Holiday Recap

Sorry I haven't posted any stories in a while. Here are the highlights from our holiday.

But first, click here to see our latest pictures on the flickr site.

Dec. 15 - Evan (Tyler's uncle) graduated. We all went to the ceremony. Tyler wasn't willing to sit still for the celebration. He and I spent an hour or so roaming around. But he loved the reception and having lunch at Mick's afterward.

Dec. 16 - Christmas festivities with Denise's nieces and nephew. The house was full, with five children under the age of 5. And they all got along really well! We had such a great time. I really wish we could all get together more often.

Dec. 21 - Christmas festivities with Terry's family. Last year, Tyler slept through this party, but he made up for it this year. He ran up and down the hallways with the older kids (Danielle and Payton are 4 and Lily is 3.) And he took toys away from 7-month-old Zach. He banged his puppy all over the newly remodeled kitchen, and he threw peas all over the floor. The only thing that slowed him down was Lily. She wanted so badly to hold Tyler. (Click here to see a picture of Lily beside Tyler. She doesn't look intimidating, does she?) I walked into the living room once and Lily was laying on her back on the floor and Tyler was on top of her -- she was holding on to him for dear life even though it looked like she couldn't breathe! And he was looking at his daddy and doing the "down" sign for all he was worth. Brian helped them get untangled and Tyler ran off with puppy to see what else he could get into! Brian and I were exhausted at the end of the evening, but we had a great time.

Dec. 22 - We had Christmas with Denise and Terry (Brian's parents). We'd spent the night at their house. Tyler actually slept in since we were up so late the night before. Denise fixed yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and we opened presents. This was when Tyler started getting the hang of unwrapping presents. He would tear off a piece of wrapping paper and take it to his daddy, who was trying to film Tyler opening his presents! We must have great video of Tyler charging across the living room to give Brian a scrap of paper! We finally got into his presents. He loves both his singing alphabet snail and his giggle-vibrating cow now that we are home. While we were at Denise and Terry's house, though, he only wanted to climb the stairs and throw empty boxes back down the stairs. Grandma Denise and Grandpa Terry were so sweet to let him do this over and over. He had a blast!

Dec. 23 - Tyler's Aunt Jennifer arrived with her crew (Uncle Dave, cousin Travis and cousin Carolyn). This is where things get a little blurry because everything was a little hectic the rest of the week!

Dec. 24 - We had Christmas dinner with my daddy's family. Tyler was thrilled to see Gracie (Uncle Randy's puppy) and of course all the aunts and uncles and cousins as well as Nanny and Paw-Paw. I think Brian must've spent much of the evening chasing Tyler around because I can't remember what he got into! He loves dancing with the Santa on Nanny's table, and he loves trying to climb on the glass coffee table! Paw-Paw is so sweet: he dug through his cereal to pick out the mini chocolate chip cookies to share with Tyler. And then Tyler threw them on the floor. But we brought some home for Tyler to enjoy!

Dec. 25 - Santa Claus visited us in Monroe. Tyler got a battery-operated 4-wheeler. He preferred standing on it Evel Knievel-style rather than riding it, but we're working on that!

We spent Christmas afternoon with my mama's family. My grandma fell just before Christmas and hurt her back, so we were grateful that she felt like having company even though she wasn't able to get around very well. All the kids were so great, even though they were tired. Tyler got a huge fire truck from Aunt Linda. I can't wait 'til he's old enough to be trusted around it because he loved pushing the siren button on it! In the meantime, he's loved playing with his new cell phone and bath toys, and I can't wait until summertime so he can wear his adorable flip flops!

And a Christmas miracle: Jenn and Brian got Tyler to eat French fries!

Dec. 26, around 1 a.m.: Tyler woke up with a fever. The fun begins. Grandma and Grandpa were wonderful helping me take care of him two nights in a row since Brian was at home. (And poor Grandpa is still sick.) Tyler's fever came back every time the Motrin wore off for two and half days. I'm sure his throat hurt because it was difficult to get him to eat or drink. And to complicate matters, he tended to throw up more easily. We had to dilute the Motrin with water or Pedialyte so he could swallow it without gagging. He couldn't eat his dried fruits or Cheerios. He even gagged on yogurt once. He lived off of baby food and Carnation Instant Breakfast for a few days.

Dec. 30 - Tyler finally got to try out the present that Santa left here at home for him:



Please note: Brian wants me to tell you all that we don't listen to the "Macarena" song all the time — at least not by choice. Tyler has a toy turtle that plays it, but you can't see the turtle in the video.

Also, please visit Jenn's blog to see cute stories about Travis:
http://ofkidsanddogs.blogspot.com/