thank god I'm a country boy...

Among Tyson's presents were a great set of overalls from his uncle Darel and his girlfriend Cassie. They also included a John Deere shirt that is adorable as well. As you can see, Tyson is feeling quite handsome in his little outfit.

There is something so darn cute about a little boy in overalls.

I thought they might be too big because they are a 1T but they fit like a glove! Glad I didn't wait to try them on. 

On another note, Tyson apparently is not color blind because he seems to only eat foods that are orange (squash, sweet potatoes, peaches, carrots, etc) and hates everything else. Now I can hardly blame the guy for not enjoying the particularly pungent pureed beef (shudder) but a green bean or two wouldn't hurt. We are also amazed at the amount of food he seems to be putting away lately. He had been only getting up for one feeding at night but now has added another. I'm starting to think I will be waking up to fix him a midnight snack when he's in kindergarten. Will he ever sleep through the night?...or nap for that matter? I've realized that naps are just as important for the momma as they are for the baby and we have yet to master them. Oh well. 

Tyson's first Christmas...

So Tyson's first Christmas went a little like this. I had to work a day shift (both Eve and Day) so on Christmas Eve after returning home from work we decided to have the little guy open one of his presents (basically because we were so excited...he of course couldn't have cared less). It started out great. He was so excited at first...

..and then we started  the opening process. With every rip of the wrapping paper he would scream like he was being brutally hurt! We suspected that he was tired and decided to try again the next day. 

However, the screaming that we had chalked up to being overtired occurred again on Christmas day. It took a lot of cuddling and many versus of "six little ducks" to get him to settle down. I guess next year we will just put everything in gift bags. What kind of kid hates opening presents?

In the end when the presents were all opened and readily available to play with, he was fine. The two outfits are from Grandma Marilyn and not pictured was a fantastic John Deere toy that Tyson will have to grow into. We bought him the activity table in hopes of occupying him for 15 extra minutes throughout the day. 

For those of you I don't keep in daily contact with (which is most of the people reading the blog I suppose), you probably don't know that I joined the bell choir at church. I was very excited at first since I haven't had any real music type stuff to be involved in since accompanying music majors at college for their recitals in hopes of earning a few extra bucks. However, I was horrified to realize that after just two weeks of practice (which equals two hours), I had to perform....eeek. It turned out okay...not my most shining moment but I plucked through. This picture is the choir performing a particularly difficult number sans me (thank goodness they gave me a little break). 

And this is the super uniform I have to wear while playing. I know many of you are wondering where you could purchase such an attractive red felt vest....well I am sorry to tell you that this is only for the few, the proud...the bell choir. 

All in all it wasn't a bad Christmas. Of course we would have loved to be spending it with family but life as a nurse requires working really cruddy hours sometimes. The worst part was getting Tyson back to his schedule after keeping him up late for church on Christmas eve. He is definitely a kid that does not tolerate change very easily. 

Santa baby...

So here we are once again dressing Tyson up in all kinds of things he'll potentially hate me for later in life. I just can't seem to stop myself.

though in my defense, he appears to be eagerly accepting his position as a human dress up doll.

So we started out calling Tyson 'peanut' as a nickname but I think I will have to now switch to bubba as he is pretty large and in charge these days. We typically leave an extra outfit at daycare that is to be used in the case of a bad poop situation...which he has been having a lot of lately (introducing fruit to his diet has been interesting to say the least). Apparently the other day they were attempting to change his clothes as he had completely pooped up his back (again) and realized the clothes we had left there was a 6-9 month size...not going to happen. In the midst of the caretakers trying to figure out what to do next, Tyson peed all over his socks. When I showed up that afternoon, he greeted me with bare feet, an "interesting" extra outfit that the daycare had to scrounge up and a big gummy grin. Whaddya do? It was a funny moment...though kind of difficult to take him out in the sub-zero temperatures with no socks. I must make a mental note to pack some extra socks and a new outfit in the diaper bag for tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone!

odds and ends...

Here are a few pictures that I just couldn't resist posting. Tyson seems to suffer from a case of eczema...no surprise to anyone who knows me. After every bath we have been ordered to use hydrocortisone cream on the really bad parts and then slather vaseline all over the rest of him. Even though this makes for a very slimy baby, it did provide a great naked baby photo opportunity.

I am loading my "embarrassing pictures" arsenal now for the day when I meet Tyson's first girlfriend:)

Tyson has also become much more playful these days...

but mess with his pacifier and you are on the business end of a hissy fit.

and last on this random entry is the sleepsack picture. Since parents are supposed to leave the crib completely free of anything that could lead to suffocation (stuffed animals, blankets etc), some smart person (that lived somewhere cold I'm guessing) invented the sleepsack. It's basically a wearable blanket and in addition to the anti-SIDS factor, it's handy because the baby can move around without having the motor skills to take the blanket with him. Anyway, the point of this picture was that I obviously bought a size too large...this thing could fit me as a minidress. Oh well...it doesn't seem to bother him too much and he looks pretty cute. It seems my little man is really getting the hang of smiling for pictures...and here everyone thought my incessant picture taking was pointless.

ladies man

Hi, my name is Tyson Haak. I am a 6 month old WM who has become quite a catch. I now weigh in at a husky 19 pounds 2 ounces and am 28 inches long.

I have got some mad skills that include sitting up all by myself, pounding entire jars of baby food and still remaining hungry and of course finding my pacifier in my crib and being able to put it back in my own mouth (my mom seems very excited about this one).

I also enjoy kickin' it with my parents...they are pretty cool (even though I would never tell them that to their faces).  

I can be a bit mysterious as times...

and enjoy working out.

I love water...and as soon as I'm able to walk I'm sure I will enjoy long walks along the beach.

I am a lover of the animals...especially the ones that sit still and are made of plastic (nice and chewy).

I am also wonderful at serenading the ladies...though I often have a hard time with people understanding my style of music (shrieks). 

Yes ladies, this all comes in one pretty package. 

The Swedish chef...kind of.

One of the things I asked for for Christmas was an apron (don't judge). Anyway, my sister Jenny had the great idea of personalizing it with a picture of Tyson in a chef's hat. I come from a long line of Norwegians (was there any question with a maiden name of Svaren?) so Jenny found a very appropriate hat. Here are a few of my attempts at getting a good picture.

I still haven't figured out why he makes this face from time to time.

This photo shoot reminded me of the "Swedish Chef" from the muppets. 

The hat was just a little too big:)

What the...???

That's better!

Honestly, I always worry when a lot of other people are around because he has the potential to be a little difficult but I think he thrives with a crowd. He was super fun all weekend and slept pretty good. We have since had some issues with nighttime sleeping since everyone has gone home but I'm hoping it's only temporary because of the teething situation. It seems that he's starting to learn to nap (kind of) but then wakes up more at night...is it too much to ask for a child who sleeps both at night and naps during the day? All in all I really can't complain too much. He's a pretty fun guy. 

He's finally baptized!

Well, we finally had Tyson baptized. We decided to wait for a time when relatives could make the long trip out if they wanted. The weekend went a little like this. I worked on Thanksgiving Day, we had our own Thanksgiving celebration on Friday with both sides of the family and then the baptism took place during the Saturday eve. service. The one problem I ran into was the fact that all of the cute little outfits I found were shorts!  Doesn't anyone get baptized in the winter? We solved that problem with some tights...I don't know how happy Jason was with his son in tights but he looked darn cute.

The close-up.

I think Tyson looked pretty sharp in his little outfit, tights and all...I'm pretty sure he thought so too. During the service we were all worried about his behavior since it was taking place at Tyson's bedtime (therefore fussy time) but he was a ham. He charmed the minister with a big grin as the water was being poured on his head and then as he was held up to meet the congregation, he smiled even bigger because everyone was clapping. I'm hoping this does not mean he will want a career in show business.  

We had a rare opportunity to get pictures with both Grandma's (my mom Becky on left, Jason's mom Marilyn on right).

We wanted to get a family picture of Tyson in his Sunday best but this was the best we could get under the stress of getting so many people (especially the little kids) ready for church in time...and because it was already Tyson's fussy time.

I think this is how everyone felt after the weekend. We are exhausted...but it was so great to see everyone, it was well worth it. 

boys will be boys...

So because I am lucky enough to only work part time, Tyson here goes to daycare about 2 days a week or stays home with Jason when I am working a weekend. Now the nice people at daycare give me a written report of how the day went but I often wonder what goes on during those boys only weekends. Apparently Jason takes just as many pictures as I do because these are all from him. I don't discourage it because it can be a nice journal of the days events. I don't know what Jason is doing to make Tyson smile so big but honestly I'm distracted by his giant, still bald head. 

They must have played a rousing game of peek-a-boo.

and perhaps a game of dress-up (Jason mistakenly put on a 3-6 month sleeper and couldn't even button it. We've been out of that size for quite sometime. I guess I didn't clean his drawers out very well). 

With a photo shoot to end the day.

I think he's practicing poses for his senior portraits.

the games we play...

So here is a picture of one of Tyson's toys that he really enjoys but truth be told, it completely creeps me out. The bears face lights up and giggles with each kick. It brings back memories of being pressured to watch Chuckie (that crazy possessed doll) movies (I don't do scary) as a child (okay, 16 year old). 

Anyway, now that Tyson is getting a little older, he can sit up for a very short period of time before tipping over (sideways usually). This expands our toy options exponentially...though he still seems to gravitate towards that darn bear. 

 I've noticed lately that when the little mr. gets tired, instead of toppling over, he braces his head against the toy to keep himself upright.

Here's an inside shot of Peanut trying to keep himself from falling over. What a smart little bugger.

We also have some quality tummy time with the duck...a repeat picture I realize but I could not for the life of me figure out how to delete the pic once it was up here.

and try really hard to crawl. So far he just cannot get that belly off the ground.

Peek-a-boo is also a big hit in our household these days. It can lead to a major case of the giggles...for everyone that is involved. Basically, this entry sums up the fact that Tyson is so much more interactive and playful...and oodles more fun than that screaming little ball I used to know and love.