Happy 4th of July TODAY!

We went to the beach in the morning. 

 Poor Tyler had barely fallen asleep when we found the dream spot parking spot. I took him out of his car seat so he wouldn't sweat to death in that on the beach, but he didn't go back to sleep. He was so tired but there was too much to see and he doesn't like to miss the fun.

 He was so excited to get to feel the sand!!

 His little BFF Ivy was there.

"What are you doing here?"  "What are YOU doing here?"

 Steven bought the kids a new boogie board at Publix when he got egg salad for our loaf of bread for lunch.

 It's Luiz' birthday so we sent him a text of this.

 And we left this one in the sand for USA's 236th birthday. Dylan was actually the one who asked "What's America's number?" I had no clue what he was asking even when he amended, "How big is it?" He finally asked how old and I figured it out for him. We decided that the fireworks must blast so many sparks out because each one has to be like 236 candles on America's cake. :)

 Paige is back in town and met us on the beach!

 We then mostly stayed in the water. There wasn't much beach anyway since Tropical Storm Debby blasted most of the sand out to sea. There was a lot of kid throwing going on.

 Barbie was at her grandma's 100th birthday party the day before and was still out of town, and Darren's mom and step-dad had just come down for Ivy's birthday, so they weren't there and my mom and Don came all the way to the parking lot but went back to their own pool b/c they could not find a parking spot. Darren's dad and step-mom came for a while but left with Ivy so she could take a nap. We still had lots of fun with the Crews and Andre. I could have stayed longer!

 And they flipped me too.

After the boys showered and napped at home, we went to the Rowdies soccer game. Again, we woke Tyler up from his car seat.

 half time!

 Dylan took some pictures.

Look at the beautiful view.

 Olivia Crew was there with her dad.

 My friend Kim was there! I wonder if she knows all of the cheers and songs like that section dressed like them. I'll ask her if she was with that loud peppy group. It worked, b/c we won 3-1.

 We walked out and sat on the grass to watch the city of St. Pete's fireworks.

 Isaac reminded us to light a pack of sparklers. It was a good thing they had long naps!

What a fun break in our week. Wednesday was a good day and night. Happy birthday, USA!

Dear Tyler, you're 10 months old!

Dear Tyler, You're 10 months old! 

You have hit the double digits and have doubled your teeth too! You have 2 mandibular teeth and the max ones are starting to bulk your gums out a little. You just got a runny nose, so I am blaming that on teething, although, as usual, I have no clue.

You love to gnaw on Nerf darts. They're pretty much your favorite, and they happen to be all over the house, so you're in luck! You're invincible with a dart in your hand! 

Oh yea, even though it's hot out, I keep pants or baby legs on you since you crawl so much. Sometimes you crawl right out of them, but I'm not buying you clothes. 

Your eyes are 1/3 brown in the middle and greyish on the outside 2/3.

You are at a fun stage now where you can entertain yourself. You also play with your brothers and friends. Dylan and Isaac like when you chase them. You dance to singing and when your toys play music. It's your same bounce sitting or kneeling dance.
You don't give kisses yet, but you do dive in head first to many things. You will lean in and do that "ba ba ba" noise by bouncing your head off of my cheek, chin, or shoulder if the back of your hand is too lazy to bounce off of your mouth. It's a cute kissy lookin' mouth.

You go to sleep now! The Feger Method worked! The routine is to play our hearts out on these fun Summer days and evenings, then when your brothers are ready for bed, I say that you are too. It's been after 9pm lately. After nursing you, I usually ask Daddy to make you a 3-4oz bottle of formula of which you drink 1-3 ounces to top you off. We give lots of kisses and say "ni' night" lots before putting you into your crib with a diaper cloth. You usually don't cry and are either quiet or softly whine some before falling asleep within 5 minutes.

Look how you hold onto your blanket. I used to like diaper cloths too:)

 Other nights, you cry and stand for a while.  That's fun to watch on the monitor because you are so tired that you sit up, then fall down, then pop up, then sulk down, then slowly sit up, then fall over.  I give Daddy the play-by-play and we laugh. One time, when Isaac came down to get some water, he watched your up and down routine and was cracking up too. You're silly. 
At nap time, we don't have a set time, so sometimes you're not too tired yet. I lay you down on your back with your blanket and I see this sweet image on my monitor. 

 But then,
brace yourself,
THIS spooky image appears!

You take and eat and taste and throw the video part until it ends up looking up at the mobile or down into your sheet. So it's just an audio monitor. (P.S. there's spray paint splatter on this monitor, but it's still good after 6-1/2 years of almost non-stop use.)


You put things in your mouth, but miraclously don't try to swallow them. Today, for example, I took two of Malia's dice out of your mouth at once, then you popped another one in when my hand was on its way out of your mouth. 


You're getting into things. Dylan was on baby watch and had you in quite the strong hold at the top of the stairs. We don't let you out of arm's reach up stairs. 

Your big brothers would like you to learn how to clean up your messes.

You're so proud of yourself when you know you're getting into/onto something you shouldn't.

I took you to your 9 month doctor's appointment 2 weeks ago. 

You're in the 20th percentile for weight, 25th for height, and 50th for head circumference. I knew you were missing your chunky thighs. They told me to continue to give you formula before bed. 

Your toe got pricked to check your iron and you didn't flinch or cry at all. You really liked the band-aid. 

You love your blanket from my friend Dori Fagan. It's white, so I can trick you into liking diaper cloths too - which are better when you crawl around with them. But you really like the big softer one best. You love when it's waiting in your crib for you. You like the tag on it too. I always heard about babies liking tags on things but haven't had a tag-liker until now. You play with it and occasionally suck on it. You suck on your blanket some too.

 Your big brothers were amazed at how you didn't cry for that toe prick.

You're so cute. 
You wake up once in the night and Daddy brings you in to nurse back to sleep. I don't know what time, but it's after I go to bed, and sometimes I don't go to bed 'til 5am. You wake up at about 7 or 7:30 and want to crawl off of our bed. That's annoying because I'd rather you just nurse back to sleep again. Dylan used to be up at that time, but since it's summer and he goes to bed later, he sleeps in a little more too. So that means that I have to wake up to close our bedroom door and watch you chew on my high heels. (I know Hollie, that's probably grosser than Gracie's dog food.) 
You can wave sometimes, it's more of a wave at yourself and like a dance move. You do give high fives. 
You nurse for most of your nutrition still. You eat a little baby food a little but like blue berries, mango pieces, cheerios, and graham crackers more. 
You can stand a tiny bit by yourself, but don't think to do it unless both of your hands are full. You're content crawling and pushing things like jugs of water or books around. 
Since this post is a little late, you cut your 3rd tooth today, July 2nd. 
And I love you my little Tico T Tyler T, 
love, Mommy