Minnesota Trip June 2011

We went back to MN for some lake time before I went back to work. We all had fun swimming, fishing and hanging with the family. Tyler got to meet Aunt Sue and cousins Charlie and Sam for the first time.

Spring Fair

We went to a kid's fair this weekend with the boys. Gaven enjoyed the train, petting zoo, and reptile guy. He was a bit nervous once daddy put the snake around his neck. He also wanted nothing to do with the balloon clown or bouncy castle. Tyler napped the whole time. I'm sure he'll get more out of it next year.

Tyler's First Month

Tyler is now 6 weeks old! Outside of still being slightly yellow (delayed clearance of his bilirubin but nothing concerning), he's doing wonderfully. He seems to be a big eater - already eating twice as much as Gaven did at this stage. He's a pretty chill baby, only fussing when hungry or during diapers changes and baths. Since he loves to eat, I'm not getting a ton of sleep but we are managing to catch some naps during the weekdays. We were lucky to have grandparents here for a total of two weeks. It was so nice to have help with dinner, holding the baby and entertaining Gaven. Grandpa John even changed his first poopy diaper - Gaven broke him in!

Gaven is such an amazing big brother. He's always asking to touch and hold baby Tyler and is extremely gentle with him. He continues to amaze us with his growing vocabulary and expanding imagination. He now "reads" us books that he's essentially memorized. He graduates to the preschool room at school at the end of this month. He's a sweet, energetic and loveable boy. As his teachers also say, he's extremely proud of pooping in the potty (he's a proud member of the underwear club for the last 5 months).

Gaven and Tyler first meet (video)

Gaven met "baby Tyler" for the first time at the hospital. He did so well holding him. He was extremely gentle and loving.

Welcome Tyler John

Tyler John joined us 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Despite being early, he weighed a healthy 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. Since he was one day before 37 weeks, he is considered premature and therefore we had few extra precautions in the hospital. He also had to be under phototherapy for one night. Big brother Gaven has done extremely well with Tyler. He's very interested in helping care for him and is always holding his hand. I'm sure the two of them will be fast buds once Tyler is able to participate more.

Quick recap

Wow, hard to believe I haven't posted since Gaven's birthday. A quick update since then; Gaven is now a member of the "underwear club", his vocab keeps expanding and he'll be starting preschool after Easter. He's growing up so fast. His main obsession continues to be all kinds of trucks and the people who drive them. I find myself pointing out garbage trucks, fire trucks, etc. in the car alone sometimes. We are very lucky to have such a sweet, happy little guy.

We traveled to Palm Springs to visit my parents for our last trip before the baby. Gaven loved the plane ride and had his own seat for the first time. Cousin Lori also came to visit. The two of us, 34 and 32 weeks pregnant, took Rob out for a wild and crazy birthday.

Gaven Turns Two

Gaven had three birthday parties this year. He especially liked singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles (video). He also enjoyed his birthday dinner which included macaroni cupcakes (the kid would eat macaroni every day if given the choice). For his 2 year check up, he was in the 83% for height and >90% for weight and head circumfrence. We have also been very impressed with the explosion of his vocabulary. He now uses 3-5 word sentences. A recent favorite: "Gaven farted from the mouth" when describing a burp. He keeps us laughing.