Look Who's Smiling

Here are some photos of our boys from a couple weeks ago that I just wanted to share. These include some of Nathan smiling. He first smiled at 3 weeks old, but I finally caught a few with the camera when he was 6.5-7 weeks old.

Hangin' out in his bouncy seat

Just playing

Smiling at his big brother (How cute is that?)
Smiling for his momma

Tyler was ready for his close-up after I took lots of photos of Nate

Look who else was ready for his close-up

Squeaky clean after a bath

I recently pulled out a bunch of "baby" toys for Nate that Tyler had outgrown...or at least I thought he'd outgrown them. We have pictures of Tyler wearing this same bucket on his head when he was 8 months old.

Mom: "Can you smile, Nathan?"

Nate: "Will a half smile do?"

Always Up To Something

As the title of this post says, Tyler is always up to something. Sometimes he's busy getting into trouble, and other times he's just busy making us laugh. Here are couple things that fall into the latter category that we caught on camera. Both happened a couple weeks ago.

When Tim is in the bathroom, Tyler likes to knock on the door. Tim can hear Tyler running toward the door, so sometimes he'll knock from the other side of the door before Tyler gets a chance to knock. Tyler thinks it's hilarious.

"Knock, knock, Daddy."

Running away after Daddy knocks back

This was Tyler's reaction when he went up to the door to knock at the same time that Tim opened the door to come out. He screamed and ran!

Tim happened upon this next scenario one night. All he knew was that Tyler had gone upstairs with PJ to play in his room. Well, PJ was playing with his (PJ's) basketball and apparently Tyler wanted to mimick him. The following photos show what Tim found. Two-year-olds are just too funny.

Scalawag

Tyler's last dance video (see blog post on May 10th) was a big hit, and here's another one from June 10th. This time he was dancing to a song called "The Scalawag" on--you guessed it--The Backyardigans. Unfortunately he had almost already danced himself out by the time I started recording him. He ends up running laps around the house a couple frames into the video, but he manages to fit in several new moves before that. I love when he tries to say "scalawag" because it really doesn't sound much like it.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

These photos of Nathan are from the same day as the video, so he's almost 6 weeks old. I like to call him Bubba Chubba because he's getting so fluffy. Tyler never had lots of rolls or chubby cheeks, so I'm definitely enjoying Nathan's squishiness. He was actually starting to get a little bit fussy when I was taking these, which is evident in the last photo.

Family of Four

This photo was taken June 8th. It's hard to believe (and to justify) that this is the first photo taken of all four of us. It only took us 5 and a half weeks. Pitiful, I know. Despite the efforts of all four of Tyler's grandparents, he was too tired to muster up the smallest hint of a smile. His birthday party had been the night before and after having so much fun in Sunday School that morning, he was wiped out. Little Nathan was a little worn out, too, as you can see. We'll have to try for another family photo sometime when the boys are more awake.

The next 3 photos were taken when Nate was 5 and a half weeks old. He was just lying on a blanket on the floor. I guess PJ thought he should have a turn in front of the camera since the other two boys in the family have stolen his limelight.
Our neighbors have a little boy named Travis, who is 2 months younger than Tyler. Well, Travis gave Tyler a pair of Diego sunglasses for his birthday. Tyler instantly loved his new sunglasses. As you'll see in the second photo below, he doesn't always get them on right-side-up, but he doesn't seem to care.

Tyler's 2nd Birthday Party

I'm obviously still playing catch-up since I'm just now posting about Tyler's party, which was 3 weeks ago on June 7th. It was a tractor and farm themed party since Tyler LOVES tractors. After having tons of fun at his cousin Cooper's birthday party in May, Tyler was so excited about his own. He kept talking about "my party" and who would be there. It was a small gathering of mostly family at Nana and Papa's house (their house has more space). Tyler's favorite "big dude" cousin Cooper and his best girl Kaitlyn were there.

For dinner we had pizza and after opening lots of wonderful presents, we had yummy cupcakes. Nana baked them (3 different flavors!) and we decorated them with the help of Grandma, who piped them with green icing that looked like grass. We topped each one with little farm animals, except for Tyler's cupcake, which had a tractor candle and two balloons. (We always do a candle for each year, plus one to grown on, so he had three candles even though he was turning two).

Tyler had so much fun, which was our goal for the day. He loves all the gifts he received and for days he talked about his party. A big thanks to everyone who could join us!

Below is a slide show of different photos we took at the party. Slide your mouse over the photos to see captions.

Tyler was a little shy when it came to all the attention he received while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him. You'll notice that he ducks his head part of the way through the song.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Boy With No Shorts

One evening when Grandma and Grandpapa Surface were in town, Tyler decided that he did not want to put his shorts back on after a diaper change. The high that day was 100 degrees (yuck), so we didn't force the issue. Well, as the pictures below show, Tyler proved that shorts are optional when playing with a sand table or riding a bike.

I took these photos of Nathan that same shorts-less evening. He just looked so chubby and cute in his daddy's arms, and he was so content.

Green Bike, Blue Helmet

For literally several months before his birthday, Tyler kept saying he wanted a green bike and a blue helmet for his birthday. Any time we would mention his birthday, he'd say, "Boo bike, geen huhmuh." Well, June 4th, Tyler's 2nd birthday, finally rolled around and he got his wish. (Well, actually, it's a green trike, but he doesn't know the difference).

When we took him outside to see his bike and helmet, he had a huge grin on his face, but he didn't run toward them like we thought he would. I think he was in disbelief that they were actually his. When we convinced them that they belong to him, he immediately had to put on his helmet and snap it all by himself (he's had lots of practice with Daddy's bike helmets). Surprisingly, it took a little prodding to get him on the bike. At first he just wanted to push it around by the handlebars, but he eventually got on it. It's still a little big for him--his feet don't quite reach the pedals--but he LOVES to have someone push him around while he steers. And boy, does he love wearing his helmet. He would wear it all day if we let him!

Brotherly Love

Tyler is so sweet with Nathan. He likes to hold his brother's "yittle" (little) hands and give him kisses on the top of his head. Just about every day I catch him giving unprompted kisses to Nate, and every time it melts my heart.

I took these photos one morning (June 2nd) when Tyler was being extra sweet to his brother. I had just fed Nathan and propped him against some pillows so he wouldn't spit up, and Tyler climbed up on the bed to sit next to him. He just wanted to sit next to Nate and hold his hand.

The next two photos were taken in Tyler's room. I had just finished changing Nate out of his pajamas and laid him on Tyler's bed to put on his socks. Tyler went and lied next to his brother and held his hand. I just happened to snap a photo at the exact moment that Tyler leaned over to give Nate a kiss. Too precious.

Here's a picture of Nathan wearing a half-smile. Don't you just want to squish those cheeks?

Grandma and Grandpapa's Visit

Grandma and Grandpapa Surface (otherwise called Nah-ma and Nah-papa by Tyler) came out from Missouri to visit us recently. In between meeting Nathan for the first time and Tyler's birthday party 8 days later, they spent a lot of time playing with Tyler, who really enjoyed all the attention and constant companionship. They also helped finish several of Tim's unfinished and/or unstarted projects around the house, such as cleaning out the garage, clearing out horribly overgrown flowerbeds, and tearing down wallpaper.

For Tyler's birthday they gave him a sand and water activity table, which he loves. We set it up on our deck, so we can all go outside and enjoy the evenings out there together. Unfortunately, toward the end of Grandma and Grandpapa's visit we had temperatures over 100 degrees, so it was just too hot to be outside. It has cooled off since then, though, so Tyler has been playing with it a lot.

One Month Old

I'm extremely behind on my posting and it will probably take a few days for me to get completely caught up, but I figured I better start somewhere. This photo was taken on May 30th, Nathan's one-month birthday. Yes, he sleeps on his belly, a big no-no for newborns, but he won't sleep on his back for more than about 10 minutes. Tyler was the exact same way and Nathan was able to lift his head almost right away, so I don't worry about SIDS. I just pray and trust that the Lord will protect him. Anyway, our first month with little Nate went by so fast, and he is growing very quickly. At his one-month doctor's visit he weighed 10 pounds, 3 ounces (55th percentile) and measured 21.25 inches (40th percentile). His pediatrician said he looks great. We think he's pretty wonderful ourselves.