Weekend Away & Long Overdue Photo Shoot

Week 47

Last Friday started week 47 with a busy weekend.  I was finishing my term as the Vice President for Pine Tree Academy's alumni.  It was alumni weekend.  I headed over to Maine a bit early in the afternoon, while Shannon watched Ty until Heath got home.  I had to hit my favorite Salvation Army in Portland that I never get to go to - but it ended up being a bit disappointing.  Then I rushed to the school and helped decorate and set up for the weekend.  We had a bonfire on Friday night and had a good turn out.  After we (Janel Tyson, Brendan Krueger, Erik Pelton and I) finished decorating, I booked it to Effingham to the Edwards' house.  I didn't get there until about 11:30 PM and I was beat.  My little buddy had had a terrible time getting to sleep without me and that made me feel horrible.  But, of course, he was dead to the world when I got home.  It was a bit of a short night that night.

Last Sabbath we got up as early as we could with Ty, packed up, and headed back to Freeport.  Before we got there, we had to do an alumni errand and pick up 84 balloons at Shaws (which I had paid for the day before).  We had to make 2 trips to fit all the balloons - but we made it with only popping one balloon!  Ty slept through the whole thing, but I expected him to wake up, open his eyes and see nothing but balloons all around him and get scared!  But he didn't!  Then we had church and I had to speak twice in front of everyone, which I hate - but it went OK.  Ty did great during the long service, but Heath took him out for the last 15 minutes or so.  After church, we had haystacks at the school and Ty did his best to pull off the entire tablecloth - but we stopped him in time!  After lunch, we went to our motel in Brunswick to take a snoozer.  We were hoping Ty would sleep awhile.   He slept as soon as he got in the car, and we layed him on the bed at the motel - but he awoke after 30 minutes, of course.  I wanted to sleep longer than that!  Heath and I laid in the bed with Ty between us and he played around by himself.  But then he kept trying to climb over us and off the bed... so the nap didn't last long!  I was psyched about the place we stayed at.  It was the Parkway Inn and it was $109 per night on every travel website (Expedia, Travelocity etc), but I did "name your own price" on Priceline and got it for $60!  I was so excited and it was a really nice place, too.  So after we chilled out, we headed back to the school for vespers and an alumni meeting.  I officially declined the Presidency of the alumni, which I was supposed to take, after being the Vice President.  It is just too much - I'm too busy and can't give it the time that it needs.  With that weight off of my shoulders, I watched some of the alumni basketball game and Heath and Ty headed up LL Beans.  Then we retired to our room and crashed!

Crashed for his 30 minute nap

Rearin' to go after his power nap

See Heath sleeping in the background!

Playing with toys while I was trying to sleep!

Ty desperately trying to crawl off the bed!

Last Sunday we had a big shopping day planned.  We never get to Portland, so we decided to take advantage of it!  We met the Edwards' and went to Mardens, Cabelas, Goodwill, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's.  We went out to Macaroni Grill (our favorite) for lunch in the middle of all of that fun!  Ty is such a trouper.  He really does like to go shopping, because he loves to sit in the cart and look around at everything. Then at Trader Joe's, Grampie had him stand up in the cart and he thought that he was the king of the world!  By the time we were done with all of this, it was late!!!  We didn't get back to the Edwards' until about 9:00 PM and we were beat.  We had to go back there because the puppies were there.  I talked Heath into staying overnight there, since we had 2 vehicles and then I got to watch the Patriots game that Adam had taped for me.  They beat the Chargers and it was a good game!

Getting ready for our day of shopping!

Dangerous, I know... it didn't last long!

Last Monday Ty and I packed up at the Edwards and headed home.  Then the rest of the day consisted of unpacking and doing what else... couponing!  We got some deals but it was a pretty slow week.

Last Tuesday we went with Shannon and my mother to Conway for Shannon's doctor's appointment.  Shannon is still 1 cm dilated but her cervix has softened even more.  Her OB thinks that it will happen within a couple of weeks, but who knows?  She is more than ready right now, that is for sure!  Ty, mom & I hung out in the waiting room while Shannon was in her appointment and Ty had a great time getting into a bunch of mischief!  After the appointment, we went to Thai for lunch and then to the Christmas Tree Shop.  Then we headed on home.

Waiting for her appointment...

Whoa...baby...

One of the things Ty did to keep himself entertained... opening and closing his wipe container!

Then he moved to the pamphlets - look at him putting his hand underneath to try to get them!

Outside the hospital with Noni

Last Wednesday I worked and Ty had another good day with Noni, despite a new bruise.  He had pitched forward and hit his chin on a toy - this boy gets his war wounds everyday because he doesn't stop!  After work, I headed to my dumpsters to see how many inserts I would really get if I went weekly.  But both of them had been just emptied and there was no way that I would have been able to get out of it - so I left empty-handed. )=

Last Thursday I seriously do not remember anything that we did... except that I actually took a bunch of pictures!  Then we headed out as usual and we went to the OG with my parents.  We did a few errands and that was that.  A busy week again.

Loves his technology!

This how I find him after his naps and during the night!

He is filling out a bit!

This is a frequent experience!  Ty holding onto my legs for dear life!

Getting into mischief at the OG with Noni

Puff Eating, Opening Doors, Corn & Pats Frenzy

Week 46

Week 46 was a good one.  Tyson figured out how to put his puffs in his mouth!  Well, he is about 80% effective!  The unfortunate part is that he tends to use his right hand a lot more and hits his mouth with better accuracy with the right.  I was really hoping he would be a leftie, but I guess we'll find out for sure later on...  The other good news is that Tyson has really improved with his textured food.  I got this special textured baby food by Beech-nut and he has not vomited in a long time!  That is a major improvement!

Last Friday, I don't remember too much except that I'm sure Shannon came over for a visit.  Oh yeah, I do remember... at least on Friday afternoon, I started to put together a patio set that we had gotten on clearance at Lowe's.  Ty had a great time with all the packaging - he tore it up!  Then I could not believe what happened.  He figured out how to open the screen door from the outside and crawled into the house!  Then I tested him and brought him inside and he opened the door from the inside and crawled onto the deck!  What a smartie pants!  But that meant I had to stop keeping the door open during the day like I tend to, since Ty could take off on me!

Packaging fun...

Crawling in...

Crawling out too!

Last Sabbath, I had to work and Heath & Ty went to the Edwards to see Heath's biological grandfather, Gerry.  He was up visiting from South Carolina.  They had a BBQ at The Edwards' house.  Sonia gave Ty some corn to suck on and he went crazy!  He loved it and dug right in!  He had corn all over his face!  Sonia sent me some pictures so I didn't have to miss out on seeing that!  After work, I went for my first dumpster dive for coupons.  The only place in NH that has the paper-only dumpsters are in Manchester and Nashua.  I went to 5 different dumpsters, but most of them were nearly empty.  I actually went into one and found a TON of Sunday papers - but there was not 1 coupon insert in any of the papers.  So after 2 hours and 5 dumpsters later and empty-handed, I went home.  Well, I didn't go home without something... and that was a HUGE bruise on the back of my arm that I got when I was getting out of the dumpster.

Lovin' the corn!

You probably can't see it, but it's all over his face!

Last Sunday, I worked again and came home to find my mother at home, after delivering a hutch to us that was my grandmother, Mimi's.  It is a gorgeous piece that matches our woodwork perfectly.  I have been looking for one for awhile to replace a 10 year-old Baker's rack, but to have this wonderful hutch that belonged to my grandmother - just means so much more.

Last Monday, we did our normal couponing and got some killer deals.  I had one of my best weeks to date.  I got $52.53 worth of things for $8.41 at CVS, including body wash for $0.24 and 12 packs of Diet Coke for $2.50 each.  Then I totally cleaned house at Walgreens where I got $53.30 worth of stuff and they PAID ME $5.84!!!!  I got free Dawn dishwashing soap and free toothpaste!  Ty had a blast going through each bag when I lugged them all in.  On Monday night, was the Patriots first game and we had my parents over for the occasion.  It was Sean & Shannon's 1st year anniversary, so they had their own plans.  Tyson was able to stay up and "watch" a bit of the game before he went to bed.  He really didn't watch it, he was just going from person to person and playing with his toys.  But occasionally, he would look up at the TV and then for some weird reason... he started going berserk!  He kept pointing at the TV and yelling his jibberish very intently with such emphasis!  This went on for about 15 minutes - we were rolling on the floor laughing - he was such a crazy guy.  

Looking through our loot

Bad hair day for me... but here we are in our Patriot gear!

Last Tuesday, it was D-day for me.  I had a dentist appointment.  The most hated thing that I have to do.  My mom watched Ty for me, so I could go.  I was 6 months overdue and I really couldn't put it off any longer.  I was sure that I had a cavity, but I didn't.  However, it wasn't all good news.  My Type A anxious personality has come to bite me in the butt (literally).  The pain that I was having is from me grinding my teeth down to nothing!  OK, it's not that bad, but it's what will eventually happen if I don't stop!  I wear a mouth guard at night but it's not like I can wear one during the day...  I'm trying to make a conscious effort to be aware when I'm doing it, so we'll see...  After the dentist, Mom, Ty & I hit up a local thrift store that I had never been to.  It was a bit pricey, but had some nice things.  Talk about nice things.  When we got home, we had a box waiting for us.  My friend, Sue (former co-worker who moved to Connecticut) had found these beautiful wooden puzzles at a yard sale and sent them to us.  Ty loved them immediately and had so much fun taking out all the pieces.  Of course it will be awhile before he can put them back in!  One wicked cute thing I have to tell you about.  On Tuesday night, Ty was having a difficult time going to sleep (nothing new here) and Heath was taking a turn trying to get him to sleep.  I walked in Ty's room to check on the progress and saw the cutest thing.  Heath was lying on the floor beside Ty's crib completely asleep and Ty was completely awake and standing up in his crib, looking at his dad sleeping on the floor!

Enjoying his new puzzles

"Talking" to the puzzles

On Wednesday, I worked and Ty had a great day, despite a new bruise that he got.  He was crawling underneath the table and hit his forehead on the table when he was getting picked up.  I've done it before, but he hit a bit harder this time.  And in true Ty form, he did not cry at all.  Don't ask me why he doesn't cry when he really hurts himself but is a basket of tears with the stupid things?  Wednesday after work, I decided to try 4 more dumpsters in a better area of town.  And I lucked out with my first two and cleaned house.  I never counted them all, but I must have gotten about 25 inserts.  I also got a fresh, ginormous bruise on the back of my thigh.  I really need to work on how to get in and out them more gracefully.

Last Thursday, I don't remember much...I usually remember what we do a lot by the pictures I take, but I haven't been taking a lot lately.  I've got to do better!!!  All I remember is that Heath, Ty & I went to the OG alone (my dad was on-call and Shannon & Sean had other dinner plans).  We had a good time and Ty utilized his new skill of eating his puffs to keep him busy during the meal.  It really does help!

Have a good week!

With his two favorite toys, my keys & cell phone

The drawers to the hutch were too much of a temptation!  He had to climb in!

Lovin' on another favorite - the dishwasher!

Trying to get a picture of the two of us together...

Still trying...

Night Away, First Camping Trip & Still Bullying

Week 45

Friday started week 45 off with a big sigh of relief that the appraisal was done.  Here it is a week later and we have heard NO information from Quicken Loans or the appraiser.  But anyways, I had a new thing to stress me out on Friday... and that was Tyson spending his first night away from me!!!!  I had to work all of Labor Day weekend (including Monday), so I encouraged Heath and Ty to go camping with his family.  Why I encouraged that, I don't know... because I was so worried about missing him.  And it wasn't going to be just one night away, but 3 nights away!  So Friday consisted of me packing Ty's food/clothes/gear for his 3 night camping trip, while Heath did the brakes on his truck so he could get it inspected, so they could take the canoe.  The brakes took him a bit longer than he anticipated... they were supposed to leave at 3 PM but at 8 PM when they weren't still weren't out the door, they decided to leave in the morning.  As scared as I was of missing Ty, I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get Friday night all to myself!  But say-la-vee....

Sabbath I worked and the boys left.  I got home to an empty, silent house (since the puppies went camping too).  It was sad, but I was psyched to get a phone call from Heath.  I wasn't expecting it, since they were camping in the very most northern part of NH with no cell phone service.  Well, he was able to call because all of them (Heath, Adam & his parents) all forgot their pillows.  They went to the nearest town to buy them at the dollar store and had service there.  It was great to hear from him and to hear that Ty was having the time of his life.  Heath kept him in his PJ's all day and he crawled all over the campsite in his long-sleeved sleeper, which became filthy.  Heath told me that Ty got his first black and blue on his forehead.  He had been out of my care for less than 24 hours and already was maimed!!!!  He had been crawling on the air mattress and took a header off the side of it.  It didn't seem like a big deal and he didn't even cry, but there must have been a rock under neathe the tent floor that got him in the head.  But he was a trouper and just having a great time!

Their camp site right on the lake

Helping Uncle Adam pump up the air mattress

Just before taking the header...

The sleeping arrangements

I love this picture like they are having a real conversation!

The way they kept Ty in one spot

Loving his special space!

Ty getting a bit of a treat!

Sunday I worked again and then took advantage of being home alone and hit the pharmacies for couponing on my way home.  That made for a long, tiring night but it was worth it by getting free mouthwash, deoderant, and contact solution!  When I got home, I was shocked to get another call from Heath.  They were on their way home!  Up in northern NH they were getting severe weather, thunderstorms, wind and hail and it was going to pour all night, so they high-tailed it out of there!  I felt bad that they had to cut their trip short, but I was psyched to, at least, set eyes on Ty!  He was asleep, of course, but I was so excited to pick him up and put him in his bed!!!  Great ending to the day.

Monday, Labor Day, I went back to work.  Three 12 hour shifts in a row?  I am not used to that at all, but it was summer requirement, so I had no choice.  Unfortunately, I worked 9a-9p on Monday and Ty was asleep when I got home.  )=

Tuesday I couldn't wait to wake up and see Ty!  It had been 3 full days since I had seen him awake!  I got quite the smile when he saw me for the first time!  I think he missed me too!  We went to the library group in the morning and, unfortunately, they weren't having it that day!  But we stayed for about an hour and Ty had fun playing with all the toys there.  Then we hit up the Goodwill and headed home.  The rest of the day consisted of me unpacking the boy's camping supplies.  One of the things that Ty did for the first time was climbed INTO the dishwasher while I was loading it.  Are you kidding me?  What is it with him and the dishwasher?

Library play time

Trying to play with 2 things at the same time

Wednesday I didn't have to work!  Since I worked on Monday, I was in the clear!  We didn't do anything earth-shattering but Shannon came over in the afternoon.  Something ridiculous happened when she got here. Shannon was sitting on the chair in the family room and Ty crawled over, stood up, and starting sucking on her big toe!  This is not Ty's first toe-sucking, so it is causing me to scratch my head a bit.  I put Tyson in his walker for the first time in about a month on Wednesday and he walked forward!!!!  I'm sure he had this skill for awhile, but I just never put him in his walker anymore because he hates it.  Any type of restraint is a major problem for a kid on the move like him!

Right after sucking on the toe!

Finally figured the walker out!

Very excited that Daddy was home

Thursday was a busy day.  Ty and I drove up to Conway to have an appointment with some church ladies about a certain baby shower that will be thrown soon (it's not a surprise).  Ty was a good boy and slept the whole way there.  When we were having the meeting, our friend, Stephanie, brought her 7 month daughter along.  Tyson went crazy when he saw her, but in a bad way.  He scared her to death with his squealing and his constant grabbing/pulling at her.  I don't know what to do about this situation.  Obviously I didn't let him get to her the rest of the time, but it was hard.  I have to say that the first thing he did when he saw her was grab her foot.  It is official.  He has a foot fetish!  After the meeting, we rushed back and headed out to the mexican restaurant with my parents and Shannon & Sean for my late birthday.  We had a great time and I was thoroughly embarrassed when they brought a huge sombrero for me to wear.  Ty was a bit scared by it actually.  Poor buddy crashed on the way home and was out like a light!

Beating up on little Brooke )=

On the way home, he was so cute & pensive looking out of the window

Just slightly embarrassed

Exhausted after the busy day

Have a great week - sorry such a late post!    

Fun times with Noni

One of his favorite past times - clearing off the end table, including my Ipad

Loving his technology

Showing off his new trick - bouncing his ball

Noni kissing his toes

Lounging on the couch