Bananas are by far his favorite, but peas and carrots are a close second. He sits up in his high chair (and usually plays with a toy or watches me) while I get the food ready, then we put on his bib and he knows what's coming! He was content to just be fed for about a week or two, but after watching me feed him and watching his mom and dad eat he's figured out that he might want to help out a little more. He's tried using his hands to hold his bib, reach for the food, and hold his spoon once we're done. Most recently we tried prunes during lunch. Prunes are deep purple and super messy! Of course that means that it was a perfect day for Tytus to get in on the action. I tried several times to keep his hands away from the bowl, but he was so fixated on it that he'd stopped being interested in eating at all. So, I let him go for it and explore what this new stuff was. He thought it was great!

One day last week we woke up and did our normal morning routine of eating, changing, making breakfast, and seeing dad out the door. The only difference was that Tytus got dressed in jeans and a button up shirt that he was going to outgrow soon. I figured we should at least wear it once before it got too small....little did I know that Ty would try to act like a little man since he was dressed for the part. 

That day he helped me in the yard....

rolled over for the first time.....

and started wanting to sit up on his own...

He loves looking at the tree on the wall after he gets a clean diaper.

If only I would have known what was going to happen when I put that grown up outfit on him! Along with trying out lots of new things, Tytus has become very observant and loves to watch everything I do around the house. One of his favorite things to do is watch me cook. I'll set him up on the counter to watch as I wash the dishes, cut up chicken, heat up his food, or make homemade bread and cookies. I've had the urge to try out some new recipes recently and found a new favorite today. It's actually a recipe that was sent out in newsletter update from the hospital where we had Ty. There were two recipes, so I tried out the lettuce wraps first......and love them! Here's the recipe if you're interested:

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
• 1 lb skinless boneless chicken breast, cut into thin strips & dice
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• ½ cup peanut sauce
• 1 head Romaine lettuce,
• separate into leaves and clean
• 2 cups whole grain noodles
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup julienne cucumbers
• ¼ cup chopped peanuts
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms

Method:
• Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken, and sauté until golden brown.
• Add peanut sauce and cook for 1 minute.
• Take lettuce leaf and add noodles, chicken, carrots, cucumbers and peanuts. Roll (like a tortilla), eat & ENJOY! 
Serves 8

Calories: 215 Fat:8g Sodium 350mg Carbs: 15gr Fiber: 3gr Protein: 23gr

Family

We're so thankful for the family that we have and how they love, encourage, and spend time with us. We get to see them a little more often now that there's extra incentive....Tytus, that is. We know that God's word teaches us to love and cherish our family (^{Isaiah 38:19} The living, the living—they praise you, as I am doing today; parents tell their children about your faithfulness), and we're praying that Tytus will grow up with the memories of sharing fun times with us and our extended family and see that God provides everything that is good and satisfying. We know that his grandparents especially find joy in him and getting to spend time with him as he changes a little each day (Proverbs 17:6 Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children). Recently we've been able to spend time in New Braunfels with the Schwarz's and some time at home with the Carroll grandparents.


New Braunfels
The Schwarz clan has been going to New Braunfels for a summer get-away for SO many years. We stay on the river, tube, hang out, cook dinner or go out to eat, relax in the hammock, and play cards. We grew up taking this trip together, but while the things we do in New Braunfels and Gruene haven't changed much, other things have changed over the years. Boyfriends and girlfriends would join for trips here and there. Then as some of us have gotten married our husbands/wives have now become part of the group. This year we had 6 kids (and one on the way) added to the mix. Each of them took a dip in the river and got to go to the places that we know so well.

Enjoying the river and new "beach" area they added to the house.

Oliver and Tytus got to feel the chilly river for the first time.

Eating at the Grist Mill. Yum!! 

Our immediate family with all of the little ones.

 Meeting up with David and Amy after New Braunfels to get some Crazy Good frozen yogurt :) 

 Visit from Yaya and Papou Carroll
The Carroll's came to visit us and hang out for a couple of days. Some yard work was done (they both have a green thumb and like to lend a hand) along with some cooking, relaxing, and game playing. We also took the opportunity to drive to San Antonio to visit Ian at his job. He introduced us to his coworkers and took us out to eat at a Puerto Rican restaurant he'd been raving about. Since Yaya spent some of her growing up years Puerto Rico we thought it would be fun to let her try it out and enjoy some old favorites. 

Enjoying a relaxing Saturday

Saying good-bye in his superman outfit

Showing off his laughs and smiles

Tytus got some good play time in with his grandparents and showed them all the new things he's learning.....including the love of books!

4 Months...Time is Flying By

Here's our 4 month old!!

Posing with Leonard again...look how he's grown!

Tytus is discovering so many new things this month. He's so observant and loves to watch people and "talk" with them. One of his new favorite things to do is sit up (with support) either on someone's lap, on the couch, in his exersaucer, on the table, his high chair, really anywhere. I think the best part for him is the fact that he can see what's going on around him without having to be laying down. Recently I put him on the couch with a soft book for him to look at while I got some things done in the living room. As I walked by or peeked in on him he would look up at me and then get right back to his book. Surprisingly he turned the pages a couple of times and was trying to touch the soft dog ears on each page of Good Puppy. I think we have a reader on our hands!

 I know many people were praying about Ian's job for such a long time, and now that he's been there almost 5 months we're so thankful for how God provides in perfect timing. The offer came after lots of applying, interviewing, and making connections and Ian started his first day just three weeks before Ty was born. It's a great fit for him with its fast-paced, competitive atmosphere where his hard work really does pay off. We got to meet and hang out with his coworkers recently at a get-together his boss organized. Tytus came prepared with swim shorts and all, but really everyone there just wanted to hold him and play with him. He's such a good little guy! On our way there it was almost his nap time, but he just seemed too excited to fall asleep....so instead he told us exactly how excited he was!

Tytus has also tasted his first solids recently. He loves bananas! He's also gotten to eat some apple, pear, rice cereal, and carrots. At first we tried feeding him in my lap sitting up, but then realized it was hard to see his face well. So, we tried out the highchair for the first time and he's been in it ever since. He knows what's coming once he has his bib on and sitting up in his big green chair. He's getting better and better at eating off of a spoon without as much dribble coming back out, but I'm sure it'll just get messier once he figures out how to use his hands or the spoon himself.