A Little Thursday Cuteness

Allison (on the very HOT walk to the bus stop to pick up Tyler):  I wish our feet was a rocket!  (In other words, it's too bad we can't get this over with a bit more quickly!)

Tyler (after overhearing me ask Billy a question about the iPad):

Mommy, iPad NEVER dies!  I've heard about it on T.V.

P.E. Day

While discussing Tyler's day with Daddy at dinner tonight...

Me:  Tyler had P.E. today.
Billy: Oh really?
Tyler: Yeah!  I went to the gym.  And they said P.E. stands for Physical Evalation!

Cute boy!

Keep scrolling to read all about his first day!

Tales of Kindergarten - Part I

Mom was in denial.  Dad was anxious.  But Tyler couldn't wait for his first day of school!

It all began last Thursday with Open House where Tyler got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Price. 

He enjoyed looking around his classroom, and sitting at his spot at the table.  Everything was marked with William instead of Tyler (that's what happens when you call your child by their middle name), but Tyler wasted no time in correcting the problem. 

See that pen in his hand?  Well, after snapping that picture, I starting filling out some paperwork.  Then I look up a few minutes later to see "TYLER" being squeezed between his first and last name.  So ingenious of him!  (Too bad I didn't take a picture of it, though.  How very unblogger-like of me!)

After that day, the countdown began!  As each day passed, Tyler would wake up and report the progress.  On Sunday morning, he woke up and exclaimed, "Today is church, and then tomorrow is my first day of school!"  Upon waking him Monday morning, his immediate concern was that they might start without him.  I assured him that we had plenty of time and that I was certain they wouldn't start without him.  He was so anxious and excited that he almost shivered right out of his skin.  After a while of complaining that he was cold, I explained that his body was shaking a lot because it was just SO excited.  (He was very surprised by this answer, and later that day had to tell his Aunt Kandee about it.)

My sleepy-eyed boy trying hard to eat breakfast with a VERY anxious tummy!

After he finished his breakfast, we took his picture all decked out in his new outfit, shoes, and backpack.

 

Is he adorable or what?!

Then we all loaded up in the car and headed to school!

Leading the way!

Of course I had to take as many pictures as possible...

Outside his classroom.

Locating his cubby.

and got one more with Mrs. Price for good measure.  (I was standing in the doorway while Tyler unpacked his things and was waiting for him to come back over so I could say goodbye.  I must have looked like a poor, helpless soul, because Mrs. Price brought him over and said, "Tyler, I see your mom still standing over there, so she must want a picture of us."  Well, of COURSE I did!  :) 

I knew he was going to be just fine and that he would have a fabulous day, but that didn't make it any easier to walk away from him for the first time like that.  But I did it (so Mrs. Price wouldn't get completely irritated with me...haha), and I didn't even shed a tear!  I sure miss my little man, but I know it's going to be a great year.  It's a good thing I have Allison and Ryan to keep me busy during the day!

Tyler was grinning from ear to ear when he got off the bus...

It turned out to be a SUPER fun day!

FREE is hard to come by...

Me (after enjoying a free Roly Poly sandwich):  Man, that was good.  Especially since it was free!  I wonder how many people just threw those free sandwiches in the trash.
Tyler:  They threw sandwiches in the trash?!
Me:  Well, they threw the coupon in the trash.  I had a coupon that gave me a free sandwich, and I bet lots of people threw the coupon away.  But I got to have mine for FREE!  Can you believe it???
Tyler: *gasp* No!  I've seen NOTHING for free!!!

A Bigger Family Tree

Tyler was explaining to Allison that he was going to marry his cousin Keilana when they were older.  Upon hearing this statement, I jumped in on the conversation.  The rest of it went as follows:

Me:  No, you can't marry Lana, because you can't marry your cousin.
Tyler:  Why not?
Me:  Because she's part of your family, and we don't marry family members.
Tyler:  But she's Quan.
Me:  I know.  But that's still part of our family.
Tyler:  Ohhhh.  So is Grandma and Pawpaw?
Me:  Yep.
Tyler:  And Grandpa?
Me:  Yeah, and Kandee...
Tyler:  ...and the guy she lives with?  (This is another cute story for another day.) :)
**At this point Tyler goes on listing family members names, and I confirm each one.**
Tyler (in a very awe struck voice):  Wooooow!  That's like almost EVERYbody!

Tyler's Creatures

Tyler has always been fascinated with seasons.  Winter has always been his most favorite.  Afterall, it's the season that has Christmas and his birthday, and on occasion brings him snow.  But he's almost always just as excited for summer to roll around.  I think it ranks as a VERY close 2nd to winter.  In the summer, he looks forward to swimming (he is such a little fish!) and all the creatures that can be found.

He absolutely loves catching, observing, and playing with a number of little creatures.  Fireflies, lizards, turtles, frogs, insects...  You name it and he's probably caught one at some point.  We have to sit out and catch fireflies pretty regularly.  He has a net and "bug catcher" for this very purpose.  He won't stop catching them until all their little glows have faded into the trees.  Then his blinking bug catcher goes to bed with him, and I have permission to release them once he's asleep.  He's a pretty proficient little firefly catcher too.  If you're on facebook, you may have read his firefly story from last week.  If not, here's what it said:

"After running some errands, we got home when fireflies were lighting up the sky. Tyler stayed outside for a few minutes to catch some. About 5 min later he comes running in looking for his bug catcher. He finds it and starts emptying the contents of his little fist into the container. I'm expecting 4 MAYBE 5...but... he caught 17! Amazingly, most all of them were still alive and kicking!"

Tyler also names all his creatures.  And before releasing them back into the wild, we have to take pictures to remember them by (with the exception of the fireflies).  A week or so ago we found Feisty the turtle.  He got this name because he wasn't scared of anything and would keep moving even when being held.  I don't think I saw him go inide his shell even once the whole time he was in our posession.  Feisty got to hang around and play for a day and a half before I decided he might need something more than leaves, grass, and water to keep him alive.

FYI - Tyler was recovering from some sort of break-out (rash? allergic reaction? virus? I'm not sure...) on his face.

Then just the other night, he caught Slip the frog.  We put him in a bowl with holes cut in the lid, but I'm thinking Slip wasn't feeling the love.  We only kept him captured for a couple hours before his release. 

(Please excuse the blurry photos, but he was still inside the bowl.  It was dark out when it was time to release him, so I took the photos inside.  Call me crazy, but I insisted that Slip stay in the bowl while inside the house.  The last thing I want is a frog hopping around my house at bedtime!)

And is it just me or is Mr. Slip slipping me the finger in this next one...

I guess he took the bowl thing personal.

Or it could have been the flashing camera in his face...

Sorry Slip.  It was for the boy.

A Lonely Father's Day

Poor Billy is working out of town and had to celebrate Father's Day on his own. We miss him so very much and wish we could have given him lots of kisses and hugs today. But since we couldn't, we created a special card for him.

Just so you know, we really DO have a gift to give you when you get home.

And don't worry, we will keep the candy SUPER safe for you!  :)

The kids also made cards at church for him...

This is the front of Tyler's card.  It says "To Daddy."  I'm not entirely sure how he pulled off the mirror image though!

The picture is of Tyler and Daddy playing "4-wheeler-eeler" game on Play Station together.

Tyler has caught up on his Daddy time by having two long phone conversations with him over the past couple days.

Allison really missed her Daddy today.

She was crying for him after church so I asked if she'd like to call him.

Still crying she says, "Noooo.  I want him to come hoooooome!"

Ryan obviously can't make a card, but he also missed his Daddy a lot today.

I had to teach my class at church, and Billy usually takes care of Ryan during this hour.

Someone else had to help me out with him today and it was really tough for poor Ryan.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!!!

We love and miss you SO much!

Dentist Visits

I would apologize for this being long, but I bet you get that about me by now. I can't help it. I just like to be thorough. We recently got finished with a series of 5 dentist visits for Tyler and Allison in approximately a month and a half. Here's the saga (and a little background knowledge to go with it!).

Tyler's first dentist appoinment at age 2 1/2 ended up being a traumatic experience for the both of us. Billy and I suspected he needed to go in the first place because little black dots showed up on his back molars, despite our best efforts of brushing his teeth daily. I found a Pediatric dentist, took him in, and our suspicions were confirmed. Tyler is not a timid kid. He did GREAT with the cleaning and wasn't nervous at all. When it came time to fill the cavities on his 2nd visit, however, they basically tied him down, stuck a scarey mask over his face, and filled 3 or 4 cavities withOUT even numbing, all while telling me his screams meant he was angry - not in pain. I think NOT! Quite a horrible experience for a Momma to watch and even tell about without getting teary-eyed! So, needless to say, I still beat myself up about the whole ordeal and have put off taking him back to the dentist until present day. Luckily, he doesn't remember any of it and had no apphrehension about going. Unfortunately, he ended up having a mouthful of cavities to fill again (5 total). Thankfully, we were referred to an AMAZING dentist this time around (thanks Yvette)! Here's THAT story...

Once again, Tyler wasn't scared at all. He acted as if he'd done this a thousand times before. He walked back, climbed in the chair, and let them go to work. He got to choose a movie to watch during his cleaning. Out of the selection, he chose Cars. He chose chocolate flavored toothpaste and a Lightning McQueen toothbrush. He also chose a Lightning sticker and a green T-Rex frisbee from the prize box. Dr. Drew expressed over and over what a great patient Tyler was. She noted that she could tell we took good care of his teeth. They looked great, he has healthy gums, etc. Tyler just has extremely deep crevices in his molars. She said that no matter how much brushing we do, it's almost impossible to get into those crevices. After viewing Tyler's x-rays and discussing what needed to be done (fillings, possible nerve treatments and caps, and sealant to protect his molars), we set up another appointment and were on our way.

He had 3 cavities to fill (right side only) on his first follow-up visit, and ended up needing to get a cap on his very back molar. Despite the fact that prior to the visit he said he wanted his Mommy to go back with him, he walked right back with the nurse without even looking back! He's such a brave boy! He was very excited about his new "dinosaur" tooth, as Dr. Drew called it. At first he called it his gold tooth. He proudly called Grandma Hamby to tell her all about it since she was at the cabin. "I love my gold tooth!" he told her. (It's actually the normal silver cap, he just called it gold at first.) He even let Allison touch it once his mouth "woke up." (They had given him a special sticker that stated, "Teeth, gums, lips asleep. Do NOT disturb." So he explained to her that she would have to wait until they were done sleeping, per the sticker's directions.) Back at home during lunch, Tyler was trying to drink from a straw. After taking a sip, the juice came running out of his mouth on the side that was numb. He let out a concerned and helpless "Mooooommy?!" so I told him to try drinking on the other side of his mouth. It went well for the next sip, but then it happened again on the third. "Mommy, I accidently got too much and it leaked out again because my lips are crooked!" I had to chuckle. That night, he came to the realization that this new tooth cover couldn't and wasn't coming off. He came to me with a very concerned look while pulling at it with his thumb nail. Then he exclaimed, "It won't come off!" I had to explain that it was permanent until his tooth fell out around age 12. He wasn't too happy at first, but was understanding of the fact that it was protecting his real tooth so it wouldn't have to be pulled.

On his 2nd follow-up visit, he had two more cavities filled (left side) and needed another cap on the back molar again. When he was all finished, Dr. Drew asked how he was and he said, "I did much better than last time!" When I asked him why he thought that he said, "because it didn't even hurt me this time!" (I guess he was a little uncomfortable with the pressure he felt when the first cap was put on.) He was also pleased to now have a matching set of caps on the back molars. After the appointment, he decided he would wait and eat lunch this time "when his lips weren't crooked anymore."

The 4th visit came the very next day after Tyler complained of a pain when brushing his teeth that night and the next morning. I took him in, they checked things out, and came to the conclusion that his gums were a bit inflamed from the cap. Thankfully, it turns out that's all it was. He's been 100% ever since and has adjusted to his dino teeth quite well!

And here's Allison's story...

My Allison has always been a little more reserved when it comes to new people, situations, and surroundings, so I was a little nervous about her first experience with the dentist. Since she was able to come along on all of Tyler's dentist visits, however, she was able to observe the situation, get to know her surroundings, watch Tyler, and discover that visiting the dentist was actually a fun experience. She could NOT wait for her turn in the chair. After all of Tyler's dental work was complete, I made the appointment for Allison's first cleaning. I showed her the appointment card (which had a picture of Dora on it), and she immediately confiscated it from me. That card remained with her the entire week until her appointment. She carried it everywhere with her. If she did happen to sit it down somewhere, she would later think of it and question where it was asking, "Where's my appointment card???"

She was SO excited the day of her appointment. She ran right into the office and started playing as she had done on the previous visits, but I could tell she was a little more hyper than normal. She could barely contain all the excitement built up inside her! When the nurse came to get her, she started jumping up and down and got the most excited look on her face. Dr. Drew was so happy about her excitement! Allison got to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks during her cleaning and chose pink watermelon flavored toothpaste. For her prize bag, she chose a red and purple Eeyore toothbrush, a Hannah Montana sparkly sticker, and a blue flower ring from the treasure box. She did amazing and was the ideal little patient (to not even be quite 3 yet!). Dr. Drew bragged to everyone that she was the best patient of the year for her age! And imagine how thrilled I was to learn she has NO cavities! They all think Tyler and Allison are the cutest and sweetest! We agree of course!

Later that day, Allison told me in a very disappointed voice, "I forgot to tell the dentist I wanted cavity!" Apparently she was hoping to have a silver tooth of her own. :) I explained to her that she didn't need a silver tooth, and that her teeth are beautiful without being silver. She is content with us telling her that she has "sparkly teeth" instead of silver teeth.  This is what Dr. Drew told her when she painted the fluoride treatment on with "birthday cake frosting." Good doctors certainly are a blessing!

Just a quick note:  Tyler was 2 years and 7 months in his pictures while Allison was 2 years and 10 months in hers.  How is it that Allison looks so much more grown up to me when there's only a 3 month difference???  Maybe it's got something to do with my perspective on the difference in time?

Chocolate Chip Sprinkle Cookies

Billy likes chocolate chip cookies.

Tyler and Allison like sprinkles.

I like to bake.

So we made some chocolate chip sprinkle cookies this evening!

Apparently, Ryan likes sprinkles too...

Yes, I knew he was playing with the bottle of sprinkles.

And no, I have no idea how the lid came off.

Some things we may never know...

Mother's Day Love

Remember these two sweethearts that I promised I was still taking pictures of?

They picked dandelions, wild strawberries, and berries as we played outside the past couple days. As each item was gathered, the collection was given to me as one of my Mother's Day gifts (totally their own idea!).

While picking the strawberries (on Thursday), I was told it was a surprise and that I wasn't supposed to look at it until they were finished. The word "strawberries" slipped from Tyler's mouth at one point and he said, "Oops! Mommy, did you hear that?!" I responded with, "Nope. What did you say buddy?" "Oh. I'm not going to tell you because it was about your surprise and I didn't want you to hear it," he says. SO cute!

Here is the pile I was presented with...

Today, we were discussing Mother's Day again and Allison says (in the most precious voice you can imagine), "We gave you strawberries for Mother's Day." Melted my heart!

Then this afternoon, I was given a pocket full of berries (the kind that come off a bush in our yard). They would pick the berries for a while, come running to me with little handfuls, and then deposit them into my pocket. This happened over and over until my pocket was rather full. "We're giving you two Mother's Day presents," they told me.

Honestly, I wouldn't be the slighest bit disappointed if these were the ONLY gifts I received this Mother's Day. For me, these moments are the ones that make all the tough moments of being a mom fade into the farthest parts of my mind. I feel so blessed to have these three precious little munchkins to call my own!

And I'll treasure my Mother's Day berries FOREVER!

Feeling Behind

I'm behind on posts. At least 10 of them. All for the purpose of journaling and documenting what's going on in our lives. When I get overwhelmed thinking about how many posts I need to catch up on, I type up all the cute things I've heard Tyler and Allison say. It somehow makes me feel better. So here's the latest...

Quotes by Allison:

"Mommy, can you fix me some dinner? My tummy has a headache!"

"Quit playing with my hair. It's not a toyeeeee!"

Conversations with Tyler:

While discussing Easter...

Me: Tyler, what if it's raining on Easter? The Easter Bunny might not be able to deliver our baskets.
Tyler: Well, he can just wear a rain coat.
Me: But then all our goodies will get wet.
Tyler: No they won't! The Easter Bunny wraps them up in plastic. Like that other time, renember?!
(Yes, he does say 'renember.' I think it's adorable.)

One day when Tyler was outside with Pawpaw, who's smoking a cigarette....

Tyler: Pawpaw! You shouldn't smoke. It's bad for your heart!
Some time passes and Pawpaw lights another cigarette.
Tyler(pointing his finger): Pawpaw! Now I'm really mad! I need you to stop smoking! I told you smoking is bad for your heart! I'm tired of asking you to stop!

And then later after Tyler had asked Pawpaw 100+ questions about all his tools and equipment...

Pawpaw: You're wearing me out, son.
Tyler: Why?
Pawpaw: Because you're asking so many questions.
Tyler: I have to ask a lot of questions because I don't know what any of this stuff is!

What's Better than 100 Percent?

According to Tyler, 90-100-90-100% is!
Here's a couple ways he's used his new phrase this week:

Me: Tyler, do you like the Apple Cinnamon Cheerios I bought?
Tyler: Yes! I 90-100-90-100% LOVE 'em!

Daddy: Tyler, did you have a good day?
Tyler: 90-100-90-100% YES!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

...from my little leprechauns!

Isn't that the cutest little leprechaun face you've ever seen?!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Tholkes for the fun St. Patrick's Day box of goodies!

A Special Day

Today is Billy's 31st birthday! Since I am constantly telling all about our kids, I don't often take time to brag about the great daddy and husband in our lives!
Billy is such a hard worker and does a great job making sure the needs of our family are being met. Lately, he's had to work 10 hour days, even on Saturdays! In addition to that he still has Sheet Metal School on Wednesday nights. So we've been joking that we're Daddy deprived these days. We appreciate how hard he's working for us, but we sure do miss him a lot!
We're going to do our best to make this a special day for him, starting with this post!
We've made the following lists of how Billy is a great husband and daddy to each of us...and has been since day 1! (I just thought it would be a fun trip down memory lane to post a picture of Billy with each child as a baby.)

1. He's always thinking of me. He sends me a text every single day telling me that he loves me and hopes I have a great day. And if there's something he feels I want or need, he will go out and get it for me (usually without me even asking.)
2. He's a great "gopher." He never complains when I ask him to get and bring things to me that I need around the house.
3. He isn't jealous of the relationship I have with my mom. I'm such a Momma's girl. I talk to my mom almost daily and have to spend time with her on a regular basis. Billy is very understanding of this.
4. He never complains about my cooking. I'm a pretty decent cook, but we all have the urge to try a new recipie now and then. If one of these trial dinners isn't his favorite, he'll eat it anyway. (He won't go back for seconds though. haha)
5. He loves me unconditionally. Even three kids and a whole different body shape later, he doesn't love me any differently from the day we met.

1. He plays Air Hogs with me. Tyler got an Air Hog remote control helicopter from Grandma and Grandpa Hadley for his birthday. Billy liked it so much that he bought his own. Billy's just happened to be green (Tyler's favorite), so they share and have a great time together.
2. He finds us after work. Long ago, Tyler started a game of hiding from Billy when he came home from work each day. Him and Allison still hide from him everyday and Billy just has to listen for the giggles to locate them. Once he finds them, there's lots of tickles, hugs, and kisses!
3. He teaches me lots of fun games. He has loved learning how to play Tic-Tac-Toe and Rock, Paper, Scissors. He also loves watching Billy play online chess and asks lots of questions so he can be a pro at chess too one day!
4. He shares mints with me at church. Daddy always has a pocket full of Life Saver mints at church. Tyler always looks forward to them on Sunday.
5. He calls me his "Big Man." And Tyler takes it personally if Daddy calls Ryan "Big Man." He will quickly correct him by reminding him that Ryan is "LITTLE Man."

1. He's my "friend" at night. Since sleeping in her big girl bed, Allison has some nights where she feels a little insecure. She will say that she needs a friend on these nights and sometimes Daddy will lay with her and scratch her back.
2. He shares his iPod with me. Billy has one of the iTouch iPods (not the iPhone). There are lots of fun apps for the kids that Billy has downloaded. Allison LOVES playing with Daddy's iPod and has even asked for her own "Princess iPod."
3. He's so warm and cozy. Allison loves sitting in her Daddy's lap. Ever since she was a baby, she has been most comfortable sitting with her Daddy. 95% of the time, she'll fall asleep while in his lap.
4. He shares his chocolate milk with me. Billy loves Mayfield chocolate milk. If he gets one when we're all shopping together, he gets a straw so he can easily share with the kids.
5. He calls me his "Pretty Girl." This makes her feel so special. She loves being Daddy's pretty girl.

1. He lets me watch T.V. with him. Billy uses this to distract Ryan when Mommy needs a little break.
2. He even downloads iPod apps for me! Billy downloaded Baby Einstein and some white noise apps for Ryan to use.
3. He turns on music and dances with me. Billy does this to get Ryan to sleep. It's worked several times!
4. He takes good care of me. Whether it's running to the store late at night for some Gripe Water or Tylenol or finding a way to calm me down, Daddy wants me to be happy!
5. He calls me Little Man or Ryan Baby.

We love you so much and hope this is a special day for you!

The Big Snow

Don't mind me. I'm just trying to get a little caught up...

For those that don't live in Georgia, we have had 3 snow days this winter. Count them - THREE! That's crazy for Georgia! In a "good" year we might get a day with flurries, and some MIGHT stick, but then it will all melt in an hour. No snow angels, no snowmen, no sledding. Snow must have been in high demand this year though. Because we got plenty!
These pictures were actually taken on the 2nd snow day because Ryan was sick on the first one. He wasn't too happy with me at first for taking him out in the cold and plopping him in the Bumbo.

But then big brother came to the rescue and helped him stand in the snow. Things got a little better at this point.

Even when they fell backwards, he remained perfectly content. So long as he's with his Tyler Man, everything's peachy!

When Tyler was ready to go and play, we tried the Bumbo again. He enjoyed watching Tyler and Allison run around in the snow, and even gave me a few grins.

After taking in the snow and his surroundings, Ryan went inside for a nap with Daddy. Then Tyler, Allison, and I decided to make a snowman. I could already sense that Tyler and Allison were getting a little tired of the cold, but were still anxious to build their own snowman. So we opted for a small one. We actually never even got to finish him. Tyler gave him a carrot nose and some arms and Allison decided Mommy's idea of making it a snowgirl was a good idea so she added some bead necklaces. At this point, little noses, toes, and hands were just too cold so we headed in to cozy up by the fire.

A cute story about Tyler and the snow days:

I was feeling a little guilty after not getting to take the kids out on the 1st snow day. So when the 2nd snow day came around, I was feeling very excited about having another chance! Allison had asked me once to go out in it, but Tyler (my winter, snow loving boy) hadn't even asked once to go out and play. I knew he was excited about the snow because when it started snowing the 1st snow day he exclaimed, "THANK YOU, HEAVENLY FATHER!!!" So I wondered why he wasn't dying to go out and play in it. When I asked if he wanted to go out and play after breakfast on the 2nd day he said "No, I don't want to mess it all up." He was truly enjoying the beauty of it and loved watching through the window of his warm and cozy home. Once I explained that the snow would eventually melt and that we should enjoy it while we could, he decided it was a good idea.

Tyler's Birthday Celebrations

We have 2 celebrations for each child's birthday every year. The first celebration takes place on the actual birthday. The birthday boy or girl gets to choose what's for dinner and then we have a dessert and sing Happy Birthday.

On the morning of Tyler's birthday, I reminded him that he got to choose what was for dinner. Anything he wanted. I told him we could go out to dinner, order food, or Mommy would cook something for him. He chose Mommy's cooking over any old restuarant! How sweet is that?! So my next question was, "What would you like me to cook for you?" He said he had to think about it for a while. A little while later I asked if he had thought of what he wanted. He said that he was still thinking and then said, "I know! I want fish! ......and shrimp!" Yes, my 5-year-old LOVES seafood. Always has really (ever since he was old enough to eat it anyway). So fish and shrimp it was. He ate almost every bit! And he's since told me that he wants the same exact thing for his birthday dinner next year. :)

After dinner, it was time for the Happy Birthday song, birthday cupcakes, and a couple small presents. I have to point out that Tyler didn't want me to use the green star candle on the brownies. Yep, it is still his favorite color. You'll see why later in this post.

Funny story about this flashlight from Mommy and Daddy: Billy loves MagLites. Tyler loves using Daddy's MagLites. Daddy thought Tyler would love having a MagLite of his own. You also have to know that ever since Christmas, Billy has been trying to get Tyler to tell his Grandmas and Grandpas that he needs his own laptop instead of more toys. But, 5-year-olds love toys and Tyler isn't convinced on the whole laptop thing. He can just use Mommy's or Daddy's after all. When we brought in the wrapped gift Tyler exclaimed, "I hope it's a toy and not a laptop!" So he opens it, and has a look of dissapointment on his face and says, "I wanted a toy..." Poor Daddy. It really was so thoughtful of him. And Tyler really does love and use it. This picture was taken after the initial disappointed feeling.

One other cute comment Tyler made that day:
A little before Grandma and Pawpaw got to our house for dinner, Tyler received a call from his Great Aunt Kandee to wish him a happy birthday. They got to chat for quite a while, but once Grandma and Pawpaw came through the front door Tyler told her, "I love you Kandee. I gotta go. Some of my party guests are here!"

The 2nd birthday celebration is the actual party where the birthday boy or girl gets to pick the theme and what kind of cake he/she wants. Tyler chose to have a rocket themed party this year and we decided to have the party be pretty low-key and only invite family.
These space balloons were the party favors for each child. They got to decorate them with stickers. This is the infamous balloon that got sucked out the window and (did not) fly to space. On the left is cousin Lilly and on the right are cousins Keilana and Kayden.

Here are highlights of the gifts given by Tyler's grandparents.

And some from Aunties, Uncles, and cousins.

And here's the rocket cake Tyler requested (and the green star candle that HAD to be on this cake). And yes those are real sparkles coming out the back of it...

And YES we really DID light them!

Can you sense Tyler's reservations about the situation. "Okay Mommy, if you really want sparklers lit in the house that's your prerogative. Just so you know though, I'm feeling a little too close for comfort here..."