Since Kristin and I were going to be together for Halloween and it was the first Halloween that we could dress the kids up, last year they were only about a week and a half old, we wanted to dress them in matching costumes. First they were going to be Charlie Brown and Lucy but Kristin couldn't find a dress for Avery. So then we decided on Tigger and Pooh. I have to say that they were the cutest Tigger and Pooh ever. The kids were not very happy about the costumes but they did wear them but they definitely were not happy about it. Here are some pictures of the kids dressed up.
Today we took Avery and Tyler in Kristin's backyard to get some pictures. They have the perfect setting for pictures, the white fence and tons of fall leaves. Too bad the kids didn't really want to cooperate. Avery was a little fussy and Tyler was have too much fun playing with the leaves to pay attention to the camera.
Since they are young enough to not remember we let Tyler and Avery take their baths together. Avery is so funny in the bath tub, she is a crazy women. She loves the water.
I think we wore them out. Today we decided to drive into Springfield. Kristin had to pick up some pictures of Avery and there was a Mall there that we could walk around. Here are the kiddos on the way home.
Today Tyler and I are leaving to go to Missouri. We finally get to meet little Miss Avery. She is Kristin's little girl. We are super excited to see them.
This is my first time flying with Tyler all by myself and I have to say I was a bit nervous. Luckily Kristin had almost everything that I needed, so all I needed to pack was clothes for Tyler and I. That helped out so much. I can't imagine getting through the airport by myself with Tyler, a suitcase, a stroller, a car seat and a pack n play. I was most nervous about security but I think a lot of people took pitty on me and they were all super nice. Our plane was supposed to take off about 6:15 but it was delayed until 7:45. This kind of worked out really good because that is right around Tyler's bedtime. Except that when we got to Missouri we still had a two hour drive to Kristin's house. We didn't end up getting there until around ll:30 and we were exhausted.
Here is a picture of Tyler enjoying his dinner while we were waiting in the Airport.
Tyler did GREAT on the plane ride there. He fell asleep before take off and then I couldn't get him awake after we landed. He was tired. I set him in the chair so I could gather everything and he kept falling asleep in it.
After we landed and I was trying to get the stroller undone, I had to set Tyler on the ground. The captain felt bad for him and held him while I got everything ready. He even let Tyler wear his hat. Who knows maybe Tyler will be a pilot one day, the hat does look awfully cute on him:)
Spiderman couch. I love this thing so much. It is so much fun, I can sit on it and I can crawl all over it. Pretty soon I am going to be able to climb this to get on the big person chair:) And course my favorite toy is still the yellow spaghetti strainer that you see in this picture.
This weekend we went to Nick and Sue's lake house. I was a little nervous about this trip. First we were going to be driving about 2 1/2 hours to get there and Tyler has never been on a car ride that long. Its over in east Texas. Second, we were going to be traveling with Tyler, Sammy and Bailey. The only other time Sammy and Bailey have been on a long car ride was when we took them to San Antonio and that was an interesting trip.
Friday after we got done with Tyler's 12 month check up we packed the car up and headed out. We had Sammy behind me, Tyler in the middle and Bailey behind Troy. They ended up doing pretty good on the car ride, except that Bailey had to sit with Sammy, so that left him little room to stretch out. Tyler ended up sleeping most of the way there, which was awesome. When we arrived Nick and Sue laughed at how much stuff we had just for the weekend. They will understand one day what it is like to travel with a little one. Sue is about 24 weeks pregnant.
We had a lot of fun there. It was very relaxing. Saturday Sue, Tyler and I went to Tyler, TX to go to the mall. It was really weird to take Tyler to Tyler. I felt so weird saying his name there. Her are a couple of cute pictures of Tyler playing around while Sue tried on shoes.
After we got done with our shopping I took Tyler out for a little photo shot on thier front porch.
Overall, Tyler and the Doggies ended up doing really good on the trip and with the car rides. The dogs are so tired from running around with Riley and Yva that they have been sleeping since we got home.
Tyler had his 12 month check up today. I was very nervous about this appointment. This is the one where they get the MMR shot and there is a lot of controversy about that shot causing autism. Personally I don't believe it because there is no medical research to back it up, just a celebrity running her mouth when she shouldn't because she doesn't have a medical degree. But to each their own, we are all entitled to our opinions. So far Tyler has not had any reaction to the shot or any of the other ones that he got. He got 4 in total at this visit. They tried to get him to get the flu shot too but I think 4 shots is enough for one visit. I made an appointment for him to get the flu shot but I am still undecided about him actually getting it.
Now for the fun stuff, my little guy is 22 lbs 4 oz and still 29 in. I don't think they measured him properly. I find it really hard to believe that he didn't grow at all. He has been averaging about 1 each per month prior to this. Plus he has out grown some of his clothes, especially the onsies and his pants. Okay enough of my little rant. The peditricaition said that Tyler is doing great. He is hitting all of his milestones and developing perfectly.
Grandma Sandy came to visit you for your birthday party. Here are some pictures of you and your Grandma.
I almost forgot to mention. As of today, crawling is now a thing of the past. Its like the light switch finally when off in Tyler's head that walking is the thing to do. He has been walking for about a month now, but when he really wanted to get somewhere he would crawl. So it was like 20% walking and 80% crawling. Now its like 95% walking and maybe 5% crawling. It so weird that I can just sit here and watch him walk for hours like its the most its the most amazing thing in the world. I am so proud of my little guy:)
Today we did Tyler's smash cake. He was so funny. He would not take his eyes off that big cupcake. It was so hard to get a picture of him looking at the camera. However, I did manage to get ton of cute pictures. I was going to make a collage but I got way too many cute pictures to do that.
I can't believe my baby boy is one year old today. Man time flies fast. Everyday we fall more and more in love with you. I didn't know it was possible to love someone as much as we love you. In this past month you have really grown up. You are exploring your world more and more. It seems like everyday you learn a new trick. You make your Mommy and Daddy so proud. Some of the things that you learned in this past month are:
1. Walking- You have been doing this for about a month now but lately you have gotten really good at it. You still crawl but you are now able to walk across the room on your own. You are also letting go of stuff and walking to other things.
2. Sign Language- They told me in daycare that you have gotten really good with signing so I decided to work with you more on it. Last Thursday I saw you sign your first sign, More.
3. Talking- You can now say high five. I really think you can say Ma. Sometimes you look at me at start saying MaMaMa. I even think you have said Dad once or twice. You also say Ahh BOO when we say Ahh Choo (fake sneeze).
4. You can give High Five- Daddy loves this trick. He thinks its the coolest thing ever.
5. You had your first taste of milk yesterday. We tried a sippy cup with half formula and half milk and you drank the whole thing very quickly. Hopefully this is a sign that getting rid of the bottle is not going to be a challenge but we shall see.
6. You have learned how to push the buttons on your toys to make them make music. You love to dance to the music. Its adorable to watch your little booty shake.
7. You have also learned to stick out your tongue when we stick ours out at you. Its really funny right now. I know we won't like this in a year or so but for now I will laugh at you when you do it.
8. I almost forgot. Teeth- You now have 10 teeth. The 4 middle top, 4 middle bottom and 2 top molars. You have cut 4 teeth in the past month. I hope you are done for a while. The molars are no fun.
I can't say enough about how proud you make your Mommy and Daddy. We have had a wonderful year with you. It has been so much fun watching you grow and learn and I know that there is only better stuff to come.
You were due to arrive on October 20th, 2008, on Daddy’s birthday.Mommy was convinced that you were going to be late, but Daddy just knew that you were going to arrive on his birthday.I was doing everything possible to get you out of my belly.I couldn’t wait to finally meet you.The day before you were due, I walked all three floors of the Galleria with Mrs Sue.Then I made Daddy go eat dinner at Chili’s, because Mexican food is supposed to help start labor.After we returned home, Mommy was watching TV on the couch and Daddy was upstairs watching TV.About 7:45, Mommy felt a little pop and a gush of water.She ran to the bathroom and changed her underwear and more water came out.She just knew her water had broken.She screamed upstairs to Daddy, “My water just broke”.Daddy came running down stairs to see what was going on.At this time we were both surprisingly calm.We called the hospital, and they told us to come in to get checked out.I knew I was going be admitted and we were going to be having you on Daddy’s Birthday.This was Daddy’s dream since he found out I was pregnant.
After we gathered all of our belongings and everything we needed for your arrival, we headed to the hospital.The drive was surprisingly calm.I can’t believe how calm both Daddy and I both were.Once we got to the hospital, they had me change into a gown and they tested me to see if my water did in fact break.The test came back negative, but they could tell by looking in there that my bag of waters did rupture.At this point I was only dilated to about 1cm and I didn’t think I was having contractions.We were told that I was going to be given some sleeping medicine and they would start with the induction in the morning bright and early.Daddy decided to go home to take care of Sammy and Bailey for the night.Mommy tried to get some sleep but how could I sleep when I was so excited about you.Plus, her bag of waters kept leaking all night and they had to change the sheets several times.I think I might have gotten about 3 hours of sleep all night.
At about 6:30 in the morning, the nurses came into start the induction.The nurse said I was having contractions all night but I didn’t feel any of them.They inserted the IV and hooked up the bag of pitocin.Daddy arrived at the hospital around 7am.Not long after they started the pitocin, I really started to feel the contractions.Daddy tried to make Mommy do all the breathing techniques that they taught us in the birthing class, but that did not work out so well.Mommy was hurting so bad and the only thing that made her feel better was rocking in a rocking chair.One of the nurses came in around 9:30am to check me for progress.I was measuring 2-3 cm.I don’t know what this nurse did to me but after she checked me, my contractions started to really hurt.Mommy’s doctor was in training all day, so he couldn’t be there during this time.About 10am the on call doctor came in to check me out.At this time I was around 3cm.She could see that I was in so much pain that she ordered the epidural and got me a new nurse.I was so thankful I did not like the one that I had.
Waiting for the epidural was the longest 30 minutes of my life.I was in so much pain. The anesthesiologist arrived about 11am.I was really scared of the epidural.An epidural is when they stick a long needle in your spine to administer pain medicine.Within about 20 minutes of getting the epidural, all the pain went away.It was the best feeling in the world.I could finally relax a little.The nurse told Daddy and I to try to take a nap because we were going to have BIG afternoon ahead of us. Of course we laid there and tried to rest but how could we.We were way too excited about meeting our little man.At about 2pm the nurse came in and checked me again.This time I was at 6cm.She told us you would be coming any time; boy was she wrong.
At about 4pm my doctor, Dr Cowen, got out of his training and came to the hospital to check on me.I was still at 6cm.You were in the correct position in the birth canal but your face was facing the wrong way and it was causing me to stop progressing.Dr Cowen tried to turn you around in the birth canal, but you didn’t want to cooperate.He decided to give it a little more time. Around 5pm, I started to feel all the contractions again.This time the pain was all in my left hip.Boy did it hurt.They ordered me another epidural and told me to remember to push the button to release more medicine this time.After I got it, all the pain was gone once again.The second epidural made me really nauseas; I had to get a shot of medicine to stop the nausea.
At about 6pm Dr Cowen came back and checked on me.I was still at 6cm but you had slid further down in the birth canal.They could see your bright red hair!!! Dr Cowen used his fingers to stretch me out; he managed to get me to 9cm.It was almost time to push.About 30 min later, the nurse came in a checked me again.She said the magical words, “Its time to push!”I got so nervous and so excited at the same time.When I started to push it was around 6:45pm.If I only knew what I was about to go through, it’s a good thing you are so very worth it.
I pushed for the next hour and a half with Dr Cowen coming back to check on me periodically.You were stubborn; you did not want to come out.Daddy did a great job holding my leg and encouraging me to keep going.They had to put me on an oxygen mask in between pushes, to make sure you were getting enough air.At about 8pm Dr Cowen came back in to stay this time.He decided to use the vacuum on you.It’s a suction cup that attaches to your head, to help pull you out.Some how you managed to break the vacuum.You really didn’t want to come out.Before you broke the vacuum, he was able to pull you out a little bit more. During this time Mommy was getting really nauseous again, and they had to give her another shot of medicine.Another 45 minutes of pushing and every one wondering if you were ever going to come out.You finally made your grand entrance into the world.
With bright red hair and big blue eyes, you arrived on October 20th, 2008, at 8:45pm.You weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces and were 20.5 inches.You were my big boy.Your first few minutes in the world were a little scary as you were not breathing properly. Your nose kept flaring like you were struggling for air.The nurses were able to get you breathing good for a few minutes, and I got to hold you.Then your nose started to flare again, so they had to take you to NICU.
They got Mommy all cleaned up and it was time for me to move to the recovery room.On my way back to the recovery room, they took me by NICU to see you.You were strapped to all kinds of machines so they could monitor you.The nurses in there said you were doing great and they would be releasing you in a couple of hours.When I got to my recovery room, Daddy left to go get me dinner.I hadn’t eaten since the previous day.After Daddy delivered my food, he sat with me for a few minutes and then went home to get some sleep and check on Sammy and Bailey.
Around 1 am you were released from NICU and they brought you to my room, so I could try feeding you.I had decided that I was going to try breastfeeding. At this time, you did not want to eat.I had to have one of the nurses come and help me.You ate for a few minutes but then you were ready to go back to sleep.They brought you to the nursery, so I could get some sleep.
The next morning, Daddy arrived at the hospital with breakfast.They brought you back to my room.At this point, you still did not have a name.Mommy and Daddy were undecided between Tyler and Jacob.The nurses told us we needed to decide now because they had to fill out all your paper work before we could be released.We decided on Tyler Jackson.Daddy wanted Tyler because your name would start with a T just like his.
That day we hung out in the room and got to know you.During the day you had several visitors: Mrs. Olga and Mr. Jason, Mrs. Cherrisa, Mrs. Dana and Mr. Rodney, Miss Amber and Mr. Steve.We had to spend one more night in the hospital before we were able to go home.You were doing okay with breastfeeding, I was praying that it would get easier.It finally did.
About 1pm the next day, you were finally on your way home.You were greeted by your two dogs Sammy and Bailey.
Since Kristin and I were going to be together for Halloween and it was the first Halloween that we could dress the kids up, last year they were only about a week and a half old, we wanted to dress them in matching costumes. First they were going to be Charlie Brown and Lucy but Kristin couldn't find a dress for Avery. So then we decided on Tigger and Pooh. I have to say that they were the cutest Tigger and Pooh ever. The kids were not very happy about the costumes but they did wear them but they definitely were not happy about it. Here are some pictures of the kids dressed up.
