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Saturday, December 31, 2011

A Year In Review

All in all, 2011 turned out to be a pretty decent year, I think!  Looking back to where we were one year ago today, it amazes me at how much has changed in our lives.  Ty has gone from an infant to a full-blown toddler, and has gained an incredible amount of independence.  We have met many new people through our Down syndrome playgroups, and Ty has made some great new friends.  I have given up the hectic life of a full-time teacher, to be a stay-at-home mom to the student who needs and appreciates me the most!  We are in a very different place now than we were 12 months ago, but it's all for the better.  Looking back...   

January 2011 - At the start of the year, Ty was just 10 months old.  He was just learning to feed himself crackers...
....stand to play
                                                          
 ...hold his own bottle
 ...and give those ever-so-sweet kisses of his!

February 2011 - This was the month of that stubborn first tooth...

...when he discovered the joy of clapping
 ...and his first DS playgroup - Morning Travelers!

March 2011 - Our little guy turned 1!!!  We played hookey to take him to the aquarium, and had a party with all of his family. This was my favorite day of the year!

April 2011 - This is when Ty discovered true mobility in his walker and realized he could get into everything!  He also started to really crawl sometime this month, though I can't even remember when anymore!

 He also celebrated his first Easter. 
This is still one of my all-time favorite pictures...dressed up, attitude and all!
 And as the weather started to warm up, we were able to explore the orchards, trails, and ponds near our house.  We had many many more days like this one!


May 2011 - The month of May brought Ty to his first parade (which he LOVED!)...
 ...and was when Ty developed his love...no, obsession...for swimming!

June 2011 - June was a fun one.  We participated in the NSTAR walk for Children's Hospital Boston, and walked 7 miles around the Charles River (in the cold and rain!) for Team Down Syndrome!
 Ty also finally...FINALLY...started to get on his hands and knees by himself, after months of army crawling!
 And he learned to spoon-feed himself!


July 2011 - July was a busy one as we celebrated the 4th (and our 3rd wedding anniversary!)...
 ...Ty got his second set of ear tubes, and built a nice 20 word vocabulary within a month!
... We celebrated Ty's baptism at the church where Eric and I were married.
 ...And Ty had his first visit to the beach, which he LOVED!
We discovered he is NOT afraid of freezing New England ocean water!

August 2011 - August brought Ty's first mini-vacation to Lake Winnisquam...
 ...And was the month when he learned to really stand well by himself.

September 2011 - The start of fall brought about probably the biggest change of the year, as I started my new "career" as a stay-at-home mom, rather than returning to work as a teacher. I don't regret a minute of it!

Ty also attended his first football game, and discovered his love for sporting events!

October 2011 - This month brought along Ty's first steps...a moment we had been waiting for!  Though he's not walking independently all the time yet, it was a good start!
 Our little puppy also celebrated Halloween!

November 2011 - November brought Ty's second Thanksgiving.  He looked oh-so-handsome in his little outfit.  This is one of the first pictures where I can really see how old he's getting!


December 2011-  This past month was filled with Christmas preparations, which Ty took part in this year.  He thoroughly enjoyed "shopping" for ornaments, as he walked by the Christmas tree...
 ...and of course his infamous visit with Santa (neither of them look thrilled!)



Whether it was a new skill, new experience, or exciting event, our year was definitely filled with excitement and celebration.  I have a feeling 2012 will be even better :-)

Wishing you a very Happy New Year, and a 2012 of health and happiness!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Christmas Recap

Well, Christmas with a toddler is just as fun as I imagined it!

We started our holiday on Christmas Eve, at my dad's house for dinner. Ty spent the night walking around the house with his toy and climbing the stairs to find the dogs! When we got home, We got on Ty's Christmas jammys, and read "The Night Before Christmas" before bed.

 

Ty's gift to us was sleeping in until 7am, which was wonderful. He listened and danced to Christmas music as he drank his morning milk, happy as could be.


He had a blast opening his stocking,as he pulled one toy out at a time and played with each one. He knew exactly what to do, with a big smile on his face. It was adorable to watch!

 

Opening his presents from Santa was just as exciting. After pulling the paper off of the first one, he immediately recognized it was a book, and wanted to read it right away! He understood that new toys were under all the paper, and willingly opened each one. Of course, after opening one book, he kept signing the word "book" because he wanted more of them to be under that paper! It's a good thing Santa anticipated that and got him a few! It was a blast seeing his excitement this year, in comparison to the boy who wanted to eat the paper last year!




Our Christmas day was a busy one, as we visited both sides of the family in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The day started with a nice breakfast that we hosted at our house, and Ty got to show his new toys to his family. After a long bath with his new bath toys, the most handsome Christmas boy was ready for his day!!!

Who needs snow for Christmas morning sled rides?!

We spent Christmas lunch with my family in town, which was very nice. Ty had a blast playing with his new race car track before he passed out and took a nap! I'm not going to lie though, it was nice to have an adult meal without trying to soothe a tired baby in a high chair!

 


In the afternoon, we drove to Massachusetts to visit Eric's family. Ty toddled around with his new push toy, and climbed the stairs about...ohh 100 times! (Thanks Auntie Cara!) It was nice to see everyone, and we were happy to be able to see all of our family for the holiday!



Being a parent at Christmas is just like being a kid again. It's a blast experiencing the excitement of Santa through a child's eyes. I can only imagine what next year will have in store!

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Happy 21 Months, Big Boy!

Well, I wrote a very long post yesterday about all of Ty's new skills, so I'll make his monthly "birthday" post short and sweet!  My favorites this month include:  Ty's incredible hugs, where he tucks his legs in and wraps his arms around my neck so tight;  his always-evolving dance moves;  his play skills where he "walks" animals around on the floor, and "drives" his cars around the house;  the new "shy" phase that he's in...it leads to lots of snuggles with Mom!;  his new-found interest in Sesame Street;  the way that he signs "a" and then "apple" to say "a" is for "apple" when we're reading his alphabet book;  as well as his new two-word signed phrases (more music).  This boy never ceases to amaze me!  Happy 21 months, Ty-Ty!


Happy 21 months!
Where am I?!?!  (He managed to get his entire body inside this mesh bag!)

So excited, his pants fell off!

Crawling fool!

Ohhh, just exploring some cabinets!

Kneel walking is fun...

...But real walking is better!!

A playroom full of toys, and this is what he plays with...

Ty and Mommy!