And he's off!

Yesterday was a very exciting day around here. Our regular Early Intervention therapist came back from some time off and apparently tyler was in the mood to show off. Sharron had to wake him up from his nap which is usually a recipe for a pretty grumpy session. Not the case yesterday. We got 3 or 4 sets of 2-4 unsupported steps out of him. This is really new, so new that neither Sharron or I had seen more than one or two unsupported steps from him so far.

This is the 3rd or 4th try at getting him on tape, and not a very good angle, but who cares? he's walking! Apparently the only items Tyler deems important enough to actually walk for are the remote control and a cell-phone.

Rachel is just loving school. If she had her way she'd go 7 days a week. Every time I ask her what she did at school that day the answer is always the same, huge smile and "PLAY". Everything else fits in to the no news is good news category.

Bet you didn't expect this!

So, I've been letting Tyler explore outside. He's been crawling and cruising around the playground and the chairs and such having a good time. Today, he found the stairs to the playground. No hesitation, he just started up on them. He was half way up the first time before I noticed him climbing. Talk about heart stopper. In all he went up four times before I called it quits for the day. He was not happy to go inside this evening. (Sorry the video is sideways, sometimes Ben forgets that video has to go the other way. He may be able to fix it later.)

He can stand!

To give you an idea on how strong Tyler is, watch this video. He is easily pushing his big sister around in a wooden carriage. And he loves it. This week he has taken many great "risks" and can now stand unassisted for a few minutes while playing with a toy. He has even flirted with trying to take his first step. I don't think it will be too much longer before he walks.



We are keeping busy with normal kid stuff these days. He is a normal kid with a big personality. At his 15 month wellness check a couple of weeks ago, he weighed in at 21 1/2 pounds. I'm just waiting for our normal therapist to come back and a talk with neonatology later this month to find out if they have any prefaces on when to turn his car seat. His feet are starting to look scrunched up and he's fussy now when we are in the car too long. For the most part we are enjoy the weather outside and doing activities. Just watching him grow like he should and like any proud anxious parent, waiting for that true first step.

August 2009 Penguin Shot

Fresh off the camera, penguin shots from this morning! Tyler is doing great. There really isn't a lot to say otherwise. We are having a full and fun summer playing and eating. He loves his food. He is pushing his wagon quite well now. Steering is a little difficult but everyday he gets more confidence with it. His award winning smile now shows off his teeth. Three the last time I dared to count. I think we had the shortest eye doctor visit in history. In and out in 15 minutes. His eyes look great, the wonder is getting better. He could still need the muscle surgery, but that is way off the schedule. Tyler goes in for his 15 month check up next week so I'll post the growth stats then.

The biggest news I can think of is Tyler was moved out of our room finally this week and into Rachel's room. Seems to be alright so far. Rachel thinks it's great her brother is "sleeping over" in her room.

We did go to the beach this summer. It was very busy. We had beautiful weather just about everyday. By the end of the week the kids where done and wanted to go home. Tyler did spend some time in the sand, he preferred to eat it than build in it. He also loved spending time in the kiddie pool. It was hard to get him out of the water.


Tyler is getting very confident walking behind his wagon. I don't think it will be long before he's off on his own. Can you believe about 5 months ago we were having a hard time getting him to sit up on his own.
This is the most infection laugh I think I've ever heard. His sister can get him to laugh this way at the drop of a hat.

He's Crawling!

One fast little boy! He's mastered crawling in the last two weeks. We are exhausted from chasing after him. He doesn't listen to "No" unlike Rachel did that this point. It's not because he doesn't understand, it's he doesn't care to listen. So we have been trying feverishly to child proof this house and he keeps showing us new whys where it isn't. Over the last two weeks we've seen him start to wave (I haven't been able to get that on video yet). We can hear "hello" and "bye bye" when he is waving. The other word we've noticed is "ball". He likes to shoot up an arm with a ball in it and loudly announce "Ballllllllllll". (again I haven't caught this on video yet).

As you can see by the pictures, he likes to get under the table and whack his head repeatedly and then start screaming for me to get him out. He hasn't read the memo that my back can't do that easily.




Rachel is sorta dealing with all this. She is a little upset that he comes over into what she has set up to play with thinking it was just out of reach from him. We've had a couple of green days, where we can tell she is punishing us for Tyler's actions.

More Peek a Boo

I couldn't resist uploading this video. Tyler adores his sister and Rachel is rather fond of her brother. I wonder how long that will last? As you can see they are doing great!

Finally some Summer Pictures

Today it was another beautiful day and the kids could go out and play. Tyler seems to like to play in the pond as well.