Tanner's Terrible Tumble

It finally happened. It seems like no matter how careful you are, at some point your child is going to take a pretty good fall. Tanner's time was up- he tumbled down my parent's stairs yesterday.
Chris was watching him go up and down the stairs and he said he turned around to count how many stairs they'd gone up and a second later Tanner was falling. He said it happened too fast for him to catch him. We think he fell about 8 stairs. It wouldn't have been so bad, but my parent's stairs are only carpeted in the middle and then they have wood on the edges. Well Tanner's face caught most of the fall on the wood. His poor little cheekbone!!!
Here's his face a couple hours after he fell- the bruise looks funny because I put some lotion on him after his bath and its reflecting the flash from the camera- you can still kinda get the idea.

The day after. Now it's turned purple instead of bright red.




The bruise doesn't look half as bad in these pictures, but his little face really is sad looking. It makes me want to cry every time I look at him.
Our little guy was pretty tough though. I think it scared him more than anything. I know my heart was racing a million miles a minute and I couldn't stop shaking afterwards. I heard him crash down the stairs and I ran to get him, but Chris had already scooped him up by then. I snatched him away from Chris and immediately started trying to calm him down. He only cried for about 1 minute and then he just sat on my lap and snuggled.
Then after dinner he tried to conquer those dang stairs again. Too bad for him, I wouldn't let him anywhere near the stairwell for the rest of the night. Maybe next time we go over to my parent's house we can work on stairs, but we're going to take a little break for a while.

Park, Snow, Park and More Snow

We've been having some bizarre weather lately. We had a few snow of the year and it was freezing after. Then the next week it warmed up. When I say warm, I mean in the high 40's. So after being cooped up inside the house for so long, Tanner and I had to stretch our legs. So we grabbed Chris and headed to the park.
Tanner had so much fun and Chris and I love playing with him and watching him play. He's such a funny kid and very determined.
He climbed up the big slide all my himself.

But once he got up there he got a little scared.

So Dad went down the slide with him to show him how it's done. After that Tanner loved it and he wanted to go down the slide over and over.

He also really enjoys the swings.

Even though we looked bundled up, it actually was really nice weather compared with the weather we had earlier.


Then we had another RANDOM snow storm. This time we got about 5 inches. It was enough to play in so Tanner and I bundled up again and braved the cold weather. Unfortunately, it was a dry snow and didn't pack well. But Tanner had fun for a little while.



Then he was ready to go inside for some hot cocoa. He loves hot cocoa and its one of the few words he'll say at the correct time. He'll drag me into the kitchen and point to the pantry, where its kept and say "cocoa, cocoa". Its actually pretty dang cute.

Then this past weekend it was almost 70 degrees. Crazy!!! Tanner and I met some friends at the park and we played there for almost 2 hours. Tanner loves the park. He really loved the merry go round. It was his first time and I almost couldn't get him off it.



We've been having lots of fun and staying busy. Between church, playgroup, volunteering, and the normal day-to-day stuff we are always up to something. Supposedly there is another ice/snow storm on its way- should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll see.

First Snow of the Year

We woke up to snow this morning for the first time this winter. Granted, it was only an inch, but it was white. Tanner and I had to explore first thing this morning. We threw on our coats and snow boots then ran outside.
Here is a video from this morning- try to ignore my "cold" voice-I'm still sick and I sound yucky.

Here is Tanner this morning- he was kind of weary of the cold, white stuff at first.


Then at lunch time, when Dad got home, we got bundled up for real and went out to the backyard to play.
Tanner loved eating the snow. He'd grab handfuls and then take very tiny, careful bites. It was pretty funny to watch.


Then he had to share his snow with Dad. Yum Yum!

He also enjoyed stomping around in the snow.



I know this is a pretty pathetic snowfall, but it was the first one of the year and we had to play in it. Hopefully more is on it's way tonight.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We kicked off the NEW YEAR with a BIG SURPRISE!
My sister Sarah got engaged!!!
It was so cute. Her boyfriend, Johnny, flew out on New Year's Eve and surprised her with an engagement ring. It was really sweet and she of course said yes!
They are planning on getting married in April after their winter semester is over. I can't even tell you how excited I am. She asked me to plan her wedding. I have very little experience planning weddings- my mother-in-law planned most of mine, but I'm THRILLED! My Dad is going to give us a budget and the rest is up to Sarah, Mom and I. SO MUCH FUN!

Anyway here is the rest of our new years story. We got home on the 30th but our luggage didn't. We went over to my parent's house that night and said hi to everyone. All my family was home from college so we were all together for the first time since summer. It was so fun. Then we went home and Tanner had somehow gotten sick again, so he slept (well tried to sleep-he was coughing all night) in our bed. The next day we got up at about noon and went back over to my parents. We were still tired from our early morning flight and long day of traveling, but we wanted to get all the time in with my siblings that we could. Our luggage arrived around 3 and that was a relief.
That night we started our party. Sarah had no idea that Johnny was on his way to the house, so we were all trying not to spill the beans.
We went into the living room to have Christmas again, because we still had gifts to exchange and we had left all Tanner's gifts home.
Tanner passing out presents. They actually all went straight to me- not that they were for me, but he loved handing them all to me.


Dad and Tanner opening one of Tanner's presents


Then right in the middle of present opening Dad tells Sarah to run down to the basement to get a present he'd hidden for Mom. Sarah went downstairs and found Johnny. We were all anxiously waiting for her to scream in surprise but there was nothing but quiet. Turns out they were both so nervous they could hardly stand, let alone scream in surprise or joy. When she came back up to the living room she had a ring on her finger and a fiance in hand. It was a pretty great surprise.
Seriously- how cute are they?



Earlier that day Sarah had busied herself by making two delicious pies. Then we made some appetizers and drinks. We celebrated their engagement and the new year with fun, food and games.
Tanner even stayed up to ring in the new year. (I know I'm a bad mom- but he was having so much fun). Chris took Tanner to bed around midnight and I stayed up to play more games. I finally went to bed at 3 and boy was I tired.
Right after the ball dropped

Tanner trying the sparkling cider- It was not a favorite!

The next morning we met some friends for breakfast and then the men of the family spent the day doing man things, like shooting and watching "True Grit".
It was a great New Years and I know this year has so much to offer.
I wont bore you with my goals for the new year, but I have high hopes for myself, my marriage and my family.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas in Oregon

We left on December 14th for Oregon and had a very uneventful day of traveling. No delays, cancellations and Tanner did fantastic on the flights. We were all tired by the time we got in to Portland, but we were glad to finally be there.
Unfortunately, the day after we got there Tanner got really really sick. He ran a temperature of about 103 and threw up all over. It was horrible. After about a week he started feeling a bit better, but for the first 7-8 days all we did was hold Tanner and snuggle. He gets really clingy when he's sick and he spend the majority of his time laying on me. It was really sad. I loved getting to cuddle him but wish it could have been under better circumstances.
The next week we played a little with his Aunt Stephanie and his cousin Chase. At night Aunt Natalie, Uncle Brad and their two boys would come over. The four grandsons spent a lot of time playing together. It was really cute to see them all interact.
All of the Grandsons with their shirts off. So stinkin' cute!

Grandma and Grandpa have so many fun toys.


Tanner absolutely loves other kids. He had a blast with his cousins. He seriously needs a sibling to play with.
Tanner having so much fun

Here is a picture of Tanner and Stephen, snuggling up to watch 101 Dalmatians

Tanner and Great-Grandma Bertie. He loved her and her wheelchair!

One day Aunt Natalie brought their new puppy over to Grandma's to play.
Tanner wasn't sure about the dog at first

But then he couldn't get enough of her


Then came Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas this year with Chris' family. On Christmas Eve we had the traditional fish fry. We actually didn't fry a ton of fish though- this year we tried some new things- we did potstickers, egg rolls, coconut shrimp, onion blossoms and broccoli. Then we had sushi on the side. It was pretty good. Then we got the boys ready for bed and Grandpa read them some Christmas stories.
Chase and Tanner in their Christmas Pjs.



Christmas Eve before we headed to bed.

Love these boys



The next morning we opened stockings and then presents. Tanner opened his first Christmas present and then he was too obsessed with that gift to open anymore. It was so funny. It really was a great Christmas. We had a delicious Christmas dinner with some more family and then visited until bedtime.
Santa found us.


Tanner going through his stocking and loving it.

Mom and Tanner opening his first present

Tanner's new slippers. So appropriate because we're always calling him "Tanner-bear" or "Little Bear"


Tanner loved Christmas! Doesn't this expression just say "This is the coolest thing ever!"

Chase and the other little boys loved the play fort I made. They took turns smashing their faces against the netted window. It was pretty funny to watch.

Chase inside his play fort

I couldn't resist this picture. I know their eyes are kinda creepy- but it totally captures how silly these boys are!


The rest of our time there was spent shopping and playing.
We did get to see some old friends from college. We spent one day at the coast with them. We had a great time catching up and Tanner was a good sport about all the driving. We took him to the "Marine Wildlife Center" to keep him happy. He loved touching all the different wildlife.



The last night in Oregon we stayed with Chris' brother Phillip and his wife Stephanie. The little boys had one last night to play and then we had to get up at 2:30 am to get to the airport in time for our 6:30 flight.CRAZY!!! We were exhausted but it was a great visit and we look forward to going back.
Tanner and Chase on their last night together. Aren't they cute in their matching sleepers?

Tanner loved his Grandma and Grandpa

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas too. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!