The Boys of Summer

Update on Kiefer

Kiefer is doing well. He is eating more so should start gaining some weight. He is off the ventilator, c-pap and just uses a feeding tube now. See how tiny his hand is in the bottom picture? Like all children, he is such a miracle.

Kiefer John

This is a picture of my newest nephew, Kiefer John. He was born Thursday, July 31 at 2:32 pm. He came to us eleven weeks early, but is doing very well. He will spend some time in the NICU. He weighs 3 pounds and is about 14" long. He is such a little fighter (just like his mom)!

The Tapestry

My life is but a weaving between God and me.
I do not choose the colors; He works steadily.

Often times He weaves sorrow, and I in foolish pride, forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

Not' til the loom is silent and shuttles cease to fly, will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful in the skillful Weaver's Hand as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

- Anonymous

Tyler Laughing

Tyler has just started to laugh out loud a little. I was just smiling at him while changing his diaper and he started this cute little giggle. By the time I got the camera, he had stopped. But I was able to get him to giggle a little on camera.

Our Summer

We've all had a fun summer so far! Last month Cousin Gina and Aunt Terry visited for a few days. We went to the Zoo and Coco Key Water Resort. We also had fun just playing outside together. Aunt Terry led the marching band around the house (several times) with Gina playing the bells and Alex on the drums.

Over the 4th of July we watched fireworks out at Grandpa Byers' house. Alex ran around playing with all his cousins and chasing toads. He really enjoyed watching the fireworks this year.

Most recently Alex attended Vacation Bible School at our church. I was a little tentative on signing him up this year because he still has a little separation anxiety. But after the first night, he was so excited to go back the next day. He didn't cry when I dropped him off and the teachers said that he was their favorite of the group. Okay, they probably say that about all the children, but it made me feel good anyway. At the end of the week he was sad that he couldn't go back. I explained that he would see the same kids and teachers each Sunday, but that didn't seem to make a difference.

Some of his favorite things to do this summer include watering (and smelling) the flowers outside, playing in the water hose, going to the library and playing at McDonald's (on hot days). He has also started "helping" Mommy in the kitchen as well as cleaning the house. Give him a dry Swifter duster and he will get everything at his level to the floor!

Tyler spends time in his swing and on his activity mat. He is growing like a weed. He is sleeping better each and every night. We are blessed to have good sleeping kids!

John got a new mower and spends much of his free time finding reasons to get it out and race around the yard. He takes pride in being able to mow the entire yard in under 15-minutes.

I have been making an effort to read a few books that I've been sitting on for several months. I also am trying to cook more meals at home and introduce Alex to a more variety of foods. You know how toddlers are when it comes to eating. I also enjoy researching possible travel itineraries. I'm currently working on a Mexican Riviera vacation for sometime next year.

Well, that is our summer recap so far. We hope that you are enjoying your time as well!

Tyler & Daddy

John's baby picture

This is a picture of John at age three months.

Tyler's Bath

The Car Wash

This morning Alex and Daddy went out to wash the cars. After a bit, Alex decided he needed to wash his tricycle. It was so cute!

Boys growing up!

Our little one is growing so fast! Today he went to the doctor for his routine check up. He will be nine weeks old tomorrow and he weighs 13 pounds 11 ounces! He is now 23.5" tall! He is easily wearing 3-6 months sized clothing. He received five shots and one oral immunization. The poor little guy screamed his head off. But as soon as it was over and I was able to hold him, he went right to sleep. He has been sleeping all afternoon.

I'm also attempting the first phases of potty training with Alex. We went out and bought all the supplies (Diego training pants) this morning. Wish me luck!

Our Mini Beach

Cousin Gina brought a really neat sandbox for Alex! It has a section to put water so you can mix in the sand and build a castle. It also has a nice hard cover that he can race cars on top. He LOVES to be outside constantly, so this is a nice toy that he can play with in the shade for hours.

We also pulled out his swimming pool and have a little beach set up next to the sandbox! It really helps on those HOT days.

Coco Key

We took the kids swimming at Coco Key water resort last week. Alex enjoyed looking at the water and splashing his hands in the water, but he did not want to get water in his hair! We sat him on our lap and went down the lazy river a few times. Daddy got him to go down the mini water slide a few time also. This indoor water park is really cool!

Smile!

A smile to melt your heart!

Family Photo

Tyler is only five days old in this picture taken at his church dedication.

Looking back...

Don't laugh! This is my baby picture (Amber). Now I know where Tyler gets his Mohawk!


This is probably my first or second grade photo. I see a lot of Alex in this picture (especially the side view).



I'd like to get a few pictures of John so we can see how much the boys look like him also!

Brotherly Love

Alex has certainly warmed up to Tyler. He gives him lots of hugs and kisses everyday!

My Daily Dialog w/Alex

Alex: Mommy?
Me: What?
Alex: A doin'? (What are you doing?)
Me: I'm making lunch.
Alex: Makin' unch?
Me: Yes.

(Pause for about three seconds.)

Alex: Mommy?
Me: What?
Alex: A doin'?
Me: I'm still making lunch.
Alex: Makin' unch?
Me: Yes.

Alex: Mommy?
Me: What?
Alex: A doin'?
Me: I'm eating lunch.
Alex: Eatin' unch?
Me: Yes.

This goes on, and on, and on, all day long. I believe this is the precursor to the "Why?" phase. And now (thanks to Andrew), he has added an enthusiastic "Oh, yeah!" to his repertoire!

Love those cheeks!

A new toy!

We thought it might ease the transition of having a new baby in the house if Alex had a nice new toy to play with. He really enjoys playing in it, BUT he likes to have one of us in there with him. We can all be big kids at heart, I guess!

Tyler Video

We finally convinced Alex to hold Tyler. He likes to tickle his hands and feet!

Here is a quick video of Tyler. This is the extent of his interaction at this point (besides crying)! I think he might be on the verge of smiling though.

Tyler's First Photo

I guess the hospital link isn't working, so I thought I'd post the picture they took for all to see. Get a load of those rosy cheeks! His coloring is a lot better now. He still has a head full of dark brown hair though!

Baby Pictures

Dr. Alex giving Tyler his first shots. Hey! Doesn't every parent dream of having a doctor in the family?

Alex is a proud big brother, as you can see!

I LOVE this picture of Tyler! He has cheeks you just want to pinch and kiss. Someone in the delivery room nick named him "Chunky Monkey" right after he was born...

Announcing Tyler B. Hayes!

He was born at 2:30 PM on Tuesday, April 29. He weighed 8 pounds 15 ounces and is 20 inches long. He is very happy and a healthy eater already! He has a head full of dark brown hair (almost black), though I’m sure he will lose some of it before growing his “real” hair. Of course his eyes are blue (for now).

The labor and delivery was so much better than last time! I only pushed four or five times and he was out within ten minutes of my feet going into the stirrups. My doctor was awesome and my nurse was so nice.

We came home earlier today and Tyler is adjusting nicely to his new home. Alex is excited and happy to show him everything! Expect to see lots of pictures soon! We just need another day or two to get them uploaded.

Baby Update

It has been a long weekend of waiting and wondering. Wondering if every little bump or pain might be the actual labor starting. Who would ever expect a woman to be so anxious to go through so much pain! BUT I know he will be worth it (they always are)! I've had a couple periods of consistent contractions over the last week, but they seem to peter out after a couple of hours. We'll pay another visit to our doctor tomorrow morning and hopefully he will agree to break my water and get the labor started. With any luck, we'll have another son early this week!

Still Waiting...

Yes, we're stilling waiting for our newest bundle of joy to arrive...I'm seeing the doctor later this morning and I plan to do some heavy negotiating (please, just do something)! Technically, he isn't due until next Thursday (May 1), but I am anxious to hold him and start bonding. I think Alex is somewhat excited as he has been told numerous times that he has a special baby brother coming soon.

Well, I'm off to the doctor. I'll update with more information when/if I have it!

Puppies!

This is just one litter of puppies that my mom has available at the moment. She had two litters within a week of the other. So, she has a total of 19 puppies for sale. Actually, several have already been sold. They are soooooooo cute! They are Labradoodles - a cross breed of a Labrador and a (standard) Poodle. The result is an adorable dog that has low-to-no shedding. They are also known to have low-to-no pet dander, so they are good for people with pet allergies.

The other litter is all cream or apricot in color. When I say apricot, think cream with a little hint of butterscotch. But apricot is the official name for some reason.

The chocolate puppies are already sold, but I know she has a few more black and several cream and apricot puppies left. Let me know if anyone is interested in purchasing one (or two), providing you can give them a loving home.

Here are a few more pictures from our trip...

A picture of the snow plow train in front of us.

The Garden of the Gods (Colorado Springs, CO)

John's artistic view of the St. Louis Arch.

Our Trip Home

A few weeks ago John and I had to move our car from New Mexico back to Ohio. Before leaving Albuquerque however, John twisted my arm and forced me to take the Sandia Peak Tramway. It is the world's longest aerial tramway. I'm not necessarily afraid of heights, but being in a swaying boxcar hanging from a wire on the side of a mountain is not my idea of fun. The tram takes you up to an elevation of 10,378 feet. At the observation deck, it is windy and cold, but you can see 11,000 square miles on a clear day. It was snowy and the scenery was beautiful. The tram took 24 months to build and began taking passengers up Sandia Peak in 1966.

After leaving Albuquerque, we headed north on I-25 and crossed into Colorado. We stayed in Colorado Springs for the night. But first we headed to Pikes Peak for a train ride! The summit of Pikes Peak is at about 14,110 feet, but on the day we visited we could only go to about 12,000 feet due to blowing snow. Along some parts of the trip the snow was about twelve feet deep on both sides of the train. A snow plow train was directly in front of us clearing the snow off the tracks, but the snow completely covered the view from the windows of the train. Once we cleared that section of the mountain, the views were spectacular. You could see parts of the Rockies in the distance. It was neat to imagine what it must have felt like to be one of the early settlers arriving into this area by horse and buggy!

We also visited the Garden of the Gods, a beautiful area of towering red rock formations. It is a National Natural Landmark. For more information visit http://www.springsgov.com/Page.asp?NavID=987.

The next morning we left Colorado Springs and headed to Kansas. Just after crossing into Kansas, we stumbled onto the worlds largest easel. Believe it or not, John had heard of this and so we just had to stop and take his picture. He was excited and wanted to go find the worlds biggest ball of twine (also somewhere in Kansas). I guess it is the little things...

We decided to stop overnight mid-way through Kansas in a little town called Salina. We stayed at a bed and breakfast called Hunters Leigh. We had never stayed at a B&B, so we're not sure what to compare it to, but we basically stayed with a nice couple in one of their spare bedrooms. She made a really nice french toast breakfast the next morning though! We left Salina and headed to St. Louis next.

We visited the famous Arch, although we didn't go up inside. It was closed for some reason, but instead we visited the museum underneath the Arch. We highly recommend visiting the museum, if you haven't already. It is really nice (and free) and has a ton of historical information. It was really impressive and someplace we will take the kids once they are older.

On the last day, we drove from St. Louis to home. We got an early start because we were both anxious to get home and see Alex. Besides sampling the new McDonald's gourmet coffee somewhere in Illinois, this leg of the trip was uneventful.

Oceanside, CA

Last week we decided to escape the cold snowy weather here in Ohio and headed out to sunny Southern California. We flew into San Diego (via the new Skybus airline) and rented a condo just north of the city in Oceanside. We played on the beach and relaxed at the condo most of the time. But we did visit the San Diego Zoo and Disneyland! Here are just a few of the pictures that capture our family vacation.

2-Year Old Pictures!

Go Diego Go!

Alex is showing off his new bathtub toy! It is a Diego tub trike. He LOVES his bubble bath!


I just love that smile!

Alex enjoyed opening presents this year. Although he tore small pieces of paper off a little at a time, he eventually opened everything. I can only hope that his enthusiasm for anything wrapped in bright colored paper will continue throughout his life. He could have opened underwear or socks and he would have proudly held them over his head and exclaimed "WOW!".

The Santa Picture

Every child has at least one picture like this with Santa! Alex enjoyed the presents Santa brought, but he would have preferred to pass on the personal visit (at least for this year)!

Baby Boy Hayes