Sunday, July 24, 2011

Julie's Shower

My cousin, Julie, is getting married!   Before she can get married in October, she had to have a shower today and it was wonderful.  It was so fun to celebrate with family and friends. 
We started off with a wonderful lunch. 

Then it was on to games and Julie had lots of helpers.

The pregnancy test for future Wilson babies was classic.  I am pretty sure Julie was thoroughly embarrassed. 

After games, it was on to these amazing cupcakes.  Thankfully, Maggie and I had the idea to share.  These cupcakes were huge! 

These are maybe not wedding night material but then again...maybe.  I think Ross will love them! ;)

On to opening gifts including this handmade beauty by Grandma Zick. 

Julie was focused and had Ross' sister, Emily, dutifully recording.


Flower girl, Sophie, was loving all the presents. 

Julie and her flower girl.


The ring bearer got a bit sleepy during the event.  Thankfully though, he was very well behaved and played on the floor his cars.  A big thanks to my mom for keeping him busy.


Barb (MOB) and the Bride.
For those of you who are not familiar with wedding terminology:
MOB = Mother of the Bride


Julie, Ross and the Grandmas.

Ross and Julie
Aren't they cute?  We are so excited for the BIG DAY! 


Monday, July 18, 2011

Blueberry Pancakes..

We had blueberry pancakes for dinner the other night.  Tyler and I love breakfast for dinner.  Jeff, usually, not so much.  Jeff was having a fun time though with Tyler because his mouth was so blue so they were both inappropriately showing each other their food.  The mom in me has been successfully teaching him to chew with his mouth closed.  Then there is daddy who just loves to get these reactions.  I have to admit, it was pretty funny. 

Tyler was laughing so hard with a mouth full of blueberry pancakes.  Can you tell I like a lot of blueberrys in my pancakes? :)

In this photo he was trying to save it from falling out of his mouth.

So happy!  Blue teeth and all.  I will admit, there are nights I forget to help him brush his teeth before bed, but not this night...it was a sure thing.


Maybe now daddy will be more excited to have breakfast for dinner...

Friday, July 15, 2011

Field Trip Friday - Purina Farms

We were excited to have a full crew for Field Trip Friday to Purina Farms!

From left to right: Susan, Anna, Zach, Erin, Grandma and Tyler.

Anna and Zach before the dog show.

Grandma and Tyler were dancing to the music before the show started.

Dog leaping into the water.  It was a very cool dog show!

Zach on the rope swing.  He had to show Tyler how to do it.

Tyler thought he was hot stuff on the swing with Grandma's help.

After Purina Farms we stopped in Labadie to have lunch at The Hawthorne.
Tyler wanted the lemons...okay, let's be honest we thought it would be funny to see his face.  It was!
The funny thing is he kept wanting more.  



Such faces! :)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

22 Months!

Twenty two months? Already?  Where had the time gone?  I know some of you may get sick of my every month post of Tyler in the same chair, but too bad. :)  I just love watching him grow! 
I got him dressed first thing this morning so he could get ready to go to Vacation Bible School with Ms. Eillen.  First, we had to take his 22 month photo and this was his first reaction.  Priceless.  Really, mom? Again?  Isn't it a bit early for photos?

Then he started cheesing it up. 

Tyler likes to stand up in his chair so he can reach the books on the top shelf.  He also knows this is not okay.  He will even tell himself to "sit down."


Other things Tyler can do at 22 Months:
  • He can count to 20 (usually only 13 but he does know how to count to 20)
  • He can say his ABCs (I will have to post video of this - so cute!).  He struggles with "L" and likes to skip over it but otherwise does great.  We have even started pointing to random letters and he gets them right - so exciting! 
  • He CLIMBS - on EVERYTHING (including people).
  • He loves opposites - "loud," "quiet;"  "up," "down," etc.
  • Bob the Builder and Sesame Street remain his favorite TV shows, but with his recent train collection (thanks Zach!) he is also a big fan of Thomas.  We don't watch a ton of TV but I just discovered all the options On Demand that can be played at a moments notice (aka mom needs to get something done...by herself)
  • He also says "peas,"  "thank you" and "welcome."  We are very much encouraging "help peas" when he gets frustrated with something instead of whining.  Whining is like nails on a chalk board to me.   It has been much better as of late, but I understand he isn't even two yet so I have a long road ahead of me. 
  • He loves puzzles, but that is often where the whining comes in when the piece is "stuck."
  • He attempts to do summersaults - very funny to watch, but not quite there.  I keep telling him I don't think he has the genes to be a gymniast. 
  • We are still working on using a spoon and fork properly - he would much prefer to eat with his hands (who wouldn't?).  We will get there...
  • I am sure there is lots more cool things he can do, but this is all I could think of tonight. :) 
Happy 22 Month Birthday, Tyler! 

Monday, July 11, 2011

Coloring!

I was so excited several weeks ago when Tyler brought me his box of crayons and wanted to color.  I love, love, love to color.  Before this moment, Tyler hadn't shown much interest.  Don't get me wrong, I love to  play trucks, trains, build towers (and knock them over) and play all kinds of sports (I have always loved sports), but there was something that made me just want to shout for joy when he wanted to color.  I, of course, got him set up and ran to grab my camera to document the moment.  Coloring only lasted about 20 minutes and we haven't colored since, but it sure was fun! :) 

He was so excited to color by himself. 

He was really concentrating, attempting to trace his name I had written for him. 

Until next time... 
 

Friday, July 8, 2011

Field Trip Friday - Faust Park

Today we enjoyed our Field Trip Friday to Faust Park which contains the Butterfly House and the St. Louis Carousel.  To top it off we had lunch with Great Grandma and Grandpa Zick. 
Before entering the conservatory.

Not the most beautiful backdrop, but beautiful people.  Tyler loves his Great Aunt Patty.  It may have been her last Field Trip Friday with us before she is back to school.  My camera had just un-fogged from the hot and humid conditions inside the Butterfly House.

Tyler was happy watching all the butterflies - all 2,000 of them.




Next up the Carousel.  Tyler ran down the path to catch Patty and give her a hug.

He was looking in the window excited to ride.  Notice my reflection - ha!


This child loves to ride carousels.  He was so happy saying "wheeee" "wow" "go horsey" and of course he had to tell me when he was going up and down. 

He thought he was kissing the carousel. 
Gross!  I am sure no other child has put their mouth there...yeah right!

Clapping for a great ride.  I was worried he would have a toddler meltdown when we got off and had to leave but he simply told his horsey "bye bye" and off we went.

We were thrilled to have lunch with Great Grandma and Grandpa.  It was so fun to visit with them.
As you can see, Tyler was not interested in sitting still for the photo.

It was another wonderful Friday!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Field Trip Friday - Tot Time at the Pool

I must admit, last week's Field Trip Friday was pretty low key.  The Volvo was in the shop and while we were fortunate enough to have Aunt Patty's car while she was out of town it was so HOT that the pool sounded like the perfect option.  I also must fess up that I did not break out the camera - it would have been soaked.  I had my hands full chasing Tyler into the pool.  He almost didn't even let me get his sandals or t-shirt off before he was in the water and ready to go down the slide. 

I DO have photos though of our first pool outing of the summer with Grandpa so those will have to fill in for this past week.  Enjoy photos of my little fish...

Grandpa showing Tyler how to blow bubbles.

Tyler was thinking about trying out the bubble thing.

Such a happy swimmer.

Not so much on the bubbles...much more so gulping the water. 
Good effort, Grandpa.



Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Happy 4th of July!

Our 4th of July was full of fun.  
The festivities started at Susan, Steve and Zach's house for a parade and BBQ.   

Tyler's stroller was decorated for the Annual 4th of July neighborhood parade on Main Street hosted by Great Aunt Susan and family. 

He was pretty excited and very patriotic waving his flag. 

Here are the parade participants. As you can see it is pretty low key but a lot of fun.


Great Uncle Mike looks a bit too big for Great Great Aunt Nancy's scooter. 

Grandma walked Tyler so I could document the event with photos. 

Great Aunt Patty played her "drum" (a 5 gallon bucket) with her wooden spoon.  American creativity at its finest. 

Host Great Aunt Susan proudly displays her patriotism


Family photographer, Jeanne, films the "great" parade.

My mom thought it would be fun to throw candy to our spectators...all 3 of them. :)

Tyler enjoys a post-parade popsicle (say that 5 times fast) with Krista.

Tyler and Great Uncle Mike.

Jeanne takes a ride on the scooter.  No need to drive on one side of the road or the other on Main Street.  Straight down the middle works perfect.

Tyler enjoyed some quiet time after the parade lining up his trains. 
Poor guy...he has a bit of OCD just like his mom.

Jeff, Tyler and I all enjoyed a lazy summer afternoon nap before heading out for the evenings activities.  We grabbed dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Francis, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Ryan, Uncle Greg and cousins Jake and Abbey before staking out our spot at the park to watch the fireworks. 


Tyler loved driving his trucks all over the blankets. 

Tyler took a break from playing to rest and cuddle with "Po Po" Francis.

Then he was back at it rolling his trucks up and down in the back of Daddy's truck. 

He sat so perfectly during the fireworks with lots of "ooooooo" and "aaaaahhhh" and even clapping for the really big ones.  He had no fear of the loud booms and all this week has been saying "boom boom."

Happy 235th Birthday America!
It was the perfect summer day!