Vaccine Reaction

About a week & a half ago Ty got his 12 month vaccines (MMR, Chickenpox, Pneumococcus, & Hep A). The doctor warned me that there was a very small percentage of patients who have a reaction and red bumps will appear on their body. She said they were harmless and there is no treatment for it. Well, today they appeared:

(The pictures don't really do it justice. I'm glad she warned me or I would have sworn he had chickenpox).

Along with the vaccines, one of Ty's top teeth broke through this week. So he's been a pretty unhappy camper. With the Benadryl for his bumps, he was able to get a decent nap this afternoon.

Visiting Daddy at Work

Today Ty & I visited Dennis at the Firehouse. As you know, with each visit we have to stand Ty up next to the engine's tire to see how tall he's getting. You can tell he's not feeling great (teething & vaccines).

But he sure perked up when Dennis let him stear!
And he got to slide down the pole! Here they come...

"Wow, that was fun Dadda!"

Sippy Cups Galore!

So a couple of months ago I was boasting about how Ty was no longer taking bottles. We were so excited. He was still getting 3 sippy cups a day of formula (morning, nap, & bedtime). It took us going through the first 2 cups you see on the left to find one that he liked. He ended up taking the soft spout Nuby cup. Well then somehow (not sure why) we ended up getting a few straw cups. And he loves those too. So he got his formula in the soft spout, then water during the day in the straw cup. And we have continued to do that. Oh by the way, we have switched fully to Soy Milk, so YEA...no more formula!

So now the dilemma is that the little man has teeth and he's biting holes in his soft spout cup. I thought I'd just try the straw cups, but he likes to lay back and drink the milk in the morning & at night, and obviously you can't tip those back or all you get is air. I tried to teach him and he just got frustrated and fussy. So I tried the Nuby hard spout. He just throws it. Today I went and got a new kind (the Thomas the Train ones on the right). He threw it too. He tries to bite it instead of suck on it.

So here we are...Sippy Cups Galore! Any advice?

New Walker & New Runner

We have a New Walker & New Runner in the family!

This week, Ty has really started to take off. Although he still likes to hold our hand for long distances, he is getting braver & braver and loves to practice his new skill.

This morning I completed my 1st 5K Race. My wonderful friend Traci Prescott set me up with a "Couch to 5K" running program a couple months ago. My goal was to be running a 5K by Ty's birthday. I accomplished my goal on the treadmill 2 days before his birthday, and Traci encouraged me to run in an actual race. I was so excited and nervous. I would have never said that I would be a runner. I hated running. But something sparked in me, so here I am.

Dennis & Ty came to support me.
Before the race (Ty was still sleepy).

We made it!

This is me & my friend Traci after the race.

We completed the 5K in 34:15 min.

My fastest time before today was 37:30 min. While we ran, Dennis & Ty hung out inside the school gym. He asked when to come outside and I told him to at least give me 35 min or so, since that was the best I had ever done. Well...they missed my big finish. I wasn't upset at all. Are you kidding? They missed it b/c I ran faster than I ever had.

It was so exciting and I felt like I had really accomplished something.

I'm thankful to Traci for pushing me AND running with me. I couldn't have done it without her.

Trampoline

Today, Dennis & I put our Trampoline up. Well...Dennis did most of the work while I entertained Ty by swinging...

I can never get enough of his giggles...(Press Play)

Ty "helping".

"Yea! I can crawl around on it now."

"Jump Daddy, Jump!"

"Weeeee!"

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy...

"Ugh, I'm wore out"

Mommy's wore out too. Actually, she's catching some rays.

1 Year Check-up

Today Ty had his 1 Year Check-up with Dr Fledderjohn, his pediatrician. Everything looked great. Here's his stats:

22 lbs (50th percentile)

31 inches (75th percentile)

He hasn't really gained any weight, but she wasn't concerned since he's weaning off formula and is more active. We discussed his intolerance of whole milk and she suggested we try Soy Milk. The only problem with soy milk is it doesn't have as much fat and a few vitamins that he'd need. So we have to try to get fat into him through things like yogurt and cheeses, and then add a daily vitamin. So I just gave him his 1st sippy cup of Soy Milk and then he went down for a nap. We'll see how it goes. I still need to add it all up and see if that is any cheaper than the toddler formula (Next Step Formula).

He also got 4 shots :( Prevnar, Chickenpox, MMR, Hep A. He didn't flinch with the 1st one as he was too busy with his sucker I gave him. The second didn't feel so good, then by the 3rd and 4th he was not happy and threw the sucker. But he recovered quickly and I premedicated him with Tylenol.

So he's moving right along and growing well :) I'm always so proud when I leave his appointments.

Biker "Babe"

My Mom & Dad stopped by on the motorcycle this weekend and Ty wanted to check it out:

Ty's 1st Birthday Party

Ty had his big 1st Birthday party on Saturday! It was a great time that went way too fast. We are so thankful to have so many friends and family with us to celebrate. As I'm sure you've guessed, I have a TON of pictures (thanks to my SIL Dana). For some reason Blogger is telling me that I have met my quota of photo upload limits, so here's what I could get uploaded. I'll try to add more later :)

Ty taking a few steps on his own. He just started this a few days before his birthday!

Getting ready for some cake!
"Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday To You..."
Despite Dennis & Ty practicing blowing out the candle before the party, Ty still wasn't sure what to do (especially with all the action going on). So I helped him out.

The 1st bite...

...going back for more...

...and more...

...a quick break to take a sip of water...

...and we're done!

To the Tub!

Rub-a-dub-dub

My beautiful friend Carissa

My mom, brother, & Grandma Gilbert

Our friends Nick & Jamie (digging our hot wings)

Ty checking out Mya's paci.

Pinata Time

Waiting for the candy to drop.

Dennis' Dad, Grandma Black, & Roseann playing dominos.

Me & My Dad

My Brother & Dad (Mom I swear I have pictures of you too, just couldn't get them uploaded. I'll add some ;)

My neice Brianna giving Ty a hug. How sweet!

More Birthday Pictures

Here's a link to all of Ty's Bday Party pictures. I haven't done it this way before, so let's see if it works.

http://picasaweb.google.com/blackamy13/Ty1stBirthday?authkey=Gv1sRgCKLkgOmg5eayMw&feat=directlink

Happy Birthday Ty!

Today Ty is One :)

I've always heard parents say how quickly their kids grew up, but I couldn't grasp it until I had my own. It seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. I will admit that the first 6 months felt much longer than the second 6 months. I'm sure that was mostly due to lack of sleep and learning how to be a mom. I still don't know how. All I know to do is love him and take care of him the best I know how...and pray he turns out okay ;)

Ty has been walking while holding our hand for awhile now. But in the past few days he has worked up the courage to take a few steps on his own. He has 4 teeth now and enjoys using them to eat just about anything. I'd say his favorite food right now is mandarin oranges. He's jibber-jabbering up a storm and is able to say a few words...Momma, Dadda, no-no, ball, dog, quack-quack (this is what his bath ducky says ;) In the past week or so he has started to clap his hand and enjoys practicing this new skill while riding forward facing in his new carseat :)

I don't have a current weight on him, but will find out next week at his one year check-up. Ty has been off the bottle and taking his formula in a sippy cup for a good month now. We have tried whole milk on several occasions. Each time he gets very fussy (actually he screams), has diarrhea, and vomits. So needless to say, that will be a discussion with the doctor as well.

It's incredible to watch this "little Dennis" grow and learn. I can't wait to see what year 2 holds.

Remembering Riley

Riley has been on my mind quite a bit this week. It's hard to believe that tomorrow he will be celebrating his 2nd birthday in Heaven. I am so glad the boys have the same birthday. Although I am a bit sad that Ri is not with us, I want tomorrow to be a celebration. His life was beautiful. And I wouldn't give up any moment I had with him.