Red Bluff

I was born in a little town called Red Bluff. It's in Northern California. We lived there until I was 6 which is when we moved to Oregon, but still came down to visit very often as I grew up. We lived down the lane from my grandma and grandpa and on a beautiful orchard. I have many many wonderful memories of Red Bluff and grandma and grandpa Ross's house: picking fresh fruit, climbing trees, swinging on tire swings, playing in the mud, walking down the lane, watching the Disney channel when there was Disney west and Disney east, sleeping in the grandchildren's room, listening to my grandparents tell stories, running through the orchard, going "up high" on the cherry picker with grandpa, jumping on the trampoline, and on and on and on. And so, it was with bitter sweet emotion that Tyler and I flew up this past week to help her pack. Since my grandpa died, the house and orchard are just too much for my grandma to take care of alone so she is moving up to Oregon to be closer to her children. Tyler and I joined my mom, sisters, an aunt, and a couple cousins to help out, although, I'm not sure whether we were more of a help or a distraction. :) And this was the first time Katelyn got to see Tyler and I got to see Katelyn since she returned from her mission. We had so much fun being with family and reminiscing. It was probably the last time I will ever see that house and orchard, so we made sure to take lots of pictures.

My mom, grandma, Tyler and me in front of grandma's house. Good times in that house!

My mom, girls, and Tyler (sorry Heather, you missed out)

Tyler and his adoring posse: Aunt Melissa, mommy, and Aunt Katelyn

Stop kissing me!

Tyler having fun at great grandma's house

Cute boy

Aunt Melissa

Aunt Katelyn

Mommy

My Aunt La Gene with her grandson and my adorable second cousin (or whatever) Jaxon!

Tyler's happy/sad face on the way to the airport. Happy to see daddy again, sad to leave his grandma and aunties.

Some cute pictures of Tyler

Tyler is growing up right before our eyes! He is getting so big and learning so fast! He is 8 months old and I would assume somewhere around 19-20 lbs being that he was 18.2 at his 6 month appt. He is so curious and examines everything he can get his hands on. He has officially learned how to scoot all over the place and is quite fast (videos to come soon). He is even starting to get up on his hands and knees and rock. His favorite things to get into are cords, my purse, his diaper bag, his car seat, the book shelf, the piano pedals, and if he can make it before I catch him, the kitchen. We are learning the phrase "no," which he seems to find very hilarious. He is just starting to dance with music and is working on clapping - right now it looks more like hitting any part of his hands/arms together, but he is very good and clapping his blocks together. He can turn the pages of books now - usually in the right direction. We have mastered the hide and seek game. His favorite toys are cell phones and remote controls. He goes to sleep on his own, in his own room. He loves to walk around and would much rather do that then scoot - he just needs to find a mommy or daddy that are willing to help. He is eating baby food, but would still much prefer mommy and daddy food. He is always happy, smiling, and playful! He is such a joy to have in our family! We love our Tyler!

We changed the play gym into the crawling tunnel and he likes discovering what is in there.

Tyler in the duckie bath from Grandpa W.

Hide and Seek and eating.

Mexico!

A couple weeks ago, Tyler and I were scheduled to head out to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a girl trip extravaganza. All the girls from my mom's side of the family were invited - cousins, aunts, grandma, mom, and sisters. Tyler would be the lone man in a house full of women. Tyler gave me a little scare, when he came down with a double ear infection a mere 3 days before our scheduled departure, but thanks to some antibiotics, and a lot of prayer I'm sure, we made it safe and sound and healthy! Puerto Vallarta was beautiful and the villa was amazing and we had the best time! We had our own cook who made the most delicious Mexican food I have ever had and a wonderful maid who kept our towels nice and dry :) Tyler was adored by 11 doting women and I had so much fun being with my mom, sisters, aunts, cousins, and grandma. I could go into more detail, but I'm sure you'd rather see the proof!

View outside the Villa Karaway. We were right on the beach. You're jealous I know.

What we got to watch every night.

Tyler in his little boat.

Tyler enjoying our personal infinity pool from his boat.

"Mmmm, mommy this tastes good."

Tyler's first taste of cotton candy. He was an instant fan.

Tyler's first taste of a "virgin" pina colada. Well what was left of grandma's that is. Check out that tongue.

One night my sisters and I were getting ready for bed when we noticed dry wall all over the sink, counter, and tooth brushes. We investigated the walls, but could not find the source of the crumbs. We eventually gave up and went to bed. A little bit later, Melissa was in the bathroom and we heard a little squeal. "There's a crab in the light!" And there it was. A crab had somehow gotten into our light fixture and was trying desperately to claw its way out, which inevitably resulted in chunks of dry wall showering down on our sink. We heard him scraping as we fell asleep and in the morning he was gone. The next night, he made another appearance, but this time crawling up my mom's bed! He was promptly flung from the balcony onto the sand. And that is that. Here is our friend, the crab in our light fixture.

Tyler and mommy in the infinity pool.

Kisses for mommy

Chillin'

Tyler loved being in the pool!

Tyler in the sand.

Tyler in the ocean - he wasn't a huge fan.

Tyler and mommy on the beach, livin' it up!

Tyler, mommy, and aunt Melissa.

Trying out the ocean with mommy.

I like to call this my paparazzi shot. If I looked more like a model and/or was a celebrity, wouldn't this look like a shot of me and Tyler caught unawares at the beach?

Tyler with his doorag (aka napkin)

Tyler in his "chair" prison.

Videos of Mexico! Excuse the naked state of Tyler.