One More Birthday

We couldn't just skip his actual Birthday, so even though Tyler's party was over, we decided to have one more fun day with just the three of us. We picked Carl up from work early yesterday afternoon and headed to the Mall of America to take Tyler on his first rides. We really just planned on a couple, like the carousel and ferris wheel, but some random person gave us his full day pass. He hadn't realized he didn't need it to chaperone his son on rides. So Tyler had a blast going on quite a few different rides.

He loved being up so high!

Riding his bunny.

Train Ride!

 

This was by far his favorite. He could not stop smiling. It was so cute watching him go by laughing every time. He's been talking about the "hot balloons" all day.  :-)

 

It was a very fun way to celebrate our sweet little boy as a family. I really can't believe that he's two already. The time has completely flown by. He amazes me every day with the new words he's saying, the new things he's doing, and as usual, the less than safe stunts he tries to pull.

 

At two years old, Tyler is talking non-stop. His speech is becoming clearer every day. He's even talking in sentences! It's so fun to be able to have little conversations with him. He loves to do anything that we do. But one of his favorites is to work like Daddy. He got a little work bench from Uncle Matt and Aunt Janelle for Christmas, and for his Birthday he got some more tools to go with it from Aunt Emma. He loves them. He is constantly fixing things. I'm finding toy nails and hammers and screwdrivers all over the house. I had no idea how many things were broken until he started fixing them all. Apparently we have broken doors, broken pillows, broken books, broken beds, broken toys... You name it, and it probably needs to be fixed. The other day when he woke up he told me he needed to go to work. I asked him what he does at work and he quickly said, "Hammer screws."

 

One of the things I love most about Tyler is how loving and sweet he is. He is always looking out for me and it melts my heart. If he hears me say "Ow", sees me get hurt, or I so much as bump my hand on a pillow and he sees it, he comes running to kiss it better for me, saying, "Mommy better." Sometimes I don't even realize I bumped something, but he kisses it better so I guess I must have. One of the many reasons I know he's going to be a fantastic big brother. :-)  He also loves big cozy hugs. In fact, I can even bribe him with them. He is only sort of loving swimming lessons - he loves the water, but hates being on his back, and he is not a fan of the water temperature. So oddly enough, I actually had to try to convince him to jump in the water last time. The only way I could get him to practice it, was to tell him he could have a big, cozy, snuggly hug if he jumped to me. So he would jump in and then immediately ask for his cozy hug. It was pretty cute.

 

At Tyler's two year check-up on Monday we found out that he has moved all the way up to the 10th percentile for weight, and 30th for height. Growing boy! :-) He was happy to show the doctor how he can jump (all around the room, over and over again), and tell her about the foods he likes. When she left the room he told her, "Bye Sweetie." This boy cracks me up!

 

Tyler, I love you. More than you will ever know! You are funny, kind, sweet and spunky, all mixed into a crazy little ball of energy and adventure. You make us laugh all the time. There is nothing I love more than when you say, "I love you, Mommy" or give me a great big hug. We are so blessed to be your parents and to get to watch you grow up. We are so proud of the little boy that you are and we can't wait to see what you're going to do next.  :-)  Happy Birthday Tyler!