Monday, April 27, 2009

She Is 6 Months Old! Whoa! Where Does The Time Go?

Here she is, in all her glory with her big brother protecting her from falling, since she hasn't mastered the trick of sitting up yet. Taryn turned 6 months on the 24th of this month. I am just floored that the time has flown by so fast. She is at the "FUN" baby stage. (See I am not a fan of the newborn stage or the sort-of newborn stage.) I love this stage in my kiddos lives because they start to "babble" and laugh and act happy, instead of screaming all of the time.

She has gotten so much better since she was born. The reflux is gone and she is sleeping a little bit better. She still gets up to eat about every 3 hours in the night, but that is way better than the hourly feeding. She is also into eating pears, peas, bananas and apple sauce. She likes eating with a spoon and thinks she is a big girl, since she watches us eat and then mimics what we do. It is funny to watch.

She has learned to roll over to her stomach but she can't quite figure out how to get back over. She laughs and giggles as she rolls over to her stomach, but once she realizes that she cannot get back over she screams for help and then one of us have to turn her back over. She has also started "talking" as babies do. She mumbles and babbles and will talk your ear off. She is just like Tyson in that aspect. I wish I could stop time and keep Tyson and Taryn at their ages right now. I love being a mother!

Monday, April 20, 2009

You Might Be A Redneck If?

You might be a redneck if you use your baby's empty diaper box as an ottoman, because you are too cheap to buy a real one. Yes, I am a redneck! Actually, I didn't want to spent 100 dollars on an ottoman to put my feet up on when feeding the baby at night, so I improvised. I had this empty diaper box and thought HEY why not use it, till it falls apart. Ah!!! The things you have to do when you are a poor medical student family. HA HA HA HEE.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Last Day with Grandma T.


Look at those two cute girls. I love when Taryn gets out of the tub, because we then wrap her up in the yellow towel and she looks like a little caterpillar. I love her grin with two bottom teeth. Today is Grandma T's last day with us and we didn't want to waste a minute. We were up early and headed to our mall for one last hurrah!
It was so much fun to have my mom around to shop with. I enjoy going with the kids and Vaughn, but there is just something about having your mom around that makes it that much more fun. We bought some summer clothes for the kids and shoes for all of us. Starved and tired, we ate pizza in the food court while Tyson played on the food.
Soon it was time to get Grandma T back to our home to pack up her bags and head to the airport. Tyson wasn't happy at all that we were taking Grandma T back to the airport. We took a few last pictures with Grandma. And the kids got lots and lots of hugs and kisses.

Ah, the kids love my mom and we do too. It was really hard to take her to the airport. We all had a good cry and then sent mom home. Thanks mom for coming and spending your Spring Break with us. We had so much fun with you and appreciate all the gifts and time spent with us.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Day Six, Easter Sunday

Deer in the headlights look. Grandma T was all about getting a morning shot of Taryn, and she got it. What a look. It was Easter Sunday and the Easter bunny came with his candy for Tyson.Tyson didn't quite understand why all the candy was hidden all over the place, or why his eggs that he had colored were hidden as well. So we had to explain that the Easter bunny hides the eggs and leaves candy. He has never had a real Easter, since his first 2 were on the island and the last one we were moving to Michigan. So we had to explain what was going on and after the explanation he was all about finding the eggs and the candy. Taryn was all about watching her big brother find all the goodies. The Easter Bunny was a slick little rabbit, he hid eggs all over the place. We had to help him find a few that were well concealed.He picked out his basketball Easter basket. He loves anything associated with basketball. Tyson made a haul. What a nice Easter Bunny. We have been on a sugar high ever since.Thanks to Grandma T, we had a family picture taken. This is a rare occasion for us all to be ready for church early, and be able to have a picture taken without tears. Oh how cute! I just love my little family. The funny thing is that I didn't plan on the coordination with the boys and the girls. Funny how that works out.That is the cutest picture of a brother and his little sister that I have ever seen. Love my babies.We took one to many pictures, so by the time we got to Grandma T's, Taryn wasn't hearing it. She was ready to be done! The girl can scream as you can see by the face she is making.
Church was great and the kiddos were good. We got home, had a wonderful lunch and then Tyson fell asleep. We let him sleep for about an hour and then woke him up to go and roll Easter eggs. He had wanted us to roll them this morning but we didn't have time. So now that the light was beginning to fade, we went to go roll Easter eggs. The walk there wasn't pretty, Tyson was mad for some crazy reason. We went to the park by our house and it has a little hill, perfect for rolling eggs. He and Grandma T got to the top and the tears began to flow.
The standoff between Grandma T and Tyson. Hmmm....who is going to win?Obviously Tyson won this battle. He didn't want to roll one egg and when Grandma T tried to roll one for him, to get him started, he ran after it, put it back in his basket and began to stomp home. This whole time, Vaughn, Taryn and I were standing at the bottom of the hill and we laughed from start to finish. It was so funny to see him throw such a tantrum over something so little. WOW! The air was filled with cries and screams as we walked back home. Once inside the house, Tyson went back into his room, shut the door and went back to sleep. HUH! An interesting Easter day was had by the Jacksons.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Day Five, Motorcross and Easter Eggs

Check out that air! Holy Cow is all I have to say about that. Today we took mom and the family up north Michigan to a Motocross event. And WHOA was it expensive. It was 80 dollars to go in, but if you just stayed for the day they refunded 1/2 your money. GEEZ! It was a beautiful clear day, but it was not warm. It was very chilly and the wind was not helping matters. So we were bundled to the hilt.Tyson is ready for the races to begin. He was bundled up well, funny thing is not only was it cold but the SUN was out and this mommy didn't think of sunscreen. DUH! Needless to say both of my kids and my husband were crisp critters in the face. I didn't get sunburned, because my makeup has SPF 20 in it. What are the odds!Yes we were bundled from the cold, but she fell asleep and the side of her face closest to the sun, got FRIED!!!! Oh I am such a bad mommy!!You can start to see the frying of the cheek. Oh those little kissable cheeks are a bit crispy!Grandma T and Tyson. Tyson had so much fun watching all the races and he would pick out a racer, for each race and cheer them on. It was so funny. He would yell for them each time they passed by. He now informed us that he wants a motorbike. Oh no! And so it begins....
Dad and daughter. This is so cute. Taryn loves time with daddy!
These guys were so cool to watch.
After the motocross festivities, we headed home to put aloe vera on our wounds and then color Easter eggs. Tyson picked the Tie-Dyed egg dye. It was pretty neat to watch Tyson do this all by himself.The process consisted of him putting drops of ink into a plastic bag with the egg inside, and then rubbing the ink all over the egg, without rubbing it all over him. YA RIGHT! We had nice colored hands at the end, but what would Easter egg coloring be without colored hands. I mean come on.....live a little.I even got into the spirit of things, and yes my hands are still colored.

Tyson and his colored eggs. He was so proud of his work. I thought he did a good job. Easter tomorrow and the Easter bunny and Easter CANDY my favorite.

Day Four, The Zoo.


The Detroit Zoo. It wasn't a warm day, but we were going to the zoo no matter what. So, we grabbed the gloves, hats and blankets for the strollers and off we went. It was closer than I knew and we got there within 30 minutes. The air was brisk, and Tyson wasn't too sure he wanted to see the lions and tigers, and he told us that repeatedly during the car ride, but we were still going to brave the zoo.
This was the only animal that Tyson really wanted to see. I was amazed at how afraid he was of the animals at the zoo. He was worried that they were going to "get him". I think it stems from the time back on St. Marteen when we went to the zoo there and a big white bird squawked and scared the crap out of him. He now associates that scary bird with the zoo and so he thinks that all the animals can "get at him". It took all day to convince him that wasn't going to happen.
The Article Place was so cool. They had a glass dome you could go into and watch the seals and polar bears swim. The polar bears were scarce that day, but the seals were "showing off." Tyson was scared at first, but when he realized that they weren't going to swim into him, he thought this place was pretty cool. Taryn was asleep all during this time. She didn't see anything except the back of her eyelids.The only polar bear we saw that day. The rest must have been napping.Here is a bear napping. It took several minutes of coaxing to get Tyson this close to take a picture. He was sure the bear was going to eat us. Once I got him close enough, and he could see the big ravine between us and the bear, he was a little better about being that close to the animal.Aren't they gorgeous? I think that Bald Eagles are the most magnificent birds. They are my favorite. Very bold, very beautiful birds. Tyson liked them too. Especially when we read the plaque that said that they couldn't fly.Look at the size of that giraffe. It is awesome! Tyson did like this part of the zoo, because he has watched the movie "Madagascar" so many times, this giraffe looked like Melman on the show. Tyson didn't mind getting close to them.

The sleeping Rhinos. They blended in so well with their open area, that at first they were hard to find.This is where Tyson was ready to bolt out of sight, and probably would have if he wasn't strapped into the jogger stroller. Even the sleeping lion scared him. He was convinced that they were coming to get him. He didn't want to stay and look for very long.I have never seen a gorilla this close and real before. He just sat there for the longest time and didn't move. He looked almost like a statue. Then he yawned and I could see those big teeth and I knew he was real.
This Siberian Tiger was such a beautiful cat. WOW! He even roared for us while we were there, which scared Tyson....big surprise there. But the roar was so deep and cool. I could have stayed and watched him for a long time.Even though Tyson was scared, he did have a good time. We were there for 5 and 1/2 hours and totally forgot about lunch. Needless to say we ate in the car on the ride home. We had packed a lunch, but just got too busy to eat it. The one place Tyson didn't want to be in was the reptile house. He didn't want to see the snakes and hid his eyes when we were looking at them. And as much as he likes the fake crocodile at the mall, I just knew he would love the real ones at the zoo...not-so-much! In fact he threw a fit when I tried to hold him up to the glass to see it. He used to not be afraid of anything and then he got older and realized that some things are scary.
It was a great day and we all enjoyed ourselves, even Taryn, who slept through it all!

Day Three...The Dentist and a Day with Grandma.


Today was filled with Grandma T helping out me and the kiddos. Taryn and I had a meeting at the county offices this morning and Tyson was left with Grandma for the morning. This meeting was only supposed to last 1 hour, but it turned into 3. ARG! I hate that! By the time we returned, I had 1 hour to eat lunch, feed Taryn and get prepared to go to the dentist. (I have to mentally prepare myself for the dentist. I have a lot of fear when it comes to the dentist). Grandma T was left with both kids as I headed off to get my teeth fixed. I just prayed that Taryn was good and not the screaming baby she can be. My dental appointment went smoothly and I didn't have to get as extensive of a repair as I was thinking, thank goodness. By the time I got back, no one was home. I found Grandma and grand kids out for a walk and Taryn had been asleep for almost the whole time I was gone. And.....she didn't even cry! WHOA! Grandma T is hired! I wish she lived closer. I have no idea how the heck I would have handled this day without her help. It is days like this that I wish we lived closer to family. Thanks so much mom!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Day Two Of Grandma T's Visit

(The grand kids totally enthralled with their Grandma T, and Taryn trying to eat Tyson's hair.) Day two with Grandma T was very eventful. We were up and at it early this morning. Taryn has slept through the night, 2 nights in a row!!! (I am dancing my happy dance.) I know this is just a phase that she is teasing me with, but let me say that the last two nights of uninterrupted sleep have been pure bliss. I feel like a new mommy! Okay, back to the day....we went to an early showing of the movie "Monsters vs Aliens." It is a new show by Dreamworks and it was okay, nothing to write home about it. Tyson liked the fact that we went to a movie, but he said that he didn't want to watch it again. It has a bit two much adult humor for a kids movie, I thought. After the movie and a quick lunch for all, it was time to show Grandma T where the rich people shop. I took her to the Somerset Mall. I had taken my sister Danielle out to this mall when she came a few weeks earlier and she told mom all about it. So we had to make a visit. This water fountain that she and Tyson are standing by is one of my favorite. I hope to have one like it in my front entry way someday.....someday..........This week at the mall, since it is so close to Easter, they are featuring a little Easter Village. It was really creative. The kids could walk through the makeshift forest, like you see Tyson doing.And they could play in the rabbit's house. Notice Taryn is totally bundled up...it was still a bit nippy today. The frog in the tree was animated and moved its legs and arms. It was just a fun little play area. Tyson had a good time checking it all out. We window shopped, mostly, and oohed and ahhed at the expensive stores. After about a couple of hours, Taryn was done with it all and decided to cry. She had been great, all day, up till this point. Homeward bound we went and got dinner ready and stuffed ourselves silly. Grandma T made us Vacuum Cleaner Bars for dessert. I know, sounds different....but they are exceptionally good. I recommend them. Tomorrow will be a test for Taryn and Grandma. I have to have a lot of dental work done and so Grandma T gets to watch both kiddos without me. I know Tyson will be good, it is just Taryn and her clingyness to me that I worry about. Say a little prayer for us.....YIKES!!!