Play Date

This morning Tyson had his second play date. It is so fun to watch him interact with other kids. His cousin Mason came over for a few hours. Mason is 3 months older than Tyson, and is the right size for his age--Tyson is big for his age, so they are a perfect match. Here are a few photos of the two little buddies.

Here they are sizing each other up.

Tyson tried (and failed) to suck on Mason's buttons.

Tyson also tried to (and succeeded in) sucking on Mason's toy.

This picture is sooo cute!

Here's Mason being so happy and cute. He is a very content baby--easy to watch :)

They finally gave up playing with each other (actually Tyson gave up on trying to suck on Mason's extremities), and ended up playing solo. I guess they are still a little young to play "together". It was fun to watch though.

"Gonna Gitcha"

Before you view this short film.... Please allow me to apologize, once again, for my voice and the way I talk to Tyson. Greg thinks I am nuts, and seriously worries about how Tyson will develop as a result of the things I say to him, and the way I say them.. Time will only tell, I suppose.

"Gonna Gitcha"

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Back to the IMPORTANT stuff...

Okay... Now that the house is clean, laundry is done, Dr. appointments taken care of, house restocked with food, etc., I can get on with the important stuff-- Updating you all on our little trip. (I know you have been waiting all month for this--and that KTrap is waiting for some more shots of me in my swimsuit!)

As I was uploading pictures from the trip, I discovered that we didn't get a family picture while we were beaching it :( I was really sad to see that, but if you know Greg, this is not a big surprise. In fact, I think there may only be a couple pictures that I am even in, which is sad, but I am starting to realize that this may be what's in store for me for the rest of my life. Far, far down the road, some of Tyson's posterity may not believe that I existed. I am kind of the phantom mother...

Okay, that was a weird tangent... I may delete that later. So, we spend 3 1/2 weeks in Utah this summer, and had soo much fun. I was very sad when it was time to come home. It is so hard to leave family, knowing that it will be months before you get to see them again. I think the hard part about not seeing them is that I can't share Tyson with them. I am just so excited about all of the things that he is learning and discovering I wish my family could see him and share this time with us. Of course, as I am writing this, I am thinking about how happy I was to see Jeff and Krystal and their kids at church on Sunday. I really missed them and almost cried when I walked in to church (late) and they were sitting there... And then, as an added bonus, Greg's other brother just moved out here to go to school as well, so I really am surrounded by family. What am I boobing about??? Okay I really am lucky to have all of them. They are all so good about pretending that Tyson is the 'rock star' Greg and I make him out to be.

So we basically lived at the beach for a month--I spent 3 weeks at Bear Lake at our family cabin, and then cried when Greg made me leave to spend 3 days with his family... not because I don't love them, just because they don't live at Bear Lake. While we were gone, Tyson had his 6- month birthday, ate his first bites of watermelon and avocado (which he loved) and mastered sitting up. We went to Bear Lake Raspberry Days, and made lots of raspberry jam--a great family tradition, especially since we started buying the raspberries instead of picking them (huh, Brianne). We had our Lynch (my mom's side) Family Reunion at the cabin, and just really enjoyed family.

It was really hot when we got off the plane in Jacksonville, and I thought, "wouldn't it be nice to go for a swim??". I guess we'll have to start up with the Friday-Beach Day again. Anyway, we are happy to be back. It kind of just hit me that we have 1 year left here in Florida-sad! (Greg says it's really 10 1/2 months. Do you think he is ready to be done with school??) Enough writing (some of you probably skipped right to the pics-- smart move) here are a few pictures of our trip... Thanks for caring!

My sister and myself are the only members of my family who are married. She has two kids, Madison, who is almost 3, and Kaden, who is 16 months. My mom bought the boys these matching jammies. Aren't they cute?? Her kids LOVED Tyson. They were always near him trying to hold him, give him is pacifier, and/or kiss and hug him. He loved all of the attention.

Here is a picture of me, Tyson and my dad. The grandkids call him Big Poppy. He and Tyson have a lot in common, don't you think?? I wish I had them next to each other when Tyson was in his little straw hat... Maybe next year.

Tyson loved the water--but his favorite part of the beach was the sand. I let him eat it, because apparently he liked it. (I changed sandy diapers for a couple days after we got home.. he he.) My mom rigged up this preventative measure (placing him in a tube) because she thought he shouldn't be ingesting so much sand... Whatever works, I guess. He was happy either way.

TyTy loving the wawa.

Is that sand in his eye??-Probably. He was a really good sport about the sand. The only time he cried is when I got him out of the water, or rinsed the sand out of his hands.

Has anyone seen my little raspberry farmer??? My sister, Shelby, bought Tyson the CUTEST Hurley swim trunks... You can't see them very well, but trust me, they're darling especially on Tyson's muscular little body.

Here are the bravest wienie riders in all of Utah.

My Uncle Ron took us out for a little ride around the lake one day (I rode on the boat). He is brutal, and is known for the lack of mercy he shows his riders. It seems like every summer there is some injury (broken & bloody noses, and loss of teeth & consciousness are just a few that I remember from my childhood) caused by Uncle Ron's water wienie; so riders ride at their own risk. After this ride, we can now add black eye to the list. Lacey hit Shelby with her knee on the first ride. Sad, huh?? The sad part is that Lacey got off after it happened and Shelby stayed on! (In this picture, Lacey is the first rider, Shelby is the second. Usually the last person on the wienie takes the brunt of all of the falls. Notice who is on the back...)

This is Shelby's eye right after the incident. By the end of the day, it was completely black and purple and so swollen that she could hardly see out of it... SAD!

I LOVE this picture.

It was windy as we were walking up to the cabin one day, and half way up I looked back to find that Greg had made a little shelter for our Prince. Does it look like the wind is bothering him now??

Here is Tyson and Grandpa Freddie. ALL of the grandkids love Greg's dad. He is so great with the kids.. Tyson just loved whatever time he could spend with him.

Tyson at Bear Lake

Tyson Learning to Crawl

While we were away (we took a 3 week vacation to Bear Lake, UT), Tyson mastered sitting up and is now working on the art of crawling. Here is a little video, that only a first born would have, of him holding himself up... And that is a LOT of work-- Look at the size of this kid!

Our Venture to Bama

Over the weekend, Greg, Tyson and I went to visit my brother, Court, in Alabama where he is serving his mission. (Yes, we got approval from President Tate). He is currently serving in Athens, AL--a 9 1/2 hour drive from Jacksonville. Greg was a little reluctant to make the drive, but Tyson and I convinced him that we'd have a fun trip--AND WE DID!

-

We left Thursday night, and made it to Atlanta, GA. It worked out fabulously, as Tyson slept the entire time (almost 5 hours). We checked into our hotel, and crashed. Friday morning we got up and cruised over to the Atlanta Aquarium to see the infamous whale shark. YEA! That was exciting---for Greg. Just kidding.. We all had a nice time.

Once we were gassed and fed, we continued on to Birmingham, AL, which is just 1 hour south of Athens (our destination). We made it there in good time. Our hotel was in downtown Birmingham. This was the best hotel and best location (of the three we stayed in for this little trip)--and it was the cheapest--Thanks Priceline! We stayed at a Marriott that was located in this cool brick building that was connected to the hospital across the street, among other business buildings. My brother said that lots of the buildings are like that (in downtown) so that when/if a hurricane comes, people can still get around in the city. My question is, Would you really want to?? I would be wanting to get home. I wonder if they have tunnels that connect homes to the workplace??? Anywho... Once Tyson was in bed, Greg and I hung out in bed and watched The Devil Wears Prada, while feasting upon Quedoba's chips & queso. It was my favorite night of the trip. Greg thinks it's hilarious that such an uneventful time was my favorite part of the trip. What can I say, I am an easy girl to please.

(This picture was taken while it was still completely dark in our room. I heard Tyson stirring, not hard to do as he was right next to me, and I wanted to get a picture of his little bed. Poor thing, though, as the flash of my camera was probably not what he was expecting. This is how he and I slept every night at the hotels... I was in HEAVEN! He was in pillow prison :P)

Finally, the big day. On Saturday morning we got up and excitedly made the drive to Athens. We found Elder Zulauf's apartment and very sneakily dropped Tyson off on the doorstep with a big chocolate Hershey's Kiss, and hid. Court saw Tyson, smiled, picked him up and took him inside. It was cute... Greg and I followed quickly behind. We took Court and his companion, Elder Larsen, to lunch. We only visited for a couple hours, but it was worth the drive. Court is doing great and my eyes were opened a little more to mission life. Here are some pictures from our visit with our Elder.

Here are the two most handsome boys ever! TyTy and Uncle Courty.

_______________________________

Here is my boy with Uncle CJ's badge on and his reading glasses... Doesn't he look 'special'

______________________________

Tyson begged us to let him sit on Court's bike--the Liahona. So, of course, we obliged.

______________________________


Doesn't he look great! We loved our quick little visit with Court. He is doing soo good...

After our visit we headed back home... sadly. One plus, however, was that our hotel finally had an outside pool. So when we arrived, we took a swim. Now, as you know, our boy is very experienced with the salt water--and we are happy to report that he LOVES chlorinated water as well. This was Tyson's first venture in the pool. He loved it.

______________________________

Because of the fat to muscle ratio on our little bubby, Tyson Floats [very easily]!

______________________________

And here we are--- Doesn't that face say,"Fun Trip"??

The Sweet Things in Life

Sometimes I take for granted all of the good things in my life. Tyson (rarely taken for granted--but nonetheless) is such a blessing in my life. He is, for the most part, a happy, loving, fun little guy (don't watch the video clip before reading that last part). Now, unfortunately for Tyson, I am an errand runner. I like to have a project and places to go. I was just thinking one day last week, as I was out and about all day, how lucky I am that Tyson will just hang out in his carseat and let me do my "things". Then on Saturday, as I was loading him up for another day on the town, he gave me this sweet look as I was strapping him in, yet again. After I had recovered from the number he did on my heart, I ran inside, grabbed the camera, and this is the sweet shot I got of Tyson putting up with me-- again.

Happy Independence Day!

We celebrated the 4th this year on the beach with some friends and family. Tyson loved staying up past his bed time, and was actually rather pleasant, despite the wind and loud popping noises that surrounded us. He and I did our best to be patriotic in dress. His father, however, sported a brown swimsuit and orange T. He doesn't get to be included in this post!



We had a wonderful time celebrating this important holiday. We are especially grateful, at this time, for all of the freedoms we enjoy in this wonderful country. We really do have so much to be thankful for. We love our country and appreciate everyone who has fought/is fighting for us to be so comfortable and have so many opportunities here in the US. God Bless America!

Okay-- He can be in one picture.. Here is Tyson's Daddy with us in a picture.

Tyson's Temperament

Here is a little video of my SWEET boy. Greg says he has my temperament, I think its all Trapnell. I had actually just recorded him laughing and playing so cute... 2 seconds later, he has a total melt down. That is what you get to watch (if you choose).


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting


Sorry it's so long. I'll have to work on my video editing skills. AND THE VOICE.. Yucky. I will have to also stop talking when I video. I really just like the part about half way through when I ask him if he has calmed down (no, I didn't really expect him to respond) and he looks at me and yells. He is very serious about getting what he wants when he wants it. Usually he is a sweet boy, but sometimes he can be a real turkey.