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Cell Phone Shot - I Heart Faces

2011-02-21T08:46:00.002-05:00

As you can see, it has been an extremely long time since I have posted to my blog. I saw this challenge on I Heart Faces and decided to participate. I thought immediately of this picture taken with my cell of Nate sleeping the other day. It took me over an hour to get the little booger to sleep. He is so stubborn....hmmm...wonder where he gets that?? Can you believe those eye lashes and lips? He is so totally precious...makes me weepy just looking at him. He is now 20 months old and has decided that he really doesn't need a nap during the day. But, when he does finally cave, he cannot sleep at all if he doesn't have his ducky or his Scout. I have created a monster...

Nathan's One Year Pictures

2010-06-28T19:45:00.004-04:00

We had Nathan's 1 year photo shoot on the 6th of June. We headed out to the Indianapolis Museum of Art for them. They turned out great. Lindsay Johnson took them, and she is so awesome. You should check out her work at http://www.lindsaywilsonphotography.blogspot.com/.

Mowing and bubbles

2010-06-28T19:36:00.000-04:00

Now that summer is here full time, mowing is in full swing. Last year and the year before, Ty would ride on the mower with James. Now that Nathan is here, he has to take both of them. Normally, Ty gets the front and part of the back, and Nathan gets the rest of the back. The front and part of the back has too many turns for Nathan. While it's Nathan's turn, Ty loves playing with the bubbles. IT has to be his favorite thing right now. When he went for his ear tubes a couple of weeks ago, he chased the nurse back to the OR (without mommy or daddy) while she was blowing bubbles. She said that he was even trying to pop them while they were putting him to sleep. The boy loves his bubbles definitely! It takes a lot of concentration for him to blow them. He still has a small hole in the roof of his mouth making it very difficult for him, but he gets it done and is oh so proud of himself when he does.

Oh, my. Look at the eyelashes on this boy....to die for!!!

High School Reunion

2010-06-28T19:26:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, James, Tammy, and I headed off to Tammy and my high school reunion. It was an all alumni reunion. We had a good time. It was nice heading out, dressed up, and without the boys. We met up with some old friends. Boy, has everyone changed.

2010-06-25T19:18:00.001-04:00

We had Nathan's 1 year birthday party at the beginning of the month. It was a lot of fun. We were supposed to have it outside, but it was pouring down rain. So, we had to move everything inside....kinda stressful. In the end, though, it all turned out pretty well.

Father and Son

2010-06-22T08:23:00.000-04:00

I love love love L.O.V.E. this pic of James and Ty. It is so father/son'ish, don't ya think???

I Heart Faces Challenge....Smile

2010-04-26T13:16:00.002-04:00

This week is the "Smile" challenge. Here is my entry. Nathan a few months ago right after his bath. He was just loving him a sink bath....

2010-04-23T18:08:00.000-04:00

Here are Ty and Nate's 3 year old and 9 month old pics taken a little while back. Thanks for looking....

I Heart Faces Fix it Friday!

2010-04-02T09:48:00.006-04:00

Ok, so I am not anywhere near the expert at editing that most everyone else is. But I do enjoy trying. Here is my edit...done in Picasa. I LOVE black and white photos. So, mine is just your very simple black and white conversion. Thank you for letting me play!! And head on over to www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com to check out all the other interpretations!!!

Original

My Version

Dramatic B&W

2010-03-29T12:03:00.001-04:00

Week 13 - “Dramatic B&W” Photo Challenge!

Here is my second entry into the http://www.iheartfaces.com/ photo challenge. This week is B&W. I am still such a scaredy pants to put it bluntly, but here goes...

This is photo of my first son, Tyler, on my very first Mother's Day in 2007. I was just playing around a little bit in Picasa and ended up with this "blown out" version of a black and white. I know that it is just probably me, but I love the look with the dark eyes standing out on the screen. Thank you so much for looking...

The eyes get me everytime...

2010-03-22T12:11:00.006-04:00

Well, I am entering my first entry into the “Focusing on Angles” Photo Challenge! at http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/. I haven't ever done this before. I have been lurking for a long while and finally decided to "just do it!" Lord, please help me do it right.

So, here is my entry...
This is my youngest son Nate. He is a 10 month old "mini" tornado compared to my oldest F5 tornado. He was running around on the deck the other day. I couldn't capture his face at all he was moving so quickly. So, I just put the cam down in front of him and snapped away hoping to catch something somewhat interesting. This is the best I got, and personally, I really like it. I love the open curiosity in his eyes...
Thank you for taking the time to look...and this is SOOC, no editing...

To the Moon, the School Bus, and Feeling Bad

2010-02-25T09:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a big day for the T-man. He rode the school bus for the first time. He goes to speech therapy (starting yesterday) one time a week at the elementary school. The bus picks him up, takes him to the school, and then brings him home. He is gone a TOTAL of 1 hour...ride time and therapy time. He loves it!!! He looked very scared getting on the bus yesterday, but he didn't cry or tell me he wanted off. I then followed the bus to the school and parked where he couldn't see me. The teacher came out and got him and walked him into the school. The only thing that worries me is that he went willingly with everyone. Have I not done a good job of teaching him to be wary of strangers??

On another note, Nater is sick. He has been coughing and hacking for about a week or so, but this week it got a lot worse. So, we made a trip to the docs on Tuesday. She listened to his chest and to him coughing and decided that he needed a breathing treatment right then at the doctor's office. He was weezing horribly! So, now at home we are giving him breathing treatments every 4 hours for the next few days. He is doing much better as of last night.

James is out of town on business from yesterday to tomorrow. Tyler keeps asking about him, but I just keep telling him that he is at work. That seems to satisfy him. Here is a conversation we had yesterday morning. He comes into the bedroom carrying his faithful buddy George and asks, "Where's Daddy?" and climbs into bed with me. Same question every single morning. So, it goes like this...

Tyler: Where's Daddy?
Me: Daddy is at work. He had to fly on a big airplane today.
Tyler: A big airplane?
Me: Yes sweetheart...a very big one.
Tyler: airplane go up up up? (gestures with his arms way up)
Me: Yes, way up.
Tyler: Way up in the sky?
Me: Yes, waaay up in the sky.
Tyler: To the moon?
Me: To the moon??? No, I don't think so, sweetheart, just up in the sky...
Tyler: Ok, Mom, can I have some juice?

I thought it was hilarious. Where did he come up with "to the moon?"

Just a quick one with some randoms...

2010-02-17T22:41:00.005-05:00

We had a visitor the other morning. It's becoming a quite frequent thing. There is a 20acre empty wooded lot right next door. They love coming over and investigating our yard. And they, much to James' hatred, loved our garden this past summer.

Nathan loves his sink baths. He screams when it is time to get out. He likes to "grab" the water if I run it through the faucet. He squeals and laughs at that.

James and Ty's new favorite time....the Wii golf. Tyler will jump up and down screaming, "my turn? My turn? Is it my turn?" It is so cute to watch.

Poor boy! He has been so sick this past week. Daddy had to stay home from work for 3 days with him. He is on the mend now and at the sitter's, but still not totally up to par. He lays down during the day taking his own naps (definitely not the normal Tyler).

Ok, So I suck at this...

2010-01-28T12:32:00.002-05:00

I will try to do better. I am going to try something new. You'll know if it works if I start blogging more....

Thanks!

Catch up

2009-11-12T15:26:00.003-05:00

Thought I would just use one post to catch up. Halloween has come and gone, Heather's Baby Shower was a success and I got to take some snaps of her and Bryan for some maternity shots, the leaves have started to take over our yard, and finally, James totalled the car a couple of days ago. Other than that, nothing much going on in our lives....just the same old thing day after day. Enjoy the photos!

Blogger Wannabe

2009-10-23T13:13:00.006-04:00

Daily, I read blogs...any and all kinds. I love to delve into the lives of others through their words and my eyes with their pictures. I love it. I just so wish I could be as dedicated and determined with my own blog. I try, but no matter how much I say that I am going to do better, I just don't. So, once again, I am going to try to do better and be more regular in blogging.

So, here are a couple of pics to share. Not much happening...just some randomness.

Wow! Been a while.

2009-10-07T15:24:00.003-04:00

Ok, so it has been a while. I am not going to try and catch up from back in March. Things are all ok. Nater (Nathan David) is here (May 28), and he and Tyler get along fabulously. It's becoming fall again, cold weather and rainy. I hope to keep this updated more and more. It will probably be just a place to post some pics for everyone to see.

My sweet dirty little boy!

Storytime at our house

Tyler helping Daddy
Nater in the bumbo
My smiling baby boy

Tyler is getting lots of playtime outside.

2009-03-25T11:24:00.003-04:00

With springtime almost here, there are a lot of days that Tyler gets to play outside, and boy is he loving it. I think that boy would live outside if he could. He is so fast and so stubborn though that it makes me a nervous wreck a lot of times while outside with him. It is hard to keep him where he needs to be.

Not much going on though with anything else. Just the ho hum days of almost spring.

Here are some recent pics of the little tornado. Oh, and just because I haven't posted any yet, here are some of Tyler's little brother (due June 1)...

2009-03-19T13:00:00.004-04:00

Hi again! I have decided to not to try and catch up on all that has happened since last year. There is just too much. So, I am going to start fresh. So, quick synopsis....we have moved, found out we are having another baby, the Holidays were great and spent with lots of family, and Grandpa passed away about a week ago. So, now it is almost springtime. The weather is turning great, still a cold day here and there, but there is a light at the end of the dreary winter tunnel.

Here are some recent random snaps of Mr. Tyler playing outside.

2009-02-25T19:47:00.017-05:00

Ok, so I am trying this again. As you can see, it has been a very very very long time since posting. I have made a committment to myself to AT LEAST post once a week.

A lot has happened since my last post. In September (the end), we bought a new house and moved. We found the perfect place for us to raise our family. It is almost twice the size of our old place. I truly miss our old house, but we really needed the space and totally fell in love with the new place. Ty loves it as well. He absolutely loves playing in the backyard. He is all over the place with his toys and trucks and cars.

In October, we visited a pumpkin patch before Halloween. Tyler had so much fun with Daddy on the "cacor" (tractor), and had a blast and wanted to bring home every single pumpkin that he saw.

In November, we made the trek up to Michigan for the whole family to enjoy Thanksgiving together....James, Tyler, me, Aunt Tammy, Heather, Johnnie, Abby, Uncle Steve, Aunt Rachael, Jack, Valerie, and Isabelle. What was great was that my Grandpa, Tyler's Great-Grandpa, was able to be there. He is in very poor health, and it was truly wonderful having him there.

August 6, 2008

2008-08-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

Hey! It's been awhile, so I thought I would post something to say hi.

Tyler turns 18 months old tomorrow. OMGoodness, can anyone tell me where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was telling my friend, Susan, that I thought I was going to be the first woman to ever be pregnant forever. Pregnancy days are now a fading memory.

Tyler is such a handful right now. If he hasn't gone into the terrible twos yet, I'll never make it through. He has so much energy and such an attitude right now. I can honestly say that if I didn't love him so much......well, I don't know what I would do. I so totally understand why some animals eat their young!

We went for a walk yesterday after dinner (which, by the way, Tyler ate great at). It was a very nice evening, and we were hoping that Ty could use up some energy. He rode in his favorite little red car for about 15 minutes and then wanted out. So, we let him out to walk, but his walk isn't a walk, it's a little trot....as fast as his little legs will carry him. He did this for a good 15 - 20 minutes. He wore me out just watching him. Then when we got home, his babysitter, Cindy, came by for her walk and asked if she could take Ty with her. So, off he went on another about 30 minute walk. I actually got a nice long wonderful shower without Tyler beating on the door and screaming because he couldn't come in or, like most times, in the shower with me.

Ty isn't talking yet. We have, however, found a speech therapist, and I am hoping that we start the sessions this coming Monday (keep your fingers crossed for me). Everyone tells me that it is nothing to worry about, but I cannot help it. It is really bothering me/worrying me that he isn't speaking. He should AT LEAST be saying Momma and Dadda, but he isn't. The only distinguishable word he says is "hi." So, hopefully, with the therapists help, he will be catching up with those his age quickly.

He has such a huge attitude right now. It takes nothing for him to throw himself on the floor kicking his feet and screaming his head off if he doesn't get exactly what he wants when he wants it. He is so opinionated for one who cannot talk! But, it makes snuggling with him that much more special. Before bed each night, he sits in my lap and drinks his last sippy cup of milk (although he won't let me even touch it anymore). We just sit there and rock (thanks again Rachael for the glider/rocking chair...it's awesome). He either falls asleep or relaxes enough for me to put him in bed. Last night, though, he wanted nothing to do with me at all! He wanted his dad. So, he sat on the couch with his dad and went to sleep that way. It is so precious watching him cuddle with Daddy.

We are doing Ty's 18 month photos on Sunday. A lady from where I work is doing them. I cannot wait to post some here. I am so excited.

Ok, gotta go, but here are a few more random shots of the little tornado before I go. Thanks for visiting.

Tyler playing outside.

Just a close up. He is so darn cute (I know I am a biased Mom).

July 30, 2008

2008-07-30T09:24:00.000-04:00

Whew...busy week. We had the baseball game on Saturday and then the Brickyard on Sunday. Tyler loves going to baseball games so he went with us on Saturday, but his cousin Heather stayed with him on Sunday.

He has been so clingy lately. He hates it when I have to get up and get ready for work in the morning. He loves laying on me and snuggling. He wants me to carry him around all morning as well. And now, he has started wanting to get into the shower with me. It's so fun playing in there with him. Anytime the water hits him, he just giggles and giggles.

He is making me a nervous wreck though when he plays in the backyard. He constantly is climbing up the slide of his playset and then running around on the platform which is probably at least 5 feet high. He gives me heart attacks every time he gets near the edge. I told his dad that we need to "enclose" that platform thing so that the only way up or down is the slide. Maybe that will make me feel a little better.

I swear I don't know where he gets his energy. He is a constant blur of motion from when he gets up until when he goes to bed. And he no longer walks anywhere. It is a full out run....as fast as his little legs will carry him. He gets great delight in running from me. He will stop when I tell him to (most times), but when I get within an arm's reach of him, he is off again. It is one big game to him....he is laughing and giggling the entire time. It is so hard to be stern with him about running away when his little face lights up with laughter.

We are having his 18 months pictures taken in less than 2 weeks. A lady who works where I do is doing it. She is so awesome and takes great contemporary type shots. I am so excited!!! I truly hope that he behaves well and is "picture" cooperative, if you know what I mean.

July 25, 2008

2008-07-25T15:03:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, Tyler is in Occupational Therapy since the little stink won't each much more than peas and carrots (no meats whatsoever). Anyway, the therapist is really trying to get him to take more foods. She has also been trying to get him to drink out of a straw. He has not sucked on anything basically since his palate surgery this past November. She has been using a small cake decorating bottle-like thing and aquarium tubing. The bottle is flexible enough that we have been able to squeeze a little liquid up into the tubing thus helping Tyler suck it into his mouth. He then sucks in and out and in and out (like you would breathe in and out very fast out of your mouth). Finally, he was able to get a little liquid into his mouth and now he does it without the in and out motion. It's not perfect, but it is so much better than not at all. I am so proud of my little man.

Not much going on this weekend for the tornado (although I am sure he find/make excitement). We are going to an Indians game on Saturday night and then to the Brickyard on Sunday.

July 23, 2008 My first entry

2008-07-23T12:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is my first entry into the blogworld. So, please, keep that in mind.

I named this blog "Inside My Tornado" because that is exactly how it feels to be living with Tyler. He is truly a toddler tornado terror. He is the only person I have ever known that can go from happy-go-lucky to all out temper tantrum, to include throwing himself on the floor, screaming, arching his little back, and beating his head on whatever is closest, in a half a second flat. He is so head-strong and opinionated even though he hasn't uttered a single understandable word except "hi" yet.

We have just returned from our very first family camping trip. It was a good trip but completely exhausting. The tornado was EVERYWHERE!!! So, he had a great time, while I chased him around constantly. It was fun, however, watching him stop and pick up every blade of grass, dried leaf, rock, bug (dead or alive), and stick that he could find. He inspected everything to include attempting to taste it with his tongue (can you say "Yuck!"). I caught him one time when I obviously wasn't watching close enough enjoying the taste of a dead bug. It didn't make him sick. So, I suppose it was ok, but I about tossed my cookies on that one. His dad just laughed his ass off at it. I personally found nothing funny about my little baby putting a dead bug in his mouth.

He truly enjoyed the makeshift bath/pool on Saturday evening. It was so ungodly hot this weekend. We were all filthy pigs by then. So, I emptied the plastic tub that I brought the food in and gave Tyler a bath in it. I let him play in it as well for about 30 minutes. After that, I dressed him in a pair of shorts and little T-shirt and let him watch his new favorite movie, Shark Tales, on the portable DVD player we took.

When enjoyed hiking around Yellowood State Park, and then we headed over to Brown County State Park to enjoy the scenery there. While at Yellowood hiking, the tornado fell asleep in Daddy's backpack. It was so cute and a little nerve wracking to see his little head bobbing all over the place in the backpack. He slept for a good 15 minutes or more.

When we started out driving to Brown County, Tyler fell asleep again (this time in the car). He slept for a good 2 hours (wish I could have done the same). When he woke, we stopped a couple of places for him to get out and explore. He had a great time running up and down the hills there and also in exploring the Lookout Tower.

On Sunday, we packed up and left. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the next time we go camping.