Trip to Florida

So, for about a month I had to keep a secret from my sister that Britt, Ty, and I were flying home for her birthday. It was a huge task for me to keep it because I talk to her once or twice a day. But I think I did a really good job because she had NO idea we all were coming. Friday, Oct. 23, Tyler and I left Greensboro and headed to Florida. We had a lay-over in ATL. It was a horrible flight to ATL. The plane was so hot and very bumpy. Thankfully Tyler was great he just couldn't sit still and wallered me the entire time. So we almost land in ATL and the plane took off again, evidently the plane that was suppose to leave the runway didn't leave quick enough and we had to circle in the air for about 15 more minutes. So needless to say when we landed I was very happy. The delays made us miss our connection flight to P'cola, but luckily the lady in Greensboro put us on the next flight just in case and had she not done that we would have been stranded in ATL for a few hours!! Anyway, we got to P'cola about 30 minutes after Brittany landed. Dad and Austin were there to pick us up. We headed straight to LA HA for the surprise party. Mandy kept calling and telling me funny things that Madi was doing and I had to make sure everyone was quiet when I talked to her. Finally we arrived and they had already surprised her. There were about 20 friends and family there. So after dad and Austin went in, Britt went in and surprised her and she couldn't believe that she was there. Then about 5 minutes later, Ty and I came in and surprised her even more. So she had 3 surprises in a row. It was great and actually ended up better than we had planned. So, it was a fun night. After the party, we headed home to get jackets and snacks and then headed to the football game. It was really fun to be back and it was also Ty's first football game. He loved it and enjoyed watching the game and all the people! We got back home around 10 or so and my bags finally arrived. They lost my bag since we had to switch planes, but they delivered it, so that was great. So shortly after that I put the "Big Brother" shirt on Ty and let him surprise the family. Mandy saw it first and showed BB, then daddy and then mom. They were all super excited. Of course Ty was wondering why everyone was screaming. ;) So after that we all crashed.
Saturday we got up and then headed to GG's to show her the shirt and then headed off to the pumpkin patch, which is becoming a tradition because last year I was here at this time too, just that Ty was one month old. So we got lots of pics and as you can tell, some are not so great. But I just crack up laughing at all the outtakes, so I couldn't leave them out. Also D gave the kids and Nana a hayride while we were there. They had a good time!
Once we exhausted the kids we went to try on Bridesmaid dresses. My sister Britt, is getting married May 29th. About 3 weeks before my due date, so I'm going to be large and in charge! ;) (j/k I'll let you be in charge BB since you are the bride and all). Luckily the dress Brittany picked out also comes in Maternity, so it worked out perfect. After that we grabbed lunch and then headed back to the house to relax before Trunk or Treat that night.
Trunk or Treat was so fun. They had games, food, bouncy thing, and a hay ride. The kids had a blast and so did the adults. It was fun to just hang out with everyone and see the cute kids in their costumes. We borrowed the lion from a good friend Shauna, Trey wore it last year. Tyler actually didn't mind the costume at all and even left the hood on the entire time! It was pretty cold though, so I'm sure the warm lion outfit felt good. Afterwards, we went home and played some games before we crashed again.
Sunday we got up and headed to church. Had an awesome meal at GG's (as always) and then hung out there and played games the rest of the day. Church again and then to eat with "the crew". It was so nice to be able to enjoy Sunday and relax instead of having to travel home. So, of course Sunday night we tried to get a good pics of the cousins, but all didn't really want to participate. So once again there were some hilarious ones so I just had to post them all!!
Monday we got up, I headed over to Emily's to see her precious new son, Neil. He sure is a cutie and such a sweet baby. It was so fun catching up with her and just being able to talk. Then I headed home for some Big T (fried pickles) I really wanted them before I left, so mom picked them up for lunch. Yum they were good! Then we headed to the airport. It was a pretty uneventful trip home, which was nice compared to the trip there! David was anxiously awaiting our arrival. It was so good to see him, we miss him when we're gone. Tyler kept kissing him, it was so cute.
We had a blast at home and so thankful that we got to be there to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday. We love you all and are so thankful for you and for taking care of us while we are there!!! Can't wait till Christmas!!
P.S. Darla said Ty was WAY spoiled when he stayed with her the next day... OOPS! ;)
The little Tiger outfit was from my sweet friend Amy for Ty's bday. It's absolutely adorable, and I think it looks so cute on him!!!
And this last pic is what pretty much went on if there was any down time during the day. Mom and Britt just got internet on their phones and Mandy got a new one, so at any given point this is what these 3 were doing! I just had to capture it! Pretty funny, if you ask me! :)

Lately and Halloween...

So, it seems the last couple of weeks have been crazy. So I have a lot of blogging to catch up. This post is going to be Halloween and the weeks before. So my wonderful Mother-in-Law came to visit us about 2 or 3 weeks ago. We always love when she comes! She's a crafty lady and has all kind of fun gadgets so she usually brings them all when she comes and then the last day before she leaves we try to cram everything in! She brought her monogramming machine and I had 3 or 4 projects to work on, so we had fun trying to get them all complete although the last night she was probably ready to kill me because I kept her up till 1:00am trying to finish, cause I'm some-what of a perfectionist when it comes to things like that! ;) My house on the other hand, people will probably beg to differ. For some reason in our household we have the hardest time of keeping things in their place and keep up with the laundry. So that's another reason why my mother-in-law is so great because when she's here, she can't sit still, so she cleans and does laundry while keeping Ty for us! So this is what my couch looked like when I got home from work one day. I really appreciate her and all she does for us. It's such a treat to have her come, and grandpa when he can! ;) We are looking forward to Thanksgiving with them this year! Also, she left the day before her birthday and although we technically went out to eat for her bday, it totally slipped my mind and didn't even pay!!! So she had to pay for her own birthday dinner! So sorry about that! I'll make it up to you, promise! I'm also posting some pictures that Grandma took while she was here. The cute rainboots she got him although he wasn't to happy about them at first, he likes them now, they are just a little hard to walk in. ;) She got to witness Ty in Timeout and I think she thought it was pretty funny, bless him! Daddy and Ty built a fire. It was the cutest thing because Ty just wanted to be right beside David every step he took. Of course, Ty is a boy and loves the remote, I guess he just got comfy on his bean bag and found something good to watch. :) And then a pic of me and Ty, in his precious sweater, together.
In the meantime, David is so into Bow Hunting right now. Any chance he gets, he's in the woods or preparing for it! One night around 11, I found him in the woods beside our house trying out his tree stand and making sure he had it before hunting the next morning. It really was a hilarious site! Our house is the first house in the neighborhood and a couple cars past while he was 30' up a tree in the middle of the neighborhood. It was so funny, and they thought so too! I love my hubby, never a dull moment!!
So the next weekend Ty and I flew down to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday, but that's going to have to be the next post because it's way too long to combine them all, so I will skip to Halloween.
This year we were excited to get to go Trick-or-Treating with Tyler since he can walk now and would love it, but it POURED rain the entire night. We went out to the Branch Ranch and had a chicken stew with some friends and boy was it fun! Halloween day was kind of crazy because the whole day it was kind of muggy and hot. So I didn't put Ty's costume on till the very end because I knew he would burn up! So lets just say he was a football player until around 8:30 until he turned into a lion for about 10 minutes and then quickly had enough of that and decided he just wanted to be himself and wear his birthday suit. And by the way, I was a leopard because I had some comfy pj pants that I really wanted to wear, costume.. Perfect! (so that is what the cat lines on my face are!) We had a great day and most of all because we were all together. When we got there David went fishing and caught a little fish, so he brought it up to show Ty. I think Tyler was a little impressed, but not too much. ;) Daddy also brought bubbles to entertain with. I'm telling you he's a fun daddy!! :)
We got home around 10 after a 30 minute drive in the pouring rain and all crashed. It was a fun Halloween and hopefully next year we will be able to Trick or Treat not only with our lion but his little cub! ;)
That's right, on that subject, I really need to start my belly pics. I think with Ty I took one at 4 weeks. I'm 8 weeks now and haven't even taken one... I must get on that before I get called out for having favorites. ;)

These are a few of my favorite things...

I know I haven't posted in a while and so sorry for that it's just I haven't had too much going on till really this past weekend went I went home to surprise my sister for her 30th birthday. So I couldn't blog anything about that because I didn't want her to find out, so I just didn't blog at all. But there should be a pretty few good ones coming up, so keep checking... But for now, I will leave you with a few of my favorite things that I have enjoyed lately.

First, I love this Johnson's Melt Away Stress lotion. I bought my first bottle to take to the hospital when I had Tyler and I've been hooked ever since. I just LOVE the smell and it really does make me happy!

My sisters introduced me to this mascara (Loreal Double Extend) a while back and I love it. It goes on great and just wipes away in tubes when you are ready to take it off. It doesn't smear or smudge around your eyes, it's great!

Pickles... I just Love Dill pickle spears. I always have and I think I always will, there is just something about them that I can't get enough of and now Tyler LOVES them too! ;)

North Carolina falls. They are just beautiful. The leaves are gorgeous and you just want to stare at the beautiful colors all day long. The leaves have just started turning colors and it just makes me all excited inside. Moroccan Oil. My hair stylist started using this product on my hair and I absolutely love it. You would think that since it was oil it would make your hair all greasy and such, but it doesn't. It moisturizes your hair and gives it a healthy glow while leaving it just like you just washed it. It's great! I haven't bought any yet because it's kind of expensive and I've still got my Aveda products, but once those are out I will definitely be buying me a bottle of this!

And last but not least, I love being able to be crafty enough to make things for my friends and family. Some are better than others, but I think this shirt for Tyler turned out really cute. He looks kind of scared and I'm thinking he might be even more scared come June! ;)

Hope you have a fun-filled day!! Be back soon with more pics and fun updates!

Giggles...

Ok all you mommas and nanas out there... My cousin Teresa has a website, http://www.nanahood.com/ , and I've mentioned it before, but she is looking for some funny/cute stories about your kids to post on her site. I know you all have funny stories because I have read about them on your blog or you have told me, so help a sister out and send it to her at tbellkindred@scrtc.com She has a Giggle Box and needs some more giggles. ;)

Also a great shout out to Brooke from http://www.paigeandbrooke.blogspot.com/ for making me the signature that will now hopefully post when I do all my postings. I really appreciate it Brooke!! Yall should also check out her website, they do awesome crafts and recipes that are oh so yummy!

Okay, well that's all I have for today! Hope you have a great one~

Youth Retreat 2009

This weekend was the youth retreat in Myrtle Beach. We were one of the 6 or 7 churches there. The singing was amazing and the speaker was great also, although I didn't get to hear many of the sessions because they always fell right in the middle of when Tyler needed to go to bed. But it was ok. I think the kids had a blast and hopefully got some good stuff out of it. We got there on Friday night around 7:45. We had horrible weather on the way down. It rained on and off the whole way and then about the last 45 minutes it was a complete storm. Lightening hitting everywhere and Tyler was so tired but couldn't go to sleep, so he wasn't really a happy camper. Patsy Wilburn and I drove the car with Tyler. At first Ryan was with us but after dinner he switched cars, and I'm glad for his sake that he did. ;) Ryan is Mike and Lisa's son, he's 9. Mike and Lisa were our co-chaperons along with Patsy and Mike and Julie Scott. We loved having them with us and they were awesome!! So back to the retreat. Friday we got to enjoy the singing before Tyler crashed and needed to be in a bed, so we headed up to the room. Saturday morning we were up for breakfast at 8 and then had a session till 12 and then we ordered pizza for lunch because we wanted something quick and easy so we could get outside and enjoy the non-rain for as long as we could. It wasn't really sunny but we had a break from 12-5, so we wanted to get out there. It did sprinkle on us, but we didn't care we were already wet anyway. The hotel had an awesome play area. Tyler loved going down the slides.

They even had a 2"/3" pool. That's right INCH!! He loved it! It had fountain like things in it so he has a blast in there. Lisa and I even went down the slides and boy were they fun. We just had a great time. They had a lazy river, but as you can tell from the pic, Tyler didn't enjoy that so much. We also got in the hot tub to warm up a bit because it was pretty chilly outside. Tyler didn't stay in the hot tub very long, but he sure would of if we let him, he loved it. So then after our play time we all went upstairs and got ready to go to Fudruckers for dinner. It was good, but oh so crowded. I think there were about 175 people at our youth retreat and we all went there for dinner, of course, it was planned out and went actually pretty smoothly, but it was crowded. Then we had about 30 minutes before we needed to get back, so we went to The Bass Pro Shop. I love that place and Tyler loved looking at the all the fish. Then back to the hotel for more singing before I headed up to the room to get Ty in bed. So everyone got back in their rooms around 11:00 and Ty and I were already asleep. Tyler has had this horrible cough for a few days now and his nose is just running non stop but it's clear and he hasn't run a fever, so the dr said not to bring him in. Well, he woke up about 11:30 screaming his head off. He wasn't coughing or anything just crying. I couldn't get him to stop. Then he started coughing and almost gagging because he was crying so bad. So I rushed to get David and he couldn't get him to stop either. I really was worried. Then we went and got Lisa and she wasn't sure either. I tried everything, cold rag, bottle, cup, books, outside, everything. Finally he just went back to sleep. So I don't know if he was having a nightmare or if he was hurting somewhere. Of course we called the nurse and she said nothing. David ran to the store to get a humidifier, medicine, and anything he could think of because we were thinking it had something to do with his cough/vaccines and not feeling well. But who knows. He went back to sleep around 12:30 and slept till 9:00, so I'm not really sure what it was.

After church we were all packed up and headed home. It started out with me, Ty, and Patsy, but when we stopped for lunch David and Patsy switched because Tyler was crying and we felt bad that she was having to listen to it. But as soon as we took off he went to sleep and slept for about 2 hours and then the rest of the trip he was fine. Of course he wasn't really happy about being in the car seat, but did good none the less. So we arrived home around 5:00 after getting all the rental cars back and switching to ours. So we went on a long walk (Tyler and I) and just relaxed the rest of the night.

It was a great trip and so glad that the church allowed us to go. Thanks to everyone who went and who put so much time and energy into! It was really a great weekend! I'll post more pictures when I get them off my other camera and when some other people send me some new ones. ;)

So, Tyler still has a cough and runny nose, but the doctor said it needs to last at least 2 weeks before we bring him in... so we wait! And one last picture of our favorite past time these days. Tyler and I, and sometimes David get to go on little walks when we get home and of course Tyler feels the need to step on every leaf or speck in the road and also to stop and play in the dirt and find rocks to throw, so I just take a seat on the curb and let him have at it! David took this pic from our house across the street, Ty needed to give me kisses... I just love how he's up on his tippy toes!! Got to love it!!!

The Stats are in....

So we went this week for Tyler's 1 year check up. He was an angel but didn't know what he was getting himself into. The visit went good. He did all his tricks with a little hesitation for Dr. Bell. 31 1/2" (91%) in length
22lb 14 oz (51%) in weight
and 95% in head (I can't remember the measurement)
Then after the doctor left, the mean ol nurse came in and gave him 5 shots!!! One in each arm, one in one leg, and 2 in the other!!! I couldn't stay in there because I don't think I could have handled it, so brave daddy stayed with him. It was so sad!! He was shaking and screaming and had huge crocodile tears in his eyes!!! But he seems to be doing fine now, but we do have to go back in a month and get the other half of his flu shot. I'm sure he's going to be scared of that place now, I sure would be!!

So he's growing good and looks perfectly healthy! He did learn that a new trick was funny this week. Sticking his entire finger up his nose. Vicki and I were eating at Chipotle Sunday night and he kept doing it, I know I should NOT have laughed but it was the funnest thing and Tyler was belly laughing about it so it made me laugh even harder!! Here's a pic I took with my phone, and it's not real clear, but you get the picture! ;)
We are taking the youth group to Myrtle Beach this weekend for our Fall Retreat. It should be lots of fun, I just hope we have sunny weather!!

Tyler's Birthday...

On Friday, Tyler's actual birthday we took him to Chuck E. Cheese. This was the first time that he has gone so we were excited to take him. He LOVED it and didn't whimper the entire time we were there. We played games, rode rides, ate pizza, and just enjoyed being together. We got to see Chuck E. Cheese and Tyler went right up to him and gave him 5, he wasn't scared at all. It was a fun day. Afterwards we went home and found a sandbox on our deck from Aunt Sarah. It's so cool and Tyler loves it. We also got a Wonder Pets gift from Nana and D. Tyler was so excited and confused at the same time because he couldn't understand that the voices were coming from the box.

So after that Tyler went to bed to get some rest for the next day. Mommy and Daddy stayed up till 4:30am making the cake and doing the last few things around the house. Saturday morning we got up and Tyler and I went to get his hair cut. We went to my salon Dye Pretty. Brooke Lee cut his hair. He did really good. I took his bumbo so he would be a little more contained and then also brought a sucker. So between the both of those he sat pretty still. Afterwards we headed to Sam's to get some stuff for the party and then back home for Ty's nap and to start cooking the food.
The party started around 5:00. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad, and chips. The guest were: Caleb, Andrea, Ashling, Bekah, Luke, Wyatt, Sarah, Phil, Darla, Evan, Sam, Brian, Shanna, Addison, Brian, Katie, Jennie, Dom, Melissa, Francesca, and Dominic.
We have been practicing with Tyler to blow out his candle, and he can do it, but for some reason he just starred at it. He wasn't sure about the cake at first but once he tasted it, he was all over it. He LOVED all his gifts that he got and we are so thankful for such wonderful friends and family!!! So we were exhausted so we crashed after the party. Of course David still had a few hours of homework left to do.
Sunday up for church and then back home for naps. Brad and Bekah came to visit Sunday evening on there way back from Florida. It was so good to see them but wish it could have been for longer. So Sunday night we all went to eat at East Coast Wings and Bryan and Candace were able to come too. So it was a fun night, fun weekend, and hope our little man had the best birthday yet! ;) Thanks to everyone who got to celebrate with us!!
The last pictures are some of the ones Grandma took while she was with us last week.