Still here...

Hello readers (all 4 of you)...I just wanted to throw it out there that we are alive and well but suffering from the typical holiday exhaustion. We have basically been traveling out of state every two weeks and that has left me unable to keep up with anything. Honestly, I had to decide that my Christmas cards were going to become New Years Cards....or President's day cards. I'll play it by ear.

On to South Dakota for Christmas!

After we return I promise to return to my over-photographing /stupid story/bragging about my child self. Happy Holidays everyone.

1 1/2 year old fun...

Sometimes fun can be as simple as climbing onto kid sized stuff while visiting with family (the fun of which is apparently amplified by only wearing your diaper and a pair of socks)...

or climbing onto adult sized stuff and sitting at the table like a big boy. Add some cheerios and a grandma and grandpa and it's downright delightful.

Sometimes fun is hanging out with daddy and watching the game (while my chair is rediculously close to the television).

And sometimes it's diving into drawers and taking everything out that his little 18 month old body can lift or throw.

whatever toots your horn little buddy.

Things to do in Wisconsin

A couple of weeks ago we headed to one of the many apple orchards around our area. It was already a little late in the season so we were lucky to find a place still open. The days activities included riding a horse drawn carriage...

playing on old, stationary tractors. Tyson thought this was amazing (though I will say that all of his John Deer paraphernalia apparently had no impact as he seemed to prefer the red tractor).

playing in a little, kid sized house...

while mama was too busy taking the picture to notice her child had done a face plant.

and finally asking a perfect stranger to take our picture.

all growed up...

We we are fast approaching the 18 month mark (how we got here so fast and in one piece I'm not really sure) and life is good....wild but good. Tyson is climbing all over everything, jumping off of most things and repeating everything we say. I am trying very very hard to implement a verbal filter while Jason is trying very very hard to teach him to say things like "boob." We are screwing him up in our own very special way.  On a different note, we have been pacifier free for a couple of months now and it is glorious. I was tired the potential meltdown if I forgot the darn thing and the having to sneak into his room to replace it if he was screaming at night (and a little hopeful that no nuk=less sickness running through our house since Tyson is very good at sharing his pacifier with other little boys and girls) and pretty unhappy that it was already affecting his teeth. As a child of orthodontia (years and years of it) due to my crazy big teeth in my crazy small mouth, I am willing to do just about anything so my kid has straight teeth and the pediatrician said that we would notice a difference in his smile almost immediately. All in all it's been a really easy transition, so much better than I anticipated. However, the catch is not having something that would immediately soothe and quiet him during a tantrum. 

...now I just bribe him with crackers. 

I only take the pictures...

So I recently either sold or packed away all things military since I no longer need any of it. Tyson found one of my hats and thought it was the neatest toy ever. Ironic since trying to get him to wear his winter hat begins with a rousing chase throughout the house and usually ends with a wrestling match and at least one person throwing a tantrum. Anyway, this hat is now one of his favorite accessories. 

*Disclaimer* I did NOT put him up to any of this I swear. I only take the pictures.

Word brutha...

Happy Veteran's Day everyone!!!

*another disclaimer-again-I didn't put him up to this. He comes up with this crap all on his own....even the tiny salute. That is all him. 

the trickers and the treaters...

So our first attempt at Halloween came in the form of a party at an assisted living center that's run by the hospital Jason works for. Our new parent selves eagerly set out to show off what we were sure to be the cutest darn puppy around. Turns out he was the cutest...kid in a fur jumpsuit. He threw an epic tantrum (oh yes, we're in the tantrum stage now) every time we attempted to put the hood (which is essentially the best part of the costume) on his head. ...Luckily Tyson barked at everyone so they weren't confused...

He did however, think the puppy on his shoulder was super cool. What a cute little two headed monster I have. 

The second attempt was on halloween itself. This time it was really cold out so he didn't have a choice on whether to wear his hood or not...

...and he was pissed. 

"I will tell you exactly what I think of this crazy holiday!!!"

Begone with you...fetch me my candy!

Why I haven't updated...

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

The Mad Hatter...

So the big thing these days is putting anything and everything on his head and giggling hysterically as he says, "hat mama, hat." 

whatever keeps him occupied...

As you can see, he is concentrating really hard on keeping this piece from one of his bowls from falling. 

but once he figured out that it wasn't gonna move he felt the need to bust some moves. 

Eat your heart out Olivia Newton John

During my shower, Tyson occupied himself by reassigning my face washing headband into a new sweatband....

...and spent the rest of the morning dancing a la Olivia Newton John's "Lets Get Physical." 

My name is Tyson and I am here to "pump...you up."  

Happy Birthday to Jason

 Jason's 29th birthday was on the first of this month so we did some celebratin'. I was super excited to make him this lemon raspberry cake but it turned out better in theory than execution. Turns out I have two different size round pans but instead of shaving off the bigger layer, I just slapped on some icing in hopes that it would cover. The end result was not so fancy but at least it tasted good. 

Tyson was a little confused by the whole situation as he kept holding up his "one" to show us how old he was. I guess he thought he was getting another birthday. Here's a shocker to anyone who's read this blog...Tyson didn't eat the cake! My little nugget obviously didn't realize it met his sweet tooth standards and was so stubborn he wouldn't even try it. 

All in all it was a good day. I have been lucky enough to spend 7 birthdays with Jason so far and I hope there's many many more to come. Also, I get to celebrate the fact for 6 more months, Jason is older than I am. You can crack a whole lotta old jokes in 6 months. 

mullet-b-gone

Because Tyson took so long to grow any hair on his (not-so) little head, and because it didn't look super rediculous from the front, we were in denial about the state of his hairstyle.

...but then Joe Dirt called...

and wanted his mullet back. 

So last weekend Jason took him to get a real big boy haircut. Since I was working a stretch of nights and was fast asleep at this time, my husband was kind enough to shell out the extra 3 dollars for the commemorative "first haircut" certificate. I was a little worried about how someone would manage to get a 16 month old boy to sit still for longer than 30 seconds but apparently this place is like a toddler heaven. They have super fun cars to sit in and cartoons playing all over. He had a ball. 

However, his attitude has been slightly sour ever since. Perhaps I overdid it with the 80's music I listened to during my commutes when I was pregnant...I think he misses his mullet. 

accessories...

For those of you searching for new ways to jazz up an outfit look no further. Turns out your child's stackable rings can add a great splash of color.

Add on a snazzy pair of sunglasses and you are set.

Fun in the sun

Just like any other mother of a toddler (or any age child I'm guessing), I am constantly looking for some way to keep my child occupied for longer than 10 seconds while simultaneously wearing him out in hopes of a long nap. Luckily, during the warmer months, we are able to burn some energy outside at one of the many parks in our town. We both had a great time...

even though 72% of the time Tyson was trying to eat the sand and I was trying to stop him. Little sneaker even tried to hide it from me (as evidence by the above picture with his back turned) but luckily I'm smarter than an almost 16 month old...for now.

Multiple attempts were made at climbing the big kid stuff...

but he soon realized he couldn't quite muscle himself up there.

Dirt: added to the growing list of favorites. This kid is all boy.

Heinz

I like ketchup...

a lot.

How to keep a toddler occupied: travel edition.

So on an extremely positive note, Jason found my camera wedged underneath one of the seats in the minivan. I was thrilled to be able to upload our pictures from the most recent trip from South Dakota. Above is a great pre-wedding shot of Tyson and Darel (his uncle). Here's a little tip for those of you who didn't already know this...15 month old children don't sit through a wedding very well. The first 5 minutes after being seated were spent alternating between testing out the cathedrals acoustics with his various loud noises and banging his head on the pew cuz he thought it was funny.  

I thought the food at the reception was phenomenal. Tyson thought the plates were great.

At one of our rest stops at a McDonalds, Tyson enjoyed playing with the super cool picnic benches...

but was appalled at some lady who LEFT HER TODDLER IN THE CAR while getting her food. Around here people get in serious trouble for doing that to dogs and she LEFT HER TODDLER IN THE CAR unattended and strapped in his seat WITH THE CAR RUNNING...in a not so small town. Someone easily could have driven away with that kid. He screamed the whole time. I almost called the cops but didn't have my phone with me because Jason had taken the van to fill up so I took down her license plate number and waited there until the mom came back. I am still shaken up by that. After that we got back in our van and Tyson found his feet.

I know my sisters are dying of laughter at this moment while viewing this picture of Tyson sucking on his toes. I chose to preserve the tiny bit of dignity I have left and will let your imaginations run. 

All in all, it was a great trip. We loved seeing everyone and as always it was hard to come home. We miss you!!!

PS- for those of you wondering, we did in fact have a DVD player this time and it was glorious. Elmo, Baby Einstein and I are now great friends.