In the Beginning...

Tyler Scout Evans was born on April 16th, 2008. He was a mere 8 lbs 4 ounces and 22 inches long. The first several weeks were trying. Tyler liked to cry a lot, so the vacuum, hair dryer, and shower became our close friends (they put him to sleep!) After we started him on a little reflux medication we were all much happier. He ate all the time, and had surpassed his birthweight by 6 ounces at 2 weeks, and by 2 months he was above the 90th percentile for length and weight! He loved to snuggle, we called him our little tree frog because he would curl up and stay in that position. From his first week of life, he has been at the Bentonville Farmer's Market helping his daddy sell kettlecorn. He is quite popular there, and everyone enjoys seeing how much he changes from week to week. Soon he began to hold his head up really well, he began smiling, and our world began to revolve around this awesome new addition.

I went back to work in Joplin at 7 1/2 weeks. Boy was that first day tough. Poor Lee, I think I cried for 2 hours the night before I had to go back. I wasn't worried about leaving him as much as I knew how much I would miss holding him. I try to work as many weekend days as I can so Lee can be with Tyler. He is SO good. Probably the perfect new dad. He changes his diaper in the middle of the night, reads him books, exibits extrodinary patience, and teaches him how to solve Mensa puzzles.



He was baptized in June at our church, First United Methodist Church in Springdale. Our Pastors Britt Skarta and David Freeman performed the ceremony, and it was a very special morning. My great friend Audrey made him the most handsome white satin suit with a vest and cap. He looked precious.

In July, Tyler took his first trip to the beach. It was a challenging trip. We had a cabana to shade the sun, a battery operated fan to keep him cool, and his play gym to keep him entertained. We spent 9 days at the beach, and I only applied sunscreen twice, and was only 1-2 shades darker when I left. Tyler did get to feel the sand and water. (He better get used to it!)

August was filled with new expierences...rolling over, more laughing, and sqealing. He is changing so fast, I can hardly keep up. One thing I have realized is that no matter how crazy my days are, (can't get things done because I am keeping up with Tyler) at night, when he is about to go to bed and I will have some time to myself to catch up on things around the house, I am still sad knowing it will be several hours before he wakes up and I can hold him again!