Puzzles

As long as I can remember I've always loved jigsaw puzzles, and apparently my son takes after me.

We got Tyler a little Lightning McQueen 24-piece puzzle for Christmas as a stocking stuffer. He likes all of his wooden puzzles, so I thought he might like one a little more challenging. Plus, anything with Lightning is a guaranteed hit with Tyler.

I first helped him put it together last Saturday and he's been doing it by himself ever since. It just amazes me how little minds can learn so quickly. Yesterday he put it together and took it apart at least 7 or 8 times in a row, which was great because he usually won't sit still for very long. He's done it so many times that I think he must have all the pieces memorized, but he still raises his arms and says, "I did it!", every time he finishes it. He's already asking for another "Yi-teen" puzzle. I told Tim it's too bad we can't rent puzzles from the library so Tyler could do a different one every week. I've seriously never seen anything other than a TV show captivate him for such a long period of time the way this puzzle does. The best part is, he always says, "I want to build it all by myself!", which translates into more time for me to get some laundry folded, or dishes washed, or meals prepared, etc.

Here's a little video of him working on his puzzle yesterday morning, hence the pajamas. He usually likes to start by building Lightning or Sally ("Saddy") first, then Mater, then the building behind them.

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8 Months Old

Yes, Nathan is really 8-months-old already. Eight months--that's 2/3 of a year. He is such a blessing to our little family. Last night Tyler was showing him how to use the new ball popper Nathan received from Nana and Papa for Christmas. It was so cute to see them interacting together. Nathan adores his big brother and is always watching Tyler. They're going to be best buddies someday, and it will probably be sooner than I think.

Here's a little run-down of Nathan at 8 months:

• Loves: Mommy, Tyler, Daddy, all baby food (especially fruit purees), baths, Tyler's trucks, being outside
• Dislikes: putting on pajamas after his bath each night
• Teeth: 3, with another about to pop thru any day (he didn't have any teeth at the beginning of the month)
• Tidbits: Says "mamamama" when he wants me, sucks on his index finger and middle finger simultaneously, sucks on his toes, commando crawls, is working on pulling up (no rushing on this one, please), is super ticklish and giggles readily

Today we took both boys for a wagon ride, but this one was special because it was Nathan's first. Before Nathan was born, we told Tyler that when his little brother got big enough, they'd be able to go on wagon rides together. During the past 8 months, Tyler would periodically ask if Nate was getting big enough and today they finally got to take their first wagon ride together.

It was just too cute for words. Nathan looked like such a big boy sitting across from his brother and Tyler was so happy to have another passenger on board. It's as if he knew that extra seat in the wagon was meant for his little brother all along. Tyler was snacking on a granola bar, or "no-na bar", and Nathan kept grabbing for it. (He's in that grabby stage right now, which is why I have scratches 3 scratches on my face right now). Fortunately, Tyler never got upset and just pulled it out of his reach. Tim and I loved watching how much they were enjoying each other during the ride. So cute.

It's Christmas! - Part II

After Tyler's afternoon nap, the five of us (that includes PJ) piled into the car for round 2 of Christmas at Nana and Papa's house. We enjoyed a delicious, non-traditional (by state-side standards) Christmas dinner that included red rice, daigu, and 3 different kinds of kebabs: chicken, steak and shrimp. Extra yum!

Nana & Papa with their boys

Kids and grandkids

Time for presents!

The grown-ups were barely finished eating when Cooper and Tyler announced that it was time to open presents. I wish I'd taken a picture of my parents' living room because it was absolutely loaded with big presents. Nana and Papa got the boys new chairs for their playroom table, hence the large boxes. They also got Cooper and Tyler each a Smart Cycle, which is essentially a video game that is powered by riding a stationary bike.

PJ, Cooper and Gabe Nathan and his new bath toysBIG presents
Trying out one of the new chairs

Gabie's new bus--he was SO excited about this

Tyler barely had one side of wrapping paper pulled back when he said, "It's my bike!" He was so excited. Seriously, he was so excited that when we told him we couldn't set it up until we got home, he said, "I want to go home now." And when he was supposed to be going to sleep that night, he was in his bed at 10:30 singing, "Bi-cysle, bi-cysle. I want to ride my bi-cysle, I want to ride my bike." (It's an old Queen song and he has a little trouble saying "bicyCle"). It came as no surprise when he bounded into our room the next morning saying the same thing. If I haven't made it clear yet, he really likes bikes.

"It's my bike! Yeah, woot woot!"

Trying out his new bike the following morning

Christmas was a lot of fun this year to say the least. We had so much fun trying to make Christmas special for the boys. I remember when I was younger, I couldn't conceive how giving could ever be better than receiving. Now that I'm a mom, I totally get it. Don't get me wrong--I love my new laptop and the other wonderful gifts we received from my parents and Tim's parents, but nothing can replace the expression of pure joy on my sons' faces. And now I realize that the joy of giving and love I felt this Christmas toward my boys can only be a fraction of what our Heavenly Father felt when he knew he was giving the world the greatest gift of all--Jesus.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

It's Christmas! - Part I

We had an early wake-up call Christmas morning, courtesy of Tyler Andrew. Our little mister was so excited that he came quietly into our room at 6:04, walked over to my side of the bed as he usually does, and whispered, "Mommy, it's Christmas! Us get to open presents!"

My groggy response was, "Yes, it is Christmas, but it's still dark outside, so it's not time to wake up yet."

By this point, Tim was already out of bed, picking up Tyler to take him back to his bed. Thankfully, we all fell back asleep fairly quickly, but it was Tyler who woke us up yet again at 7:40. This time, he woke up his brother, too, because I told him we couldn't open presents until Nathan was awake. Tyler's solution: talk loudly right outside their bedroom door.

We all walked downstairs together and when Tyler saw the mound of presents that had appeared overnight, he exclaimed, "Wow! Dare's yots!" (Translation: "Wow! There's lots!") As we assembled the pile the evening before, pulling out wrapped boxes that had been hidden all over the house, Tim and I realized how ridiculous the collection seemed for a family of only four (plus one furry family member). The thing is, so many kids' toys are just big in size and come in packaging that is oversized, cumbersome, and seemingly iron-clad when it comes to releasing the actual product. Plus, in the mix we also had all the presents from Grandma and Grandpapa Surface and the Yanskeys.

After trying to feed Nathan a little bit of breakfast to sustain him during the chaos that was about to ensue, we read the Christmas story from Tyler's Beginner's Bible, once again trying to remind Tyler about the true meaning of Christmas. Not sure it worked, but we'll keep at it as the boys get older.

As predicted, Tyler went crazy over every present he received. He wanted to play with each gift after unwrapping it, and we had to remind him that there were so many more to open. Nathan was content to play with a set of balls that were in his stocking the entire time. He seemed to enjoy just watching PJ, who went bonkers over his new squeaky toy, and Tyler, who was all over the place and got to help open Nathan's presents, too.

The best reaction from Tyler was when he finally received the green garbage truck he has been wanting since September. This was the one thing he said he wanted for Christmas, so when he was still pulling off the wrapping paper he said, "It's a geen garbage tuck! Me want dis! Me want dis geen garbage tuck!"

Nathan's favorite toy is the Sing-along Stage we got for him. Once we helped it escape from it's packaging, he sat there and played in front of it for almost 20 minutes. Tyler loves it, too, because it plays music that makes him want to dance.

The sing-along stage could also be called the dance-along stage.

PJ thinks there's a perfect napping spot in the middle of the train tracks.

Once we opened all the gifts and ate breakfast (baked blueberry french toast and a bacon and egg casserole), Tim and I basically spent the rest of the morning taking toys out of boxes and setting up Tyler's new wooden train tracks. We were exhausted by the time Tyler went down for his nap, and so was he. For the first time in a long time, he fell right to sleep at naptime. 'Twas a Christmas miracle indeed!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Tyler is obsessed with birthday parties right now. He keeps asking when his birthday party will be and it's probably a good thing he doesn't understand how long it will take for 6 months to pass. A couple weeks ago we told him that before we could celebrate his birthday, first it would be Jesus' birthday on Christmas Day. Well, he immediately launched into a line of questioning (misspellings are intentional and are meant to convey Tyler's dialect):

"Desus want to wear a birt-day hat?"
"Desus want to eat birt-day cake?"
"Desus want to bow out his birt-day candles?"

I responded to all of this with, "I think what Jesus really wants for his birthday is for us to love each other and for us to love him."

"Oh," said the 2-year-old who can't understand why anyone would want that when they could wear a birthday hat, blow out candles and eat cake!

After that conversation, I decided we would have a little birthday party for Jesus, so we had the celebration on Christmas Eve.

Tyler and I baked cupcakes and then he helped decorate them with sprinkles after I iced them with cream cheese frosting. I kept hearing, "I such a good helper?" throughout the entire process. He had so much fun deciding which sprinkles to use on each cupcake and he couldn't wait to have the party later that evening.

Counting the completed cupcakes Time for sprinkles

Tyler gobbling like the turkey on his apron

"Us made cupcakes!"

After dinner, we busted out the cupcakes and party hats, lit some candles and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. We lit 2 candles, one for each of the boys, knowing full well that only Tyler would be blowing them out. Nathan was happy to sit and watch the whole spectacle, and he didn't even protest a little when we put a hat on him at his brother's request. Of course, Nathan couldn't have any of the cupcakes, so he crawled around under the table with PJ, who waited for crumbs to fall from Tyler's section of the table.

Once we finished our cupcakes, we had the boys open their ornaments (we get one for them every year). Tyler was so excited to finally open a present after seeing a few under the tree for several weeks. Nathan just liked sticking the paper and ornament box in his mouth. Tyler's ornament was Lightning McQueen because he loves some "Yi-keen", as he pronounces it, and Nathan's was a little onesie on a hanger that has the Superman "S" logo on it because to us he really is a Superbaby.

Our little birthday party for Jesus was a great way to kick off our family Christmas celebration. With all the presents and distractions, it's sometimes hard to keep the focus on Jesus at this time of year, but this was a way to get the message across to Tyler in a manner that he could understand. I think it'll be one thing we continue in future years because Tyler enjoyed it so much, and hopefully Nathan will, too, as he gets older.

Boys in a Box

When Tim's Christmas present (a very fancy self-cleaning coffee and expresso maker--don't worry, he ordered it himself, so no surprises were spoiled just now) arrived last week, Tyler was so excited about the box in which it came. We actually kept it in his playroom for a couple days just because he enjoyed it so much. He wanted to eat his snacks in it and drive his tractors up the inside walls. Nana put Nathan in it one evening, and of course Tyler wanted to join his little brother, which presented a cute photo op.

Hugs

...and kisses

Here are just a few more photos from the past few days...

Every year at Christmas, I put out this little gold sleigh with a teddy bear named Mittens by the tree. Tyler has always liked Mittens, but he's showing even more interest in it this year. He has been taking Mittens and Monkey for sleigh rides all around the house. He requests to take naps with Mittens, and he even wanted to take the bear (and Monkey, of course) to church yesterday.

Just for fun, here's a photo of Tyler taken 2 years ago with this same sleigh and bear.

Nathan is getting up on his knees more and more. He's definitely trying to do the "real" crawl, but he always ends up reverting to the commando crawl when he sees something he really wants...

...like this dump truck. He's such a boy!

Little Crawler

Nathan started commando crawling while we were in Jeff City for Thanksgiving. Ever since, he's been getting faster and faster. This week he has been getting up on his knees and trying to push himself forward, but he usually face plants. Any day now he'll be doing the "real" crawl, but he can get anywhere he wants to go by basically dragging himself across the floor.

The things that entice Nathan the most, and therefore serve as his greatest motivators, are the Christmas tree, the gifts underneath the tree, and any toy that belongs to Tyler. He is already in love with trucks and trains, much to the dismay of big brother. Lately I've been hearing a lot of, "No, Nathan! Dat's mine!"

This video is from last week, and although he's not doing a lot of crawling in it, it shows his fascination with Christmas presents. I guess next week we'll get to see what he does with a present when he's actually allowed to tear into it!

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Jingle Bells

"Jingle Bells" is Tyler's favorite holiday tune, and he particularly loves the version that Amy Grant sings because it's really fast. He wants to listen to it over and over so he can dance to it. In this video, you'll notice that he sings the "ha ha" line and the very last two syllables ("pen sleigh", as in "open sleigh"). You'll want to turn up the volume so you can hear the song playing.

Warning: You may feel dizzy while watching him spin and dance around. Once the song is over, he immediately says, "I want to sing jingle dem bells en-again". (He always pronounces "again" as "en-again".) Then he asks, "What button we push?", so we can replay it. Like I said, he can't get enough of this song.

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Tree Photos

I took these photos 2 weeks ago. I wanted to take some pictures of the boys in front of the tree since we hadn't yet. Tyler, who usually won't sit still for a photo op, was being so sweet to sit next to Nathan.

This photo was taken earlier in the day. Nathan likes to chew on his spoon after he finishes eating in his highchair.

You wouldn't know it by looking at these, but Tyler was having "one of those days" this particular day. He actually was having one of those weeks the first week of December. We experienced breakdown after breakdown for several days in a row. It was awful. At one point Tim asked me, "Are we bad parents?" because we couldn't figure out what Tyler wanted. He would wake up in the morning and cry about anything and everything for over an hour. Everything we tried to do to help him only resulted in more fits. It seemed like we were fighting with him all day long.

I can't say for sure, but I think the reason he might have been acting this way was because he was hungry. The problem was that he'd get to the point that he was almost belligerent, so even when I offered him food, he would run screaming down the hall, "NOOOOOOO!" We started giving him a bedtime snack a week and a half ago, and he has been much better. He's still 2-years-old, so some meltdowns are to be expected, but he's been a lot happier ever since. He wakes up happy and is much more even keel throughout the day. As I told my mom today, I think the Lord gave me a moment of clarity in the midst of my frustration to see what I could do to help Tyler. And it was just in time--I think he and I both were about to go crazy!