I think the best method for diet and exercise is the Ty Michael plan! I know I burned more than a few calories while we were playing last week. We have toys for Ty in the family room, but a week or so ago I took Ty downstairs to where we have the toy and game closets. There are all sorts of fun things in there.
One of the first things Ty discovered was the shopping cart. It has held up really well for the past 15 or 16 years as one of Melinda's toys. Ty liked putting a baby in the cart and wheeling down the hallway. Every now and again he'd take the baby out and hold it carefully. He also liked the pink Barbie car and the other toy cars. We took turns rolling them down the hallway.
One of his favorites was the old electronic keyboard. The kids have used that to accompany their dances for YEARS! Ty loved pushing the buttons that play the various rhythms and songs. He also liked the Bop it! game. We're great dancers, Ty and I.
We played and chased and laughed and crawled. Like I said in the first paragraph it was one of the best workouts I've had in a while. Every now and then we'd read Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you See for a small break.
I like being silly with Ty.
Love,
NS
Friday, April 24, 2009
Papa!
Last Friday we took care of Ty for a bit so that Carynn and Jamie could work on their patio. They were at the stage where they were putting down the pavers in the sand. Well, Ty loved helping a little too much and every time they'd try to smoothe the sand he'd play in it. I think that's perfectly understandable. After all that is what sand is for. Anyway, we said that we'd love to have him come over so he did.
We had a fun time playing. At one point Ty picked up an older family picture that I like to leave out. It was taken in 1993 when we lived in Oregon. My friend had taken our "official" family portrait and then thought it would be fun to pose us differently. Michael's holding a rake, Carynn's pretending to style her hair, Lynette's talking on the phone, Bret's posed on his mountain bike, Melinda's holding a doll and I'm pretending to read a book. Ty held the picture, pointed to Michael and said, "Papa." Then he bent and kissed the picture. It was so sweet to witness his spontaneous gift of afffection for his grandpa. Ty loves his Papa and Papa loves Ty.
Love,
NS
We had a fun time playing. At one point Ty picked up an older family picture that I like to leave out. It was taken in 1993 when we lived in Oregon. My friend had taken our "official" family portrait and then thought it would be fun to pose us differently. Michael's holding a rake, Carynn's pretending to style her hair, Lynette's talking on the phone, Bret's posed on his mountain bike, Melinda's holding a doll and I'm pretending to read a book. Ty held the picture, pointed to Michael and said, "Papa." Then he bent and kissed the picture. It was so sweet to witness his spontaneous gift of afffection for his grandpa. Ty loves his Papa and Papa loves Ty.
Love,
NS
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter Fun
We had a great weekend celebrating both the lighter and significant sides of Easter. On Saturday morning we joined Carynn, Jamie and Ty for their ward Easter celebration. There was yummy food (egg/sausage/hashbrown casserole, biscuits and gravy, cinnamon cake, orange slices, orange juice), singing by the Primary children, a spiritual program on the Savior and finally the Easter Egg hunt.
The weather wasn't cooperating (not a surprise really as the weather hasn't been cooperating for a while) so we didn't know if they'd do the egg hunt inside or outside. The rain stopped enough that they opted for outside so we joined Ty and his parents for his first "official" Easter Egg hunt. They had a special area for the 3 and unders behind the church. The plastic eggs (filled with candy kisses) were scattered out in the open on the wet grass.
At first Ty wasn't quite sure what to do. Being a bright boy he caught on fairly quickly and gathered his eggs. When he realized that they had candy in them he wanted to stop after every egg and get the candy out, but he was persuaded to finish hunting. He really "got" the concept of the eggs needing to be put in the basket when he picked them up, however, instead of gently placing them in the basket he tossed them in. The hunt didn't take very long which was good since it was cold and wet. We all took pictures and some video. Hopefully some of them will turn out.
On Sunday, Carynn, Jamie and Ty joined us for dinner so did Melinda, Landan and Landan's mom. Landan's dad and grandpa were supposed to come to dinner too but they were sick. After dinner the kids hid the eggs I had creatively colored (watch out Martha Stewart)for each other. They hid them in the living room and got really creative considering that all 12 eggs were in one area. They also "hid" the eggs for Ty. He liked finding the eggs but again had some "placing versus throwing" issues when getting them into the basket. There were definitely some cracked eggs. He also threw an egg towards the basket (it went quite a way) which was retrieved by one of the adults.
He had a moment where he took a bite out of the egg, shell and all. You should have seen his face when he realized that he didn't like the taste of egg shell AND egg.
A good time was had by all!
NS
The weather wasn't cooperating (not a surprise really as the weather hasn't been cooperating for a while) so we didn't know if they'd do the egg hunt inside or outside. The rain stopped enough that they opted for outside so we joined Ty and his parents for his first "official" Easter Egg hunt. They had a special area for the 3 and unders behind the church. The plastic eggs (filled with candy kisses) were scattered out in the open on the wet grass.
At first Ty wasn't quite sure what to do. Being a bright boy he caught on fairly quickly and gathered his eggs. When he realized that they had candy in them he wanted to stop after every egg and get the candy out, but he was persuaded to finish hunting. He really "got" the concept of the eggs needing to be put in the basket when he picked them up, however, instead of gently placing them in the basket he tossed them in. The hunt didn't take very long which was good since it was cold and wet. We all took pictures and some video. Hopefully some of them will turn out.
On Sunday, Carynn, Jamie and Ty joined us for dinner so did Melinda, Landan and Landan's mom. Landan's dad and grandpa were supposed to come to dinner too but they were sick. After dinner the kids hid the eggs I had creatively colored (watch out Martha Stewart)for each other. They hid them in the living room and got really creative considering that all 12 eggs were in one area. They also "hid" the eggs for Ty. He liked finding the eggs but again had some "placing versus throwing" issues when getting them into the basket. There were definitely some cracked eggs. He also threw an egg towards the basket (it went quite a way) which was retrieved by one of the adults.
He had a moment where he took a bite out of the egg, shell and all. You should have seen his face when he realized that he didn't like the taste of egg shell AND egg.
A good time was had by all!
NS
Monday, April 6, 2009
Binoculars
Yesterday Carynn, Jamie and Ty came over to watch General Conference and to have dinner with us. Michael had the binoculars out as he's keeping track of the birds as they return and (hopefully) set up housekeeping in the nestboxes on our property.
Ty found the binoculars and immediately put them on, but under his nose. Papa showed him how to use them, but he still likes to wear them under his nose. When he holds them with the lenses reversed he can see his Papa quite well.
I loved it when Ty ran to me when I held my arms out to him. Carynn said that he recognized that he was coming to Nana and Papa's house. Yay!
Happy Spring!
NS
Ty found the binoculars and immediately put them on, but under his nose. Papa showed him how to use them, but he still likes to wear them under his nose. When he holds them with the lenses reversed he can see his Papa quite well.
I loved it when Ty ran to me when I held my arms out to him. Carynn said that he recognized that he was coming to Nana and Papa's house. Yay!
Happy Spring!
NS
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Fun with Nana and Papa
We had a lot of fun with Ty while he was with us. One thing I noticed right away is that he is verbalizing so much more. He'll say Papa for Grandpa. He says a version of Nana too. Anything round is called "Bah" for ball-this includes oranges, apples and balls. "Dah" is our dog. He still uses "uh oh" too. Plus all the other words I mentioned in previous postings.
Boy is he sharp! When Carynn and Ty stopped by the day after we got home Ty made a beeline for our bedroom. I thought he'd mess with some of the decorative items I have on display, but no...he went right for the remote for the fan though he hasn't been ito our place in 3 months. What a great memory. He LOVES all the ceiling fans we have in the house and he loves pushing buttons, so it makes sense that a remote control that works the fan would be high on his list of things he likes.
Ty maneuvers the steps really well. He slides down on his belly and crawls up. Whenever he would try to do otherwise I'd help him by puttin him in the right position. Otherwise he might get too big for his britches and try to walk up the steps...not a good idea.
We played the "who will he go to" game the other day and guess what? Ty went to me first. I'm excited. That was a first. He ususally goes to Michael first.
Ty really enjoys the old Fisher Price toys that we've had for a LONG time. Some of them since Carynn was young, really. Others are from Melinda's time=meaning they're going on 19 years old. I like the durability of Fisher Price.
Ty went with me to Saturday's Young Women General Broadcast and Service Project. Michael could have watched him, but a 4 hour time period is a bit long for Michael so I took Ty with me. He met lots of new friends-he is a charmer, and discovered a way to get some sweet treats.
We had two tables in the Cultural Hall that were for refreshments for the girls and their moms to enjoy ater they'd finished sorting the clothes that we were going to give to a local women's shelter. The table was very colorful and springlike. Jenna (the Stake YW President) added a festive touch by scattering M & M's down the center of the table. Ty discovered that he could just barely reach over the top of the table and found that if he stretched a little he might enjoy some M & M's. That's what he did until we started pushing the M & M's toward the center of the table. That may be one of the reasons he was SO active as I was trying to get him to be still during the Broadcast. We ended up listening to it from the Mother's Room, the kichen and for a very, bery brief time in the chapel. I was pretty pooped by the time everything finished up. Everything turned out well though and Ty settled back down later.
A tired but happy,
NS
Boy is he sharp! When Carynn and Ty stopped by the day after we got home Ty made a beeline for our bedroom. I thought he'd mess with some of the decorative items I have on display, but no...he went right for the remote for the fan though he hasn't been ito our place in 3 months. What a great memory. He LOVES all the ceiling fans we have in the house and he loves pushing buttons, so it makes sense that a remote control that works the fan would be high on his list of things he likes.
Ty maneuvers the steps really well. He slides down on his belly and crawls up. Whenever he would try to do otherwise I'd help him by puttin him in the right position. Otherwise he might get too big for his britches and try to walk up the steps...not a good idea.
We played the "who will he go to" game the other day and guess what? Ty went to me first. I'm excited. That was a first. He ususally goes to Michael first.
Ty really enjoys the old Fisher Price toys that we've had for a LONG time. Some of them since Carynn was young, really. Others are from Melinda's time=meaning they're going on 19 years old. I like the durability of Fisher Price.
Ty went with me to Saturday's Young Women General Broadcast and Service Project. Michael could have watched him, but a 4 hour time period is a bit long for Michael so I took Ty with me. He met lots of new friends-he is a charmer, and discovered a way to get some sweet treats.
We had two tables in the Cultural Hall that were for refreshments for the girls and their moms to enjoy ater they'd finished sorting the clothes that we were going to give to a local women's shelter. The table was very colorful and springlike. Jenna (the Stake YW President) added a festive touch by scattering M & M's down the center of the table. Ty discovered that he could just barely reach over the top of the table and found that if he stretched a little he might enjoy some M & M's. That's what he did until we started pushing the M & M's toward the center of the table. That may be one of the reasons he was SO active as I was trying to get him to be still during the Broadcast. We ended up listening to it from the Mother's Room, the kichen and for a very, bery brief time in the chapel. I was pretty pooped by the time everything finished up. Everything turned out well though and Ty settled back down later.
A tired but happy,
NS
Busy, Busy, Busy
We jumped right back into life on Tuesday, March 24. I had a young women presidency meeting and then I watched Ty while Carynn had an appointment. It'd been just short of a month since I've seen him, but he's matured even more. We had a good time. More meetings on Wednesday night, Thursday night and Saturday afternoon/evening. Whew!
We watched Ty while Carynn and Jamie went with our other children to Seattle for the weekend. We had a great time, but wow, he wore me out. I know I've said this before, but boy, does Ty have a lot of energy! With him being with us 3 nights-4 days we got reacquainted really fast. Here was our typical schedule:
6:00 - 6:30 AM Ty wakes up. Time for breakfast, diaper change
7:30 AM It's time for the tub! Ty loves bathtime. I used the big tub in our bedroom and put not a huge amount of water in it. Ty splashes, plays with the fish and blocks I put in the tub, the washcloth too.
8:00 AM Time for "our" favorite show on Noggin. It's about an octopus called Oswald. My strategy to get Ty to sit still was to put him in his high chair with just a few of his favorite snacks (yogurt covered raisins) in front of the TV. We worked up to him watching the whole show. This was a good way to get him to quiet down before his nap. I sat right next to him on the couch while he was in the high chair so he wouldn't be alone and we talked about the show.
Between 8:30 and 9:00 AM I settled him down with a drink of milk for a nap. Sometimes he takes a longer nap, sometimes not.
9:00 AM-? Naptime. Depends on how he's feeling
1:30-12:00 Lunchtime
After lunch play time
1:30 or so time for an afternoon nap
3:00 or so time to get up-juice/snacks
After naptime more play time
5:30 or 6:00 PM is dinner time
6:30 PM Ty gets some warm milk to settle him down
7:00 PM or so Bedtime
Now we didn't follow this schedule exactly but it did help to have a kind of order to the day. More on our activities in the next posting.
NS
We watched Ty while Carynn and Jamie went with our other children to Seattle for the weekend. We had a great time, but wow, he wore me out. I know I've said this before, but boy, does Ty have a lot of energy! With him being with us 3 nights-4 days we got reacquainted really fast. Here was our typical schedule:
6:00 - 6:30 AM Ty wakes up. Time for breakfast, diaper change
7:30 AM It's time for the tub! Ty loves bathtime. I used the big tub in our bedroom and put not a huge amount of water in it. Ty splashes, plays with the fish and blocks I put in the tub, the washcloth too.
8:00 AM Time for "our" favorite show on Noggin. It's about an octopus called Oswald. My strategy to get Ty to sit still was to put him in his high chair with just a few of his favorite snacks (yogurt covered raisins) in front of the TV. We worked up to him watching the whole show. This was a good way to get him to quiet down before his nap. I sat right next to him on the couch while he was in the high chair so he wouldn't be alone and we talked about the show.
Between 8:30 and 9:00 AM I settled him down with a drink of milk for a nap. Sometimes he takes a longer nap, sometimes not.
9:00 AM-? Naptime. Depends on how he's feeling
1:30-12:00 Lunchtime
After lunch play time
1:30 or so time for an afternoon nap
3:00 or so time to get up-juice/snacks
After naptime more play time
5:30 or 6:00 PM is dinner time
6:30 PM Ty gets some warm milk to settle him down
7:00 PM or so Bedtime
Now we didn't follow this schedule exactly but it did help to have a kind of order to the day. More on our activities in the next posting.
NS
The Snow Followed Us Home!
We left Ivins on Sunday, March 22 and went to Salt Lake to spend the night with Bret/Laura at Laura's parents and coincidentally celebrate Bret's 25th birthday. It was cold in Salt Lake and we woke up to snow Monday morning. We left with no problems but ended up on I 84 instead of I 15 -still not sure how we did that. So we took the road less traveled (by us anyway)and came home by way of Boise, Tri-Cities, WA (where we stopped by our old home in Kennewick (It was still recognizable but the trees have certainly grown in the 24 years since we've lived there.) and were home by 9:03 PM-just in time to watch my favorite show 24.
We settled to bed and woke up to snow. We've had snowy weather off and on since, including today. So you see what I mean when I say the snow followed us home.
NS
We settled to bed and woke up to snow. We've had snowy weather off and on since, including today. So you see what I mean when I say the snow followed us home.
NS
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