Two things

First, Tyler said his first three word phrase yesterday (well, it probably wasn't his first, just the first that I understood). He was looking in a mirror and I looked at him in it and said, "I see you". Then he said, "I see Mommy." It was very clear because he worked on each word to make it clear. Three words!!!

The second thing is, last night he actually ate dinner! He hasn't had dinner in like a year. He'll eat typical things like grilled cheese, mac and cheese, and pizza but he never eats our usual meals. Most of the time he doesn't even try. If for some reason he does try, he usually gags and it comes back out. He always gets what we are having and if he doesn't eat it, he doesn't eat. Last night we had grilled bbq chicken, asparagus (it's in season now, buy some!!), and rice. He ate some of each! Dan and I were just staring at each other wondering what happened to our picky toddler. I'm not expecting it to happen again, but will be pleasantly surprised if it does!

What an amazing day it was! =)

Mmmmm...cupcakes!

Recently, a friend directed me to this recipe for a rainbow cake. I definitely want to make it someday so on Monday I did a smaller version with just green for a St. Patrick's Day party. They turned out pretty well and tasted great (especially after I added my homemade frosting)!

Last weekend I tackled a project that I have been putting off for quite a while. I finally got all these frames on the wall for our family photo wall. Now I need to print some pictures and then secure the frames to the wall so they're all level. It really bothers me that they're crooked.

Tyler's speech is really improving. He says a lot of words spontaneously and is saying more two word phrases. He doesn't get stubborn anymore when we ask him to say something (well, most of the time he isn't stubborn). He loves saying the colors of everything he sees. Yesterday we were sitting on the couch and I asked him to say "I love you" knowing he couldn't but I thought I'd see if he would try. He paused and then gave me a big hug. I guess he can say it after all. =)

San Antonio

Exactly a week ago I arrived home from my four day vacation in San Antonio. I really enjoyed the Riverwalk and even The Alamo was okay! =) It was nice seeing my Aunt Sandy and her husband again. I hadn't seen them since my wedding. I should probably just get right to the pictures. I have a lot to post.

I thought this tree was cool. You don't see these around Iowa.

A fun water feature we passed on our way down to the Riverwalk.

Standing on a bridge over the river. I love the colorful umbrellas.

In this picture you can see one of the boats that give a tour on the river. If you look at the table on the left, that is part of the restaurant where we ate dinner our first night there. We sat right along the river. I also managed to capture my mom taking a picture. =)

After this we got tickets to go on a boat tour. It's a great way to see the Riverwalk. This is an amphitheater along the river. It's pretty cool because the stage is across the river.

Another view from the boat

Another fun water feature as seen from the boat

Here you can see how the walkway is right against the river and in quite a few places there were no railings. I'm glad I didn't have a toddler to worry about.

Here you can see how the tables are right along the river (the red and blue is part of the boat).

Me!

The rest of the pictures are from a Chinese Tea Garden that we went to. It is located in what used to be a limestone quarry (which is evident in some pictures). The stonework in the paths and bridges was really amazing. Everything was so natural looking.

Me and Aunt Sandy

Up there is where you come in and you have an amazing view looking down in the garden. Look at all that stone work!

Color! We're currently missing color in our landscape here in Iowa.

I thought this bridge was pretty cool.