Tyson was born on February 20, 2000. He was born the day after his mom's 30th birthday. His delivery was difficult for both him and his mom. He was 8 days overdue and the doctor had to induce labor to get things started. During the final days before he was born he had breathed in a little bit of miconium which was a minor concern but caused them to monitor things a little closer. Amy's labor developed very slowly and after about 8 - 10 hours we could tell the nurse and doctor started to worry a little. The umbilical cord was in a bad position near his throat and every time Amy had a contraction it would put pressure on the cord and his heart rate would go way down. Anyway, at some point they came in and talked to us about the possibility of doing a C-section if things didn't progress soon.
Well things finally progressed to the point where the doctor came in and said it was time to push. Looking back now after having 3 other kids I now realize that she was nowhere near ready for delivery. He had these giant tongs that he used to reach way up and grab Tyson's head and every time she had a contraction he'd have her push while at the same time he was pulling on Ty's little head with the huge tongs. It was very scary and I really thought he was either going to cause brain damage or pull the poor guy's head off. Finally he came out and they hurried and got him over to the heat lamp where a respiratory specialist cleared out his lungs and got him breathing. It all turned out to be okay and Tyson was a healthy little guy at 6 lbs, 15 oz and about 19 inches long. He had a lot of dark hair.
We had decided on the name of Tyson a few months before he was born. I don't remember it being a very difficult decision. One of us said it one day and we both agreed that we liked it and it stuck. Amy wanted to go with Daniel for the middle name.
Tyson has always been a quiet, fun, happy boy. He's generally a good, obedient boy. He very rarely will flat out disobey us when we ask him not to do something. He may whine or cry about it, but usually won't go against what we ask him to do.
A few months before Tyson was born a new couple moved in to our neighborhood two doors down from us - The Wakefields. They had a little boy named Trevor Daniel who was born in November so he's just a few months older than Ty. Tyson and Trevor have basically been best buddies since birth. Amy and Jan & Don and I are also very good friends so we have a lot of fun together. Don and I are both counselors in our ward bishopric. Trevor has a very strong personality and tends to be a little more adventurous and mischievous than Ty so he sometimes gets Ty to do things he shouldn't. He also used to tease Tyson to the point of tears when they were smaller. But all in all, they have been pretty good buddies for each other.
Tyson's main best buddy would be his little brother Luke. They fight quite a bit but mostly it's wrestling, playing together, or Tyson trying to pry into Luke's one-person imaginary games which infuriates poor Luke. They have shared a room together ever since their little sister Lacy came on the scene a few years ago.
Tyson skipped crawling and stared to walk at about 9 mo. He also liked to bounce to the music. He was staying in the same room with us on a trip we took to St. George, we thought he was asleep until the music to a T.V. show came on and he stood up in his crib and started bouncing to the music. He laughed a real long laugh when he was just weeks old. He has a great laugh that is contagous to anyone around him.
His first word was, "ball" and first phrase was, "Where's the ball?"
A few funny stories when he was 2 yrs.: We were at the 4th of july parade and Tyson and I ran into a friend of mine. I said, "Tyson, say hi" and he kicked her in the shins.
I was substituting for his nursery teacher at church and told him that I was going to be his teacher. He said, "You're not a teacher. You're my mommy".
His favorite shows as a toddler were Toy Story and Thomas the train. He had to watch them almost every day. Today he loves to watch The suite life of Zach and Cody, and Sponge Bob.
When he was little he used to say that he wanted 11 brothers and sisters. He is a great big brother and is always protecting Lacy and Lindsy from each other and Luke.
He has enjoyed learning to play soccer, baseball, basketball, football and just about anything we can talk him into trying. He took Karate for awhile, but didn't love it. Going to BYU games with his Dad is one of his favorite things to do. He wants to be a Scientist when he grows up.
