Tyler's Big Day

Last Sunday we went to Eau Claire and had Tyler baptized at the church I grew up in. It's also the church that Carl and I went to together while we were in college, and his Great Grandpa was actually a pastor there at one point.

Carl's Grandpa baptized Tyler, which was pretty special to begin with. But many years ago, Carl's grandpa was baptized there by his own dad. I didn't know that until we were there, but I think it's pretty cool.



We reserved the Fireside room at the church and baptized him there with just our families after church that morning. By the time we all ate lunch and got to the baptizing part, Tyler was WAY past nap time, but he managed to hold it together. He was super squirmy while we were standing up there and got a little feisty after his head got dunked, but he did a great job. After his head got dunked and Grandpa Dave was tryng to put his hand on Tyler's head, Tyler grabbed his hand and pushed it off of his head! 

Did That Just Happen?

I know that November started, because on November 1 I had a horrible, excruciating dentist appointment. (That might be a little dramatic, but I really don't like the dentist and I had a three hour appointment that day.) But the rest of the month has flown by in a complete blur, with so much happening that I can hardly remember it all. I think the month can be summed up with one word. TRAVEL! I feel like we have been all over the place. It started with my friend Sarah's wedding in Appleton, WI. I had the privilege of being the Maid of Honor in her wedding. It was so much fun to be a part of her day. The wedding was beautiful, Sarah was beautiful, she married a great guy, and we all had a great time. Congratulations Matt and Sarah!



Roommate Picture!

I have lots more to add from my crazy month of November, so there will be several more posts to follow!

Trick or Treat?

I'm not a big Halloween fan, but I do love all the cute little costumes, carving pumpkins, and the excuse to buy a whole bag of tiny boxes of nerds.

This year, for Tyler's first Halloween, I found him a costume (still in the package) for 25 cents at a garage sale back in May. Score! Since he's a little on the tall side, it was a little small for him, but I was determined to make it work. He wasn't going to wear it that long anyway.

Every year at Carl's work they open the building up to families of the employees to come and trick or treat. So even though Tyler isn't exactly ready for candy, it was a great excuse to go visit Carl at work. He enjoyed chewing on a Milky Way, still in the wrapper while we walked around.

On Saturday we went to the Minnetonka Orchards to begin our search for the perfect pumpkins. We went on a hay ride, looked at farm animals, ate delicious apple donuts, drank hot cider and went through a corn maze. Super fun! Tyler slept through the corn maze, but after that he woke up and really liked it!

Then finally, on Monday, we carved our pumpkins. The only difference this year was that a third member was added to our little pumpkin family (and ours!).

Our sweet little bee

Playing with pumpkin guts!

The finished products

Calm down everyone, I was ducked down
behind him. He wasn't going to fall!



I Laugh In the Face of Danger!

If Tyler could talk, I'm pretty sure that would be his motto. I think my most commonly used phrases these days are, "Be careful Tyler," and "That's not safe!"  To which he always responds by laughing and continuing on.

These are Tyler's top 3 favorite activities:

1. Climbing on whatever he happens to be leaning on.

2. Pulling himself up to whatever he is next to. His favorite place to stand up is in his crib. He likes leaning against the rail and bouncing. Usually without holding on. His other favorite is the coffee table where he moves along the edge, banging on it and throwing things on the floor.

3. Riding on Carl's shoulders. Without holding on.

4. Hanging upside down.

5. If none of those options are available, he will look for the least safe thing in the room and gravitate towards it.

Notice a trend? He also enjoys climbing over the front of his new rocking toy, and dipping his face in the bathtub water. He's not even fully crawling or walking yet (although he can get anywhere he wants quickly with his mad army crawl skills) and I already can't leave him alone for a second. Yesterday I was in the bathroom putting make-up on for a few minutes and could hear him playing the whole time. But when I came out he had moved all the way across the room and was standing up at the entertainment center, holding onto his walker with one hand and reaching for TV buttons with the other. I have a feeling that I will never be bored chasing this child around.   :-)

Welcome to a day in the life of Tyler!

Photo Shoot!

These are a few of the best from Tyler's 6 month photos a few weeks ago. Ok, I'm going to get a little carried away and post too many because I just can't narrow them down. I love that little guy...

Kansas, Round 2

Tyler and I got to go on our second trip to Kansas last week. We (and by we, I mean my mom) found and amazing price for a flight and when I told Carl, he said, "Book it!" So we did. Tyler did great on our first trip, but this time he's older and doesn't ever sit still, so I wasn't sure how it would go. But he was amazing on both flights. Even when we were stuck on the runway for almost an hour and a half before our flight home! (Whew!) He was a little charmer in the airport and on the plane before take off, soaking up all the attention he was getting. But both ways, he fell asleep right before take off and slept through the whole flight. I could not have asked for him to do better - such an answer to prayer!

It was so much fun spending time with my parents and sister for the week. It's sad that they live so far away, so I'm really thankful for the number of times we've gotten to see them in the last few months!

Tyler got to experience quite a few new and exciting things while we were there.

Watching the chef with knives and fire at the Hibachi Restaurant

 Riding a car at the park

 He even got to help Grandpa speak at his very first Nav Night!

Hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma

 Getting ready to say good bye to Emma at the airport

Goodbye Kansas! We will miss you!

New Family Favorite

We went to Minnehaha Falls yesterday with Carl's cousins. This is my absolute favorite picture of the day. Love it!