Birthday Boy

So our little boy has turned one! I know every parent says it “Where has the time gone?” and it’s so true. His birthday reminded me of not only his difficult entry into life as I brought myself right back into the delivery room a year ago, but it reminded me of all the things we have gone through with him specifically, how far we have come and all the fun things we did this first year. Tyler’s first birthday was an emotional day just thinking about all these things that led up to his 1 year birthday. Since Rob and I took off for it, it was so fun to share his birthday as a family. As some parents say “I can’t imagine what my life was like without a kid”. Granted some days are hard work, but this boy is definitely worth it.

This past weekend we had his birthday family with both his immediate and extended family. It was a huge celebration! In fact the morning of his party, I felt similar to the way I felt on my wedding day. Crazy how I could compare the two days, but it was excitement and anticipation as Tyler was about to be center stage with all our family. It would have been nice to have all of Tyler’s friends too, but our house is only so big. Having everyone over to celebrate his special day gave me the “warm fussies”. Not only was it a celebration of his first year of life, but it was a celebration of us surviving parenthood. Kudos to Rob and I for working as an awesome team! Our families have given us so much love and support and when he was first born so many thoughts and prayers poured in, it was neat for everybody to see how great and healthy he is doing.

Now on to LOTS and LOTS of pictures to re-cap the birthday boy’s party.

Happy 1st Birthday Tyler!


Tyler's naps have been a little bit shorter these days, but he decided to sleep pretty long on the day of his party (go figure!), so although he looks so at rest here, we decided to wake him up early.. he had no clue what was going on when he awoke to a house full of people :)




Here is literally the play-by-play of Tyler indulging in his birthday cupcake. At first he didn't know what to think, but the boy did pretty good in making a mess. I was going to upload a 12 minute video, but honestly who wants to sit through that.

Tyler thought he would share the wealth of his cupcake. I may say non-dairy cupcakes aren't too bad, but it only took me 4 times before his actual party to get the cupcake just so... a little bit of perfectionist runs in my family!




Daddy did have the worry look to his face when he saw the mess Tyler was making all over the hardwood floor. I just kept laughing because there is nothing a swiffer can't assist with :)














Time for a bath!


Tyler is set for all the different sporting seasons specifically Brewer season.








This picture cracks me up because there is so much stuff going on at once. Thanks to Hailey for being our helper with opening all the gifts. Tyler's birthday was a sneak peek at what Christmas is going to be like this year. Every time he would get a new toy he would start playing with it and then we would take it away so he could open a new gift. He wasn't too happy about that all the time!


This toy from Gpa and Gma Beyer was a real hit! It made several laps around our house.







The aftermath: I believe I said he is NOT going to be spoiled (and I still believe that), but these pictures can convince you otherwise.

And finally....
So for being as as personable as I am, this is a rather wordy blog entry if you decide to continue to read... makes up for all the time I slack. Every year on Tyler's birthday I am going to write him a letter reflecting on the past year. Not sure how I found time to do this, but I made a scrapbook for him and this is the letter included for this year:

Tyler, When mommy and daddy found out we were having a baby, words can’t describe how happy we were especially since we had to wait 3 years to finally have our prayers answered. You were our miracle come true!! Although mommy knew you were a boy from the start, everybody convinced mommy otherwise that you were going to be a girl. Daddy knew all along you were going to be a boy. We sure had a difficult time coming up with a little boy’s name, but we fell in love with your name two weeks before you were born and it was also the only name we could agree on. You gave mommy a lot of salt craves in the beginning therefore you tasted a lot of fritos and nachos, but mommy will admit she fed you a lot of ice-cream towards the end as an excuse to eat a lot of it and not feel as guilty about it. Overall you were such a good boy throughout mommy’s pregnancy with no major complaints and have continued to be such a good little boy ever since. You must have listened to all of mommy’s lectures when she would talk to you on the way to work and in the car. You were also a good listener when mommy told you how nervous but yet excited she was to start a new job at Mukwonago High School. There was a lot of change going on right before you were born. We also remodeled the kitchen so that was quite the summer of living in dust, but you were protected and growing like a watermelon towards the end. Mommy’s most favorite thing about her pregnancy was feeling you kick in her belly- you did get quite aggressive in the end with your tough kicks with little room to move, but mommy also felt comforted knowing you were moving. Having you in mommy’s belly was an amazing experience for us and something mommy was so blessed to have experienced! You sure didn’t want to leave mommy’s belly though because it was quite a traumatic delivery. Did you know though that it’s possible to fall in love with someone before they are even born?? It’s true because mommy and daddy feel in love with you before you were even born and our love for you continues to grow.

Now let’s get into the “nitty gritty” of when you entered the world. After more than 3 long and hard hours of mommy pushing, you arrived into this world on Tuesday October 27th at 7:03pm, two days past mommy’s due date. It was a day that your parents will never forget! The minute mommy and daddy held you; you slipped immediately into our hearts. Your arrival into life sure was a rough one though because you had some seizures approximately a day after you were born which landed you in the St. Joe’s NICU hotel. One of the nurses in the NICU sat mommy and daddy down and said “there has been some unusual activity with your son… the doctor is on his way to explain”. Hearing those words really scared mommy and daddy, but God was with us through the rough times and made you healthy. See you didn’t get to come home with us right away. You had to stay in the hospital in the NICU for ten straight days which broke mommy and daddy’s heart. Mommy called the wonderful NICU nurses A LOT to check up on you and make sure your blood sugar levels were okay when I couldn’t be by your side around the clock. She also spent entire days at the hospital just sitting with you and watching you sleep and listening to every last move. Since Grandma Beyer worked at St. Joe’s Hospital, she would also come down to see you on lunch breaks and also to keep mommy some company. It was especially hard when mommy and daddy could not hold you right away. You don’t remember any of this thank goodness… but you were in a little incubator. So not only couldn’t we hold you, but we couldn’t even kiss you. We held onto your little hand though and said prayers with you. Daddy also went into work some of the days when you were in the NICU so he had more time to spend with you when you arrived home. Daddy also made sure that he stopped at church to pray for you or stopped to see you on his way home from work which made for some really long days. We had such an empty feeling at home seeing your room all ready with no Tyler in it. Mommy was quite hormonal and cried a lot during this time. Did you know that some of the nurses in the NICI called you Big Boy Brenton because most of all the other babies were premature? That made mommy laugh. Did you know that the Doctors called you Strong and Vicrious? That made both of your parents proud.

During this process, Mommy and Daddy felt helpless so we prayed and prayed and prayed that you would get better and eventually those prayers were answered. On November 6th when you arrived home, we cried for joy; our hearts were no longer empty and our family was finally complete!! Not only did we wait and wait in the beginning to get pregnant with you, but then we had to wait and wait for you to come home with us from the hospital. Although this was really hard on us, you were worth the wait and have taught both mommy and daddy to become a little more patient!

Once you were home, our family was complete and you were the center of our world. We didn’t have many visitors outside of family at the hospital, so many visitors stopped by once you were home. You were showered with gifts and quickly received so many nice outfits that your wardrobe was nicer than mommy’s. Your first appearance to the extended family was at Thanksgiving- it felt like we were chauffeuring the president around because everybody could not wait to see you. Many people were praying for you and also put you on the prayer request lists at their church. The doctors at the St. Joe’s hospital highly recommended that we didn’t take you anywhere with many people (especially little kids) due to your health issues and the swine flu going around. Your cousin Hailey saw you for the first time through the back patio door. It was sad she couldn’t hold you right away especially since she waited over 3 hours in the waiting room at the hospital the night you were born. The nurses were not allowing anybody under the age of 18 years old to see any baby. Hailey was so excited to finally see you and couldn’t wait any longer so we found a way to make this happen even though it felt like you were “ET”. You’ll understand if you watch the movie someday! Being so protective and taking these precautions did make us sad because we didn’t feel like it was normal to not want to show you off, but we wanted to keep you safe and did the best we could as first-time parents. After all, we waited so long to finally have you!!!

Through the first year we had several rough patches, but nothing that we couldn’t handle as a team. You saw your fair share of doctors and specialists your first year of life which kept us busy running to and from appointments. Mommy out of curiosity counted up all the appointments we went to in one year and it came to approximately 125 appointments between specialists, physical therapy two times a week….. not to mention you had a total of 4 EEG’s, 3 hip x-rays, a neck x-ray, 3 botox injections, a TOT collar and spent 10 long days in the NICU hotel. Mommy and daddy were so thankful to have such great insurance. Mommy took you to see your pediatrician Dr. Richer quite frequently because mommy had so many questions in the beginning and around 3 months we found out you had food allergies. Mommy and daddy would have thought you have dealt with enough at birth with having seizures, and then getting physical therapy right away for your congenital torticollis. Allergies seemed to be one more thing to add to the already full plate. You also had a blocked tear duct for at least six months and extreme sensitive skin (eczema) - anytime you had sun lotion on, you would usually break out and your eyes would get a red circle around them. Sweetie Pie… you are probably wondering what the word ‘torticollis’ means… I know that is a BIG word. Basically what torticollis means is that you were favoring the right side and had a left head tilt. In addition to all of this, you were also diagnosed with plagiocephaly (flat head) and received your first out of two Doc Bands from March-June. You received your second Doc Band in August. If you think this is A LOT, just wait…you also received a hip brace for hip dysplasia; you had to wear this brace all the time beginning in May. It was a happy day when we were told at your September appointment that you only had to wear it at night. Gee Wiz…there are a lot of long words that you probably don’t understand. Mommy and daddy thought the same thing and were always so overwhelmed with the medical jargon, but overall we kept plugging through as a team. One thing you will learn growing up Tyler is that sometimes you might question God with why certain things are happening in your life, but he will ultimately get you through if you keep your faith in tough times. Our faith in God made our team stronger Tyler! You were quite the trooper through it all! Many people couldn’t believe how great you were developing and hitting all the milestones even some ahead of schedule. You are strong, feisty and for all that you have been through, you are an all-star; mommy and daddy’s Most Valued Player. You continue to seize to amaze us!

Among all the rough patches we had lots of fun too! You sure did develop quite a personality and kept us laughing. Everybody said that you have a contagious smile and very calm natured. Your smile continues to melt our hearts every time. When mommy had off 8 weeks in the summer time, it felt like a second maternity leave for mommy. We had so much fun! We went to the zoo, had lots of play-dates and tried to find a pool every chance we got. Although daddy thought that mommy was carting you around too much at times and worried I was going to burn your fair skin, we managed. Mommy always told daddy, “What we do when he is at work that he doesn’t know about, the better”. Mr. Tyler, you loved the water and treated it like one big bath tub splashing all the time. We even had the perk of swimming in Terri’s pool, your daycare provider. See when mommy was soul-searching for a daycare, she had a really hard time leaving you with just anybody, so she put on her detective cap (Thanks to Gpa Beyer and Uncle Stevie). Terri came out on top and mommy and daddy have been so happy things have been working out. You love Terri and Shandy (dog). Amongst the summer fun, it was neat for mommy and daddy to see you grow and develop into a little boy. You amazed us with all the things you did. We were concerned you wouldn’t be able to move in the hip brace and you were able to walk with it! What was so special about this year is that everything that you did was a “FIRST”. It was special taking you to your first Brewer Game, and celebrating all the “first” holidays. You went on your first boat ride on Uncle Ed’s boat; went to your first mini vacation to Wisconsin Dells with the Beyer side; and made an appearance at your first State Fair.

Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you Tyler. We are also proud of ourselves for surviving our first year of parenting because although it was enjoyable, it is a lot of work especially dealing with the worries of all the medical things we encountered. We sure couldn’t have survived as a team without the help of some very important people in our lives. Grandma and Grandpa Beyer helped take you to some physical therapy appointments; they took you overnight a few times your first year, and would drop anything when we needed the help. Grandma Ellen was a huge help too because she allowed mommy and daddy to go out to dinner at times. She also allowed mommy to go on her first walk during maternity leave when mommy was getting a case of cabin fever. Both your grandma’s brought over meals for us to eat. You have some awesome grandparents! You were also spoiled with love from all your aunts and uncles who also babysat you at times. Your Grandpa John who is up in heaven also played a critical role by pulling some strings to make sure you became a healthy little boy after birth. You are so loved Tyler John Brenton!

You are our wish come true and our miracle baby. We sure didn’t know what we were missing out on until you entered our lives. We love you more today than we did yesterday and more tomorrow than we did today. We continue to pray for our blessings. After all, our prayers were answered and every time I look at you, I am reminded of our journey and where we are today. We will always be there for you!
Love you Baby Ty!