Life lately = BUSY

We have been super busy in January. I thought that December was crazy with holiday fun and that it would slow down in January, but it has not so far. I am not complaining...I enjoy staying busy and doing fun things with family and friends. Tyler is getting used to having a babysitter 1-2 times a week. We now have 3 sitters that we love so we feel very comfortable leaving him. It does get a little expensive, so we are discussing starting a babysitter swap with some neighbors.

So get ready for LOTS of random updates and pictures to fill you in on our crazy busy lives.

Look at my little guy before church. Nothing cuter
than a shortall and knee socks on a baby boy! 

With Mommy...this was the Sunday before he
went to the doc for his crazy swollen eyes. Poor baby!

Russ went out of town for work last week for the first time since Tyler was born. He was in DC for the annual KHA kickoff meeting. It was only a 2 day trip, but we really missed him! It was really weird to be home without Daddy. Russ always takes Tyler to daycare in the mornings and I get ready for work after they leave. But since Russ was out of town, I had to take Tyler on Friday. Tyler was a good boy and watched a DVD and played in our bed while I got ready. I loaded him in the car and we headed off to school. I got almost all the way to work when I realized that I had passed his daycare exit because I forgot Tyler was in the car with me!! He had fallen asleep! Haha. So, I felt like a crazy person and turned around. Oh well. At least I didn't get all the way to work.

Taking a break from Baby Genius and playing for a quick pic!

While Russ was gone, I interviewed for a new job at FedEx on our sponsorship marketing team and GOT THE JOB!! I will be working on the FedEx Racing team integrating our sponsorship with other FedEx promotions and campaigns and could not be more excited! I am starting to transition some now, but will officially start on February 16. Hooray!

We have been experimenting with finger foods with Tyler over the past couple weeks. He is VERY unsure of the texture and what to do so a lot of the time he just ends up playing with it. In addition to the pictures below, he's also tried french fries...just the smashed up inside part, of course.

Trying puffs. He liked them when they made
 it in his mouth, but mostly he liked picking them up.

Chewing on a pizza crust.

He LOVED  it!!

Looks like a pipe here! Ha!

Happy boy! (And look at all those crumbs!)

Eating a banana "mum-mum". Gosh, these are messy!

"Eating" a banana. He really just liked playing with it.

Making a big 'ole mess!!

He was not interested. Ha!

He is not getting the hang of feeding himself just yet.
When they were mashed and on a spoon, he loved them!

Tyler is becoming a busier boy every day. He is into everything and plays hard. He loves to push and pull anything that he can. He likes to shake things when he plays and sometimes ends up launching them across the room. If you are holding him and he sees something he wants, he will bend over to try and get it. When he is playing on the floor, he will reach over for something and end up on all fours. Still no crawling, but he will roll himself over and spin himself around to get what he wants. He also LOVES bouncing and being thrown up in the air. That is a sure-fire way to get a smile and a laugh.

This teether ring is one of his favorites.
It stays in the exersaucer and he LOVES it!

Now it's a bracelet! This is how he "wears"
it while he plays with other things on the exersaucer.

Tyler flaps his "wings" when he gets excited!

He has discovered the books that have been
propping up his crib. He loves to flip the pages.

He also thinks playing with his crib skirt is GREAT fun!

Flying in the air with Daddy!

Granna came in town this past weekend so Russ and I could go to the Tigers' game Saturday night. We celebrated my new job over margaritas and Mexican before the game with friends. I also went to Dinner on Demand at Hope that morning and made 13 meals that are in the freezer for us to eat over the next several weeks. The food is great, the price is right (and it goes to support mission trips at church) and it makes the "what's for dinner" question so much easier. Sunday we went to church and afterwards Granna, Tyler and I went to Sam's. It was Tyler's first time at Sam's and he was mesmerized by all the things to look at. AND, he sat in the shopping cart like a big boy for the first time, too.

Happy boy before church!

Love my little family!

BIG boy sitting in the shopping cart!

Here are a few more favorites:

Last week when I kept him home sick. He ran a fever
 all day, but was still smiling and pretty happy.

This is how I found Tyler one morning...sleeping at the
 bottom of the crib,with his blanket over his head and his
dog pillow around him like a life preserver. Ha!

Waking up

Happy boy! And he loves to play with this
pillow, even though it's bigger than him.

Ok, Mommy...no more pictures!