Tyson smells like...

a really good meal waiting to happen....

What a wierd thing to say about a person, huh? :O)

On Sunday I noticed that he was starting to get a runny nose and wondered if it might be time for tooth number 7 to make its debut...again...But when Jason called that evening and mentioned he felt stuffy and allergy-ish we wondered if maybe Tyson also has seasonal allergies. AND, since they had spent a wonderfully SUNNY afternoon the day before playing at the PARK it could have been likely. But then, in the following days he continued to get congested and develop a cough, which is not typical of seasonal allergies. Jason's irritations cleared up since we've had nothing but rain and hail (for two days!). The past few nights Tyson has been sleeping with us in bed, so I've been getting coughed and sneezed on, and trying to help him get back to sleep. We haven't been getting much sleep.

A few months ago Tyson had a cold that developed quickly into chest congestion and RSV. In order to thwart that progression he has been inhaling eucalyptus in the vaporizer, taking garlic oil in his formula and sleeping with warm onions on his chest!!! Ok, ok...one at a time....The eucalyptus helps to open his airways as well as works as an antimicrobial for the surrounding air. Garlic is just an all around good for everything herb. Somehow as it's circulating in the bloodstream it knows just what to attack and it wipes out bacteria with ease. I have been putting 4 drops in his bottle three times a day as well as wiping some behind his ears and under his jaw. (around his lymph nodes) As for the onions? They are anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. Well, you know cutting them makes you cry, so if you heat them up slightly and rest them on your chest it will cause your secretions to thin out and flow, without the sting of fresh onion! This onion trick is supposed to be for breaking up congestion, which he doesn't have yet (last night seemed to be the beginning of it), so in using it I was hoping to prevent it. So far, so good. So, our apartment had a very italian smell with his garlicky skin and the scent of warmed onion floating around. I just wanted to eat him, except....he kept sneezing on me. Oh well...

Unfortunately there isn't anything yet that we can do for his sore throat since he can't have honey or lemon yet. I did try to have him drink some warm chicken broth to coat his throat, but he wouldn't drink it.

The book that I use mostly for Tyson is called Gentle Healing for Baby and Child by Andrea Candee. She uses really simple mixes of herbs that are familiar and easy to use and explains how to use them with kids. We use this book for us as well since it's so simple to follow!!

It's so great that God has given us so many ways to help us deal with sickness and we pray that Tyson will be better soon!!

Sunshine, sweet sunshine!!

Today was the hottest day of 2008 thus far. We reached the mid 70's! Woo-hoo! The weather gurus are predicting more rain this week, so we were forced to go out and soak up the sun. Reluctantly (yeah, right) Tyson and I (papa) ventured out to Mt Tabor park in southeast Portland. Momma flew to Seattle for the day, to get her hair done (yeah you heard me right). No, we are not rich. We have Co-nec-tions! Yeah!
Anyway, back to the story, us boys had a blast. The ride to the park took forever. (I guess other families had similar ideas of soaking up the sun.) We finally made it there just barely less than an hour after we'd left. (It should have taken us about 25 minutes!) We began our adventure, Tyson in the backpack, and me (papa) playing the camel ( you know, carrying the people and the gear). We found a prime spot right next to the playground. Ton of kids were running around, going down slides, swinging, and just having FUN! Tyson watched them with excitement. Every once in a while he'd let out a squeal or start bouncing (his version of dancing) as he watched the little boys and girls play. I could tell that he wanted to join them, if he could only figure out how to use those darn legs. How do they do that?
So, Tyson ate some lunch. The yummy crowd favorite of hot cereal mixed with broccoli. Makes your mouth water, doesn't it? As he ate he watched the motorcycles vroom by and the occasional skateboarder wizz down the hill.
I noticed that the swings had a baby/toddler swing included. You know, the one that has holes for their legs and keeps them on the swing without them having to maintain a good grip. I'd decided I'd take Tyson over for a test ride. Really, I didn't know what to expect. Tyson is pretty courageous, but I wasn't sure if he'd go for this. Well, let me be the first to say that we now have new favorite. He LOVED it! He yelled and squealed sounds of delight with every pass. It was soooo awesome to watch. Pure delight! Honestly, I don't know who enjoyed it more. Him, the swingee or me, the swing-er. We called mom so she could hear how much he loved the swings. I wish I had brought the video recorder or camera. We will definitely post some pics and video of future swing sessions. Luckily, we have a park right outside our backyard gate. So, Tyson will get plenty of swing time.
Summer days are right around the corner. This should be fun! :)

cheese!

22 x 47 = 1034

Well, we do seem to talk a lot about how much Tyson eats and that he seems to be eating all of the time, and I'm sure you're thinking, 'yeah, guys, why do you talk about it so much?' As I was reading about nutrition and food for him I came across a section about calories. Now as far as calories are concerned in my diet, I love 'em. I just eat 'em up. I like math, but I don't equate food with math so I don't count them. But...when I read this section about babies and calories I was floored! Apparently they are supposed to consume (in his age range) 47calories per pound! Hence the above equation. I am to eat 13 calories per pound (Tenisha) which gives me about 1950 calories per day (roughly..don't do the math please). So that means he is only eating a little over 900 calories less than me! It caused me to spend the next bit adding up (the thing I hate to do) what he eats to make sure he is getting enough. It made sense then why he sometimes would wake up hungry. We fed him, but were thinking, why in the world is he waking up hungry....thinking he had eaten a lot that day.

A new addition to our quickly growing smaller living space is a new high chair. No longer do we have to sit on the floor to feed him. Now that he has this new chair he is quickly getting the hang of eating with his fingers! Before the high chair all we could do was give him cheerios in a bowl, which he would promptly dump out on the floor and then proceed to eat them one by one. (He looked like PacMan. He'd literally follow the line of O's) Now he eats fruits and cheese bits as well and has gotten the hang of banging on the tray. His favorite way is to use both hands and try to catch the spoon on its way into his mouth. Sometimes he acts surprised when he hits it...mmhmmm...right. Look at the smirk on his face. He knows....he knows..

How does your garden grow?

Just in time for spring!! Last week I quickly planted a smattering of seeds that will hopefully be hardy enough to put out in the garden once we move. A week later and many have already begun growing!! For me the hardest part is waiting for the first bend of green to emerge...

(A note though...after making the little stakes out of toothpicks I discovered a week later that they grew mold...so yesterday they were all replaced with little straws.)

Last Day of Swimming Class

Tyson took the water slide all by himself!! Jason caught him at the bottom without any problems. The boys were having fun with their floaties...don't they look relaxed...ahhh...here comes summer!

Tillamook Cheese Factory

Family Photos Take 1
Take 2 - uh oh! What happened to Tyson?
Ohhhh....
trying his first Tillamook Ice Cream Cone...mmmm