Ty - 11 months

I am super behind on Ty's 11 month blog and he is about to have a big one year old birthday in like 2 weeks...so, I am going to keep this as short and sweet as possible. Ty turned 11 months while we were in Galveston. He just continues to shine and be such a blessing to all our family. He can melt you with his smile and the little smirks on his face.
 

He just keeps growing and growing...probably due to the massive amount of food he eats. We still have yet to come across something that Ty doesn't like to eat. He will eat anything you put in front of him. I am still feeding him some baby food just to get a balanced diet in him and to keep him full...but, he would much prefer table food and thinks baby food is for the birds. He is still drinking about 20 ounces of milk a day also and we have brought in the sippie cup with water. He truly thinks it is so rude if anyone eats or drinks anything in front of him. He will squirm and whine until he gets a drink or a bite of something for himself. It takes constant supervision while Kinley is eating for Ty not to steal her food right off her plate if it is in arms length.

 

Speaking of mobility...he is making strides. He is a definite furniture cruiser now and has started walking behind things he can push. He is also a climber. He loves to climb stairs, chairs, furniture, people, really anything that can take him vertically. He and Kinley are also a little more aggressive lately and I am really having to tell her to be easy on him and not be so rough because he is just a baby still. She wants to pull him everywhere she goes or pick him up to come with her and he almost weighs as much as her. So, we are trying to knock that out quickly.

 

His vocabulary hasn't changed much in the past month. His favorite and most frequent word is ball...or "ba." He knows exactly what it means when you tell him to find the ball, go get the ball or throw a ball. He also says woah, mama, dada, and tyty. One of the biggest challenges this month has been sleeping. It is not so much that he was sleeping worse...just never really has slept through the night his entire life. But, with the climbing and mobility increasing so much we thought it critical to get him to sleep in his bed all through the night. We had to do some cry-it-out this month. It has been so hard on mom and dad but, Ty has been a champ. He is stubborn and will cry longer than I can even imagine. He will fall asleep sitting up occasionally. But, he is totally fine when he wakes up. Unphased and so happy just to not be in his bed. After a few consistent days, he started to get it. He is now napping better and sleeping through the night pretty consistently. Hallelujah! We needed it!

 

Overall, it has been such a fun summer and a wonderful 11th month for Ty. I can't believe this is my last monthly post until he turns one. It has flown by so fast. I am so glad that I kept up with the monthly posts for Ty because I know I will look back on it one day and love that I detailed his first year of life. We are already planning his first birthday and I just can't even believe it. I know he will be starting Kindergarten like so many did this week before I know it.

 

Ty, you are an angel. You are so happy all the time and so sweet to everyone. You have never met a stranger. You are tough and take all kinds of "love" from your sister like a champ. You are the biggest blessing and I am thankful beyond belief for your dad, you and Kinley. I pray that you will continue to just be a light and a blessing for all you encounter and that God will use you in big ways to further His Kingdom.

 I love you little man.

 

Galveston Trip - 2012

I am at least a week behind on blogging our fantastic family vacation! My parents rented an amazing house on the Galveston Bay a couple weeks ago and my entire family got to come and just relax together for a week. I am still so impressed with how perfectly the house fit our family's needs and all of the relaxing and togetherness time that we had. I was sad at the end of the week leaving everyone after so much great quality time together. But, I am so thankful for the sweet time we had! I could not get enough of these views.

We actually started the week off with long drive to pick up the jet skis and then a night in Houston at Joe and Emily and Isaacs house that was a total blast. It was so fun seeing their house and their life in Houston. We are sad that they are not living close to us anymore but, so happy for them in their new life. For some reason, I have no pictures of that. Bummer! One of my favorite things, oddly enough, was the way I packed Kinley's suitcase. A little note about Kinley lately. She ONLY wears dresses. Not skirts, not pants, not shorts, not pajamas, only nightgowns. ONLY dresses. And, she has a tendency to either 1) wear current favorite dress 10 days in a row or 2) change her dress 10 times in one day. So, thanks to Pinterest, I decided to pack an outfit a day in gallon ziplock bags. Each bag had a dress or outfit, a bow, swimsuit and shoes. She was so excited each morning to pick a new bag. It made getting dressed and staying dressed in the same outfit a lot easier. This is something I will definitely do again.

The first night we were all there together we celebrated my birthday since it was the first time we were all together since the big 3-0. My mom got me thirty presents to open and Kinley and Ty were such great helpers piling them all up in my lap. The house had a pool with a slide that kept the kids entertained for the majority of the day and Ben and I pulled the jet skis down from the lakehouse and got to ride those around on the bay a lot. With all of that built in entertainment, my mom, the kids, Olivia and I barely even left the house! It was so relaxing and so much fun!

The jet skiis were a total hit and were so much fun in the bay! The boys actually got to golf a couple days and go bay fishing one day. They caught so many fish that they fed us all of us for two nights. Between the outdoor grill and tiki bar and the boys fishing trip we ate every single meal at home on the vacation. We never left the house even to eat dinner. Lots of meals and games played at this table. We actually did go to the beach two days of our vacation. Each for about an hour. The first trip was just me, mom, and the kids and Ty actually slept in Ben's car the entire time we were there. So, the amount of beach pictures here are definitely deceptive about the amount of time we spent there. The three Ansons Kinley was totally attached to Olivia every single second of every day she was able. Olivia was amazing and such a trooper to play with Kinley so much. She would play princess, swim, watch movies, play games, and color with Kinley every day. Kinley was in a little depression when we left that she didn't get to see Olivia for a while anymore.

Of course, I had to make family vacation shirts! Everyone decided they wanted a tank for the beach. I ordered these fantastic tri-blend American Apparel ones and they were SO comfortable. Lots of family mathing tank pics. The whole week was such a blessing and I could not have asked for a better time. I can't wait for Howe Family Vacation 2013!