Whew! The Christmas whirlwind is over! Tyler did especially well this year and all I have to say is I hope we don't get this much stuff every year for every kid because there is simply no place to put it all! that being said, of course, he LOVES every single gift he got!! I've posted a picture of what the dining room looks like. As you will see we don't use it as a dinning room!! What you can't see in the pictures is the drum set that had to be taken to the basement already! :) The picture is of him playing it at my grandma's house. The last picture is him in his Thomas blow up train that came with balls! I'll try to post more family pictures this weekend. We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and we look forward to a Happy New Year!!

A special Thank You to Marie who is faithful to read and comment! Some days I feel I only do this for the two of us Ree! But that's ok. :) To others who may read, I hope you enjoy keeping up with us!

Tyler has developed some new personality traits the past few months in addition to his terrible two routines. He's becoming a climber for sure... He's still pretty obediant though and has kept off of all the restricted furniture. :) I think when the baby comes his big gift will be some sort of climbing apparatus (if we sell the house of course) that can be put outside or brought into the basement during the winter. We've started to learn about obeying and still working on the Jesus loves you thing. He seems confused by the endless Jesus being born stories we read and tell him and the information that there is a baby in my belly. :) He does kiss the baby and is getting better wtih being gentle and not kicking me as much but clearly he really does not get it and I don't expect him to. We dont talk about it much (only when he's being too rough) because it's still so far away and frankly he's just too little. He started to do a crazy dance yesterday wher he basically bounce/squats and runs at the same time stopping occastinally to swing his arms and clap. It's the funniest thing iv'e seen in a while. While I still have no doubt about the sinful nature at birth thing Tyler has reafirmed my faith in the ability for people to have compassion and selflesssness. Tyler's happy sweetness was evident from when he was born. he just always seemed to have a contented and happy look in his eyes and when he started smiling, his whole face smiled- sometimes his whole body! He'd wiggle and sqirm with delight when someone he loved was near and talking to him, later he'd jump and soon enough the running arond and showing off came. Now that he's learning better to speak in sentances he's begun to show concern and compassion. No matter what I'm doing if I make some sort of odd sound or drop anything he comes running and asks me "You alright?" or "You hurt" If I say I have a little owie he tells me to brush it off and gives me a hug or kiss or grin, sometimes all three. Today he drove his train into a door and when it wouldn't go anymore he bent from the waist, cocked his little head and said. "Train. What are you doing? uh oh! You hit door! You okay?" It just was so cute I had to write it down. Last night I didn't feel well and told him I wanted to watch "mommy TV" and he could play by himself or watch with me and he did a little of both. He may not be able to count objects correctly or care very much about sounds and letters, but he's learning and I'm learning too. I love him to bits and I'm so thankful for him, and for friends that I can share the joys of my life with.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person, I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions withpregnant women as failing to follow them may result in serious physicalharm. If you are thinking, surely she doesn't mean me- then you shouldprobably read this twice. 1) The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having ababy is "Congratulations!" with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you an a$$. 2) Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are madeONLY by the mother and father- not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase "my baby". 3) On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in ..2, thepregnancy, birth and raising of the child are not about you. You donot have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it. 4) The body of a pregnant women should be treated the same as any otherbody. You would not randomly touch someone's stomach if they were notpregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus,cervix or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove alltraces of privacy from a woman. 5) Likewise, no women wants to hear comments on her weight- ever. Apregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is aboutis pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in herface. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she issomehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is "You look fabulous!". 6) By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on thefact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are notpregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. 7) There is a reason that tickets to L&D are not yet sold onTicketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, mother in law, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some peoplesimply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotionalmoment to be shared only by the parents. 8) Like everything else is life, unless you receive an invitation, youare NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor,delivery, the hospital and the parents home. You do not decide if youwill be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to"help out". If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will beasked for it. 9) If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you shouldclean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeedingand sleeping schedules and making a woman who is still leaking fluid frommultiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping. 10) The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents.Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are are being given theprivilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment onlyencourages the parents to include you less.

the latest on Tyler... He is a freaking poop factory! What is going on with my child??? I can't afford that many diapers either!! I really want to wait until after the hoopla of Christmas to even think about trying to potty train.... He's eating LESS fast food too!! In other news he's FINALLY developing a love of books. It may not ever be a love like mine but he doesn't view them as only blocks to stack and climb on and fall off of. He now looks at books on his own, especially if I'm reading something and he MUST have at least one (usually 3) bedtime stories. The Library has come in really handy for this! I've been trying to read mostly Chritmas books and he seems to like them. He now talks about "baby Jesus" which I'm sure he's confusing with the baby in mommy's tummy that he kisses...he also loves "santa" and "snowman" and "Christmas tree lights" (which is now pronounced "bi-bis-a-gee-i-eets") At least once a day he is adament about wanting something and I can't for the life of me figure out what he's saying. This tends to cause great dramatic trauma. :) This usually ends with distracting him with one of the many things that always calm him down- either playing with Thomas or watching something on TV. He's been doing this fake tantrum thing which gets him a one way ticket to time out where he continues until he either calms down himself or agrees to the alternate activity we offer. At least twice a day he trips over his own feet or falls off of a chair or the couch and acts like he's dying. If I pick him up he'll hold onto me and fake cry hysterically. He scrunches up his face and just goes "ahhhh" or "oooohhhh" and cries for mommy, daddy, tops (grandpa Pops), or mamatops (grandma). He likes to peek and check to make sure you are concerned and if you laugh at him he giggles and then gets louder and sometimes produces tears. I try to just tell him to get up and brush it off before the crying starts and then we are ok. One of his favorite words is cookie. My response of "no" when he asks for cookies and juice at 7:30 a.m. also causes tears. Ahh... he's caught onto the ways of a two year old. The question is do I have the energy to deal with this stuff the way I should? They say the patterns of defiance in toddlerhood revist in the teen years. I guess he'll be whiny teen like I was. My mom will be thrilled.

FINALLY... the Buckeyes are to play Florida. I'm just glad they finally decided... this BCS thing is rediculous. I can't believe I even care. What has Gary done to me? So last night I got to go to Malone College's Christmas Concert. It was WONDERFUL! It was in the building where we go to church, but the church is moving and today was our last service! Anyways, the concert was so so good. I got to go with my mom and some family friends. It was nice to hear singing and the band and not have to think about writing a paper for humanities or be listening for mistakes knowing the director would ask what I thought. I only knew one person performing and there was no pressure for me to watch only him so I actually got to just sit back and enjoy it. Not it feels like Christmas is officially coming. Back to the church thing- it was a very nice service today and I'm looking forward to being in the new building next week. I pray Tyler adjuts well! Our house has STILL not sold though there have been 2 interested parties. I'm trying to look at it and remember that God is not up in heaven wringing his hands together wondering why it hasn't sold and when it's going to and how we are going to pay for Christmas presents or the trip to California we have planned. He's got it all figured out. As usual I'd like the courtousy of a post-it warning but I suppose that takes the "fun" and the "trust" out of it. :) I think I've developed allergies now. I can't seem to breath out of my nose but it doesn't run unless I sneeze and then once I blow it everything dries out again...I'm only allowed to take Sudifed and I'm out. I held a jar of Vicks up to my nose for an hour while I watched TV before bed last night. Pathetic but it helped! I'm sure there is more worth telling but I can't think of anything. Too much energy is going into breathing at this point... Enjoy the picture of Tyler in his favorite Mickey coat and the new hat and mittens from Uncle Josh and Lia! If you think it's funny you should see him in his heavy coat! It's Randy all over again!