Tyndall James is 18 months old!

So, the last time I 'blogged', he had just turned 9 months and looked like this: 

He was crawling and pulling up, and I thought life was more 'active' back then.  Ha!

Now, he looks like this: 

He's walking, running, climbing, getting into everything, and now I KNOW life is a lot more active. And wonderful.  And some days tiring, but I'm absolutely LOVING it! 

Let's see how I can sum up the past half of his 18 months in this world. :) 

In October, our 2nd cousin Noah moved in with us, and Tyndall had a blast having another person to entertain and to get attention from. 

Tyndall was Santa Claus for his first Halloween.  It was kind of by default because I waited until the last day to find a costume, and it was the only thing near his size at the consignment store, even though it was still waaaaaay too big.  But he was sure cute. And liked trick-or-treating for the few houses we did.

For Thanksgiving, we traveled to Atlanta to be with my dad's side of the family.  It was wonderful being with them. There were lots of adults, 4 kids under 4, and lots of fun.  We were missing lots of family, and unfortunately, Tyndall was pretty sick during the visit.  But, we had a great Thanksgiving and loved being able to be with extended family. It was absolutely adorable watching him fall asleep at the highchair during Thanksgiving dinner. 

Sometime in the Fall, Tyndall started going to a Mother's Morning Out program at a local church 2 mornings a week.  He LOVES it because he gets to be around other kids, and mommy loves it because I get some concentrated time to work or recharge, and he always takes an epic nap afterwards. :)  Bonus is these adorable little crafts they do and the pictures they send home. 

The rest of the holidays were really fun.  For years, we had dreamed of doing Christmas-y things with a child of our own, and this year was amazing.  Tyndall was at a fun age of being expressive and mobile but still very sweet and cuddly and containable. ;) 

We spent a few days with my family at mom's house in the mountains which was very fun, especially with Tyndall and baby Sadie there.  Then we spent the traditional Christmas morning and day with Matt's family.  That was extra fun this year with 3 kids under 3!  We especially liked having a longer Christmas break with Daddy and love that his teaching job gives him so much time to spend with us around Christmas. 

Especially since Tyndall's birthday is also during that time!!

On January 3rd, we celebrated Tyndall's first birthday with a 'small' family gathering at our house.  We made chili and had cornbread and cinnamon rolls with other chili fixings and had birthday cake.  It was very simple but VERY special.  Tyndall LOVED his smash cake and absolutely demolished it.  

We loved having the family over and celebrating our precious son.  We didn't plan it this way, but we actually had the celebration on the 1 year mark of finding out about him! 

The rest of the Winter was filled with lots of indoor fun. And everyday stuff.  We had a pretty good routine where we would get up and get ready, take Noah to school, come home and play until nap time.  During nap time, Mommy would get ready for the day, and lots of times Miss Erin would come over to help with office stuff.  Tyndall looooved Miss Erin and especially loved 'helping' us work. After work and nap time, we'd go get Noah and usually spend the afternoon out and about with him.  Then dinner, then bath (which he loooved), then bedtime. 

Tyndall continues to be a fun-loving, happy, funny little guy.  He's full of laughter and silliness and his own special sense of joy.  Even when he's fussy and cranky, it doesn't take much to get him distracted and laughing again.  This was especially a blessing since we were also living with a moody, emotional, teenage boy who Mommy and Daddy didn't know what to do wit most of the time.  Tyndall's relationship with Noah was a special blessing no one could have predicted would have been so special. :)  Noah moved back in with his Mom in May, and Tyndall definitely misses having him around.

Speaking of special relationships Tyndall has, this boy LOOOOOOVES his dog, Zoe.  One of the first questions he responded to was "Where's Zoe?" and he would point outside or point to where she was.  :) He often takes his snack/milk to her dog bed and curls up with her to relax.  He looooooves playing with her inside and outside and crawling on her and sharing food with her and 'reading' books to her.  Lately, he's been getting a little more rough, so we are giving her more breaks, but more often than not, the two can be found in close proximity.  It's one of my favorite things.

As soon as it started getting warmer, we started doing more and more outside, and I think we created a monster.  Tyndall James looooooooooves being outside.  He likes it even more if he's not wearing clothes.  Sometimes we feel very redneck.  We have had lots of wonderful days at the nearby parks, at the beach, at the pool.  Tyndall doesn't love water as much as he used to, but we are hoping that will change.  We're going to keep trying.  He does love walking around outside, going down slides, riding in his cars or on his trucks and chasing Zoe.  

(Last year's first beach trip compared to this year's first beach trip.)

Hanging in the bounce house with the Peterson cousins. :)

 In June, Matt, Tyndall and Uncle Steven flew to California for a family reunion for Matt's dad's side of the family.  So Tyndall had his first plane ride and first full week away from Mommy.  We survived, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I think Tyndall was in heaven, though, because he had LOTS of doting aunts, uncles, and cousins t walk around with outside, and he was without clothes for most of the pictures I've seen. :) 

We are enjoying our adventurous, tenacious, mini-but-mighty, loveable, fun-loving 18 month old.  He's starting to repeat a lot of words and respond to our questions.  He has the sweetest, softest but sometimes scratchy sounding voice, and I'm loving that he says new words almost everyday.  

The emotions are intense. The moods are quick to change, and this stage of parenting is one that I didn't know to expect.  But, it's an honor and a privilege to be raising this awesome boy, and we continue to be thankful that God chose us to be his parents. 
 

Tyndall James is 9 Months Old!

Tyndall James is 9 Months Old!

Nine Month Stats:
Weight: 15 pounds, 4 ounces

Length: 26 3/4 inches
Head Circumference: 16 3/4 inches

Still growing well and actually 'on the charts' for height... 10th percentile. 

Okay, so I have been totally slack with this blog, but I figure 9 months is a pretty major milestone.  So, I'm going to give a quick overview of Tyndall's last 3 months. 

The last 3 months have been filled with adventure, personality, and character!  Tyndall is fearless (which at times has been scary for this Momma), but I LOVE his adventurous spirit.  He loves exploring and learning new things, and I feel like he changes everyday lately.  I'm so very thankful I get to be with him most of the time to be the one who gets to experience the 'firsts' and the everyday life with this precious little boy.  

Since my last post, Tyndall has become MOBILE!  As of the end of July (around 7 months), he was flipping and rolling and starting to make diaper changes a lot more interesting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not long after, he started scooting and had moved on to army crawling then full-on crawling by the beginning of September (around 8 months).  On the very same day that he began army crawling, he sat up by himself for longer than a few seconds.  Still had a few falls, but he pretty much got the hang of sitting up and crawling on the same day.  A few weeks ago, he mastered the transition of sitting to crawling to sitting again.  At 9 months, he's a power-crawler and even pulls up on things now to a full stand.  Life is definitely more active these days.  

 

Another big area things have changed is with his eating.  He still eats some oatmeal cereal and jar food but has also graduated to Cheerios and Puffs.  He REALLY likes being able to feed himself, and Zoe likes to reap the rewards of all that he drops. I feel like he's such a big boy now that he can feed himself.  We've even let him have a few tries of 'table food' like sweet potato fries, beans, fruit and other soft, small things.  He's done well with everything so far.  But we have officially changed from the Bumbo, then Bumbo with tray to now full high-chair. 

On a related note, he had his first trip to the ER when he fell from the Bumbo that was on top of the kitchen table, onto the tile floor. Thankfully, he was fine... just gave us first-time parents an adrenaline rush.  And then we changed him to the highchair. With straps. 

He still loves toys.  He likes passing them from hand to hand.  Putting things down. Picking them up.  Hiding them then finding them.  Making them make noise.  Squealing in delight with them.  He still loves mirrors.  He has really loved his jump-a-roo most of the last few months, though we've recently packed it up because he started not liking it.  Maybe overuse? :)  He really did like it A LOT!

He also looooooooooves baths (which is a good thing because he gets very messy with the different kinds of food and the crawling).  He seriously would probably stay in the tub all day if we let him.  Around 8 months, he transitioned to just the full bathtub after he kept trying to crawl out of the baby tub.  He does a good job with his balance and playing with his bath toys. 

Sadly, Nala passed away unexpectedly in August.  (More on that in another post.) So, Tyndall has Zoe as his exclusive partner in crime.  It's been really sweet to watch them with each other, and I've been happy with how Zoe is with him.  Though I know she appreciates that we only let him 'play' with her in small chunks of time.  

 

 

 

He is such a joyful, happy baby most of the time.  His laugh is contagious!  Though teething definitely gives us some change from that sweet, joyful baby.  Teething is not fun, but I think he's been pretty mild overall.  Not sure what to attribute that to, but he does wear an amber necklace, and we use the Hylands teething tablets and cold teething rings.  He does sometimes run a slight temp and get fussy, cranky and sometimes more snuggly than usual.  But he has 2 teeth to show for it now, and more on the way!

He has mainly been in Stage 2 diapers but has moved up to size 3-6 month clothes.  Some of this pants and sleepers are actually 6-9 month size because of his length. But if they are footless, he's still good with 3-6 month stuff.  

In other big news, Tyndall actually has 2 little girl cousins now, both born in September. 

Sadie Rose Goldston was born on 9/9/2013 at 12:25pm.  5 pounds, 10 ounces.

Kayten "Kayte" Deborah Peterson was born on 9/18/2013 at 4:36pm. 7 pounds, 7 ounces. 

 Tyndall loves being the big cousin.

 

Tyndall meeting Sadie.

Tyndall meeting Kayte.

Other Highlights and "Firsts":

•  1st weekend trip with Mommy to Saluda for Coon Dog Day!
  (Uncle Zeb and Aunt Valerie babysat one full day while Mommy was working)

• First Time Swimming in the Pool 

 

• First Boo-Boo (hit himself with a toy on 4th of July, and it left a mark)

• Survived almost a week with Mommy away on a trip.
  (Daddy took great care of him and had lots of great helpers! But Mommy was VERY happy to come home!)

•   Baby showers for Aunt Valerie and Aunt Stephani
• Visits with family and friends
• Learning to crawl and sit up and pull up

•  Learning through PLAY 

 

• Looking at Books

• Making lots of new sounds... definite Consonants.
•  Another Saluda trip with Mommy and Aunt Ginger. Went to Pearson's Falls. 

 

 

•  Loves to be under things. Will probably do a whole post about this.
• Likes to stick his tongue out. 
• Blows raspberries. 
• Outgrowing his infant car seat. 

I'm sure I missed a TON of stuff, but this is at least a picture of his months 7-9.  And I'm going to try to do better.  Though the monthly photo shoots have taken a different spin.  It's kinda hard to keep this guy still and in one place for the giraffe rug comparison pictures.  I will leave you with this... until next time. :)