The Tyler Family

{"Watch At This!"}

This is a phrase that we hear many, many times a day! It must be a combination of Watch me and look at this. Eli is definitely an entertainer and we are hoping that some day Naomi will be a sufficient audience for him! :)

The latest and greatest entertainment really is quite exciting though...Eli got his first two wheel bike! The neighbors were going to sell it and so we snatched it up. Of course then we had to buy a helmet and he is now ready to ride! The pedal breaks are a new one for him, but he is getting the hang of them quite quickly which is good since we live on a hill! Check out our super cute little biker! He's growing up way too fast!

Little Miss Naomi is also growing quite fast. Much faster then Eli did at her age, I'm sure! It is hard to get the camera out often enough these days to catch all her new silly faces and tricks. She is smiling and talking like crazy. She will have no problem competing with her brother with the lungs she has. And is starting to roll over from side to side. No more unsupervised lounging on the couch for this young lady! We were blessed with a super sweet little girl (and thankfully slightly more mellow than Eli) and I can't wait to get to know her better as her personality emerges more everyday.

{What's a girl to do?}

You may notice that Naomi has quite the little Mohawk going on in most of her photos! Unfortunately, I think she also has the same cowlick that Eli had, sticky up hair at the crown of her head! Not sure what sort of hair style a stylist would recommend to camouflage those two issues! Here's our little one's latest photos:

{Discovery Kingdom}

I had been wanting to visit Six Flags Discovery Kingdom ever since our pediatrician let us in on the secret that they have a "ThomasTown" section! I knew Eli would love it, so as part of Grant's last hurrah on paternity leave, we packed our snacks, loaded up the kids, dragged Nana and Papa along for the ride and headed to Vallejo. We got there when the gates opened and were greeted with cold, breezy, foggy weather. Not exactly what we'd pictured, but it ended up being perfect for walking around the park, riding rides, and eventually the sun came out just in time for us to ride White Water Safari where we, of course, got soaked!!! Beautiful weather, an un-packed theme park, Eli in a good mood, Naomi was a trooper...What a day!

{A bunch of Stuff}

I have been trying to be a good Mommy and take as many pictures of Naomi as we did of Eli, but I have already failed! Its just so hard to remember...sorry little one! I did manage to capture a few cute ones that show off her new smile. She has become quite the little talker, cooing and experimenting with her vocal chords and gives us big grins when we talk to her. She can be grumping and fussing and as soon as you sit and start talking to her, she just smiles away. What a little stinker. Apparently we have two kids that need our constant attention/interaction. When will they be able to entertain each other?! These pictures are of Naomi talking to Daddy!

Our little monkey continues to make us laugh. He's a great big brother with a huge imagination! We are surprised daily by what he comes up with. Today he decided to give Naomi's play mat a try. Without even a word or glance at us, he climbs under the arch and starts playing away with the toys...although he wanted more of a challenge so used his hands and feet at the same time!

Another funny Eli story: Eli likes to pray before dinner. Usually his prayer consists of:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for this day, thank you for this food, we love you Amen!"

A week or so ago, he said he wanted to pray and ever since then we've had some variation of this:

"Dear Jesus, thank you for this day, thank you for this food, please keep the kids in Africa safe while they cross the road from the police man...Amen"

Not exactly sure what that last part means, but we are guessing they prayed for the kids in Africa in one of his Sunday School classes. Regardless of the exact wording, it definitely melts my heart to hear him praying for the kids in Africa!

{Hume Lake or Bust!}

We just got back from a fabulous, refreshing, clean air, blue sky, perfect weather vacation at Hume Lake! Jealous?! Seriously, it was not a perfect vacation (picture getting no sleep due to a 6 week old and then having to entertain a 3 year old during the day, who did sleep all night long!), but it was so nice to be up in God's creation and spending time together as a family, learning to be a family of four. Boat rides, beach fun, walks, mastering driving a golf cart with two kids on board, swimming, disk golf, reading and of course, ice cream!

Our vacation was even more special because our friend's Hiro and Becky, who were here from Japan visiting family, drove up to Hume just to see us! It was really special having them up there and we had a great time! Wish it could have been a longer visit, but feel blessed that we've been able to see them on a regular basis, while living on two different continents!

There are a ton of photos from our trip, but I'll try to narrow it down! On second thought, with two kids now and a digital camera...just sit back and enjoy!