Happy Birthday Tyler!!!

Tyler turned one today and this weekend we celebrated his birthday as well as Easter! The weekend started out on Thursday when The Hoovers and Gram and Papa came to our house. On Friday we had an Easter Egg Hunt, opened gifts, and had lunch. It was a lot of fun, but we wished we could have played with them longer.

On Friday afternoon we drove with Gram and Papa to Broken Bone Ranch to meet up with the entire Johnson clan. The past couple of years The Johnsons have all gotten together at Broken Bone to celebrate Easter. It is a great place and we always have a great time. This year they invited my parents to come along since it was Tyler's first birthday. We had a party for Tyler on Saturday afternoon and Tyler was spoiled rotten from the gifts to the undivided attention that was given to him all weekend. We had a blast even though the weather didn't cooperate. It was FREEZING cold and I didn't pack accordingly. Oh well!

Tyler is really starting to try and walk everywhere. He practiced a lot this weekend and when we got home tonight he was walking across entire rooms. He is getting very good and I expect him to be walking as his main mode of transportation very soon. Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Tyler is ready to hunt some eggs.

I found one!!!

Opening presents from The Hoovers

Unwrapping more gifts.

The cake and cupcakes!

Tyler getting ready for the paw-ty!

Grandma and Papa with the Birthday Boy!

What am I supposed to do with this?

Mama and Daddy trying to help him eat his cake.

Yea for icing!

Opening gifts.

Practicing his walking skills.

Cooper Lynn Johnson

Well, it's official! We have finally decided on a name for Baby #2! His name will be Cooper Lynn Johnson. Lynn is Sarah's middle name and is also the name of one of Travis' uncles who he adored growing up and is still close to. So Lynn actually represents and honors both sides of our family.

I had another ultrasound today to get some pictures of his spine and head that they were unable to get during my first ultrasound. Cooper cooperated today and we were able to get what the doctor needed. Everything looks good as far as I know and we also made sure that he was still a boy! Here are some pictures of Cooper from today:

His leg and foot.

Still a boy!

Hi Mom!

Blocked Tear Duct

Tyler was born with two blocked tear ducts, which basically means his eyes would get really gooey especially after sleeping. Anyway, most blocked tear ducts will clear up on their own by the time the baby is a year old. One of Tyler's eyes cleared up a while back, but his left eye has remained blocked. Today we went to a Pediatric Ophthalmologist to get his eye evaluated and we were there for 2 hours!!! Tyler did so well but towards the end he was getting really restless. They dilated his eyes to make sure there wasn't something else causing the blockage. He said everything looked normal, but Tyler is going to have to have a procedure on April 27th to clear the blockage. Because he is over 10 months old he is going to have to be under anesthesia. The anesthesia part is the only thing that makes me a little nervous, just because he is so young. The actual procedure is very routine. So you can all be praying for Tyler that everything would go smoothly.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

After a nice, relaxing weekend Tyler brought me back to reality way to quickly! He went to bed without a fight, but woke up around 1 am and would not go back to sleep. I went upstairs to check on him and I gave him some Tylenol and rocked him. He would go to sleep on my shoulder in the rocking chair and I would lay him down in the crib. About 15 minutes later he would wake up crying. We did this several times and about 2:45 I got desperate and made him a warm bottle. He drank the whole thing and went back down, but 15 minutes later was crying. I came back upstairs and rocked him some more but he did not want to get in the crib. I tried laying with him in the guest room bed, but he did not like that either. So by now he was hysterical and since nothing else was working I put him in his crib crying and he calmed down in less than 5 minutes. He finally went to sleep around 3:30. This morning he woke up around 7:45 and I went upstairs and he was really hot. He woke up with a mild fever. I think it is all from teething because I can see several teeth on the top that are trying to pop through. I gave him some Tylenol and by naptime his fever was down. He is napping now and will hopefully sleep well today. I think I might need to catch a nap this afternoon after getting very little sleep last night!

Guys Weekend

This past weekend Travis, Ross, and Tyler went to Harlingen for a guys weekend and to get in some last minute hunting. I was excited because this meant I had a free weekend to myself. They left on Friday at noon so I got my haircut and used a spa gift certificate I have had for almost a year. It was great and nice to get pampered. On Saturday I slept in and did some shopping. I also fit in a trip to the grocery store and a baby shower. It was nice to have a weekend to myself but by Sunday I was definitely ready to see my boys!

I don't think any of the boys were excited about a 6 hour car ride to Harlingen, but in preparation for the weekend Travis and I bought Tyler a portable DVD player for the car for his 1st birthday. I think they watched several videos several times and Travis said by the end of the weekend he should be able to sign in complete sentences from watching his signing video so many times. When they got to Harlingen Friday night, everyone was excited to see Tyler and Tyler was excited to be out of the car. They let him stay up an hour after his bedtime because he was having a blast playing outside with everyone. Great Grandma and Grandpa Johnson had come over to see Tyler as well. Saturday Tyler even attended a wedding shower for Kyle and Rachel with Grandma. After the shower they headed to the King Ranch to join the boys who had been hunting all morning. I think everyone had fun this weekend and here are the pictures to prove it. Thanks Uncle Lynn for allowing the boys to go hunting on the King Ranch.

Riding Daddy's old John Deere tractor with Papa.

I don't think Tyler got any attention this weekend!

The Johnson Boys and Travis' Nilgai (an Indian antelope)

Tyler and Grandma playing on the porch.

Tyler and Daddy ready for the big hunt.

Tyler with Grandma and Papa sitting on the Jeep.

Tyler is ready to learn how to hunt.

The Johnson boys with Ross' Nilgai

On the trip home. Ross and Tyler fell asleep in the exact same position.

The Kotex Kid

One of Tyler's favorite things to do is play in my bottom bathroom drawer. It just so happens to be the drawer stashing away all of my feminine products. The other day he decided to pull every single pad out of the box and was playing with them. I also realized the other day that he had thrown a tampon in the whirlpool tub. I didn't realize this until after they had shown our house that day. I'm sure the people looking at our house were a little perplexed by the tampon in the tub!

Firsts!

Well, I have been waiting for this day for oh, say 11 1/2 months! Tyler finally decided to say "Mama" this morning! Travis even verified that this is what he was saying. It was music to my ears! Yesterday I was saying "Mama" practically all day long trying to get him to say "Mama", but to no avail. He would just reply, "Da-Da"! But today is the day.

Today, Tyler also attended his first birthday party. He had a blast. They had a clown and a monkey! We even got a picture with the monkey sitting on my shoulder and Tyler in my lap. It was a lot of fun and Tyler had fun playing with the other kids. Now Tyler is refusing to take his nap because he slept on the way home from the party. Oh well. Refusing to take a nap is definitely not a first for Tyler!!! :)

Houston Livestock Show

Gram and Papa were in town watching the Hoover Boys so I thought it would be fun to take the boys to the Houston Livestock show. Papa didn't think this was such a great idea, especially once we got there, but I think everyone ended up having a great time. Here are some pictures from Saturday.

Here are the boys at the beginning of our day, ready for some action!

Will anxiously awaiting his turn to ride the pony.

Will loved riding his pony. He got put on the biggest pony and eventually got up the courage to wave to Gram and me. (Notice Papa- he seems to be enjoying himself)

Gram and Reese watch Will ride the pony.

While Will rode the pony, Travis took Tyler to play in the hay. What a boy!!! He loves being in the dirt!

Waiting for the pig races.

Tyler as a rodeo clown. He got a lot of laughs from the people around us.

Reese was so pooped out by lunch, he fell asleep while drinking his milk.

The little boys on the way home.

Will on the way home.

11 months!

Tyler is 11 months today! I can't believe next month we will be celebrating his first birthday. But I'll have to say I'm ready for him to enter this next phase of his life- walking! He watches the bigger kids around him and wants to do what they are doing so badly, but he needs to be able to walk first. I bought him his first pair of shoes yesterday! He doesn't seem to mind them. He really is starting to develop more of a personality too. He has started to tease Travis and me. When we go get him up from naps he dives into the corner and pretends he is going to sleep. It's really funny to watch. Here are some pictures I've taken in the last week.

Practicing his sign for Milk.

Tyler's first experience with sand.

Rocks!

Feeding a leaf to Crockett!

Playing after his bath. Censored to protect the innocent!!!

Crockett

Have we ever mentioned that Tyler LOVES Crockett? So much that we decided to have dogs as the theme of Tyler's first birthday party! As much as I don't really care for the dog anymore, I love seeing Tyler interact with him. Tyler loves being outside, especially when we let Crockett out of the backyard to play with us. Tyler even learned to sign, "Dog" today. We have been watching our Baby Signing Time videos this week and he picked up on dog today. Travis was outside with Tyler and Crockett and noticed that he was patting his leg, which is the sign for dog. He kept patting his leg when we would ask him where Crockett was. I love that Tyler is picking up on sign language because he will be able to communicate with us at least somewhat by the time baby #2 comes. It is so amazing that such a young baby can pick up on these signs and communicate with us.

By the way I went to the OB today and she showed me the results of my ultrasound. Everything looked great, but I have to go back in a month for a second ultrasound because Baby #2 moved around so much they couldn't get all the measurements they needed. I'm afraid I'm going to have my hands full. This baby seems VERY active in the womb already. He is always moving! We are getting close to finalizing a name, so hopefully we can announce it soon.

It won't be long!

Yesterday Tyler took his first steps!!! I stood him up and he took a couple of baby steps toward me before diving in my lap. Then when Travis came home we had him taking some steps between us. He took up to 4 steps. Of course he was very unstable, but I was excited to see him trying to move.

Tyler is also learning more signs. Last week he finally signed "milk" after trying to teach him forever. He is constantly doing this sign now even when he doesn't want his milk. When I get him up from his nap I ask him if he wants some milk and he does the sign. It's really cute. As you can tell we are really proud of him!

A Day at the Park!

On Wednesday we headed over to the park with some friends because it was such a nice day. Here are some pictures of Tyler and me that my friend Laura took. And yes, it is February and I'm wearing a tank top and flip flops, but it was in the mid-70's.

IT'S A BOY!!!

We just got back from the ultrasound and we are expecting another boy! This baby is VERY active. It took the technician forever to get all the measurements because he would not stop moving. Well, we have no idea what we are going to name this little fellow, so we better dust off the baby name book! Here are some of the ultrasound pictures.


Here is the head and the body.

It looks like a Johnson! :)

Here are his hands and arms.

18 Weeks!

Well, I'm 18 weeks along with Baby #2! Tyler is completely clueless about the upcoming chaos that will ensue around July 23. Our ultrasound is scheduled for 1:30 tomorrow, so I will be posting some pictures of Baby #2 tomorrow afternoon. Travis thinks it is a girl and I think that it is another boy. Any final guesses?

18 weeks!

Tyler and Mama!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are a few pictures from yesterday and today.

Opening a few Valentine cards.

WOW! What should I spend my Valentine's cash on?

Watching all of the trucks on our street. They are building a house a few doors down and today they were pouring the foundation so there was a lot of activity.

Telling Teddy all about the trucks.

Daddy and I dressed alike today!

Domestic Diva

Ladies, I have trained him well! Last week during the chaos of Tyler's sickness, the kitchen was an absolute mess at the end of the day. Travis came home from work and started cleaning it up. I was very glad and impressed that he did this on his on initiative. So I told him he was a "Domestic Diva". He didn't understand what I was referring to, so I went and got the "Domestic Diva" apron his mom gave me for Christmas and put it on him. He looks great in pink, especially washing the dishes. For all of those bloggers Travis has been bugging about being more manly, this picture is for you!

10 months!!!

Well, we have all survived this miserable week! We are all feeling better and now we are celebrating 10 months of having Tyler around. He is growing so fast and doing so much. Some of his newest skills at 10 months are:

• Tyler has been helping us get him dressed. He has learned to put his arm through his shirt which doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it is HUGE since getting him dressed is an almost impossible task due to his active nature.
• He has started to bear crawl where his hands and feet are on the floor but his tummy and booty are up in the air.
• He has started letting of go of objects that he is holding onto and will stand up to 10 seconds before sitting down. He is very strong and sometimes he will stand and clap for himself.
• He has started using sign language to communicate to us. I have been trying to teach him some signs and I even bought him a video to teach him basic signs. He has been signing "All Done" after his meals, and I swear the other day he said, "Ah-Duh" as he was signing it.
• He will dance/jump on command. His dancing and jumping are all the same move. Let's just say he got his dance moves from his daddy!
• He is jabbering more and more and his favorite thing to say is "Da-da". I'm not sure that he is associating this with Travis yet, but Travis gets a kick out of hearing him say this. He also recognizes when we say Crockett. He will look for him by the back door when we say his name.

Here are some pictures I took throughout the day. Enjoy!

Drinking out of Daddy's glass at dinner.

Getting in a workout on the treadmill.

The Big D, and I don't mean Dallas!

Well, Saturday morning we woke up to find Tyler in a big ol' diarrhea diaper! We have been dealing with diarrhea diapers ever since. Let me tell you, it has not been fun. The smell will almost knock you over. The poor guy had such bad diaper rash too because of the acid in his diapers. I called the nurse yesterday to see if there was ANYTHING we could do to help get rid of the diarrhea. She finally told me I could give him some kaopectaid (I don't know how to spell it). So we started that last night. He is fairly happy considering his condition. The nurse also gave me a great hint for the diaper rash. She said to rub liquid maalox on his booty and then put diaper rash cream on top. So we did that last night and by this morning his booty was free of diaper rash! Amazing!!!

Yesterday I was feeling bad all day long. I didn't want to eat much and just didn't have any energy. I finally got sick last night and have been fighting it today too. Travis came home at lunch dog tired and is sleeping. He said he is started to feel bad as well. So we are a bunch of pathetic people.

I did go to the OB this morning for my regular appointment. We are scheduled for our ultrasound on February 19! So we will finally find out if Tyler is going to have a little brother or a little sister. We are taking bets!

Update on the Little Guy!

Well, today has been a little bit better for Tyler. He is at least drinking pedialyte (and keeping it down) and this afternoon I gave him some bananas and that was successful! He has also had a few cheerios. I'm not forcing anything though, because I'm so scared it's going to come back up. You should have seen the laundry pile last night after yesterday's chaos! Tyler has been sleeping almost all day long today. He woke up at 6:30 this morning which is an hour earlier than usual and drank pedialyte and we watched his favorite Baby Einstein video. By the end of the video he was ready to go to sleep. Since then he has been up maybe an hour or two all day. My biggest fear is that he won't sleep at all tonight because he has been sleeping all day!!! But I'm pretty sure he will. You would think with him sleeping all day that I would be motivated to get things done around the house, but I haven't gotten one thing done all day!!! It's truly pathetic. I guess I am growing a baby, that should count for something, right? Well, I lied, I did just balance the checkbook. Does that count?

By the way, Tyler is getting another tooth on the bottom! I think it is so exciting that he is finally getting some teeth. The doctor said she could see the teeth buds getting ready on the top too! I can't wait to see a mouth full of teeth!

Sick!!!

Tyler started feeling bad on Tuesday and by Wednesday had major snots! This morning after breakfast (luckily still sitting in the high chair) threw up everything he had just had to drink and eat! What a way to start the day. He since has not been able to keep anything down- even Pedialyte which is supposed to help keep them hydrated. We went to the doctor this afternoon and he is already working on a double ear infection. They said he has so much congestion that he is gagging and can't keep any food down. It is so sad. He has been sleeping for almost three hours this afternoon which if you know Tyler is highly unusual. He even has been letting me rock him which he never does. The doctor sent us away with a prescription for his ears so hopefully that will clear up and not develop into a major infection. From talking to my friends at church, it sounds like something is going around the nursery right now. I guess it is just that time of year!!!