One like the other

Tatum got under her high chair to grab some food that was dropped on the ground. Yes, I let my kids eat food off the floor. She got stuck and it reminded me of when Ty used to do that. So here are the pictures of Ty and Tatum at the same age in the exact same spot.

Is she teething?

Tatum is chewing on the nob from one of the kitchen drawers.

I don't think there is anything she isn't chewing on right now.

Keeping busy with playdates

This is a sign of having some fun: Every play food and toy is out

Tater and Scarlett

Ty and Addison eating their crackers

Today Pat's cousin Suzanne came over with her two little girls. It's been awhile since Ty and Addison had played together (they are only a week apart) and they played so well together. I had to give Ty "The Talk" before she got there: Remember Ty we share our toys and we take turns. When they left, Ty said to me, I shared mommy. It was so sweet, I just love him! Tater and Scarlett are just three weeks apart but Tatum is crawling everywhere and Scarlett rolls everywhere.

A much better day

Ty with his buddy Ben. All morning Ty said, "Yeah Ben, come to Ty's house." It is so fun watching my little boy get excited over the littlest things.

My sweet little boy was back for at least 95% of the day...phew! We had a play date today with his friend Ben and they played so well together. Tatum had a new friend over too, her name is Kinstrey. Tatum looked so cute today but I forgot to take a picture. Tatum is finally back to her normal happy self after having an ear infection last week that caused a few tears and some sleepless nights.

Every night Pat and Ty read books together. But lately instead of reading stories Ty wants his daddy to tell him a story. About what you ask? Duh...a Thomas the Train story! He is a little obsessed about his trains right now. Ty will tell Pat which train he wants the story to be about and Pat will be creative with the story and Ty is so captivated. Then Ty will tell us a Thomas story and it goes a little something likes this: "Once on a time, island of sodor, James...hahaha." It is so dang cute! When Pat is done telling/reading a story they end up laughing together because Ty is delirious and every night and Ty laughs so hard that he starts to hiccup and then they laugh even harder. I tried to capture the laughing moment on video.

It paid off

Tonight I was watching the nightly news and Brian Williams was interviewing our lovely president. I hadn't said a word and Ty looked at the tv and said, "Look mom, it's Obana." I was astounded that he remembered who that was because the only time we talked about him was on inauguration day. I thought it was pointless for me to talk about him, but obviously he pays attention to a few things I say which isn't very much lately.

Ty has been testing my patience and parenting skills the last few days, I hope it doesn't last for too long. Normally he loves Tatum but right now, he will go out of his way to push her down. If she is standing Ty will grab one of her feet and then she falls on her face, it's horrible. Tatum will cry and he will say, "it's ok Tatum, don't cry." My immediate instinct is to do the same thing to him that he did to her so that he knows that it hurts her when he does that but I have to tell myself to take a deep breath and don't immediately react. I know this is all normal stuff but I just don't like getting frustrated with Ty, it doesn't make me feel like a good mommy. I think part of Ty's frustration is that he wants alone time with mom or dad but Tatum only naps for about an hour a day so there isn't much alone time for him to play with me. So Ty is seeking attention but it's negative attention. So tonight I was so overly corny and cheesy with Ty about everything he did that was good, he totally bought into it. I just need to keep doing it. I am just thankful that my kids go to bed around 7pm everynight and I get some good quiet tv time at the end of each day.

Sibling Love

The pictures are in reverse order. This is when he was trying to shove her off.

This is Ty acting like he wasn't going to push her. Tatum is giving us her funny grin where she has an underbite and then you gotta love that crazy hair of hers. At the end of the day it's a mess and in her eyes. If I put a clip in it, her lovely brother will take it out and tell me that it's broken.

Well, I would love to say it is sibling love but it was actually sibling jealousy. Tatum was riding Ty's train and of course Ty had to ride it too. He hopped on and was trying to sneakily push her off. Tatum was oblivious, she loved the fact that Ty was on the train with her.

Happy 30th Birthday Lianna!!

Beers of the World

Ty trying to pull Grace.

"I will show you how it's done Ty."

Grace and Ty enjoying a wagon ride.

This is what Pat bought for the party. He was pretty proud of his selection of beers so they were displayed on our counter for a couple of days.

This was his favorite beer he bought.

Here they are watching the 3-D commercials

Tater found some beer...I had to tell her that she needs to wait another 20 years for some.

Beers of the World was our theme for the Super Bowl. We had three other couples over and they each brought beers from around the world. We had a lot of fun eating good food, watching the kids play and of course watching the Super Bowl.

No Tatum, that's Ty's!

Ty seems to think that everything is his, including Tatum's head band.

Playing together

Big girl playing at the kitchen. I can't believe she can do this already!

Thinking back to the first six weeks after today was born, I didn't think that Ty would like his sister very much but boy was I wrong! Ty loves playing with Tatum now. They will be in Ty's room playing and I will go in there and Ty will tell me to go back and it's just Ty and Tatum playing. Little did I know that it would only take a few months for them to become the best playmates!

Naked buns

Oh so cute! It's only when you are baby you can get away with walking around your house naked.

Daddy Sleeping?

This is what happens when you have a little too much fun the night before. Ty kept going in our bedroom saying, "shh, daddy sleeping." I decided not to teach him the word hungover yet. Ty was shining the flashlight in Pat's eyes and he didn't budge. Pat and I don't go out very often but on Saturday night we went to the Skagit CC Baseball at auction at the Swinomish. Pat ended up staying out until 2:30am and then getting up at 2pm the next day! I wouldn't have minded so much but Tatum ended up getting a horrible cold and only slept for about an hour that night. So I didn't get any sleep and then I had to take care of a sick baby, a toddler and a "big baby" on Sunday.

First Tooth

Tatum got her first tooth this weekend. She wasn't fussy at all, all of a sudden there was a tooth. I hope she is that way when she gets all of her teeth.


I know you all probably don't care about alot of my posts but I put alot of important events on the blog so when I go to do their scrapbooks it's easy for me to remember when and what happened. I have already forgotten alot of them. Oops!

The Park

Pat and I ran to the park this weekend with the kids. Tatum loved the swing, she could have stayed on it for hours. It felt so good to feel the sun and play outside. As usual, I tried to get a picture of Ty but he wouldn't stay still so it's not very good of him but I still think he is cute!

President Obanana

I tried to get Ty to watch a little of the inauguration today on the television and explain to him what an important and amazing day it is, he humored me for a few minutes and acted like he cared. I showed him President Obama and he said, "President Obanana." I laughed, but after a couple more practices he now says President Obana, so he is close. I don't like to get political but wow, this is probably going to be the most exciting inauguration in my lifetime.

Tater Bug, Tater Bug

Dear Tatum,
Can you be a better baby? Daughter? I love the way your hair gets puffy and crazy as the day goes on. I love how you smile and laugh all of the time. I love how you love your big brother Ty. You are getting so big so quickly. I can't believe you are crawling all over the house, pulling yourself up to a stand, and saying dada. I do wish you slept a little better at night and didn't poop so much but I wouldn't change anything about you...You are perfect!
I love watching you as you try to figure things out...like how do I get this box open? I love seeing your face as you figure it out. You are so proud of yourself.

I love your crazy hair, your pretty blue eyes, and your rosy red cheeks.

I love that you can play with with a toy for hours and not get bored. I love kissing your chubby little cheeks. I love your open mouth kisses that you give back to me.

Tater Bug, Tater Bug, I Love you.

Tater Bug, Tater Bug, Yes I Do!

Love,

Mom

Keeping busy

A couple of weeks ago Tatum fell asleep while my dad was rocking her.

Then she fell asleep on Pat's mom last week. But she won't fall alseep on me!

Tatum loves to climb on Ty, he likes it for the most part.

A little bear crawl, Tatum getting on her hands and feet.

Ty likes to feed Tatum

Tatum is sporting a Pacific University Future Boxer t-shirt. I got it for free for submitting her birth announcement in the Alumni news. I had a little chat with Tatum and told her that she is probably not going to Pacific because it will put her in the poor house like her mommy. I think she understood.

I thought I would start getting bored staying home with the kiddos, but that hasn't been the case. It has been nice staying busy the last couple of weeks, it sure makes time fly. Normally I am pretty good at keeping the blog updated frequently but it has been over a week since my last post. As I am typing this I realized why. Well...Tatum is very busy and doesn't like to nap that much during the day and Ty has decided that he doesn't need a nap anymore. He lays in his crib (thank goodness he is still in a crib and can't get out!) and talks to himself and kicks the end. I go in there to try to get him to sleep and he tells me, "I awake mommy." He is tired but he just won't sleep. Tatum is so busy, she finally took a long nap today, it was so nice. I thought for sure once she started crawling everywhere she would be so tired from moving that she would take long naps...not so much.

I have finally decided to get my big butt moving and lose some of this baby weight that hasn't come off. I guess eating whatever I want is not a way to lose weight. Darn it! Pat and I have been working out everyday. Pat's dad comes up to watch the kids while we go running or hiking(Thanks Tom!). So after the kids go to bed and we have picked up the house, I have felt like doing nothing but watch mindless TV like Momma's Boys, The Bachelor and True Beauty.

A baby model?

Tatum did a little modeling today for a chocolate company in Mukilteo. I was a little bummed at Tatum's performance. If you know Tatum, you know she is always smiling and laughing but when it came time to get her picture taken, she was so serious and wouldn't smile. I think part of the problem is that there were so many candies, chocolates, snowflakes and trees around her that she didn't know what to do. I think this a cute picture but not a great picture of her. She is supposed to be a "baby snow princess." If you can't read it, the caption says "Chocolate Chases My Blues Away."

Since I am posting this picture I should mention who took the picture: Vicki Derks Photography in Mukilteo located near the the ferry and the chocolate company is Rose Hill Chocolate Company.

If you give a baby a cookie...

Then she'll want to eat more baby food.
Then her mom will realize she doesn't need to use a bib because the baby is already a mess.
Then the mama will give the baby the spoon.

Then it's time to give the baby a bath.

And then it's time to get dressed for the evening.

Just to start the same routine all over again...soon!

Rub-a-dub-dub there's two in the tub

I usually give them baths at different times but I was short on time so I put them both in the tub, they loved it!

Happy New Year

This it Ty's first New Years date, Grace. She is a cutie, as parents we approve of his choice in women already. We will have to talk to Ty about his choice in take-out, I don't think McDonalds will cut it when he's older.

This is was the first time since Ty was born that we stayed out this late for anything! We went over to a friend's house for New Years to celebrate and we had a great time. We brought the kids and my mother-in-law picked up Ty around 8:30 to bring him home and put him in bed (Thanks Maggie!) and Pat and I stayed and had a great time. Tater slept most the whole time, so it actually did feel like we went out without any kids...it was much needed! Anyways, Happy New Year!