/> SLO in Arkansas: November 2008

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Tyson's Table

There are so many many things that I should be doing right now, but I felt the need to blog, so here goes!! I have been overwhelmed from being sick and getting really behind on everything that needs doing. Now I am trying to play catch up, plus have a super busy work week on top of it all. I am at the point where there is just too much to do and I don't know where to start, so let's just put it all off for a little longer and play on the computer!! I have been wanting to share these pictures of Tyson eating at the table that Silas built for him. Isn't that awesome?!?!? He just came home from work with it one day a few weeks ago and surprised us with it! I love that he is so creative and capable, and happens to work at a place that has tons of scrap wood for him to use:) The top of the table is actually a laminate flooring product, so its really smooth and easy to wipe off. The little benches are adorable, and just the right size for little man. My mom and I actually covered them with some foam padding and soft vinyl while she was here, so now they are super comfy and easy to clean as well. You should have seen my mom and I wielding a heavy duty staple gun and trying to get this vinyl to work!!! There was lots of laughing and luckily nothing got stapled that shouldn't have:) We got it done though,and Tyson is loving it. Doesn't he look so grown up sitting at the table with his plate???!!!
Here is a better picture of the whole table set. Sorry Tyson is making a crazy face! He only sits for a bit, and spends most of the time on the bench on his knees. That is where the padding really comes in handy for him. I love that the table fits right in the corner of the kitchen by our big table, and doesn't take up much room. Tyson usually eats his snacks there, and some lunches. He is still a huge mess when it comes to eating, since he has to do everything himself, so the high chair is still getting lots of good use for now!
Here is a picture of my mom and Ty when they were here to visit. They had such a good time together! Tyson thinks she hung the moon because she is so much fun to play with:) Of course she spoils him rotten and he loves all the attention too. It has been so much fun to watch my parents play with him and him get to know them better. Thanks again for coming mom, and helping me out with babysitting for my meetings!
And last but not least is one of my favorites. I felt adventurous one morning and decided to let Tyson help me bake some brownies. He had a ball!!! He played in that bowl forever, and had a great time licking off the batter from the spoons. Then I moved his chair over to the sink to wash him up, and he stood there and played in the water in the sink for like 20 minutes! He was so upset when I got him down. I think we may have to have some more water play time in the future. Maybe he could wash some dishes while he is at it!

Everything else is trucking along for us. I am very busy working lately and my client caseload has increased quite a bit. I am enjoying it a lot, but just trying to juggle everything gets a little stressful at times. Thank goodness I have the most fabulous husband in the world to help me out. He makes my life so much easier every day in so many ways. My favorite part is coming home in the evenings to a warm crackling fire and the boys playing in the den. It doesn't get much better than that:) I have been enjoying all of my fall decorations, but have felt the twinge of the Christmas spirit creeping in, so I am really excited to pull my stuff out this weekend! I figured I would get the tree put up right before we leave for Thanksgiving and can come home to a festive house. This year should be very interesting with a rambunctious toddler running around. I have a lot of knick-knack Christmasy stuff that I am not sure will survive the season with this kid! Any tips on keeping him from destroying the tree would be welcomed as well:) We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with the Orbison family in Texas, but not looking forward to the 8-9 hour car ride. Prayers would be appreciated!!! Hopefully I will get a chance to post my list of things I am thankful for before we leave next week. I hope everyone is enjoying this time of year and looking forward to some good eating and time with family, and football!
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posted by Lauren at 9:50 AM 4 Comments

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Blahs

Yeah, I have got the blahs today. I have not been feeling well since last week, and am still trying to shake whatever it is that I have. It feels like a head cold, but its making me miserable. Tyson has an ear infection too, but he has felt a lot better since he started his medicine. My parents were just here for a visit, and it was a very nice distraction having them around! I miss their company already. We had fun shopping and eating out while they were here. Tyson had a ball as usual and was sad to see them go.
Since I don't really have anything creative to write about, this will be a random post of catching up. Here is Silas lighting our first fire in our new house. He was really excited, and so was I!! We have had many fires since this one, and I have loved every minute of it:) The crackling sounds make me so sleepy and relaxed at night, and its the perfect way to end a busy day and wind down (especially with a cup of hot chocolate!).
Tyson took this shot of Silas...can't you tell! He has become obsessed with the camera and doesn't want to be in the pictures, he just wants to play with the camera. Ty is talking more and has started saying things like "movie" and "cheese". Its pretty cute. He is also crazy smart and has figured out how to put a DVD in the player and turn on the TV with the remote! If he can't get it to work, he comes up to me and puts the movie or remote in my hand and says "movie?" I guess I should stop being amazed at what this child can do and start spending my time trying to figure out what he will get into next. It's hard to believe he is only a little over a year old! My mom said this weekend that he seems so grown up and was only a little baby for a minute. It's true. He has the entire sequence down on how to build a fire too. He takes the newspaper over to the fireplace, and throws some little sticks in, and then holds the lighter towards the pile. Don't worry, its a BIC candle lighter that's childproof (and he hasn't figured it out yet). And Silas is always with him while he does this. He is not allowed near the fireplace otherwise. The kid watches EVERYTHING we do and can repeat it with freakish accuracy in most cases. No one prepared me for this part, or at least I didn't think I would have to deal with it so early on! Silas told me the other day he has also learned how to unscrew lids of off bottles. He learned this by practicing on the drain in the tub apparently! He is a very busy little boy who is getting smarter every day.

On a sweet and random note, when I went to pick Ty up from Mother's Day out this week, here is the report I got on how his day went. "Tyson was so sweet today. He did a lot of dancing and hugging." That's my boy. We do dance a lot to music at home and he is an extremely lovable little fellow:) I love those moments.

Anyway, we are just still trying to recover from our busy October and sickness and get ready for all the fun of November. I have managed to squeeze in some Christmas shopping already and that has been fun. We will be heading to Texas for Thanksgiving here soon and I am working on getting myself pumped up for the 8-9 hour car ride with a kid who doesn't sleep in the car:) Yay me!!! Sweet Nibblets, did I really say yay me?!?!? Ok, now my secret is out of the bag!!! I do watch a lot of Disney Channel and am a fan of Hannah Montana and The Suite Life! Yikes!
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posted by Lauren at 9:17 AM 2 Comments

Monday, November 03, 2008

Halloween Part Two

Here is my little superman! It was tough to get pictures of him looking at the camera, so they are sort of random at best. He was cute in his costume though, and he did great trick-or-treating too. He was so funny....every time someone would open their door, he would go right in! At least we only went on our street where all the neighbors know him! He did pretty good for his first time, and should be a pro by next year.

I love this one of Tyson and his friend Chloe. This was at our church Fall Festival. She is a little older than him, and they have a good time playing together. We go out to lunch after church with them sometimes, and the kids always have a good time. They look so cute!
Saturday afternoon we packed up and headed out to Cash, AR for another festival out on the Best farm. We had such a good time! The kids got to run around outside and play with the toys, and the grown-ups played a mean game of horseshoes! I am pretty bad at that game! Anyway, then we did a huge bonfire and roasted hot dogs, and also had chili. It was so neat, because they had the lodge all decorated for Halloween with tons of fun stuff. It was very festive:) After dinner we loaded everyone up and took a hay ride around the farm. We even went through a spooky cemetery! Tyson loved the hay ride and we all had a great time. It was back to the fire for some s'mores before heading home. I love the country and feel so much at home out here. It is so nice to be away from city lights and noise and the stress that goes with it all. Tyson really enjoys being outside too, and I am so glad we have plenty of places to be able to take him where he can run free. He will be riding four wheelers before we know it:)
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posted by Lauren at 9:51 AM 2 Comments

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Halloween 2008 Part One

Here is the first round of our Halloween pictures from this year. I have to start off by saying that this year was a huge success over last year, as Tyson did not do well on his very first Halloween. He was almost 3 months old last year and cried when we put his costume on him, and we didn't even make it out of the house. It was very disappointing to say the least. So this year we had a great time doing all of the wonderful Halloween activities with him. I just adore this top picture!! It looks like he is flexing his huge muscles for the camera, but really he had a spoon in his hand and he was just scrubbing the back of his hair with it!! It still makes a good picture though:)
He was so serious about helping dad scoop the goo out of the pumpkin. Little boys love pumpkin guts! Tyson actually fell off the chair right after I took this picture, and I thought he broke his arm. I couldn't get to him fast enough since I had the camera in my hand, and he teetered over to the side and fell right on his elbow. He cried for a second and then climbed back on the chair for more fun, so I guess he wasn't too hurt.
He had a great time playing in the bowl of guts after Silas scooped them out.
And of course, here he is helping daddy carve the pumpkin. He is not a kid who likes to watch...he must be in on the action! He played with his little carving tool and helped out whenever he could. Don't you just love the look of concentration on his face ?!?!

I will put up pictures of him in his costume for my next post. I just had to share the fun ones of the pumpkin carving too:)
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posted by Lauren at 8:26 PM 2 Comments