Christmas 2009

I love when it's time to begin Christmas festivities. When we were putting up our tree this year, Tylie got to help! She added her very own first ornament, given to her by Grandpa Duke. She loved it!

We went to our ward Christmas party a couple weeks ago. Lots of food and friends, a great musical program, and of course a visit by Santa Claus. Tylie got really tired half way through the musical program, so we searched high and low to track down Santa (sitting outside in his car because he was burning up in his heavy outfit) and got a picture early so we could take her home and put her to bed. She wasn't scared of him or anything! I guess that will probably come later, though, when she's a year or two...

This is Tylie's very first Christmas present! It came from Grandpa Duke, and he wanted us to open it early, so she dug in. She was, of course, fascinated with the wrapping paper, and not so much with the dress....she'll look darn cute in it though!

Christmas morning, getting ready to open presents. Wow, can you tell she's spoiled? Two sets of grandparents, an aunt and uncle, mom and dad, great grandma, and friends all made sure she had plenty to do!

Cute face!

All of us opening presents. Thanks everyone!

The aftermath. This is one kind of mess I actually enjoy a little bit....
Tylie after resting a little bit this morning. Such a sweetheart!

Crafting fun...

Keshia and I have been getting our craft on lately. We made these wicked-cool Christmas pillow cases for my brother Michael and his mission companion...had a lot of fun doing it, and feel pretty proud about how they turned out. He's in Switzerland, so we crafted a Swiss flag for them:

I also needed to get a stocking made for our new addition, Tylie. I found pattern I liked, picked out fabric, and completed the project over a stretch of three days. Here's the finished product, and a picture of all our random stockings hanging together....we're just one happy, mismatched family this year!

Ahhh...I love Chrismas vacation when I actually have time to work on these kinds of things. I could craft all day long!

4 Months Old!!

Tylie is four months old now! Wow, how time flies. She still lights up every day of our lives, especially now that she's constantly smiling, giggling, and exerting all of her energy to learn new things. She is a mellow, happy baby, and we're so lucky to have her! Here are a couple of my favorite pics.

More Milestones

So we're all sitting around watching television on Tuesday night, and Tylie makes this really cute coo/giggle sound. We all look at each other, and then smile because we know she's beginning to work on her laughing. (And Brent said that while Keshia and I were in Virginia over the weekend, Tylie had giggled for him a little bit...so her very first giggle was November 7). Then, I start tickling her, and she is laughing out of control....when did all of this develop?!? She's growing up so fast! I'm afraid she's going to be acting like a teenager by the time she's 6 years old! She lights up my life every single day, and I feel continually blessed to have her in our family.

I Love Halloween!

Today was a big day for our sweet little one... First of all, it was her first roll-over!! Holy cow, I couldn't believe it. I was sitting on the floor with her while I worked on a sewing project. I put her onto her tummy so she could do some push-ups, and the next time I looked up she was teetering on her side, and finally rolled onto her back. Crazy how fast these little people learn new things!

Second, and just as exciting, it was her first Halloween!!! We had a neighbor in the ward watch Tylie a few weeks ago, and one of her daughters suggested that Tylie be a skunk (because Tylie had been tooting all day long! :D). I thought it was a really cute idea, so I ran with it. I got her costume finished just barely in time for the ward Halloween carnival/trunk-or-treat this afternoon. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the night.

Keshia (as an army girl), mom (a vampire), Tylie, and dad (as a Ducks fan)

Hanging out with her dad...she's such a daddy's girl!

Oh boy. Too cute!

With Aunt Keeshie...they're becoming very good buddies.

Stretching! Everybody who knows Tylie can tell you that she just LOVES stretching!

Third, Tylie won her first cute kid competition ever!! Well, it was actually the ward costume competition. She won first place out of all the kids ages 0-6! (Pageant girl in the making??? I hope not). Here she is with her trophy:

Vegging after a very long, eventful afternoon:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Two Months Old...

Tylie turned two months old recently. Two months! That is unbelievable...have I really been a mom for over 10 weeks now? Have I really woken up in the middle of the night for more than 70 straight nights? Have I really changed somewhere around 500 diapers? Time goes by so quickly...what a scary thought...

Here is my favorite of her two-month pictures:

This picture was around the same day....I put her down on her tummy, glanced away for 2 seconds, and when I looked back she was holding herself up so she could watch the football game with her dad! I couldn't believe it....it seemed to happen overnight! One day she was fussing every time I put her on her tummy because she didn't like having her nose smashed into the floor, and the next day she's holding herself up. And she's only continued to astound me since!

Blessing Day

Tylie was blessed on October 11, 2009. We had lots of family travel here for the occasion, and we are thankful to all of them! Here are some pictures of the day...

The members of Brent's family that were able to make the trip: Dad (Dan), Sister (Angie), and Brother-in-law (Brennen)

The members of my family that were able to come: Sister (Keshia), Dad (Val), and Mom (Brenda)

Proud parents with their beautiful little girl!

Beautiful girl in a beautiful dress! This is also the first real smile we've been able to catch on camera...although she's been smiling for a couple weeks.

Wish Me Luck

After 6 blissful weeks home with my sweet, adorable Tylie, I have to return to work tomorrow. There are parts of my job that I have really, really missed over the past few weeks, and other parts that I dread returning to!

First of all, my dreads...
-I dread doing lunch duty and walking in the halls surrounded by a bunch of "the world owes me something because I was born into it" teenagers who have no respect for rules, the campus, teachers/administrators, or themselves.
-I dread all the paperwork that comes with being a teacher...particularly the kind of paperwork that ends up in a file cabinet that nobody ever opens for years and years, and serves only one purpose---to tear down trees and add to the economic crisis that the school district seems to be in.
-I dread looking at my classroom all day, every day, which happens to be in the oldest, dirtiest building on campus and which only has nicely painted walls and cabinets because I took the liberty to apply a fresh coat before I was willing to work in there.
-Mostly, I just dread being away from my daughter, because I love her so much and could spend all day watching her facial expressions, listening to her new sounds, and snuggling with her!

What I'm looking forward to...
-I am looking forward to getting back into a routine.
-I am looking forward to feeling like I have a productive life, and am actually contributing to the general well-being of our small, southern family.
-I am looking forward to hanging out with my totally cool co-workers again! I love Rhonda and Debbie, and I love having girl time (even when it's only during 7 minute in-between-classes breaks, and lunch duty)!
-I am looking forward to working with my 6 wonderful students who keep me on my toes, teach me something new, and make me laugh out loud every single day!
-I am looking forward to having a paycheck again... :)

WISH ME LUCK!

Random Sampler

Here are some of my favorite pictures over the last month. Now, my husband will tell you that I take entirely too many pictures, and he's probably right. But, I can't help it...especially when I can catch such funny things!

Dad, I'm glad you want to hold me....but would you mind actually HOLDING me?! :)

Life is just so hard for babies, isn't it!

This picture cracks me up!

Sitting in her carseat, apparently before she's old enough to hold her head up by herself.

Stretch those little muscles....go, baby, go!

Daddy playing a mean trick...so funny!

Whatever she wants, give it to her quick!

Now that's what I call comfortable.

Sleeping in her bassinet...she wiggled all the way down to the bottom...maybe it's more comfy that way.

We try swaddling her, but she doesn't seem to like it very much. She usually fusses and squirms until she gets loose, and then she calms down and falls asleep. Brent says she's claustrophobic like he is.

Just chilling on the couch.