Happy Birthday to a Terrific Two Year Old

Here is my sweet 7 lb 11 oz "preemie." You can read here about how he was born at 36.5 weeks.


I used to change his diaper on this ottoman.


Now he stands up and dances on it!


Here is is at age 1--notice the adorable "cankles."


And (drum roll) here is my big boy 2 year old!!!


Now to help everyone get to know a little bit more about Ty (and to help me remember when I'm old and gray), I present the ABCs of Ty! I'll mix in a few more pictures from today to mix it up.

Apples are best left out of reach because if Ty sees it, he takes a few bites and puts it back in the fruit bowl.
Baseball--'nuff said.
Cookie-lover. He even pretends to eat cookies in book illustrations.
Daddy can't deny Ty. He is definitely a miniature version of Dee (with the exception of the Tittle brown eyes).
Elmo, Elmo, Elmo--what is it about Elmo? Ty can't get enough!
Flirt...Watch out, ladies, because he knows how to turn on the charm! See...



Green beans don't stand a chance--he could eat these for B, L, and D.
Hugs--Ask for a bear hug, and he'll gladly oblige, complete with a growl and a laugh!
Indoors is NOT where he wants to be. He stands at the back door and begs to play outside (regardless of the weather).
Just adorable when he dances the moment he hears music.
Ky-Ky and Kay-Kay=his cousin Kylie and Aunt Kasey.
Ladder--he's a climber, and he did manage to climb halfway up a ladder in about 5 seconds.
Monkey--the first animal sound he learned how to make.



Neatness matters with him. He loves cleaning up and eating with utensils. He will throw a fit if he gets food on his clothes.
Oh, Toodles! He can quote good ole Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
Pat, pat, pat, pat...his favorite part of his favorite show--Little Einsteins.
Quincy--the one Einstein he can't name yet.
Rah-Rah=Rocket on LE.
Sa-Sa=Sally on Cars. BTW, he really doesn't watch that much TV. But he does watch DVRed Playhouse Disney while I cook dinner, and he knows the Cars characters more from books than the movie.



Take Me Out To the Ball Game--he is getting pretty good at singing this one!
Unbelievably blessed--well, that's how I feel about being Mommy to Ty.
Valuable--every time he says "I wov you too."
Wondering if there are any trucks or trains nearby? Just bring Ty with you because he will inform you...repeatedly.
Xcellent little brother. Watch out, would-be boyfriends of Emily. You'll have to deal with Ty when he's all grown up!



YAY!!! He loves to clap after he accomplishes something. Anything.
Zoe--he loves saying her name when he reads a Sesame Street book.

Happy Birthday Ty-Man! I love you!!!

Family Chores/Learning to Save

I just thought I'd log on (procrastinate grading a quiz) and post something that's been working well for Miss Emily. A few months ago, I was wanting to teach her how to pitch in and help with keeping our house clean, but I wanted to find a job that she was capable of doing correctly (I didn't want to have to go behind her and re-do the chore). After talking to my elementary school teaching mom of 4 SIL, I decided Emily's job would be unloading the silverware from the dishwasher. SIL suggested this because it also helps with learning to sort. I must say that Emily is an expert silverware unloader. She's actually better than her Daddy about getting things in the right spot ;-) I just put away the sharp knives, and she takes care of the rest.

When my mom was visiting us in Feb, I was concerned when Emily started asking her "Will you buy me _______" (fill in the blank with various princess accessories). I decided to talk to Emily about saving money to buy her own princess items. So I bought her a ballerina piggy bank and started paying her an allowance for doing her chore. I just give her 5-10 nickels and dimes (she thinks it's a lot of money since it's a lot of coins), and she happily deposits them in the ballerina piggy. She knows she is saving up to buy her very own Princess Aurora ensemble from WDW one day (hopefully summer 2010).

Since I pay her on Saturday, she always saves one dime to put in the collection at church. At first, she fought me on this because she wanted to save all of her "monies," but it's now routine for her to "save one to give to Jesus." I think that her giving one of her own dimes is teaching her more than us giving her a dollar to put in the plate. But sometimes we do that, too.

Anyway, I thought maybe some other moms are wondering about age-appropriate chores and if/when to give an allowance, so that's my take. I'd love to hear from other moms on this topic!

Pray for me that I'll get my grades done in time for report cards!!!