"I'm Tyson!"

I was addressing envelopes for Ginny's baby shower, and Tyson was helping peal labels for me- aka stickers.  I got a kick out of his response.
Apparently "worker" is a term only to be used when referring to construction "workers".  He pointed this out to me later in the car.

Mischievous Tyson

Tyson is my little crazy boy!  I have to keep my eyes on this little boy 24/7 because he is my crazy.  Seriously.

How could it be true, look at this innocent little face?

One day I will find his little face covered in sugar, him literally rolling around on my kitchen floor with mouth wide open, happy as can be.  Someone, please, childproof my cabinets!!!

The next moment he will have stacked something by the couch so that he can climb up, and will be in the window!  Freaky!

Who, me?

We still can't get enough of this crazy boy!

Tyson's first sink bath.

Two things are going through my mind right now.  First, that little naked baby bodies are the cutest thing ever.  Second, that this will be great blackmail during the teenage years.  I remember Porter loved sink baths, so it is hard to believe that today was Tyson's first sink bath.  He loved it, but he's a little too old for it as you will see.  After dinner and a jumbo sized marshmallow, this boy was one sticky mess, so into the sink he went.

I will take this over dishes ANY DAY!

You know how they say the grass is always greener on the other side?  Apparently the other side of the sink is better too.

I think he had his eye on the soap dispenser.

He managed to make his way onto his knees and was pretty happy about his achievement...

Then came this.

And finally he was up, and wanting to look out the window.

Okay, and finally I have a third thought, and that is that my mother is probably having a heart attack looking at this post.  Don't worry mom, we were right there the entire time.

Tyson 9 Months

Tomorrow my baby will be nine months old!  The majority of this past month was rough with this little guy.  My poor baby got his first tooth and then seemed to be teething forever before finally getting his second little tooth.  Once we passed that stage, he was absolutely frustrated that he wasn't mobile.  You could tell that he wanted to be so badly.  You could tell when you were holding him that he would try and move in a certain way that he could try and "steer" us where he wanted to go.  When we tried to work with him on learning how to crawl he would be really upset.  In fact, any time we tried to even sit him down he would arch his back and try and stay standing up.   Because his favorite thing of all, is to have you hold his hands and help him walk around the house.  Porter never crawled.  Just a couple days after he turned nine months old, he caught us by surprise and started walking.  As Tyson was nearing the nine month mark, I started to wonder if my kids just don't crawl?  It really appeared to be the case.  But this week, for the first time, I got to witness one of my babies learn how to crawl!  At first it didn't even seem like he was excited about his milestone.  He would just cry until he reached me.  But as each day has passed he has become more content with being on his own.  I can put him down and walk out of the room without a meltdown.  Porter has had to adjust a bit to Tyson's new skill.  Before, if Tyson would try and take a toy that Porter was playing with, all he had to do was move away from him.  But now Tyson just crawls over to him.  It is amusing, and yet rendered new teaching opportunities.  But this is what Tyson is up to at the moment.  Here are some other things:

• Loves swimming.
• Has two bottom teeth (forgot to mention the 1st on his 8th month post)
• Is becoming quite attached to his daddy!  Now he is a mama and a daddy's boy.  Just as long as we are holding him, he is quite happy.
• Thinks it is hilarious to hurt you.  (I know, terrible, huh?)  I first noticed this when he bit me while nursing.  Since he tries to pinch, bite, and pull your hair, and DIES laughing when he gets an "Ouch!" out of you.
• Makes funny faces when the camera comes out, and smiles too.  Pretty adorable.
• Wearing 9 and 12 month clothes.  Staying right on track in that area.
• Loves playing with Porter
• Still sleeping great in his crib during naps/night.
• Obsessed with balls!  If someone is playing soccer or any sport, his head will follow the ball the entire time.  Reminds me of Porter at that age.

I just wanted to comment on the differences I am seeing in Tyson and Porter at this age.  I recently cleaned out the small clothes from Tyson's closet, and after noticed it was pretty barren.  I went to my storage area where I have all my baby clothes to see if I could find some for him to use.  I kept seeing all these clothes that Porter was wearing at this age, and started grabbing them.  But at closer examination they looked huge to me.  That was because most of them were 2T.  Porter wore 0-3, and then 3-6.  I thought that he skipped 6-9 and went to 9-12, but no, it was 12-18.  And even still, there are a handful of those and a ton of 2T.  Even the shoes.  Tyson has size 2 shoes that he is wearing right now.  I came across these little sneakers that Porter was wearing at 9 months in his 1st pictures walking.  I pulled them out and they were a size 6. 6!!!  That is just insane.  It seems so silly to buy clothes when I have a gazillion so we are just going to roll up the pants that are too long and call it good!  The good thing is, summer is around the corner and shorts are a lot more forgiving on size.  Funny though.

Today he ventured out of the family room for the 1st time into the rest of the house

Bath time

Matching jammies!

They think they are so funny!

First day crawling

Tyson

Tyson learned how to wave!

Oh my goodness I forget how you honestly believe your baby is the cutest thing ever!  Tyson started waving today.... ahhh!  Check out this cutie-

first word & big words

tyson can say "mama" now.  i think it's cute!  and the 2nd is porter naming a few dinosaurs.  impressive, but don't be fooled, there are a lot more we didn't film.

tyson, 7 months old

Tyson is 7 months old now.  He really does just get more fun every day.  Here is what he's up to right now:

• Weight 50th percentile, Height 75th percentile, Head 15th Percentile
• Says "mama" - even when you ask him to.  It's pretty adorable.
• Successfully moved from mom & dad's bed to his crib!  Woot woot!
• For nap and bed time we just lay him in his crib and he puts himself to sleep without crying.  It is awesome.
• Still loves to eat!  We really have not found a food that he will not eat.
• Doesn't seem anywhere close to crawling.  Porter never crawled and it's hard for me to even imagine him crawling since I've never experienced that.
• Teething now.  Not fun, but necessary.
• Is obsessed with standing up and walking around holding mama's hands.
• Likes to read books with Porter and mom before nap/bed.
• Started giving him a bottle with liquids this week and although he plays with it more than drinks it, he is an absolute pro at holding it by himself.  He puts it down and picks it back up and starts drinking again.
• Loves to play with his big brother, they get along great.
• An absolute charmer- can't live without him!

Oh and this really cracked me up this week.  I found a book that I made of Porter's 1st year and came across pictures of Porter when he was 7 months old.  I couldn't believe the difference!  Everyone always told us Porter was a chunk but now looking back and comparing, he really was a beast!  Check this picture of Porter when he was the same age Tyson is right now, 7 months old:

Lot's of TJ Expressions

I love taking pictures, especially if it is outdoors.  I love the natural light, and the way it makes pictures look.  I am not the biggest fan of indoor pictures.  But today I decided to play around with natural lighting indoors, since that's pretty much my only option during these winter months.  I was having fun, and when you have a subject as cute as Tyson it's hard to not like it.  You might think they all look the same, but I love ALL his little expressions- snotty nose and all!!  So maybe with some practice I can take some decent pictures of my kids indoors!  Wouldn't that be nice!

Tyson: 6 Months Old

I can't tell you how much I LOVE having a little baby to snuggle and love!  Tyson is such a sweet baby and I usually can't help myself from smothering his chubby little cheeks with kisses throughout the day.  He is thriving!  I cannot believe how fast time flies by.  I can't believe Tyson is already 6 months old??  Just yesterday I was a single college student falling in love with Jared, and now we have two kids and have been married nearly 8 years!!  Anyway, here's what's up with the little guy.

• SUPER interested in food- this boy is so interested in food right now, especially grown up food.  If we are eating (even if he has just nursed!) he gets so excited and antsy when we begin to eat.  His little legs start kicking and he will literally start yelling, it sounds more like growling, until we share some of the goods.
• And while we are on food, he just started eating cheerios and the little baby stars.  He still likes baby food, but he likes "real" stuff too, like: oatmeal, peas, bananas, mac-n-cheese, etc.  He has liked every single item of food I have given him so far, except for peaches.  And he doesn't like peas baby food, but like peas whole...
• Pro at sitting up now!  Last month he was finally starting to get the hang of it, now he's got it down and he loves to sit and play toys with Porter.  It seems like he is more content to be on his own now, where he used to like to be held a lot.  (He still does, it's just improved a ton!)
• Kisser.  If your face is within arms reach, he will grab your face and give you a big slobbery kiss.  He does this to me, Porter, cousins, etc.
• THE cry.  Wow, this kid will occasionally let out saddest cry you have ever heard.  A couple times I have been so worried that something was terribly wrong with him, like he broke an arm or a leg or something like that.  As time has progressed, he has let it out when we are in the car and he doesn't want to be in his car seat, or when I've set him down to help Porter.  It is dramatic.
• Happy and smiley.  This little boy is always smiling and giggling and is just overall such a fun and happy little boy.  He adores his big brother, and Porter can usually calm him down if he gets upset.  They have already become such good little buddies.  We are so blessed to have him in our family!

His expression cracks me up

Christmas eve in his jammies

I swear he poses for the camera sometimes, haha

Whenever I walk in the room I am greeted by this face every time.  Ahhh!

Thanks, Mom & Dad

We recently put ourselves on a tight budget, and are not spending any $$ on fun/frivolous things.  One thing I enjoy buying is clothes for my kids, especially a cute Easter/Christmas outfit.  Lucky for me, my mom brought these darling Christmas outfits for my boys when Tyson was born, so I still got to enjoy the luxury of dressing my boys up for church today in new Christmas clothes, and I have to say, they looked so cute.  Especially Porter, he looked like such a stud.  I didn't even change him out of his clothes until bedtime because I was having to much fun admiring him.  Thanks so much mom for the Christmas outfits.  I'm so glad I didn't miss out on that tradition!  I had to take some pictures, because I thought you would have fun seeing the kids in them.  I have even been tempted to take them down to Sears Portrait and buy a $4.99 holiday portrait package, but I think that falls under fun/frivolous. Haha.  My pictures will just have to do.

Oh yeah, another Christmas activity-- last Monday for FHE we talked about Christmas and why we celebrate.  Then we talked about how Christmas isn't just about getting presents but about giving to others and making them happy.  Our plan was to do something nice and spread some holiday cheer the next week for Family Night.  But since we are going to Temple Square Monday, we did our FHE Sunday night.  We made homemade bread and jam, and bundled up in our coats and walked them to people in our ward.  We brought it to the girl who babysits for us because I thought it would be fun to do someone Porter knew; we also went to an elderly couple who were tickled to death to have our darling little boy delivering treats and saying Merry Christmas to them.  It was fun, my kids loved it too.

Porter insisted they hold hands.

Ahhh

Just a couple more weeks, and Porter will start Sunbeams.

My little stud muffin, doesn't he look like he's 10 or something? He looked so old to me today.

Let the fun times begin!

Now that Tyson can sit up on his own, Porter loves having a playmate!  Everyday he brings me a big blanket and asks me to lay it out.  After doing so, he gathers a bunch of toys and lays them on the blanket.  Then he says, "Tyson, want to play with me?"  and then he turns to me "Mom, he wants to play."  They sit together on their blanket and play with toys.  When Tyson was born my mom got Porter a book about being a big brother, and it talks about how the baby couldn't play with him but he kept getting bigger and bigger, he began to sit, and then crawl, and at the end of the book he is able to finally play with the baby.  Anyway, every time they play like this, Porter tells me "Mom, Tyson is getting bigger and bigger."  It is pretty cute.  (Side note, there has already been a meltdown because Tyson knocked over his barn.)

A Christmas Tradition

Every year at Christmas time my sister-in-law, Lisa hosts the annual Gingerbread House activity.  She hand makes every single gingerbread house for all of the kids.  The kids have fun decorating their houses, and chowing down on the candy.  They then gather around to listen to the traditional story of the Gingerbread man.  After that they go to the oven to get the gingerbread man cookies out, only to discover they have run away!  The kids then run as fast as they can throughout the house to find the missing gingerbread men.  They are always found decorated and individually wrapped for each child.  We have been doing this for years now, and I know the kids look forward to it each year.  Thanks, Lisa for all the hard work and time you put into making this event happen every Christmas.  What a lucky group of kids!

The night started out with a bunch of kids getting down to some Christmas music.

The set-up

There was a choice of gingerbread houses.... (the popular choice)

...and a choice of gingerbread trains... what my child chose

Busy at work

Porter making his train, GREAT picture, but I only took one.  :)  Sorry bud!

And the kids that opted out... Michelle Bell

And Tyson!  (I guess Stephen should be included in this group but I missed his picture!)

The end results!  Aren't they cute?

And the woman behind it all!!!!!!!