Church

Today in church my face was bright red and I had tears in my eyes. I was trying my hardest not to laugh as Kyler "mimicked" Father. He would hold his hands out, then fold them together in prayer, then out again, then a little higher. It was hilarious but thank goodness it only went on for a minute or two. And I didn't let him know it was funny or he would have been doing more showing off and bouncing around than he already was.

Smarty-Pants

Kyler is learning his colors. He has black and blue down and sometimes gets red, orange, brown, and green. Our living room rug has a bunch of big colored squares and that's one of the best ways we've found of teaching him colors. He also wants to be told what color things are like his Fruit Loops and little race cars.

He knows nine letters: B, C, D, F, G, K, M, P, and T. He will point to the letter you ask for or will tell you which letter is which by telling you what they stand for (P for Papa, etc.). He loves having the letters written in sidewalk chalk really big on our sidewalk. He jumps to each letter and says what it is.

He is doing really well at jumping now and almost always gets both feet off the floor. It's so funny how he sort of walks/skips/jumps around the house and everywhere he goes. I love it! I think it's my favorite thing he does right now.

Kyler has also developed a little imagination. He is always looking out the windows saying "motorcycle" ("mo-ky-kle"). He also tells me that he's playing with Frazier and Mot. They seem to be imaginary friends that are around once in a while. And when he's eating or finds crumbs anywhere he tells me they are bugs ("bud").

Oh, and one last thing he's started doing is calling himself "Ky-woo" instead of "Waa-waa." But poor Maggie might be "Wong-wong" forever.

Baby Love

We went to visit a newborn baby yesterday. I wasn't sure how Kyler would react since he's never been around a baby that small before. He had just woken from his nap so he was very calm and gentle when we first got there. And he LOVED holding that precious baby.

I would pull her closer to me and he would put his hands under her and pull her right back onto his lap (very gently, of course). He just couldn't get enough of his newest friend.

He thought it was funny when she would reach up and hit him with her flailing newborn arms. And he had to check out her tiny legs and toes but then cover her back up so she wouldn't get cold.

He even gave her some kisses on the forehead. Her daddy said that would have to come to a stop when they get a little older.

By the time we left, Kyler was pretty wound up and full of energy and had much less interest in Baby Eva. But when he did want her he knew just how to handle such a tiny little one.

What a Difference a Year Can Make

These pictures were taken exactly one year apart.

Some things I want to remember about this age (21 months):

Kyler will play by himself and then just come up to me out of the blue with a big smile on his face. I don't know of anything better than this boy's smile! He also makes a face a lot where he smiles with him mouth closed and sort of scrunches up his face where his eyes are a little bit squinty. It's the face he makes when he is feeling all warm and happy - a cross between "I'm so proud of myself" and "I am loved." When he's around Papa, he usually either makes that face or is licking his upper lip just like Papa does.

He pulls me wherever he wants me to go, tells me to get up, and generally just talks a lot more than he used to. There are lots of 2-3 word sentences and lots and lots of repeating. It's getting more and more clear all the time too.

He finally likes to give hugs and kisses. He is always wanting to hug the dogs, "Bak" and "Wong-Wong" (Baxter and Maggie). I get lots of hugs and even more kisses. Even last night Daddy called to say good-night and Ky said night-night and walked over and kissed the phone. What a sweetie!

He also identifies Mama and Dada in pictures and points to what things belong to each of us and to "Wawa" (Kyler). He'll point to Dad's pillow and the place Dad sits on the couch. It's especially all about Dad since he's been gone for the first week in a long time traveling for work.

When he does something he knows is wrong, he will tell himself "no no no." Whenever I hear his little voice saying "no no no" I know that I had better go check because he's about to do something he shouldn't. Yesterday he was messing with the electronics saying "no, dada's." Too bad those no-no's are just so tempting!

Ky recently learned how to play hide and seek with me. Mom was so hard to find. He would say "Mom go?" and look and look. I would talk to give him hints to find me. He would always hide in the same place which was the first place I hid.

He knows how to tease. He tells Papa that it's "Dad's kuck" (truck). Papa says "Noooo" and Ky will laugh. Then "Mama's kuck" and "Noooo." He thinks it's so funny he will even say it to himself at home while he's playing.

February Photos

I finally put my pictures from the past month on the computer. Here's what we were up to:

Playing with Play-Doh in the high chair.

Crazy boy acting goofy.

Yummy Valentine's Day treats for Ky's friends and teachers.

Kyler Brack - 2012 - All you need is LOVE

Pulling a Matchbox-sized semi trailer with a big truck.

Three shots on those little legs! But he got a lion sticker and Mom gave him candy.