Mr. Helper

Tyrel is a really big helper for me. He helps with dishes, laundry, cooking, garden work, goat milking, dog feeding, and just about anything else I do. Here are some pictures of him helping Granola with cooking in the past few days.

Making tortillas..first spread out a little flour

Then mash the dough with your hand to start flattening it

Then roll it out flat with the rolling pin

When Granola would try to help him, since he couldn't get them flat on his own, he would tell her to "stop!", because he wanted to do it on his own. And here are some of him filling the pan with potatoes to make potato salad the other day.

Here is the recipe for the tortillas we make if you are interested.

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

7 cups whole wheat flour

1Tbsp. Baking Powder

1 Tbsp. Salt

3/4 cup Coconut Oil

Mix all of the ingredients until it is crumbly. Add about 2 cups of hot water until you have a bread like dough. Form about golfball or maybe a little bigger size balls and cover with a warm cloth for about 15 minutes. Roll out and cook on a hot griddle.

This recipe is from a cookbook that some friends made for a retreat they have each year. (Hi Julie)

Happy Anniversary

Thursday (the 28th) was Stephen and I's 4th anniversary. I was wanting to get a picture of us together to put on here, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'll just put the ones I took of him the other day. I love you sweetiepea! Thanks for four great years, and I look forward to many more together.

(ewwww sweaty armpits, but other than that I like this picture, so you get to look at it too.)

Ty Loves Kittens

Even if they don't love him back. They seem to run and hide when he comes out now. He has just as much fun chasing them as he does toting them around. Doesn't the kitty look SO happy?

Filling the pool

A few days ago Stephen's dad was filling up their swimming pool. We let Tyrel get in there and play with the kids while it was still almost empty. He had lots of fun chasing them around with the water hose. Every time I would go down the steps to try to get a better picture he would chase me back up the steps with the hose.

Sharing With Daddy

Tyrel likes to help people eat their food. My mom said we should call it the Tyrel diet, because by the time he helps you, you don't get much.

Picture Takin'

I am finally figuring out how to get cuter pictures....Don't stop after a few. It may seem like you are taking the same pictures over and over, but some of them will turn out with just the right expression on the face, or just the right pose from your avoiding the camera almost 2 year old son. Not that I really know what I am talking about, I just like that ones I take better when I keep on snappin' them. These are just a handful of the pictures I took. I deleted a LOT that didn't turn out at all.
"You're interrupting my playing"This is what he looks like when he moo's, Cowgranny."oh neat""That is sooo funny""Are you still pestering me?"

Lost in thought

Silliness

Cuteness

Ditto

Things that make you go "awwwwwwwwwww"

Pretty Girl... er... young lady..

Things that make you go "Ewwwwwwwww"

First Whole Night

Last night was Tyrel's first time to sleep all night in his bed. He came and got in ours twice, and I immediately moved him to his, and he went right back to sleep with no fuss. I was amazed at how much more rested I was after not sleeping with a kicking, rolling, sometimes fussing almost 2 year old. I hope it stays that easy. Maybe he will start sleeping through the night now.

Here is a more updated list of words Tyrel has been saying regularly. He will repeat many words if you ask him to, but these are pretty much the ones he uses everyday. He adds new ones almost every day though, so it is hard to keep up.

Now, no, yes, up, shoe, sock, boot, this one, this way, stop, stop it, bite, truck, what's that? outside, down, Marie, cheese, Mom, Dad, pee pee, Papa, night night, mine, baby, eat, bye, buhbye, Mark, Jake, Annie, bird, moo, why? bombs.

A Big Boy Bed!

Ever since Tyrel was born, he has slept with us. For a couple of reasons, but mostly for convenience. I didn't have to get up to nurse him in the night that way, I just fed him and we both got more sleep. Someone had given us a crib, but it never got used. Not once. So we passed the frame of it on some time back. We kept the mattress in hopes of making him a toddler bed.

When I weaned Ty at about 18 months old, we started putting him on the mattress on the floor next to our bed at nap times and when we went to bed, but he still gets in bed with us in the middle of the night. Several months ago when I was babysitting and had some extra money, I bought some cedar posts so Stephen could make Tyrel a nice log toddler bed.

We peeled the posts, sanded them, and then they sat there. For months. Just getting rained on and not being made into a bed.

It seemed like anytime we would have time to work on it, something else would come up, and it would get pushed back.

Well finally, after not even much nagging (which was hard, I REALLY wanted it made) this weekend Stephen, Tommy, and to a lesser extent, me, built Tyrel's bed. I think the guys did a GREAT job. Tyrel just loves it. Now that he has a real bed, I am going to start making him stay in his own bed at night. I would like him to sleep in it all night well before the baby is born, because a 2 year old a newborn and 2 adults would make for a very crowded queen sized bed.

The finished bed. Nearly everything on it has been made by family. Stephen made the bed, My Aunt Lennie made the quilt for Tyrel, and the blanket his horse is laying on, and if I am not mistaken the pillowcase was either made or at least embroidered by someone in Stephen's family a long time ago.

First time sleeping on his big boy bed.

"Tyrel's room"

Which is in our room.

And just because, a picture of Tyrel and cousin Kyle. And James (Stephen's brother, Kyle's Dad)