Ooo, I love a Wedding!

I realize I'm a little slow on this, but whatever; I'm trying to catch up.  Ty is happily playing in his excersaucer, so we'll see how long I have.  [He lasted up until I uploaded the pictures.  So, here's take 2.]  My sister, Annelise was married to her twue wove on December 21st in the LDS Oakland Temple.  We were glad to be there!  It was a beautiful, clear day in the bay, which was surprising considering all of the rain that came before and after!  Anyway, it's always work putting together a family wedding, but it was fun to gather together and celebrate.  Congrats, you crazy lovebirds.

Quick family picture waiting for the bride and groom to come out.

 My HS/FFBFF, Michelle was there!

 The Espinozas (My sister, Leslie, her husband Curt and their boys: Carl and Sawyer).  We were going to get pictures in this gorgeous spot, too, but Mattelise arrived.  Way to ruin it, bride and groom!

 Speaking of which, here are the Bakers!  Presh.

 This picture was incredibly difficult to take.  I guess that's obvious because out of the 7 or so Russell took, this was the best.  Pretend that everyone is looking at the camera and Soren is smiling big, not crying.  Cute outfits though, huh? 

 This little Ty man was so well-behaved all day!  :)

 And what would a trip to the temple be without some kids playing in the fountain?  Soren (2) and Carl (6) are so funny together.

 What handsome gentlemen!  They were probably both tired, but only one of them got carried in a blanket and got to fall asleep.  Maybe next time, Russell.

 The exposure on this picture was funky, but we'll just say we meant to make it like that.  I love this guy.

My Baby

A friend of mine is having a baby in March and I was reading her blog about some concerns she has and anticipation of the big event that changes everything.  This is totally normal.  She had a couple of comments from others saying that she'll be wanting her baby back in because it will be easier to take care of him and less trouble.  Pardon my late-night soapboxing, and I don't mean to offend, but this is something that I actually feel strongly about.  I have never wanted Ty to go away or to put him back.  Sure, it's not super fun when he's teething and screaming so my ears ring or wakes up earlier than I want to or poops all over his clothes when we're in the grocery store which has no changing table, but the good far out-weighs the bad.  Since when were babies supposed to be "less trouble" or convenient, anyway?  I'll confess that as the due (induction) date drew closer, my biggest fear was not labor pains or a long recovery, but was that I wouldn't love my baby right away/enough.  I seriously was concerned.  It's hard to know that you'll love someone you haven't met, that you didn't choose, and carries some of your own traits which may (unfortunately) be the less desirable ones.  Luckily, my fears were quickly dispelled and I couldn't get enough of just looking at my new baby boy.  As you may know, Russell had to leave to go back to school the day after Ty was born while we were still in the hospital.  My mom can attest I cried a lot anytime I thought of what Russell was missing out on.  THAT was the worst part of being a new parent--not having Russell to share in how incredible our baby was.  Pretty sure I only got a couple of hours of sleep each night and, frankly, the whole first week of Ty's life is a blur of dr.'s appointments, unsuccessful feeding, administering to my traumatized body, and being in complete awe at this new baby. 

I feel sorry for anyone who wishes they could put back their baby, hormone-wackiness aside.  Sleep deprivation and inconvenience are small prices to pay for being a mom.  Maybe all babies aren't as awesome as mine so others have justification for their thoughts.  I already miss teeny tiny Ty and tiny Ty and now we have little Ty who is super fun and playful.  Seriously, although he has lots of toys and I have lots to do, I love just playing with him and laughing together (he has started laughing when we laugh).  Maybe it's easier to feel this way while Ty's sweetly asleep in the other room, but I know that's not it.  Our little family isn't perfect, but thanks to little Ty, the joy has been brought.

So, to my friend, love your baby and love every part of your life with him.  There is no such thing as too tired or too worn-out when you're taking care of your new little guy.  There's just too much good stuff.  :)

Home at Last!

We sure had a fun holiday season, but it's good to finally be home and (almost) unpacked.  We went from NorCal with my family and sister's wedding to Washington with some of Russell's family then home for a couple of days before leaving for Disneyland and SoCal.  I love visiting with friends and family and I'm so glad we got to see many people, but even fun visits aren't "fun" anymore when you stay too long.  Luckily, we stayed just long enough...there's only so much living out of a suitcase that one wants to do.  Anyway, just letting you all (if anyone even reads this) know that we're alive and well.  I downloaded pictures from our camera today from our travels and don't have the energy to sort through all 335 to post any.  I suppose this is a pre-post post.  Lame-o.  (I started to write "lamo" but that looks too much like "lmao," which I completely don't mean.  But that's beside the point.)  For now, here's a brief video taken yesterday of my favorite little dude.

"Look at those Healthy Cheeks!"

Said the Doctor at Ty's 4-month check-up earlier this week.  Healthy is right: Ty weighed 16 lbs. 9 oz. (72%) and measured 26 3/4 inches (92%).  His head is a very normal 49%.  Needless to say, more than his cheeks give away how healthy he is!  Ty's had some dry patches of skin and lots of little bumps on his tummy and the dr. said that this was a bit of eczema.  Not that this is good news, but it's easily treatable with a routine rubbing of moisturizer and Hydrocortizone cream on trouble spots.  Truth be told, I looked up eczema on wikipedia to get a little more information and under Cause it read, "The hygiene hypothesis postulates that the cause of asthma, eczema and other allergic diseases, is an unusually clean environment."  Now, weather we go along with the hypothesis or not is still up in the air, but I really don't need another excuse not to clean more often.

Back at the ranch, Ty is a healthy boy and for this we are happy.  Due to the fact we're switching insurance, he was able to evade his 4-month shots, but he'll get them in a few weeks.  He's a drool bucket and wets his bibs, shirts, hands, etc. and likes to gnaw on stuff like hands of others, whatever clothes or blankets he can reach, and his froggy pacifier's feet, hands, and bum.  Teeth shouldn't have too much trouble coming in the way he chews and drools.  The dr. talked about starting food and I KNOW Ty was paying attention to this because it seems like since then he watches Russell and I eat and whines because he's not getting any food.  Tonight, for example, he was playing on his play mat while we ate.  He kept whining, so I eventually picked him up and ate one-handed.  (Wait--isn't that how most people eat, anyway?)  He was staring down my chicken and rice!  We were tempted to give him his Christmas present of rice cereal, bowls, and spoons early, but didn't.  I think he'll get it and start eating sometime next week when we're at my parents' house.  Obviously, he's ready.

There's really not much to complain about with this Ty guy, but recently HE's found something to complain about to us: getting dressed.  Even if he's happy before getting undressed, as soon as the onesie comes up near his head, he starts fussing.  If we let him be nakie for a bit he's happy, but as soon as clothes start getting put on, he's mad again and will stiff-arm us.  What the heck?  Maybe he doesn't like getting his clothes on, but I know he is a fan of more "physical playing," I guess you could say.  You know, stuff like swinging around or bouncing or being gently tossed/placed in the big green pillow (for those of you who have not visited, I mean the monstersack/luvsac/bean bag thing) is super fun to him.  He also has learned to squeal and will do this when he's playing by himself.  He still doesn't like tummy time and will often end it early by spitting up and, because we're not mean parents, we don't make him go face-down in his own yak.  Oh, and he's ticklish!  He laughs when you tickle his feet, neck, tummy (sometimes) and armpitties.  We really like him and are SO excited to be going to Darrington and Fairfield so others can see him, too!   Now, please enjoy some pictures.   

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cuddler.  It's true.

 Swinging at the park in the beautiful weather.  Check out those awesome swings!  Very comfy.

 More bundled than he needed to be, but how cute is that hat and binky smile? Very.

 Ty was begging for some food while Russell and I were eating salad, so I let him lick a dry piece of lettuce.  Verdict: he loved it.

 Sometimes he'll hold his own bottle.  I have no idea what kind of look that is...

 He is (generally) so good about being in his stroller and smiling at people, looking around, and talking to himself when we're out and about.  Here we were at the Venetian getting something from a gift shop.  Even though we didn't even go in any gambling areas (and the Venetian is gorgeous), there's something weird about taking a baby into a casino.

 

 Watching the BYU game at a sports restaurant.  At first, Ty loved seeing all of the football games on the dozens of screens, but it got a little overwhelming and he got tired, but couldn't fall asleep and got real cranky. Plus, BYU lost, but that's another story.

 Cute.  Love this sweater on him, too!  By the way, he was wearing pants, not shorts with tall socks, but he likes to pull on his clothing and make his pants into shorts.

 Mysterious Ty...Or just a baby who likes to pull blankets up to his face so he can chew on them.  Sometimes we have lessons on how to pull blankets off of your face.

 Hanging around.  Whether in this wrap thing or in a sling (thanks Mimi), he likes to be able to look around and be part of the action, but still be close to someone like a mommy or dad.

Ty's excited to see lots of people this Christmas/wedding time, too!

Two-Timing

Ty had another (see Oct. 17th post) encounter with a lady yesterday, little Anita from church.  Here's the story as told by Ty:

"Apparently Anita can read, so she saw my bib and came over to get herself a piece of my drooly goodness.

 "Yee-ah.  You like what you see, huh girl?

 "Wait...Anita, you're a nice girl and all, but, uh, see there's this other nice girl, Addie, and uh...wait--where are you taking me?!

 "Save me, Dad!  Oh, and don't tell Addie.

 "What? It's not my fault--my mom dressed me.  False advertising."

Funny thing is, Anita is twice Ty's age, but smaller than him.  Is it wrong that I chronicle/make up Ty's love life?

Veteran's Day Weekend

We took advantage of Russell's 4-day weekend and drove the 300 miles to San Clemente, CA to hang out with Tina, Hunter, and Soren.  We had a fun time!

Tina and wiggly Soren. He's so funny/talkative/2!

 Perspective is a little off since they look the same size, but Soren kept climbing in Ty's "castle" with him.  We had to protect beebee Ty from accidental kicks and swats to the face.  :)

 Whenever Ty was crying, Soren would find and bring the "froggy with a binky on his head" and stick in Ty's mouth. Sometimes it even worked!  He's going to be a good big brother someday.

 At Mosun sushi and seafood place.  (Wow--the flash really worked because we were sitting in very dim lighting.)  The food was fabulous and Ty slept the whole time.

 Cousin bath!

 Check out those (almost) matching jammies!

 Sweet.  (I wish my big face wasn't in this.)

 Again trying to be nice, Soren brought Ty his Bambi, Mickey, and Eeyore to play with.  A bit much, but apparently, he likes 'em!

 

What you see: family picture.  What you don't see: Ty's clothes are pee-soaked (see previous post), Russell's pants are wet in a very suspicious spot.  And yet we smile through it.  :)

 

It's nice to have some family not too far away.  Thanks for letting us come, guys!

3 1/2 months: Alive and Well.

Time for a Ty update!  Russell and I are very lucky that Ty is such a good baby. Of course, I haven't had any others, so I don't know what a 24/7 "bad" baby is, but we really like our little guy.  Here are some of his current favorites:

-Grabbing his hands, toys, blankets, etc. and putting them in his mouth.  While we were out to lunch last week, Ty grabbed a loaded nacho chip off of the plate and dumped it on himself!
-Drool-bombing and spitting=many wet onesies up top
-EATING.  Anyone who's been around Ty at meal time knows that this kid is adamant about his food.  He wants it and will yell-scream to let you know it.  0 to loud in a matter of seconds!  At least he lets us know, right?
-Carrying on conversations.  He seems to think it's funny when you repeat what he "says" and his vocabulary of coo's is getting quite varied!
-Keeping his parents on their toes about his potty habits.  He'll go for days (5 is his record) without pooping, but overflow wet diapers very quickly.  We just never know what to expect.
-Playing.  Ty is starting to get bored by himself and wants to be entertained, usually by me since I'm around most often.  Sometimes all I have to do is look at him or talk to him briefly and sometimes it requires picking him up for a full-on song and dance around the room.
-Sitting/Standing.  Ty would generally rather be sitting than laying down and standing than sitting.  The problem is, he really can't do anything but lay without lots of assistance and he will only last so long in the Bumbo seat.  (Here he's getting a little extra support for his first Baby Einstein video experience.)

 He fell asleep while playing.  Play hard, sleep hard, right?

 On his way to get some clean clothes; he peed through these ones in church and left a nice wet spot on Russell's pants.

 Yea for bath time!  He's about outgrown his tub...

 Playing while sitting up: multi-tasking.

 Having a lovely conversation with Mom.

 Happy guy.

 And here's some laughing, playing, and talking all in one!

He's growing, for sure.  Russell plans to teach Ty to drive pretty soon.  He's awesome.

(P.S. Ty is SO much better in person than in pictures.  Come see for yourself!)