"... but you should see what I did to the other guy...!"

Check out Tyler's new shiner....

I'd like to tell you a great story about how Tyler got it... defending his little brother's dignity against the daycare bully - who Tyler then proceeded to beat to a pulp...

I'd like to... but I can't. Because unfortunately, the truth isn't nearly that exciting. In reality, it all came down to Tyler versus the footboard of our bed. And, as you can see, the bed won.

To make matters worse, the very next day at school, another toddler then proceeded to bite Tyler in the hand - breaking the skin! (which of course led to the addition of a new "accident report" to our growing collection....)

I don't think his caregiver caught on that I was only joking when I asked if the other kid had been vaccinated for rabies...

At least it sounds like we have a month for his eye to heal before the next picture day - which is evidently in mid-February. His last round of pictures were a wash since they took place the day after the "dumptruck incident". Maybe we can just lock him in a padded room until then...

And on another Tyler-related note, apparently his presence is having quite a big impact on Max and Loki these days... 6 pounds' worth of an impact, in fact!

At yesterday's vet appointment, I discovered that since their last appointment, both have put on a solid 3 pounds each - which can probably be directly attributed to Tyler's open-door policy on snooky distribution and leftover fishing after toddler meals. Max is now a very solid 57 pounds and Loki is up to 60 pounds (their heaviest weights ever!!)

As for Austin, well, he's recovering from his latest round of ear-infections, still battling baby eczema, and is definitely not a fan of green beans according to the daycare.

But, it does seem that, within the past two days or so, he has found a voice by which he can now complain out loud about his problems. In fact, he really only seems to partake in this babble when he is growing visibly bothered by something at that moment.

Here's a sample that occurred as he was rapidly growing bored with his playmat earlier today...



And since we know the grandparents and relatives want to see pics, and lots of them, here are a few of Austin and Tyler from today and the past week.... Actually they're mostly of Austin since a toddler with a shiner doesn't really look too happy in pictures... Enjoy!