Withlacoochee River Ride

We can now officially add Airboating to Tyler's list of "been there, done that".

This past weekend we headed Northwest to Citrus County to attend a Truck Show at the 75 Chrome Shop. While the truck show was a lot of fun, Tyler's first airboating experience topped the list. I put Tyler's life vest on him to try it for size (it's still a little too big, but I'm sure he'll grow into it quickly) while we waited on the rest of our crew to get motivated. Well, wouldn't you know he fell asleep in my arms while we waited. All it took was the first airboat to fire up and he was awake and ready to ride. Off we went, fully equipped in his life vest and infant ear muffs, headed toward the Big Spring, a large natural spring on the River. There we watched everyone enjoy themselves in the 72 degree crystal blue water and I stress the fact that we watched. The water was far too cold for Tyler & I to even think about getting in. On the way back, we stopped at Turner's Fish Camp on the River. Tyler fell asleep on the ride there and napped most of the time that we were there. He was well rested and wide awake for the ride home.

The next day we went and visited Ed's new house on the other side of the dam, which was fun to cross the "airboat bridge" over the dam. After that, we stopped at Little Blue, which is a small natural spring on the River.

All in all, Tyler really seemed to enjoy his whole airboating experience. All I heard out of David's mouth all weekend was "one day Son, one day we'll build you your first airboat." I can hardly wait! And so it goes...

Navigating Down the New River

Sunscreen: Check; Swim Trunks: Check; Life vest: Check; Hat: Check; Sunglasses: Check; Mobile Baby Sunshade: Check; and so the list goes on. I am referring to Tyler's first boating experience and all of the necessities that go along with a trip of this sort.

We went out on a Friend's boat last weekend, which was Tyler's first boating adventure. As we departed down the New River, the sun was shining, the wind was blowing and the temperature was just perfect. Once we arrived at Lake Sylvia and anchored, it was a day of fun and sun for all. Tyler seemed to really enjoy the day, since he enjoys being outside doing whatever. I even took him out on the float that was tied up to the boat for his first raft ride. Needless to say, within 10 minutes of being on the raft, he was out like a light. There's something to be said about the rocking motion of water, that could even put a grown man to sleep. Anyhow, Tyler napped for a bit and when he woke up, we had lunch while we watched some of the guys knee board and wake board. We all really enjoyed ourselves. I'm thinking he is going to be a true Florida Boy and will love the water one day soon. I guess it's about time for Mommy & Me swimming lessons! And so it goes...

God Bless Our Son

"A Baptism is a welcome to a life in God above, a happy time for families to share and a time for growing closer in God's strength and gentle care."

On Saturday, April 18, 2009, we Baptized our "gift from God" in a Baptism ceremony performed by Rev. Patrick Joesph Naughton at Saint David Catholic Church. The private ceremony was very nice and Tyler did very well. The three of us have been suffering from a very nasty head cold for the past week (not to mention that Tyler has a tooth prying it's way into his lower gum) so I was a little concerned that he may be a little cranky for his big day, but, yet, he still managed to be the pleasant little guy that we all know and love. And I must say, he looked ever so handsome in his pure white outfit.

Throughout the duration of the ceremony, Tyler stared into his crowd of Witnesses, smiling and clapping as if he knew he was the star of this show. At one point, he even raised his right hand toward Rev. Naughton, as to give him a high-five, which everyone, including the Priest, got a little chuckle out of. If only I had a camera to photograph the look on Tyler's face when he was being serenaded by the Priest while the Holy Water was being passed over his head. It was a look of confusion, fear and satisfaction all at once. Unforgettable!

Following the Baptism, we had a luncheon in Tyler's honor to celebrate with Family & Friends. Although Tyler spent a lot of the gathering napping, we did wait until the Guest of Honor was awake to cut the cake and treated him by letting him dabble in it a bit. He was a little taken back by the butter cream icing, but I'm sure by the time his first birthday rolls around, we'll have a different situation on our hands. It was very nice to see everyone and we appreciate all who could attend (and those who couldn't) as well as all of the generous gifts and blessings! And so it goes...

Seventh Month Milestones

Height: 27 3/4"
Weight: 20lbs 2oz
Places Traveled: We were in town for this entire month. Some events that we attended were Cousin Lisa and Ari's Wedding, The Broward County Airboat Show, Andrea and Matt's Engagement Party and Cousin Madison's 2nd Birthday.
Accomplishments: Tyler can sit on his own now, he has started eating solid foods (to date he has had cereal, carrots, bananas, green beans, pears, and peaches. He loved them all!) He also had his first "cookie" which you all read about in a previous post. I also gave Tyler his first trim during this month, which broke my heart to do, but he really needed it. He had a few newborn strands that never fell out, so they were much longer than the rest of his hair. Needless to say, his mohawk just isn't the same now :( Tyler also went swimming for his first time this month.

New Babbles: (this is a new category, since he is more and more vocal every day) Aside from saying Dadda, he now makes the farting noises with his mouth. This is cute until he has a mouth full of food and tries to do it, which he thinks is funny!

An Egg-cellent First Easter

Today was Tyler's First Easter, and what a day it was. Our little guy received lots of goodies, including new toys and an outfit from Aunt Stefi, a new Piggy Bank accompanied by lots of plastic eggs filled with "piggy bank fillers" from Pops & Grammy, a new bathing suit, hat and clothes from Mimi & Pop-Pop, a singing, dancing & hopping Peter Cottontail from Ted & Deanne and an Egg with more "piggy bank filler" from Grandma & Grandpa Carlson. Thank you to everyone! Not necessary, but certainly appreciated!

We started the day out by going to Aunt Sue & Uncle Jerry's for Easter Brunch and to celebrate Grandpa Bob's Birthday. Yummy yummy, brunch and cake, what a treat! We were supposed to go to Grandma & Grandpa Carlson's for an early Easter Dinner, but Tyler went down for a nap when we got home from Aunt Sue's, so Daddy went alone. I usually would have no problem waking him up, putting him in the car and going, except that we attended a wedding last night, which was a late night for Tyler and he has also been sick for the past couple of days, so I figured it was best to let him rest. I'm thinking it was the right choice, since his nap turned out to be 3.5 hours long. It was a nap well needed.

Lastly, what's Easter without the Easter Bunny? I took Tyler to see the Easter Bunny on Friday and, of course, he had to be dressed for the occassion. Off we went, bunny ears and all, to see the Easter Bunny. I'm taking full advantage of this situation, as I know one day soon, he will be old enough to remove certain things if he does not want to wear them, so I'll continue as long as I can. Besides, it's more fun that way. And so it goes...

If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

Must I keep reminding myself that no matter how much I want our little man to remain "little", it is inevitable and that he will continue to grow and continue to amaze us? Right! That he does, he just continues to amaze us.

Lately, I have been singing more and more to him (because his reactions now might possibly be more amusing than what I am doing) and along with that comes clapping and being goofy as well. Apparently, he is learning from his silly Mom. Last night, with a little encouragement from Daddy, Mr. Tyler decided he was going to start clapping. Unreal! I guess I need to chalk this one up in his baby book. It seems like one day he's an infant and the next he's sitting, babbling "Dadda" and clapping!? What's next, crawling??? (before I know it, I'm sure, since he's already up on his hands and knees rocking back and forth.) I know, I know, I sound like the mother that can't let go, but, the reality is, I'm having such a hard time grasping how fast these things just happen. Enjoy every moment, that's really all we can do. Every stage that he progresses to seems to be my favorite yet, so who knows what next week, or even tomorrow will bring.....and so it goes....

Coo-Coo for Cookies

First off, I'll just confirm, it's not a cookie. In fact, it's the furthest thing from a cookie that I can think of. Trust me, I tried it :)

Seeing how our little man is a hands on type of child these days AND teething, I decided to give him a Gerber Biter Biscuit (are you happy Aunt Stefi?) Man-o-man....that was about the yuckiest mess I've seen yet. I remember the pictures of Madison and her first "cookie". If I remember correctly, my comment was "is that peanut butter ALL OVER HER?" Talk about De Ja Vue (I'm sure I didn't spell that correctly), I was reliving the moment, only, I think Tyler made an even bigger mess. I neglected to remove all of his clothing prior to giving him the Biscuit, so that day was a 3-outfit day. It was humorous though. He held on to that biscuit for dear life, knawing away at it. I had to take it away from him after about 10 minutes because it began to get really mushy and I didn't want him to get a chunk of it in his mouth. Again, man-o-man, he was not happy with me when I took it away. But, better safe than sorry. And so it goes...

Splishin' and Splashin'...

Daddy went out to the Everglades Camp this morning, so we went over to Mimi & Pop-Pop's to hang out for the day. Since Pop-pop had turned on the hot tub, I decided that I was going to take Tyler in for his first swimming experience. The fact that it was in the hot tub, made it much more comfortable than the pool, which was still pretty cold despite all of the warmer weather we have been having. We stripped Tyler down to his naked little butt and in we went (praying that he didn't go to the bathroom in the meantime) Cousin Madison joined us in her "boat" which is what she calls her float. We had a really nice time and Tyler seemed to really enjoy it. He splashed, kicked and even took a few gulps of water ;) He was not bothered by any aspects of the water, nor afraid to go under, so I think he may end up being a good little swimmer.

Finally, Some Real Food!

On Monday, March 30, 2009, at the age of almost 7 months, I decided to feed Tyler baby cereal for the first time. Talk about humorous! Apparently babies are very observant, because as I lifted the spoon to his mouth for the first bite, he opened wide as if he knew exactly what to do. Once the cereal hit his tongue, it was a whole different story. The look on his face was as if someone had just squeezed a lemon in his mouth. He was so confused as to what the warm mushy stuff in his mouth was, better yet, what to do with it once it was in there. I couldn't help but to laugh out loud. Pictures, of course I took a million. The faces were once-in-a-lifetime shots!!! Needless to say, about 20 spoonfulls into it, he began to get the hang of it, and I stress the word began. By the end of the helping, he was by no means, a professional at being spoon-fed. As for me, I was by no means a professional at spoon-feeding. Surely it is an art that I still have to master. Cleaning each bite from around his mouth ended up more like me pushing it further and further onto his cheeks. It was a sight to be seen. We're going to have to work on this, as the mess that was created does not thrill me the least bit. I was warned by a friend "wait until he does rasperries with a mouthful of peas or carrots" Well, I can wait for that! LOL. He did seem to like it though, which is great.

Sixth Month Milestones

Height: 27 1/2"

Weight: 19lbs 10oz

Sleeping Pattern: Great sleeper! 10 pm until 8 am. (this is the last time I am going to include this milestone, since clearly nothing has changed with it since he was 1 month old ;)

Places Traveled: Grammy & Pop's house in Inverness.

Accomplishments: Says "Dadda" now. Got rid of his cradle cap, FINALLY!

Fifth Month Milestones

Height: 26 1/2"

Weight: 18lbs 6oz

Sleeping Pattern: 10 pm until 8 am

Places Traveled: we had Family Weekend in Lake Wales. We shared this weekend with Grammy, Pops, Mimi, Pop-Pop, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Leah. Also had his first trip to the Beach with Aunt Stefi and Cousin Maddie.

Accomplishments: He sleeps in his crib now, no longer in his bassinet in Mom & Dad's room (this first night of this was a night with no sleep) He rolled over this month. He holds his own bottle now. My baby boy is growing up so fast :(

Fourth Month Milestones

Height: 26"

Weight: 17lbs 3.5oz

Sleeping Pattern: All Night Plus Some!!! 9:30 or 10 pm until 8 am :)

Places Traveled: New places included Paradise Smoothie for a lunch date with Farrah and Arelia.

Accomplishments: He now loves his binky. He has found his voice and makes very loud outbursts from time to time. His feet are constantly up in his hands. He also loved to sit in the Bumbo seat at this stage.

Third Month Milestones

Height: 25 3/4"

Weight: 17lbs 2oz

Sleeping Pattern: Bedtime is 9:30 or 10:00 pm and he sleeps until 8 am. Wonderful!

Places Traveled: Asheville, North Carolina. He did so well!

Accomplishments: Starting to introduce the bottle to him more & more in between nursing, since I would be going back to work a couple of days a week and he would be getting a bottle at the babysitter's. He also took the binky now and again at this stage. Also took family pictures for Christmas which he did so good with! He also found his feet, which he loved to grab for!

Second Month Milestones

Height: 25 1/2"

Weight: 14 lbs 15oz

Sleeping Patterns: Bedtime is usually 10:30 pm and he sleeps until 6 or 7 am. The best!

Places Traveled: Carter's and Wal-Mart are 2 new places that he went.

Accomplishments: He actually belly laughs already. I called David and left it on his voicemail the first time that he did it. He also sucks on his fists now and loves his blanket.

First Month Milestones

Height: 23 3/4"
Weight: 12 lbs 6 oz. (Holy Moly, Mom's Milk Must Be Good!)
Sleeping Patterns: He slept most of the day in between feedings. At Night, bedtime was around 10:30 until about 4 or 5 am. He was just awesome!
Places Traveled: Lake Wales for the first time, Publix, IKEA, Southport, Ole Ole, Broward Mall
Accomplishments: He smiles ALL THE TIME and has even starting laughing already!!! He lost what was left of the cord, so he got his first real bath. He also went for his first Jeep ride!

Tyler's Arrival

Tyler came into this world on September 6, 2008 at 1:07 pm. He weighed 9lbs 12oz and was 22.5" long. My due date was September 4, 2009, therefore he was 2 days late. I had an estimated fetal weight scan done 2 weeks prior to my due date (my doctor suggested that I have this done because my belly was so big) and the results of that came back at 8 lbs 7 oz with 2 weeks to go. The next week came and went, still no labor. Two days prior to my due date I went in for my final internal exam/visit and to discuss induction of labor. My results: a LARGE baby, a cervix that was "closed for business" as my doctor put it, no signs of the cervix thinning, and his head was down, but floating (in other words, he was not in my pelvis). Decision: Scheduled C-Section. My doctor was not comfortable with inducing my labor given the size of the baby. He did not want to put us through a long, painful and draining labor which may have ended up in an emergency C anyway. (I now know why he was not in my pelvis, HE WOULDN'T FIT) My reaction: Physically - Cool, Calm & Collected; Mentally - Scared Shitless! I had never so much as had a stitch, so the fact that I was going to have "surgery" was an idea that I was super unsure of. (I never let a sole know that I was so frightened of this surgery because I didn't want anyone else to be as afraid as I was) David's Reaction: Complete relief. He had been rooting this on all along. The thought of vaginal labor worried him to no end. With the doctor's decision, he could now stop taking the prescribed xanex he had been taking for the last week due to his anxiety attacks. lol. SO, the date was set, Saturday, September 6, 2008 at 12:30 pm.
Well, Friday, September 5, 2008, my mother and sister decided we were going to go shopping (walking) ALL DAY LONG. Well, walking works wonders. That night, I went into labor, waking up every hour or so with what I thought were cramps. Morning came and we had to be at the hospital at 10:30 so that I could prepare for the C-Section. When my doctor arrived in triage to get me for surgery, my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart. My cheerleaders (Mom & Stef) asked if I could try to deliver vaginally since I was clearly in labor. His Response: "No, We're Going to Take the Short-Cut." Thank God he did because a) the contractions that I was experiencing were NO FUN! b) because of Tyler's size and c) because Tyler had had a bowel movement while still in utero. The pressure from coming through the birth canal could have caused him to ingest some of it, which could have caused damage to him. Therefore, I was quite happy with the procedure since it is less traumatic on the baby, not to mention it only took 37 minutes to meet him!!!!