Tyson's First Easter

We celebrated Tyson's first Easter at the Jensen's this year.  It was a beautiful day as we were surrounded by our family and Brian's family.  The kids had an Easter Egg hunt in the front yard, and we all sat in the back yard and soaked in the sun.

Because it was Tyson's first Easter, we had to have him get his picture taken with the Easter bunny.  We were a little nervous of handing our son over to a person in a scary bunny costume for fear he would scream but it was a pleasant experience. Tyson fell asleep in line, rather than waking him up, we decided to let him sleep.  So here you have it, a sleeping Tyson with the Easter bunny!

My brother also had an Easter Bunny/Egg Hunt up by his Emerald City Smoothie so Tyson and I went up to support my brother and enjoy the festivities.  Tyson got his picture taken with his cousin Ava with another Easter Bunny while he was there.  This Easter Bunny experience was not as successful as the other.

Tyson and Ava's Baptism

Tyson was Baptized on April 15th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Enumclaw.  I know most churches, even the one Adam and I attend (when we go), baptize when the baptizee (sp?) is able to choose but we really wanted Tyson to be baptized as a baby.

I was baptized at Trinity Lutheran, as were all my siblings.  We grew up there and even got confirmed there.   We attended church every Sunday but when we got older, my parents stopped taking us because they wanted us to choose where we wanted to attend church.  I found a great non denominational church in Sumner that I absolutely love.  The pastor is extremely engaging and I found myself really looking forward to going to church every Sunday, it's also much closer than Enumclaw.

My Grandma Hahto was a member at Trinity until she passed in January.  My parents also were married there.  I wish my Grandma Haugen and Grandma Hahto who are both Lutheran could have been there for Tyson's special day, but I know they were watching from Heaven.

Tyson shared his day with his cousin Ava.  It was a beautiful day and Tyson was lucky enough to have 4 families as his sponsors.  They are, Brian and Melanie Jensen, BJ and Nicci Haugen, Marci Haugen, and Keri.  The church was filled with family and friends there to support Tyson and Ava. Tyson slept throughout the entire sermon, and woke for his actual baptism.  He was a perfect angel and didn't say a peep :)

We had a wonderful reception at my parent's house.  Everybody came to eat, socialize, and celebrate the baptisms.  We really appreciate the support from our family and friends.

It's Been Awhile!

If you are reading this, you can thank my Aunt Marilyn for kicking my butt back into Blogging!  It's been so long and I have so many blogs to post.  Where did I leave off?

I returned back to school on April 2nd.  I considered calling my principal on April 1st and telling him I wasn't coming back for the year as an April Fool's Joke but decided he might not think that was very funny (even though he's the coolest principal in the world).

My first day back felt like the first day of school all over again!  I was nervous and was worried the kids weren't going to like me :(  I made the decision to choose a young long term sub for my position, fresh out of college.  She was amazing and the kids LOVED her!  They called me Ms. Pries for the entire first week back.  I'm sure Ms. Pries got called Mrs. Barker for quite awhile while she was there.  Anyway, the kids were so welcoming which made me feel great!  They gave me hugs, told me they missed me, a couple of them even brought me gifts!  They made a difficult first week back well worth it and not so difficult. 

My friends and family also made me feel happy to be back.  My wonderful husband sent me flowers, as did my sisters.  My girlfriend Dianna who teaches Kindergarten brought me in some flowers and a mother of a student I had last year also sent in flowers as well as a picture frame to put a picture of Tyson in.  I feel so lucky that so many people cared about me, my classroom looked and smelled like a floral shop. 

I planned my return perfectly because after working 5 days, I was on SPRING BREAK for 9 days and back holding my baby every day :)  I look forward to ending the year with such a wonderful class.  I love my students.

Ps. I only called home twice on my first day.  Pretty good I think. 

2 Month Check Up

It's hard to believe Tyson is already two months (and 1 day old) today.   I know it sounds cliche but where does the time go?  I have enjoyed every second of Tyson and I'm pretty sure Adam would say the same thing.  I am lucky to look at every opportunity spent with my son as a blessing, even when he's crying and not easily falling asleep (which is very rare).

My girlfriend Janelle who has a baby a month older than Tyson invited me to a class held at Good Samaritan Hospital called Mommy and Baby Support Group.  I wasn't sure if it was the right class for me, I really didn't feel like I needed "support" but decided to go anyway. After I attended the first class, I fell in love.  It is a wonderful place for mommys and babies to meet and just talk.  There is a wonderful teacher in there to offer advice, support, or whatever need be.  I go every Tuesday and really look forward to talking with moms and watching our babies grow.  Last week we celebrated with green food for St. Patrick's Day and learned how to give CPR to a baby.

Yesterday when we introduced ourselves, we were encouraged to fill in the blank, "I wish someone would have told me ...."  I struggled with this question because I feel like everybody told me everything.... too much even.  I was saddened to hear many of the "blanks" mothers were filling in.  Many moms talked about their postpartum depression and depression of dealing with having a cesarean section.  I, myself, had a c section and had a pretty difficult recovery physically but no way did I feel depressed by it.  I thank God that I had a healthy recovery and that I am able to enjoy every second with Tyson.

At Tyson's two month appointment, we learned he is:
13 lbs 9 ounces
23 1/2 inches
perfectly healthy
a pretty tough guy when he got his three shots, only crying a little

Here is his 2 month picture:

Where does the time go?

On Monday, February 20th, we celebrated Tyson's one month birthday!  I can't believe it's already been a month!  Throughout my pregnancy, people kept telling me to enjoy every moment because it goes by so fast, and they were right... and I have been!  Tyson celebrated his 1 month birthday by eating, sleeping, and going potty in his diaper.  He also paused to pose for a few pictures.

Each month I plan to take a picture of Tyson with his cow pillow so we can watch him grow.  One day, he won't be able to fit on it  :) Here month 1:

As you can see, Tyson has more hair than the average 1 month old.  We're trying to find a safe product to put in that mane of his to control it a little better!

Valentine's Day

Tyson and I had an action packed Valentine's Day!

We started out the day by going to our first Valentine's party at Mommy and Me class at Good Samaritan Hospital.  At the party, my friend Shelly took pictures of all the babies.  She did a wonderful job, and I even snuck a mommy and son picture.  I love it because I don't have any!

We all brought in treats and some of us (not me) made valentine's.  I sat and talked with my good friend Janelle and watched Shelly's daughter while Shelly was taking pictures.  I also talked to other mothers about being a mommy :)  I love going and getting out the house with my little guy!

After the hospital, Tyson and I met my sister Melanie, her daughter Kailey, and my mom at Hop Jack's for lunch.  It was fun to see all of Kailey's valentine's from her pre-school.

Then, Tyson, my mother, and I went to my classroom's Valentine Party!  This was my first day back to school since I went on maternity leave on January 13th.  I was so excited to see my students and introduce them to Tyson, but I was a little nervous also.  I was worried about germs and Tyson crying :)  It turned out wonderfully. Tyson did great and it was SO good to see my class.  I miss them all so much!  They showered me with hugs and valentines!

When we were leaving, they presented me with a "How to" guide on "How to Be the Best Parents Ever."  Each student in class wrote a five paragraph essay on how to be the best parents.  Adam and I had a great time reading them.  It was so thoughtful of my long term substitute to organize this for me.  Some of the suggestions were: play football with Tyson, bring Tyson to Disneyland, let him play video games, etc. It will definitely be a gift I will always cherish!

I was so lucky to have two Valentine's this year - my amazing husband Adam and my perfect son Tyson!

Story Time at the Bonney Lake Library

On Friday, my mother and I brought my two nieces and Tyson to story time at the Bonney Lake Library.  Story time for newborn-24 months is offered twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays.  It was my first time going, and my mom's first time going with her two granddaughters.  She has taken Kailey before but never Kailey AND Ava.  My mom is amazing and did a wonderful job balancing both girls.  Ava was a social butterfly and was out in the middle with the rest of the kids playing with toys and dancing away - it was really cute.  Kailey decided to hang back with nana and Tyson :)

The class was a lot of fun and the teacher was AMAZING!  We sang songs, played with a parachute, listened to stories, clapped, shaked noise makers, etc.  Tyson was ready to participate quite yet as he ate, slept, and layed on his blankie the entire time but I'm excited to get the opportunity to expose him to fun classes like this.

My mom and I plan on taking the kids every Wednesday and Friday.  Hopefully Ava's mom, Nicci, will be able to attend in the future.