Labor day in South Dakota

Well, we started out on our trek to South Dakota after Jason got home from work on Wednesday evening. Our rationale well something like this...Tyson is fussy in the evenings, Tyson usually calms down in the car so it should be a perfect solution. We were sooooo wrong. The entire trip was horrendous. It took hours to calm Tyson down enough to rest at all and then as soon as we got him asleep we drove into a very loud rain storm that woke him up immediately. He is such a curious little fella that I even tried blocking his view of the window so he would not have anything to look at in hopes he would give up and sleep....
turns out I should have brought a blanket without any pictures on it. My "idea" just have Tyson something different to examine....grrr. The trip itself was so horrible that I was very worried about what the rest of the weekend would be like...but Tyson slept through the night the entire time in South Dakota! Who's kid is this? Well, as soon as we got back to Wisconsin, he reverted back to his old ways. What kind of kid does better when out of his element?

Taking one of many baths at grandma's...since he was sleeping so well, he tended to pee through everything so we had to keep bathing him. I'm thinking this picture should be shown to his first girlfriend...what do you think?

Anna is the daughter of our great friends Sue and Herb (who's real name is Ryan). She is a very old 2 1/2 judging by her vocabulary and such a sweetheart. She also does a very mean chicken dance and isn't too bad at the hokey pokey either:)

Now it's great-grandma Peggy and great grandpa Everett's turn to hold Tyson. Peggy is always behind the camera (I have now been dubbed the new Peggy) so I thought it was time to get her in a picture.

Everett holding Tyson and his 2nd cousin Tyler...born only a week apart.

Again, I thought was a great time to get a pic of mom/baby but as you can see it didn't turn out like I wanted it too. Not only is Tyson making a very wierd face but you can easily tell that I am trying to direct Jason how to use my camera through my smile...resulting in my very wierd face. Oh well.

I just need to include the itinerary (sp?) of the weekend cuz it was so crazy, I can't even believe we fit it all in. Friday night was the rehearsal, followed by rehearsal dinner followed by Tyson's baby shower, followed by a surprise 50th birthday party of a family friend of the Haak's. Saturday was the wedding and busy enough...Sunday afternoon, Marilyn (the bride) had all kinds of people over in hopes of getting rid of all of the leftover food and Sunday night was Jason's Grandpa Everett's 85th birthday party. Honestly...we had originally thought about getting Tyson baptized that weekend but I think it would've had to be done in the middle of the night as there was no other time...I am exhausted.

back to SoDak...

Well, I uploaded this picture purely for the readers' enjoyment and it thoroughly embarrasses me. I love my mother but I am a little upset that she let me get my haircut that way...and equally upset at my Aunt Carolyn who executed it (she used to be a hairstylist). And can we all agree that my stonewashed cap is totally rad? I'm sad to say I think this picture was taken the same year I cut my best friends head open accidentally with my buck teeth...I really wish I was kidding (I'm still sorry about that Jen). Well, here I am many many years of orthodontia later and sans perm...hopefully looking a little better.

We are headed back to SoDak (that's South Dakota for all of you non-residents) this weekend to Jason's hometown of Pollock, SD which consists of 300 people...8 of whom he graduated high school with. (yep, 9 people in his entire class, you did the math right). His mom is getting re-married and we are all in the wedding. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about squishing myself into a bridesmaid dress 3 months after having a baby and standing next to my very thin 15 year old sister in law....oh well. It should be a really fun time. My parents are also making the trek and they've agreed to take Tyson for the night of the wedding so that means an entire night of uninterrupted sleep!!! I may even have a beer or two (which is pretty much a requirement just to enter South Dakota I think). Come to think of it, I might have to start drinking along the way as making an 11 hour drive with an infant sounds less than appealing. Anyway, I will be without access to a computer probably until tuesday so no more posts until I get back. Hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

His first crush...

So there we were, playing on the floor as usual. Tyson was showing off his rolling over capabilities when all activity halted. Tyson was riveted...I look up only to realize that he is completely enthralled by Oprah. It seems he is quite smitten with her. I hated to break the news that she was already taken. Anyway, I promptly turned off the television and am now being very careful to always face his playtime in the other direction. I honestly thought he would be a little older before I would have to give up my horrible TV habit....bummer.
Nice shirt Tyson...you aren't kidding:) Don't think the irony was missed at the fact that he looks like he just drank a grande macchiato from starbucks.
In all honesty, he did have a pretty good night last night and is starting to get this nap business down. It's still a struggle somedays but it's slowly getting better.

the hissy fit...

Well, my worst fear came true...the other night was not the start of a pattern. I feel as though it was just to show me that it was biologically possible for my child to sleep but that it probably wouldn't be happening on a regular basis. As if I hadn't already figured that out. At least when he's naughty on the weekends I have Jason's help so I can get a little rest...otherwise it's a very difficult day. Here's to hoping he'll behave tonight.

here fishy fishy fishy...

One of Jason's favorite new hobbies is to try to contort Tyson's face in as many ways possible. I must admit that his little fishy face is pretty cute.
Tyson actually seems to enjoy this game...wierd. Honestly, you'd think I would stop being surprised at how much alike Jason and Tyson are but it never ceases to amaze me. I wonder if it's wierd for Jason to watch himself grow up?

On another note, we had a pretty good night last night. I really don't want to jinx anything so I won't go into details but he woke up happy and actually napped today. I'm hoping this is the start of something great cuz if it's just a teaser someone might end up on the business end of a hissy fit (mine).

photo shoot...

Well, Tyson had some pictures taken at 2 months old by my very talented coworker Tracy Mueller. In addition to being a nurse, she also runs Candid Photography. I really love how these turned out and decided to post a sample...I wanted to post them all but I realize that would have been overkill.
I really love this picture because after so many problems with weight gain, he has very visibly caught up...notice the cheeks:)

Mama and baby:)

I kind of think he looks like an old man with this toothless grin and his bald, shiny head.

This is very much a typical Tyson face.

I adore this picture because you can really see the chin dimple!...thanks Grandpa Dale for passing that gene.

Tyson actually had a fairly good night last night (meaning he only woke up twice instead of 4-6 times)...largely due to the fact that this little acrobat now flips himself onto his belly and then promptly falls asleep. Apparently my little man has no interest in what the literature says about tummy sleeping....American Academy of Pediatrics be damned! I'm worried about the fact that he is this stubborn at 2 1/2 months of age...what will he be like at 2...or 16?

no time for siestas...

Due to Tyson's inability to sleep in general + his quick meltdown factor, I have now become one of those mom's I used to make fun of. I have read so many books on childrearing or the sleeping habits of babies my bookshelf now resembles the baby section at Barnes and Noble. I am asking perfect strangers for advice in effort to find my sanity...but so far, no luck. But, since Tyson seems to find sleep unnecessary, he's hit some developmental milestones with all the extra time spent NOT napping! I was attempting to put him down today for a nap (not sure why I still try) and of course heard the screams coming from his room. I poked my head in the door just to make sure there was no bloodshed only to find my infant tucked in the corner of his crib on his tummy! He has only rolled from tummy to back a couple of times and now it seems that if you piss him off enough, he will roll from back to tummy! Turns out he's even more stubborn and determined than I originally thought. I used to be convinced he was some sort of evil genius sent to break me...now I think maybe he will be a ninja:)