Twas the Night Before Christmas

We came home the night before Christmas and made a Pumpkin Gooey Cake for the next day. We went to bed and not a creature was stirring not even a Drake Dog. Only the dogs stockings were left hung by the chimney with (at the time of the photo), it seem Saint Nick had already been there!!!!! Keyley and Drake were very bad this year. Tyler was all snug in his crib in hopes of an Elmo toy and a Radio Flyer would be on their way. When out on the lawn there rose such a clatter that mom told dad see what's a matter?! Dad ran out to the living room hearing Santa's sleigh bells and there was Scout catching his ride up North!!!!!! Dad is super fast with his camera! (thanks dad) Good bye Scout, you have been such fun! Next year - per your instructions - we hope you will return when Tyler gives a gift to another child that may not otherwise get one.

Uh-Oh

Well Tyler decided to end the last day of school 'big' by getting not one but TWO incident reports with three bites!!!!! He bit a friend and then bit another later in the day when the teacher took him aside to talk to him about why that is not nice he bit her!!!!! My goodness. We put the incident reports in the drawer to keep them from Scout, we felt Tyler had been so good lately we didn't want Christmas to be wrecked by some misdirected affection. Some see it as 'bad' but it might have just been a love bite - right? Well on Christmas Eve morning we found Scout looking over the reports. I hope Santa remembers that Tyler is a very good boy that sleeps through the night(mom and daddy love that), loves everyone, gives the greatest belly laugh (his pediatrician said so himself) and gives sweet smiles to everyone! Look at his sweet newborn picture next to Scout, who can be upset with a baby that cute?

Working Out

Scout has been on the move a little less lately. I figured out this morning that he must be saving his enegy for the last little bit before Santa arrives. We found him lifting weights today!

Seriously Scout?

As if this week isn't crazy enough now Scout has wrapped the tree! I found him squatting in the toilet paper roll.
Not a good example Scout - don't make me email Santa!

Where Does Your Broom Reside?

Funny question isn't it? Oh the lessons you learn. Tyler has decided the most exciting thing in the entire world is the kitchen broom. At first we were like gross, but he loved it so. I gave it a cleaning and he carried it all around the house so happy and proud of his 'toy'. Well aside from me still being grossed out there is a much larger problem - a one year old with a 3.5 foot poll can do a lot of damage. After clearing some counter tops and finding myself cleaning the broom for him I decided this needs to come to an end. I started putting the broom in the garage, but when we get home for the day and walk through the garage he sees it and has an all and all out fit for it. Now the broom lives in our bathroom (toilet room) because he doesn't go in there. I think it's funny that we jump through all these hoops to make sure he never sees it. It's literally a hurry hide it before he sees it event in our house. You would think Will and I were operating some sort of high level secret mission the lengths we go to and then I wonder what the heck are all these toys for?

Ride em Scout - Tyler has

We found Scout riding the elephant. What a fun life he leads. Tyler once rode well - passed out on the elephant. He was a newborn in this picture - a little milk drunk I think.

Poker Party

We found Scout surrounded by his friends playing Poker. Two things come to mind - where did he get money? And based on his hand is he cheating? Santa would not approve of that!

Lucy's Baptism

Brandy and Mark's daughter Lucy was baptized on December 10th. We were so happy to be included on such a great occasion and it was a beautiful baptism. We could not get a good photo of Lucy and Tyler looking at each other, but they were both smiling. I am sure next year they will be on a more even playing ground.

Hot Tubbing

Looks like he is having fun. Wonder if he is wishing his she - elf he was so concerned with in late November visited on her way back to her home?

Matryoshka doll

Nanny brought us a Matryoshka doll from Russia. You have seen it before but maybe not known what it was called. We had ours all 'packaged' up into one but it seems Scout figured they should all be out. I attached a photo as it was before and then what we found.

Scout is a Decorator

Scout decorated our dining room. Thanks Scout!!!

Scout is Out of Control

Well we caught Scout shopping it seems he took advantage of my free shipping and went a little Amazon crazy. I hope he selected nice gifts for our friends and family.

Demanding

Jeez apparently Scout is concerned about my house cleaning. Hope he doesn't give Santa a bad review about me!!!
Don't worry Scout the house keepers come twice a month.

Watch Dog

When we let Keyley in she will often sit in front of Tyler's door watching. She is a great watch dog for the little man. When I was pregnant with Tyler she would go into his room and lay by his crib.

Fishing

Looks like Scout shares Tyler's love of goldfish. We found him fishing for the finest goldfish available for Tyler's snack. Thanks Scout!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Every year for the past six Will and I have gone to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm to select our tree and cut it down ourselves (way easier than it sounds). Tyler went last year but was too young to actively participate in the hunt. This year we agreed we probably needed a smaller tree because we would need to gate it off. We went and Tyler helped hunt out a great tree. We took a hay ride out to the perfect hunting spot and found a tree we all agreed on. Will cut it down and we were on our way! You can tell in the last picture that Tyler was taking the tree hunting very seriously as he looked for the perfect Ferguson Family tree.

Scout was here

Well he was on the move again! Writing on the mirror - Jeez

Scout - Who Doesn't Love Cherios?

Scout Move Two

We left the house in a whirlwind (typical) and didn't see or notice Scout. Not sure if he was back yet or not, but when we got home we found him having quite a good time. Such a sophisticated Elf.

Elf on a Shelf - First Move

Well he made his first move. I was looking everywhere for my Kindle and found it and Scout in the dining room.

I saw he had downloaded How to Put Up a Shelf and thought oh he must be sending us a message he needs more shelves!

After I looked at the search history I realized he was looking for a book on How to Put Up with She Elves. I am sure he was disappointed in what he got but now I am concerned that Scout has girl problems!!!!

Elf on a Shelf

We came home from the parade and there was an elf sitting on our kitchen bar... Well you can imagine our surprise, but luckily he had a letter with him taped into his book that said the following:

Hello Tyler 11.26.11
Your grandma told me I should come see you. I am an elf on the shelf and will be watching over you during the holiday season. Every few days I will head back to the North Pole to report to Santa. You will be able to tell when I have reported back because I will be in a different place. On Christmas Eve I will head back home with Santa until next year – I will return after you have donated a gift to another child.
My name is Scout because I will be scouting out your good and bad behavior.
Love,
Scout

Looks like Scout is on board with our family emphasizing the importance of donating to other children. So glad Grandma told Scout to head our way. All kids good and bad need an elf to watch over them at the holidays.

I have heard that these elves can reappear in some interesting places and situations. Stay tuned for any Scout antics.... Keep in mind kids can't touch the elves or they lose all their powers! Welcome to the family Scout.


LOTS OF NEW POSTS BELOW SCROLL DOWN TO SEPTEMBER TO SEE THEM ALL!!!!

Children Giving to Children Parade

Every year Austin has a Children Giving to Children's Parade. We went last year and decided to make it a family tradition. This year put us (a bit) to the test on tradition. It was cold and raining, although the rain pretty much let up by the time we got there.
We want Tyler to know how important it is to give to others and that there are many children that do not have what he has. The message is important but, the parade is fun so double win.
An exciting addition was Nanny and cousin Kennedy came up for the parade. We got there early anticipating the crowd of last year, but the weather seems to have kept some families away. Sad for the donations,but they did seem to get a HUGE amount of toys. As you can tell we were all dressed for weather and everyone was a trooper! We also got a great spot. Kennedy donated her gift and so did Tyler.
Tyler really enjoyed it! He clapped and danced and really liked seeing Santa. His newest thing is pointing to things and saying 'this?' wanting to know what things are. We would hear him giggling to himself about things I assume he liked.
It was a lot of fun!

Thanksgiving

We hosted our first Thanksgiving this year. Grandma, Grandpa, Alan, Sonja, and Unlce Billy were all here for it. And of course Piper - her parents were still at the hospital with Teagan.
Will fried a turkey if you have seen any of the 'bad' videos on YouTube you can imagine both our nervousness. I made stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and a desert. Grandma was nice enough to make the gravy (something I dare not attempt), mashed potatoes and two deserts!
The food was great Will did a fantastic job on the turkey and I didn't burn anything so we felt like a great success.
It was fun to watch Piper and Tyler play. They had a territorial tift over Grandma's high chair that she brought for Piper to sit in and they both wanted the popper. It was funny to watch them try to figure things out. I never got a good 'argument' on video but it was pretty funny. Overall they got along great and it was so fun to have her with us.
We tried to get in a small photo shoot with Piper and Tyler and their Christmas cookies. Although the pictures are cute they didn't turn out like the photos we had in our head... I think I have posted that before :)
Unfortunately we didn't take more pictures, but I love the first one. Tyler looks like he is looking at Piper as if she took his cookie.

Teagan

Our newest niece and Tyler's newest cousin Teagan Star was born November 23rd. She was 7 lbs 3 oz and 18 & 3/4 inches long. Mom (Tori) and baby are doing great. Tori and Christian are very excited about their new addition.
She has a full head or dark hair.
Oh, how Piper's life is about to change :)
Grateful for our new niece and cousin.

Halloween

Tyler was a gnome for Halloween (specifically the Travelocity gnome).He looked super cute and everyone loved his costume. He wore it to school and won (unofficially)staff favorite. His teachers loved it so much they took him to every room to show off.
We took him in the wagon to a few houses to trick or treat but mostly sat out front and handed out candy.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch at the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm. It's the same place we get our Christmas Tree from every year. It was a lot of fun with a lot for kids to do. Tyler pet a minature horse he wasn't really sure what to do but liked it in the end. We took a ton or pictures of him in the pumpkins and had a great time. We bought three pumkins and carved one of them for Halloween.

First Steps!!!

Tyler took his first steps - of course being bribed by the opportunity of a phone. I 'tricked' him into it and then he didn't walk again for almost a month. As of now (11/26 when I am posting this) he is a full time walker and almost running! He is past the 'Frankenstein' stage as someone called it and walking great. Man are they fast!!!! I am so very glad to have him not crawling - when a kid starts self feeding with their hands - its like taking your silverware and strapping it to your shoes and then giving it a slightly warm wash with soap before dinner.
You can tell my excitement by the gasp at the end but it was super exciting!!!!

Best Friend

Tyler has a best friend at daycare. His name is Alex, they were in the infant room together and now in the one year old. They are so happy to see each other they hug and smile. All of their teachers say it is not common for two kids this young to be such good friends to be so excited to see each other. Of course if you put two one years together for an ongoing period of time you are likely to encounter problems. Alex likes to put his hand in Tyler's mouth and Tyler figures if its there why not bite it? We have had several incident reports about this. I keep telling Tyler these will go on his permanent record, but doesn't seem to bother him.
We got invited to Alex's birthday at Gymboree. The first thing Tyler did... was run up hug Alex and then bit him...
Luckily we stopped it before it became an 'incident' and they both had a great time.




Tyler decided he liked cake at Alex's birthday. I didn't really expect him to go after it like he did, but all the parents got a good laugh.

Amber's Wedding (a bit out of order)

Amber got married to Josh on August 13th but we just got the photos back from the photographer. Amber made Tyler a honorary ring bearer. Here is a great picture of Amber and Tyler and then one of our family from the wedding.
Amber was a beautiful bride and had an amazing wedding. We all had a great time and were happy to celebrate their marriage with them.

1 Year Appointment and Other Updates

Tyler had his one year appointment and is in the 75th percentile for height and weight. His head is in the 95th percentile but I can't be surprised by that when we went to buy him his cowboy hat we started at the infant size, then x-small then small and landed on child medium (he was 11 months old).

He is a happy healthy boy and hitting all his milestones. Still not a walker but seems like it should happen any day. Surprisingly he is very cautious when it comes to walking and it doesn't really fit him, but as they say 'he will do it when he is ready'. He does clap his hands when he stands, so proud of himself.



This is about a month old but he pushes the carts all around the house. This one was super cute (of course we didn't have clothes on him) but if you listen at the end it sounds like he is saying 'Dad look'



He started the one year old class. He has to wear shoes everyday, sleep on a mat, self feed and drink from a sippy cup. He is able to do all of them and then on the first day the teacher thanked us for getting him prepared and I thought... didn't know it was an option? The thanks really goes to his infant room teachers they did most of the work :) I see kiddos older then him that can't self feed and still have a bottle and am glad we 'felt the pressure' to get him there. He doesn't seem to mind it at all so that helps.

What a big boy.

1st Birthday!!!!!

Tyler had his first birthday at Grandma and Grandpa's house (big thanks to them!) It was cowboy themed although Grandpa always reminds us he doesn't want to be a cowboy... Nanny made his cake she special ordered a pan to make it a cowboy! He had a great time and had lots of people there to celebrate. All his cousins (Aiden, Kennedy, Alexis, Jordan, Piper and soon to be born Teagan) and second cousin Madeline as well. In addition to all his aunts, uncles and all of his great aunts and uncles! Of course Great Grand and Gram (Clyde and Libby) were there as well. Lucy was there and even rode the train with Tyler... she was fine (at two and half months) he was not too happy about it, but separate post on that.

He (we) were lucky that many people attended to help him celebrate his first year. Thank you everyone that made the time to come.

Aside from a gagging (although some called it choking) incident with the smash cake it all went well.

I have said it 100 times before but my gosh where does the time go?

Things I have learned this year

This year as a mom I have learned many many things. Thought I would share some.
C-Sections - my previous thought was 'maybe they should have tried harder' as someone that ended up having a scheduled c-section I retract my previous position.

Parents have to call in A LOT for sick kids - my gosh who knew a kiddo could get sick so many times in a year? I used to think, my gosh how often can your kid get sick - many times apparently.

If your kid is sick, going to the ER is not a fun event and the docs at Urgent Care Centers are kind of scary.

Pediatricians are amazing people. They can make you feel so much better with just one sentence.

Do what works, if the kid sleeps through the night in the swing, put them in the swing for the love of God or sleep - what ever your preference, No body has a 5 year old still sleeping in a swing. Side note - Tyler met the weight capacity of his swing at 6 months a real bummer....

I am the mom that has at least on one occasion given her kid Tylenol to drop a fever and taken him to daycare. He's fine, he got it there so its not as if I am infesting the class...??? or maybe that theory makes me feel better.

Typhoid Tyler, as my boss calls him - kids get you sick! I fly on planes which I consider to be over the top germ infested all the time and never get sick. I have been sick more times this year then in my past 25.

Parenthood is a whole new world. I know tricks for everything and although I have always loved the information source that the Internet is, its far more valuable now. It can also be very scary if you start playing Doctor Google - highly advise against it.

Take every ones advice and then decide if it works for you.

DVR is awesome - otherwise you will never see a TV show again.

They grow so fast, everyone tells you 'enjoy every minute' and you do, but you don't know it until you are in it. Luckily I have over 2,000 pictures on my phone and stroll down memory lane on occasion.

Although baby clothes aren't really expensive(depending on where you shop) - who else do you buy an entire wardrobe for change them 3 times a day and get another wardrobe for them 2 months later?

Dogs go from 'children' to second class citizens.

It officially takes me one hour longer to get out of the house for anything.

Naps and sleep schedules are a must. People that don't understand them frustrate me. I bend them often but can't totally break them.

An infant can go from happy and smiles to complete meltdown in less than 2 seconds (reference back the sleep schedules).

Prepare, prepare, prepare and then think about how to prepare better the next time.

I used to be what I called a worrier (or possibly a control freak), but now I am not even sure how I would be categorized. That said, I have loosened up a lot apparently I cannot control everything.

If I typed every lesson I learned it would be a boring novel for moms that have done it before so at this point I will stop except the most important lesson I have learned...

Love grows every day. I loved Tyler all through my pregnancy, and loved him dearly seeing him for the first time, but didn't realize how my love would grow with each passing day. Who else could poop, pee, throw up and wake me up in me in the middle of the night in a single day and smile at you and make it all go away?

Who can believe you go from this to this in one year (to the date)

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