so sad...

Well folks, today I am going to tell you a story about a very flighty girl who may have possibly lost her camera.  I took it with me to the park over the weekend to take some great pictures of Tyson playing in the sand (and by playing, I mean eating). Unfortunately, the camera has been MIA since then. I am usually extremely careful with my camera as I use it pretty frequently but I know I did put it in the diaper bag and left it somewhat unattended momentarily while I gathered Tyson up and tried to force his little jaw open to spit out the remaining sand (seriously, he'll eat sand like it's a gourmet meal but green beans are offensive???). I then grabbed the bag and set off for home and have been camera-less since then. Of course, that's when Tyson has been at his cutest and most mischievous. I've now missed some fantastic (though pretty unsuccessful) attempts at using cutlery all by himself (the fact that there is a "right" side to the spoon seems to escape him) as well as some other interesting sitcom worthy situations. I am oh so sad. Beside the fact that I am going through camera withdrawals, I am mourning the loss of some great pictures from our trip back to South Dakota for Danielle and Wes's wedding. Hopefully a prayer to St. Anthony or two will help it turn up but in the meantime, I have no pictures.

 A few months ago I began selling things on ebay to save up enough money for a digital SLR camera and I am tantalizingly close but here's the kicker: in order to sell more items (to earn more money to buy my camera), I need to be able to take pictures of said items. Now I have no camera so I can't sell the items so can't buy my camera! See my dilemma? So maybe I could use a few prayers from you all as well. Without my camera, you will have to put up with all of my rants without the distraction of new cute Tyson pictures....so get crackin'.

summertime fun...

Well, so far we've had a great summer....wild but fun. We've traveled to see family and had some family traveling to see us. Tyson had a great time in June with Grandma and Grandpa Svaren. PS-Grandpa, thanks for teaching him the headbutt...I now look like the 5th grader who keeps sitting on her glasses but wears them anyway.

We also took a day one weekend that Jason and I miraculously weren't working and headed to the zoo in hopes that Tyson would enjoy the animals. All in all it was a good day.

We saw everything from giraffes to flamingos (which made me want to imitate them while I pretended I was Chrissy from Three's Company...anyone else remember that...anyone?). At one point I'm pretty my child would've shared his cheerios with the alligator. That's kind of a big deal because he doesn't share food with ANYONE....unless it's half chewed and found to be something less than desirable and/or God forbid healthy. 

Though Jason and I found the animals fun and interesting, we could've saved a trip to Madison and just let Tyson try to figure out how the wheels on his stroller work. I have this sinking feeling that once he figures out his dexterity, many many things will be taken apart and sacrificed to the God of curiosity. 

I am still perplexed as to what the hell this thing is. It looks like a some sort of gerbil on steroids. 

The best part of the day was that it wore him out! Honestly, this kid sleeps so seldom in the car that we almost always have to catch in on film. Jason now has this picture as his screen saver on his phone...yep, it's that big a deal. 

Anyway, we've been having a great time lately. Tyson remains a ridiculously picky eater (though we discovered a new love of grapes in this household...oh happy day)  and as always is a little dicey with the naps. He's a strong willed little feller but loads of fun. He's repeating everything I say (always interesting) and even figuring out the meanings of some words. He spent a solid 20 minutes on our deck barking at the neighbors dog yesterday and I was so excited that he'd made the connection that dogs do indeed bark that I failed to realize that every kid in their yard (she runs a daycare) had stopped playing to watch the pale, barking kid. And I was darn proud to be the pale momma of the pale barking kid. 

Peek-a-boo 2.0

It all started like this. One Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago Jason and I miraculously both had the day off. We thought it would be a great idea to go to church like the good Christians we tell our parents that we are. All summer it's been a ridiculous juggle d/t work and travel schedules and thus far have only been able to consider the drive in service (which our church does offer...apprently catering to the new generation of technologically advanced but socially retarded). Since I already feel like I'm married to my minivan (yes, I drive a minivan...shocking I know), I really didn't want to take things to a spiritual level. So I thought it would be really cute to bring Tyson into our bedroom in the morning to wake his daddy up so we could get going. I set him up on our bed right next to Jason and he really was super cute...for about the 4 1/2 seconds it took for him to vomit all over our comforter. All day long I vigilantly watched for other signs of illness while simultaneously calculating how much purrell I would have to buy to fill the bathtub. Guess what? Other than one other incident, Tyson was completely fine. Not eating his normal lumberjack size portions but otherwise fit as a fiddle. 

I thought things were looking up. Imagine my surprise the next afternoon when (despite my best antibacterial efforts) I was suddenly doubled over with abdominal pain. I spent the next 2 days developing a close, personal relationship with my red puke-bucket and the view from my toilet seat (if I was taller, I would be able to see into my neighbors garage and perhaps a little of their backyard...it's awkward).  The hardest part was of course, trying to take care of Tyson  and keep him out of mischief when I was carrying on such interesting and lengthy conversations with my bucket. The funny part was that Tyson thought it was just another version of his old time favorite game of peek-a-boo. He would come up to me and push my hair to the side and give me his "head tilt-Iamsodarncute" look. Seriously, this kid is something else. As long as he's being constantly watched and smiled at, he's happy. Is it to early to worry that he will grow up wanting to be a game show host? 

Candids...

So I am in the middle of an exhausting stretch at work so I have few words to share. I thought I would tide everyone over with some scanned images of Tyson's one year pics that we finally ordered:) Enjoy.

 

Road Trip Part Deux

So on Saturday morning we packed up our things (which took very little time due to the fact that we were childless) and headed to Jason's hometown of Pollock, SD to visit family and to head to another wedding...oh yeah, and to pick up our kid.

Tyson had a great time. In addition to being constantly adored (his favorite thing in life) there were a bunch of little playmates for him and some great toys. He was in heaven.  This little guy is completely obsessed with any and all balls (ball was his first word...and the first thing he says every morning) and of course, spotted this basketball immediately and wouldn't stop asking for it (Bah?) until Jason got it down for him. 

He carried it everywhere.

And needed to show it off to his cousin Tyler...or bonk him in the head...not sure which is happening here.

Next Tyson met our friend Justin and Elaine's little girl Emily. She wasn't quite sure what to think of him at first. 

She's still thinking it over.

But then her mom came back into view so everything was great once again.

The trip was a whirlwind. As always, we had to leave too soon and we had to spend way too much time in the car. Tyson is still not a great traveler. It seems he cannot physically sleep for any longer than 30 minutes in his carseat...which is a struggle during a 12 hour trip. 

Once again, I find myself noticing a difference between the kind of parent I thought I would be and the mom I have become. There was once a time both Jason and I loathed the thought of having a DVD player in our vehicle. We have to make this trip again in a month. If you'll excuse me, I think I need to head to best buy.

Road Trip Part One

So last weekend I packed up the family and headed north (or "Up Nort" to you fellow Norwegians) to Fargo for my great friend Andrea's wedding. Of course I had a heckuva time getting her to stop hugging one of her 400+ guests (she is loved very much) to pose for a picture but here are some shots of the rest of us girls having a great time. 

The best part was that Grandma Marilyn was gracious enough to take Tyson for the night so we were "footloose and fancy free" as my mom would say. 

PS- we still woke up at 7am even without Tyson there. Apparently becoming a parent not only strips you of the opportunity to sleep in but also the ability. 

Alexia and I go way back. We were home health aides for the same client before we were nurses. Then I decided she was so cool I had to keep following in her footsteps and started working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at good ol' Meritcare when I finally graduated.

Why am I more pale than a natural redhead? That hardly seems fair. 

The wedding was beautiful and fun. I really had a wonderful time catching up with old friends and Jason was a wonderful husband who let me...without any complaints of boredom. The next day we packed up again and headed to South Dakota to Jason's hometown for yet another wedding. More pictures to come:) 

This message is brought to you by...Tonka.

This giant Tonka truck was just one of the amazing baby gifts we received at Tyson's South Dakota baby shower. After keeping it stored for the year, we finally pulled it out realizing that maybe my little boy would be old enough to enjoy it. As you can see by his "excited face" (seriously, that is his excited face), he was pumped.

His daily routine now includes a quick inspection/tune up (or PMCS for anyone Army reading this). 

A run around the house while making the correct engine noises (PS-where does he learn how to do this? I obviously didn't teach his as my girly DNA makes this noise impossible to make). 

After the proper inspection, he loads the truck up with his favorite toys (which includes any and all balls and books). I believe in this picture he is attempting to hitch his chair up to the back to he can tow it. Since he was without any rope, he just put the chair in front of the truck and pushed really hard...it worked.

Phew, playing is hard work. Luckily his truck can double as a chair.