thoughts

T buddy!  You are now 17 months old and your brother is due in a month.  As I spend my days with you I am so thankful for your smiles and kisses and health.  You are a loving little boy with a curiosity for the things around you and your boundaries.  You are testing what you are allowed to do these days.  It can wear me out but I know it is all part of you becoming independent and is all part of being a kid.  I love your spirit.  I'm excited to see you become a big brother.  You are learning to be gentle with your cousin Nicolai and your friend Gavin.  You absolutely love throwing and you are good at it.  We are working on just throwing balls, not hard toys, especially with the babies around.
You are teaching me how to be a better communicator. To be clear and to say what I mean.  You are teaching me the power of a smile, the warmth of a hug and the love of a mom I could never explain.  It's crazy to think we will soon have your little brother to share our days with and love as well.  I'm looking so forward to him and at the same time wondering how it'll change my time with you.  All part of being a family and transitioning and growing our love.   It will be fun to watch you two grow together, learn to share, enjoy playing and become buddies.  I know there will be fights in there as well.  Some that will make me secretly chuckle and some that will make me secretly cry.

I thank God for you and the time we have together.
I love you Tyden.

You are one year old.

Your birthday was great Tyden.  We had a family party for you on Saturday and then celebrated more on Tuesday.  You got your own little ice cream sundae and loved it.  Singing happy birthday on Saturday I got unexpectedly choked up a bit.  Sad I guess but also happy for you and the joy you bring those around you.  You are wonderful.
Stats:
Six teeth: four top/two bottom
You love to eat.  Nectarines, tomatoes, plain yogurt, bananas and cheese are some of your favorites.
You are crawling on one knee and one foot, or on your belly when you really want to go quickly.
You stand up and walk around furniture but not on your own yet.
You make goofy faces,funny head bobs and blinks that make us laugh.
You regularly say mama and dada but we don't know if it's about us.
When you hear dogs barking you make a high pitched quiet little barking sound.
You are busy and like to be active, throwing balls and rings (sometimes behind you).
We are trying to teach you to be gentle with your cousin Nicolai.
You loved playing with your cousins Jaley, Cob and Josh.
Still napping twice a day and usually sleeping 9-11 hours at night.
You are done with mama milk.

Hey Tyden-bud!   Lately you have been such a funny boy.  Cracking me up daily.  Last night you were making Dad, Nanny, Papa and me all laugh at dinner.  You do this funny thing with your head and your eyes like you are looking at us, then away, then back really quickly.  We will get a video of it soon and I will post it.  You are a joy my little boy!  In the meantime this little video of you and your new little Nicolai-cuz has brought joy to many people.

TJG

Tyden your first birthday is just a week away.  I love being your mom and I feel so lucky to spend my days with you.  Dad laughs at all the pictures on my phone because I can't bear to part with them.  He says I have so many that I can't get my updates.  I've been trying to come up with a way to save them.  Auntie Kim has a great blog and so does Jenny so I decided to start a blog as a journal to you and your sibling/s.  Here I will save pictures, memories, funny things you do and all that is special to this mom.  Thanks for being my boy.  I love you so much and look forward to all our times together.  Tyden you make me laugh everyday.  You have been a blessing in my life.  God chose us for each other and I sure love His choice!