Nicole's Graduation!

At last, we come to the purpose of this vacation: to watch my beautiful niece Nicole graduate from high school. Nicole is my first niece, and I still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. Here she is!

Nicole got ahold of Tyler right away, and definitely knew how to make him smile.

Tyler met his Uncle Eddie for the first time.I think Eddie was the most anxious person of all for Tyler to be born, based on the frequency of his text messages asking for updates...finally, they got to meet in person.

Tyler also met his Grandpa Glass for the first time.

We slept in Charlottesville Friday night, then returned the next day for the festivities. This isn't a flattering picture of any of us, but it's so rare to have three out of the four Glass kids in the same state, let alone the same photograph.

I've always wondered, what IS a Flying Fluco? Is it a bird or a fish? The question came up during the commencement speech, but the answer left alot to be desired.

Here's my wonderful niece, preparing to walk across the stage:

Nicole's friend and roommate, Brittany, also graduated.

After the ceremony, we went back to Eddie's house to celebrate.

Nicole's mom created this beautiful poster, documenting Nicole's life up until graduation. What a great idea! It was fun to look at the pictures, and brought back many memories for us. I hope to make something like this for Tyler on his graduation day.

Nicole's boyfriend stopped by for a while.

We also got to meet our newest niece, Jillian, for the first time. Jillian is Jennifer's daughter. Just look at those eyes!

My Aunt Gaye and Uncle Wayne also attended. Here's a great picture of Aunt Gaye and Jonell together:

Nicole took a quiet moment to reflect...

Tyler got kisses from his cousin Jillian while Jennifer looks on.

Sometimes he liked it...

And sometimes not.

I love this profile shot of Eddie and Tyler.

Eventually, our nephew Mitch succumbed to Tyler's charms.

And although he wouldn't touch Tyler, we were honored that our nephew Matthew made an appearance.

Tyson actually got a few moments to sit and relax on the veranda, watching the rain.

Of course, it didn't last long.

Tyler spent some time with Uncle Wayne.

My mom got a chance to catch up with Aunt Gaye.

Here's Tyson's favorite picture of the day.

Tyler, if you ever want to know what your Great-Grandma K looked like, this is a pretty accurate representation. Just add some blush and bright pink lipstick...

Eddie and Nancy take a quiet moment to look through their girls' yearbook and reflect on the day.

My mom's been trying to get a family portrait of Tyson, Tyler and me, but the opportunity never seems to strike. Finally, here's a great one!

Oh wait, that's not me. Maybe next time...

Congratulations, Nicole! We're so excited for you!!!

Trip to Monticello

A few years ago, I took Tyson on a tour of Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. So for this trip, I decided a tour of Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, was in order.

For this trip, we brought both the ring sling and the ergo. After much struggling, we finally got  Tyson strapped up and Tyler packed into the ergo.

Yeah, that lasted abut 20 minutes...Although the temperature was only around 90 degrees, the humidity was brutal, especially for desert folk.

All that green is beautiful, but we concluded that we prefer the climate in Tucson.

Here's proof that I do still exist! Sadly, this is about as awake and well rested as I can be these days...

After the tour, Tyson took a moment to introduce Tyler to Thomas Jefferson.

All in all, we decided we liked Mt. Vernon much better. We'll have to take Tyler there someday when he's old enough to stay awake and actually see it.

First Flight

On May 20th, Tyler experienced many forms of travel for the first time. He rode a shuttle, an escalator, a plane, a tram, and an elevator all in one day. Some people seemed surprised that we would travel by air with a 7 week old, but it was actually very fun, as you can see.

We followed my sister's advice of nursing him during takeoff on each flight, and were ready to do the same during landing. We also took our friend Emery's suggestion of gate checking the carseat/stroller combo so we had the luxury of the stroller during our layover.

Tyson was still hurting over not getting to go on the Sam Adams Brewery tour when we were in Boston, and even more hurt to realize that since we were flying into Dulles, not National, that Capital City Brewing Company was not on our itinerary. So when Susie suggested we try Dogfish Head Alehouse, Tyson jumped at the opportunity.

It was great to see Susie and Drew again, if only for a brief evening, and it was GREAT to finally meet Jessica!

While Susie and Drew emphasized the value of pocketed bibs...

...Lacing was on Tyson's mind.

It was great to catch up with Susie and Drew again. It was hard to say goodbye, as we only got a few hours together, and hadn't seen each other in a couple of years. Hopefully somehow we'll get to meet up again soon!

This was the last we saw of Tyler's fro-hawk for the next few days.

That night, we three experienced a Tempurpedic mattress for the first time, courtesy of the Marriott. Wow. Good stuff.

Next stop: Monticello!

First Day Of Work

Okay, we didn't take any pictures of Tyler's first day at work, sorry! I returned to work when he was exactly six weeks old. (I work as the director of Camp Wellness - a health and wellness program for people with serious mental illnesses who receive Medicaid.) I was very nervous about how having a baby at work would turn out - would staff feel like he was a burden? Would his crying and other sounds make people mad? Would his presence disturb some of the students, especially those who've lost their children to CPS? And how would I get any work done???

It turns out that it's a blessing to have a "Camp Wellness Baby" at the Health and Wellness Center. He brings joy to staff and students alike. He's already made his acting debut during our "Lenny Da Liver" health education play, has slept through a "Jubilation Celebration" with me MC'ing, met a countless number of people including a state senator during an open house, played a role in data collection by cooing at subjects while I took their blood pressures, has attended several staff and research meetings, and participated in the "Fishbowl Fairy Friday Drawing", though I haven't subjected him to wearing the fairy wings (yet.)

Tyler is one mellow, happy little dude. He usually sleeps through morning meeting, then I take a break to feed him, then he plays quietly in his bouncy chair with the occasional catnap until lunch. He either sits in his bouncy chair or I wear him in the sling during lunch so I can eat with the students. After lunch, he plays and sleeps some more in the chair, on the floor, in his pack-n-play, or visits with staff members taking a break from their hectic schedules. Sometimes we'll take a quick break from work to run from mirror to mirror throughout the building, where Tyler smiles and flirts with the baby in the reflection, until he gets bored and we move on to the next mirror. And when I get too caught up in the petty hassles of the job, he gets my attention and forces me to remember to let the small stuff go and focus on the bigger picture. The students have been wonderful towards him, and it's been especially touching to see mothers offering me advice, and the fathers reminiscing about when their children were this small...

I know the day will soon come when Tyler will need to go to daycare, but I hope he'll be a frequent, welcome visitor to Camp Wellness, and that he'll continue to lift the spirits of staff and students.

First Mother's Day

Our first mother's day was a lazy one. We intended to go to breakfast or lunch, but by the time we were packed and ready to go, we realized our dinner plans were only 2 hours away. So instead the three of us took a nap, cuddled up together on the couch. Best nap ever.

We also worked with Tyler on "tummy time."

 We were planning to meet our friends Emery, Chris, and Noah at our favorite pizza place, 1702. On our way there, we got a call from Emery, telling us that 1702 was closed. We decided to try Rocco's. A few minutes later, my phone rang again - Rocco's was closed, too. I've been in Tucson for almost 14 years, and still am amazed that restaurants are closed on Sundays. Finally, we settled on Barrio, another favorite.

Though Emery and Noah have seen Tyler many times, this was the first time Tyler got to meet Chris face to face. They seemed pretty happy together!

This was their first mother's day, too, so it was extra special to get to spend it together. (This was also the first time Tyler showed interest in another baby. Looks like he's already plotting the adventures he and Noah will share over the next couple of years...)

First Trip To Phoenix

Over Mother's Day Weekend, I took Tyler to Phoenix for the first time. My friend Kris earned her master's degree, so we wanted to help her celebrate.

It seems like just yesterday I was holding Kris's older son Anthony at UMC, just a couple days after he was born. And so it seems like it was just the day before yesterday, when we were hitting the beach in San Carlos, or taking a road trip to Laughlin, or playing roulette in Vegas.

Tonya came in from Farmington, NM. We hadn't all three been together for a year and a half. But everytime we get together, it feels like we've never been apart.

 After the party ended, Grandma Allaire stopped by to see Tyler. Tyler loves ceiling fans, and this restaurant had plenty of them. Grandma was happy to indulge him.

 We went to have dinner at Margaritaville, where Tyler found more ceiling fans to look at.

 

Another special visitor

Things got even busier over the past few weeks, and Tyson seems to have abdicated this blog, so I'll do my best to catch up. When Tyler was 4 weeks old, Grandma Glass came to visit. She taught us new things to do with Tyler to help him develop vocabulary, and noticed that he was tracking my movements, especially when I would leave the room or return. This was also when Tyler was really starting to smile.

The wildflowers were already past their prime, but we checked out cactus blossoms in Gates Pass and Saguaro National Monument.

Grandma Glass, knowing how intense the sun is here, bought Tyler is first pair of sunglasses. He's not digging them just yet, but we know that day will come.

Vader has a pair of sunglasses, too! Someday we'll have to get a picture of both of them wearing them at the same time.

Tyler's hair has gotten thinner and lighter, but so far, he still has his special 'do.

Tyler also got a chance to meet our relatives Beth and Gary Patton, who came down from Mesa. They also have a new grandson born just a few days after Tyler. Hopefully we'll all get a chance to get together soon.

Amazingly, we've still managed to have a brew day here and there, and Tyson also spent this time building a kegerator. This will save us a lot of time and space (no more bottling!) , and makes for an interesting conversation piece.

Tyson's always had a great sense of style, as evidenced here.

I love this picture - Tyler just adores his dad!