First Dolphins Game

This past weekend, Jeff organized the annual Dolphins game outing with his office and it was extra fun this year b/c Tyndell went and it was her first game and also Chris and Debbie came down for the weekend. We tailgated like champs and Jeff got to break in his inaugural cornhole games that he made - with full-fledged Dolphins stripes and logos! Unfortunately - the Dolphins lost to the Saints but it was a great game. And...surprisingly...Tyndell made it through the whole game! What a trooper!

In the Trenches

This is pretty much the scene for me lately as I have been studying
for my PE (Professional Engineer) license exam, which is this Friday.
I am pretty freaked out about it but have been feeling really blessed
by all the awesome prayers going out to keep me calm (well, and these
protective ninjas which guard my study space...I love you, Amy!).
Wish me luck!! Thanks everyone!

Happy 10 Months!

Yesterday was a big day for us! Not only did Tyndell turn 10 Months old yesterday, but she started crawling! She literally went from not moving to crawling across the house which was so awesome. You could tell she was just so pleased to be able to get somewhere instead of waiting to be placed somewhere. We are so excited. I took some time to go out in the backyard to get a few shots of our girl in her little chair. This was my chair when I was little and now Tyndell gets to sit in it, which is pretty fun.

The Skele-Tyndell

Shelley gave us these super awesome pajamas! I just love them and they are just in time to be festive for Halloween! I posted a similar one on Facebook but got a better shot with the good camera with some of our conveniently matching decor.

Camera Catchup

I so rarely check out the random photos I take with the good camera as opposed to the way too convenient camera phone, but found these nice photos from the past month.

Tyndell's First School Pictures

You may have noticed Tyndell's new profile picture - this came from her recent first school pictures. We don't typically like such posed shots but these turned out pretty good and we figured - they are the first ones so we kinda have to get a couple of them...ya know, for the baby book (it's all about documentation, right?). Her teachers said she was easy to photograph EXCEPT she wouldn't stop clapping haha.

New Look

I thought it was time again for a new look so I found this cool template to change things up here on the blog. I really liked the last one but it forced the font and pictures to be smaller and didn't use the screen space well. Anyway - let me know what you think!

Also - here's a fun picture of Tyndell's new look - meaning she has been spending a lot of time getting down on her tum-tum and seeing the world from a new perspective more. So it may mean movement will be coming soon? Who knows. Check out my sweet block barn I built in the background....toys are fun, right?

Evening Antics

Can you tell whose happier about the situation in the first picture?!
I thought that was funny...actually Karma has been really sweet to
Tyndell - she lets her pull and grab all she wants! And Zen is even
warming up to our evening antics. Tyndell totally loves her evening
walks and puppy time so we try and do both after school everyday.

Happy Nine Months!

Our little T-Monster is growing FAST. She just turned 9 months yesterday and her current stats are 16.6 lbs and 26.5 inches. It seems like she grew so much more than that since her last appointment at six months, but I think it might be just because clothes are starting to fit better and she has become so sturdy so it seems like it's more. We can already tell she is going to be such a character - her personality is hilarous. Tyndell loves to be busy all the time - she's not just going to sit there, so she's constantly playing with toys, bouncing, trying to move in new ways, so we can only imagine what it's going to be like when she's actually walking. People seem to get so sad when they see their kids growing up, but Jeff and I are really enjoying every phase and liking each phase more and more. We get so excited to see her progress, discover new things, and try to challenge herself to do more. She is doing really well at school, and when we get home, we have been trying lots of new foods to self-feed (cheese, crackers, berries, soft veggies, pasta) and we try to go for a walk everyday. We've also been trying to read before bed each night, but it usually just entails Tyndell ninja fighting the pages. I don't know if that means she hates books or if she just knows that the last bottle is coming soon so she wants to get on with it (I think it's safe to say that she acquired the Ahrens family level of patience...we're trying to work on that). Anyway - we are having a blast and we literally ask ourselves each day how we got so lucky to get such a happy, generally chill kid. We feel blessed.

Random Week

Here are some fun random shots from the week....

Storm Season is On!

August is about the time we have to start worrying about tropical storms in Florida and this week's activities are right on time. Even though hurricane season starts in May, there's usually not much going on until now. I was just remembering how this week last year was when Tropical Storm Faye hit and everyone made it out to be no big deal b/c it wasn't rated as a hurricane but it did a lot of damage. So - that storm taught me my lesson last year since I got in a car wreck. You can guarantee one of the first things I will be doing each day from now til November is to check the NOAA website for updates. I'll try not to be too obsessed, but I am sort of fascinated by weather at the same time.

Other than that - not much is going on. We had my parents visiting last week so I'll try to find some fun photos to post of that, but it was pretty uneventful - I was sick most of the week actually which I felt bad about (I lost my voice AND got pinkeye) but thankfully my supermom was here to take care of Tyndell so that I didn't touch her too much. Ugh - that is literally the worst part of being sick now - trying not to hang out with your own kid too much b/c you know it's best for them. With Tyndell putting her hands in her mouth every five seconds, it's best to keep her away from myself or anyone else that could pass on germs at any given time. But we are well again and getting back on schedule this week. But seriously - thanks so much to my parents for coming down and helping out while Tyndell's school was closed all week. They amaze me more each day!

Happy 8 Months!

Wow! I can't believe another month has gone by! Our little joy is
sitting up so well and starting to pull herself up sometimes - AND she
likes to hold onto the sides of furniture while standing on her own
now! Mobility may be upon us soon!

Pile 'O Toys

Tyndell stayed home from school today b/c she had conjunctivitis but
you'd never know it. Her eyes were only pink, swollen, and goopy
yesterday so it seems the drops are working great. She's still been
smiling and playing as usual! I've been surrounding her with a
plethora of toy options today to see if I could tell if there were any
favorites but she pretty much likes them all - she hasn't
discriminated yet. Amazingly enough, even Blue joined in the fun and
didn't get attacked by Zen the Puppy all day. Zen-5, Blue-1

Tyndell Meets Nana!

This past weekend, Tyndell and I went up to NC to see my parents, aunt and uncle, and Nana, my Dad and Uncle Paul's mother. It was a great trip seeing everyone and so precious to see Nana meet Tyndell for the first time. She really enjoyed the visits we made and she was doing so much better than I expected. I'm so so glad I went up there even if it was just for a long weekend. Nana is the last of Jeff and I's grandparents, unfortunately. Seeing Nana makes me think of all the stories she told me over the years that somehow I will manage to recap to Tyndell when she gets older and they apply to situations. I have really been thinking a lot about how my Nana and Mamaw (my mother's mom) have shaped my life and the effect they have had on me - it's really powerful when you think about it. Ah....anyway - we had such a great time at PT and AT's house - it's so pretty and relaxing up there. AND - sweet tea, fried green tomatoes - need I say more? mmmm! Needless to say - wonderful family time!

Messy Faces

Eating new foods has been quite an adventure to say the least! I haven't found anything that she seems to have an allergy with so we're pretty much just eating whatever we want now. Tyndell still loves peas the best though!

Afterschool Boredom and Yard Update

One evening when Tyndell and I had some extra time, we decided to go play in the yard, show off some of our plants, and take some funny pictures. I'm pretty proud of my bromeliads right now - they almost died once and came alive again with this beautiful flower! Tyndell had a great time pulling up our grass which finally came back with the rains and feeling dirt.