Tyler is 17 Months Old!

This week my parents hosted a wonderful family gathering to celebrate my brother Steven's 29th birthday & my mom's upcoming birthday.  Tyler loved seeing both of his grandmas, his grandpa, his uncles, his aunt Kristen & her parents, & his cousins.  He had so much fun playing with his cousin Ben and I loved cuddling with precious Julia. 

We met my friend Crystal and her sons, Nathaniel & Mason, for lunch at Red Robin.  We also met many of Tyler's baby friends (& their moms!) at the pool.  We got to have two playdates with Shanna, Brooklyn, & Baby Jason, and Dan & I took Tyler to the mall for dinner.  Tyler rode the carousel & played in the kids area.

Tyler learned to say "owl" this week & he loves to brush his own teeth.  :-)  He is such a good little helper.  He saw me using wipes to clean one day and then he grabbed a wipe & started cleaning too.  He also put all of his toys in his toybox one day (I thought Dan had done it!) & he is so good about bringing all of his toys in from the deck.  Dan put together a glider for our deck which has two seats - we all love it!

Having Lots of Fun

Tyler has a lot of fun!!  This week he got to go to his favorite indoor playground twice - once with his friends Zachary & Noah, and once with Dan's mom.  While Tyler was with his grandma, Dan and I were lucky enough to have a relaxing lunch out.  Tyler also got to go to his friend Reed's 2nd birthday party.  He loved riding all of the bikes at the party & he went in a moon bounce for the first time. He seemed to like it!  He also went to a playdate with all of his neighborhood friends at Avery's house.  We also met my friend Shaina and her baby, Mia, at the mall.  Tyler enjoyed playing in the kids area, eating lunch, & walking around. 

This week I had dinner with my friends Barbara, Leigh, & Leigh's baby boy, Rylan.  I also drove to Richmond to see my friend Vanessa & we spent the day shopping & going to my favorite Richmond restaurants.  Tyler had so much fun with my parents that day.  Dan was able to go to a baseball game with my dad & my brother, Shane.  They had a lot of fun, too.  :-)

Busy August Days

This week Tyler & I met up with his baby friends (and their moms) at one of our neighborhood pools.  We also met two of my former coworkers and their kids at a new indoor playground - so fun!  We had some of our friends over for an Olympic party & my parents kept Tyler overnight so I could have a marathon cleaning & organizing session.  I spent 12 hours total cleaning - craziness!  We visited our friends in Ashburn one day & we met up with friends for lunch & frozen yogurt.  My friend Shanna watched Tyler so Dan and I could have dinner to celebrate our anniversary.  Tyler had a great time & only cried when it was time to leave his friends! 

Tyler has really mastered blowing kisses!  He also loves to take baths but insists that the water must run the entire time.  I ordered a dvd for him for the first time - Bob the Builder:  Heavy Duty Diggers.  He just loves tractors & "gogs" & airplanes.  He is always on the go!

Tyler's Cousin, Julia Marie :-)

I had the pleasure of photographing my niece Julia yesterday.  She is such a doll!!

The Olympics Continue

I turned on the tv yesterday just in time to watch Usain Bolt's 200 meter semi final race.  When he was introduced to the crowd and did his lightening bolt pose, Tyler started to copy him.  So cute!!  Tyler has clapped for many of the competitors & he has danced to the national anthem.  We love the Olympics!  :-)

This week my mom and I watched my friend Shanna's children so that she & her husband could celebrate their 10 year wedding anniversary.  Tyler loved playing with his friends!  I was able to go to dinner at The Melting Pot with my friends Katie & Julie, while Dan met up with his friend Sachin.  Tyler loved being able to spend time with all of his grandparents!  I also had a coffee date with my friend Robbie.  Tyler and I met up with our mom's group friends at the new yogurt place in our neighborhood & we had a playdate at Brooklyn & Baby Jason's house.  We also had a visit from my friend Barbara.  :-)

Tyler has been saying, "bubbles" this week & has been very into reading books (even moreso than usual).  He loves the Piggy & Gerald book that my friend Megan & her daughter, Bella, sent to him.

3 Year Wedding Anniversary :-)

On our anniversary, we exchanged cards, watched the video of me singing "The Way I Am" to Dan during our wedding reception, & we watched the amazing slideshow that my friend Vanessa made for our rehearsal dinner.  Tyler kept saying, "mama!" and "dada!" :-) 

Olympics!! :-)

I have loved watching the Olympics since 1992.  In fact, I still have VHS tapes from the 1992 & 1996 olympic gymnastic competitions.  :-)  Tyler doesn't seem too interested in the Olympics but did say "ball" when one of the volleyball matches was on.  I have tried very hard to stay off the internet to avoid any spoilers before the events are shown each night, but it hasn't been easy!  :-) 

This week Tyler learned to say "duh" and "night night" (kind of!) and he is working on blowing kisses.  After playing with his new talking dog, he seems to understand where his hand and foot are.  He has been very interested in our wedding album lately and we've looked through it almost every day. 

We had a playdate with Chrissy & Brayden & we went to the pool & to Moes with Shanna, Brooklyn, & Baby Jason.  Dan & I also took Tyler to the pool before enjoying a baby free evening to celebrate our wedding anniversary (a little bit early) at The Melting Pot.  Brooklyn & Baby Jason came to our house to play & we went to a playdate at Reed's house where we got to see many of our friends!  Chrissy, Brayden, & I spent a day in Georgetown, where we got to meet author Emily Giffin.  We also enjoyed lunch at Serendipity, which is famous for their frozen hot chocolate.  :-)