Touch a Truck

Kyler had another busy weekend. We went to the Fiesta in Topeka on Saturday night. Ky had some yummy Mexican food and then got to go on a couple of carnival rides. He was a little too small for the kiddie rides but we took him on the carousel a couple of times and the ferris wheel. It was so hot and he got tired so we headed out after Ky had a cherry limeade and Brett and I each had a frozen margarita. Yum!

He wanted to go on the little train so bad!

But the carousel would have to do.

He wasn't sure what to think about the ferris wheel.

Sunday we visited the Overland Park convention center for their Touch a Truck event. I would say it was a little underwhelming for an adult but probably seemed amazingly huge for a kid. They had a tractor, motorcycle, firetrucks, combine, semi, some building machinery (I have no idea what they were called), and a handful or so of other vehicles. We couldn't tell if Kyler was still tired, didn't feel good, or was just thinking so hard he wasn't showing much excitement. I'm pretty sure it was the last one.

I tried to get him to stand next to the firetruck for a picture but he thought we were leaving him.

Sitting inside the fire truck.

Driving a Pepsi truck and listening to Dad tell him how it sounds.

Motorcycles are his latest obsession. He thinks any loud vehicle is a motorcycle.

He has to check everything out pretty intensely.

There's the excitement I was expecting!

He was content to sit on the floor of this machine.

Look at that cute boy on the front of a firetruck!

Trying to see how it works.

We ended the weekend by having dinner at Aunt Jessica's parents' house. She is back again from Japan (no complaints from us)! Kyler had a great time there snooping around and enjoying a larger space than our apartment to walk around. He got to go for a ride on the lawn tractor, play with their three big dogs, and check out the horses. Hopefully next time we are there it is a little more comfortable outside so we can spend more time enjoying the outdoors!

The littlest fireman.

With Mama in front of the firetruck.

What a goofball!

The tractor was definitely his favorite. He perked up when he got in here!

Here's a picture I hope to not see a repeat of in 15-20 years!

I think this steering wheel on an old firetruck is bigger than Ky.

Looking hard at something while sitting in the semi.

Here's the outside.

We tried for one last fireman shot but it was hot out. Oh, and his shorts really weren't that short! :)

Oh Boy

From the day he was born everyone always said there was no mistaking Kyler for a girl. His features were never all that baby-like and he's always just looked like a little boy (and sometimes a little old man). I can tell you he acts "all boy" too. I have mentioned before that he takes a different approach to playing with some things. He bangs and crashes things I would never imagine doing that with.

Now even his words and obsessions are very boyish. Vehicles are his absolute favorite: tractors, firetrucks, motorcycles, ATVs, trucks, cars, boats, you name it. He can say tractor pretty clearly for his age, it usually sounds like "tra-ter." And his little voice is so cute when he says it softly and sort of high pitched. That is definitely his biggest word and now more and more things are becoming tra-ters. He tries to say other words once in a while but they would be pretty unrecognizable if he wasn't just repeating what you said. He also makes a fire truck siren noise that's pretty funny, sort of like "ahh-ooo-ahh-ooo-ahh-ooo." Everything else now sounds like "dat." He points (with his whole hand, not just one finger) and says "dat," wanting to know what that is.

Saturday night we went to Bass Pro Shops to return some things and brought Kyler around the store. It was pretty hot out and we didn't really have anything going on after dinner. He loved it. It took a lot of effort to get him to move past each ATV he spotted, and then again with each boat. He liked watching the fish and looking at all the taxidermy. We were there for quite a while and when we finally had to pick him up to leave, he cried.

The latest thing Ky has been doing is playing pretend. He is pretending to eat and drink things all the time. It started with the dog dishes. He would go up to them, put his face near them, and make noises like he was lapping up some food. Next he was doing the same thing with some small cans of tomato juice he found in the pantry. Then it was on to pretending to pick food out of a book and eat that. And now he will do the same thing with things in the pantry. He's a smart boy and catches on to a lot. And it is a lot of fun to play pretend with him. Maybe we should get a play kitchen so he can have one girly activity. Plus, who doesn't love a man that can cook?! :)

July 4th Weekend

We had an action-packed weekend and wore Kyler out. Saturday morning we decided at the last minute to head to Centralia to camp at the lake with my parents. We pulled in around 2:30 and Kyler had only taken around a 20 minute nap so we weren't sure how well he would do.

(Riding the 4-Wheeler with Papa and Grandma - It was Kyler's and Grandma's first time on a 4-wheeler)

We headed out to Great Grandpa and Grandma's farm first thing since a lot of the family was in town. Kyler had SO much fun there. He played with rocks on the driveway, water balloons with the kids, carried Great Grandma's broom around the porch, rode Great Grandpa's new Razor Dune Buggy, rode Papa's 4-wheeler, and even got a ride in the tractor. He absolutely loved it!

(Kyler and Papa with the Broom - When Papa took Kyler over here his eyes got really big and he said "tractor" pretty clearly.)

(Kyler Riding/Driving the Tractor)

Next we headed out to the lake for dinner. We took a short canoe ride with Papa and Grandma (the one activity he wasn't a big fan of). Then there were some fireworks going off around the campground. He thought they were great. Papa and Grandma took him to the playground to watch fireworks from there. Then we continued watching them around the campfire. Kyler sat in his little chair and would look over, see everyone else in their chairs, wave, and laugh. One time he heard a big boom but didn't turn to look in time to see the pretty fireworks. He was mad and threw a little fit.

(Ky loved the tire swing at the farm and it put him right to sleep.)

Sunday morning we were up bright and early. Before Papa headed to work, he rigged up a kite on a fishing pole and we flew it as storms were circling around us. After nap time, it was hot and sunny so we spent the afternoon playing outside at the campsite. When Papa got back from work, we got to go out on the boat. Kyler loved looking at all the other boats and jet skis and people swimming, playing, and jumping off boats in the little "party cove." He also liked watching the water splash up from the side of the boat when we were going fast. When we got in the water this time, he was much more independent and comfortable than last time and would even float by himself a little. He fell asleep at the end of our boat ride and was out cold.

(Kyler "fishing" with his kite at the lake)

We cleaned up and headed to Pat and Shelly's party in Topeka on our way home. Kyler got to do a sparkler and was up close and personal with some other little fireworks (a lot too close to one of our tanks). He was really tired and got a little scared of some of the bigger artillery shells that were really loud and nearby. He hung on tight to Papa and passed out in his arms. It was time to head home!

(More of Kyler's kite "fishing)

We still have a parade and more fireworks tonight before the end of our big weekend. Kyler was a sport and already this morning was saying "tractor" and laughed and waved at himself watching the tractor and 4-wheeler videos and pictures. We are having a fun summer with the little guy!

Fathers Day

Kyler has the best daddy in the whole world! I feel that way is because he does so much for our family, and very unselfishly. 

Just one example is that during busy season, I was working a lot more and later than usual so Kyler had started spending more time with his dad. I wish I could have been there but it was so nice that they got their time too. Kyler was getting to even a more fun age (which is constantly happening) and they were able to really bond. They had so much fun playing together. I would get to hear Kyler's laughs and squeals over the phone because Brett was sure to call me every night; and any time I made it home before bedtime they were playing. The thing is, Brett did this all without much complaint and he would have to finish his own work (because he was really busy too) after I got home or Kyler was in bed.

For this Father's Day (which is Brett's 2nd), we decided to go visit Papa and go boating. Grandma was on her way back from an annual trip with her family so it was just Papa, Uncle Brent, and us. We had a lot of fun on the boat. Kyler was hot, tired, and upset with his big and bulky life jacket on at first. But then I took him in the water to cool off and he was in good shape the rest of the afternoon (with the help of some occasional snacks). He had to help Papa drive the boat, would walk around the sides and push the ladder along the railing, and laughed and clapped his first time watching his Daddy wakeboard.

After all the boating, it was time for dinner. Kyler helped Papa put the wood in the fire pit. Then while dinner was being cooked, we walked over to the playground in the wagon for a bit. When we got back to the camper, Kyler got to "fish"... for goldfish and minnows in a bucket. He was surprisingly good at catching them. When he got one in each hand (and squeezed them to death), he would put them back and start over. He would be bent over the bucket so far that his feet were off the ground! Grandma came home after we ate dinner and ice cream and were getting ready for bed. Kyler showed off some walking skills before going to sleep. (Well, I guess you could call it sleep. I was the unlucky one to get him in bed with me and there was a lot of rolling around and banging into the wall at one point during the night.)

We are so lucky to have such an amazing daddy who loves, cares, plays, laughs, helps, teaches, learns, listens, and advises us every day. One day is definitely not enough to show him how much we appreciate and love him back. Hopefully we do a good job each and every day of telling and showing him. 

WE LOVE YOU, DADDY!!!

(Just when I thought it didn't get any better, I walked into the kitchen to see all of my dishes washed and drying. Now he's just making me look bad!)

Walking

Kyler is now walking on his own. Well, we have to push him a little to get started most of the time but then he is determined. He really started yesterday afternoon when he was home with me. He would take lots of steps in succession and try so hard to follow me as I took wobbly steps in front of him. A lot of the time he would take a few steps, fall forward on his hands, and get back up over and over again until he got to where he wanted to go. He even let go of my hand when we were walking on the sidewalk outside. I was relieved that he didn't fall down and make himself extra cautious again. I got some video this time but hopefully we can catch him again going a longer distance.

A Day at the Farm

Today was a pretty nice day, a sunny 85 degrees. We were up early this morning (thanks to a certain someone) so I decided it would be a good day to visit the Deanna Rose Farmstead. We packed up the stroller and were out the door by 8:45.

We got to the farm right when it opened around 9:00 and headed for the cow barn. There were a couple calves lying in the hay. Kyler wanted out of the stroller to check them out. He was pretty fascinated. We also got to see the mama cow get milked and learned a few farm things.

As we ventured around, we saw lots of animals like goats, bunnies, pigs, ducks, and sheep. Kyler's favorite were the ducks. We walked across a path next to a area where there were ducks in a fence. After we passed by, Kyler stopped and turned around wanting to go back the other way. When I looked back, the ducks had crawled through the fence and were on the path looking for extra feed that the kids had dropped. I grabbed a quarter and got some of our own. We coaxed the ducks closer to us with the feed and got them to eat out of our hands. Kyler loved this and unfortunately since I was flying solo I was unable to get any picture or video.

There was a little bitty bench in front of a waterfall and small pond where some more ducks were swimming. I got Kyler to sit and take a quick picture, but he was busy watching the worker.

As we walked around, I had noticed that you could bottle feed the baby goats but when we went by, the place where you get the bottles wasn't open. So after we saw the rest of the animals I peeked over and noticed it was open. We got a bottle and went to feed the baby goats. Ky was tickled! He even held the bottle all by himself and I got some cute pictures.

After the goats, we stopped for a dish of ice cream to hold us over until we got home for lunch. Then we played on the playgrounds and packed up. It was a nice morning, not too hot, and plenty of sun. The best part is that we hardly spent any money - free admission on weekdays, $1 for the goat milk bottle, around $1 for other animal feed, and $2.25 for our dish of ice cream. I would say we got our money's worth!

Taking Steps and Using Utensils

Although I can't yet say that Kyler is "walking," he can take quite a few steps now. Last night he took a bunch of steps for Brett and luckily I was also there to see the last several. My parents came into town to visit for a couple hours so he showed off for them as well. It is pretty funny because he looks like he's been doing it for a week or two. In reality, he has been very able but just too cautious to actually do it.

Ky has also figured out how to use a fork and it is so cute/funny to see him pierce a piece of food and get it to his mouth. I have caught it on video a few times now. He still hasn't mastered the spoon or scooping food up but I think we need some better spoons for him to practice with. I think what has really helped is that after the move we have been eating in and all together a lot more so he watches and mimics what we do. I guess we better try to improve our table manners.

New House, New Room, New Daycare

Now that we have sold our house and moved into an apartment, Kyler has all kinds of new things going on. He has a new room and seems to like it just fine. He has slept really well since we moved. His room is much bigger and houses a futon in addition to his bed, nightstand, and dresser. Ky's room is in the basement of the apartment and ours is upstairs so that is a little different than having him right across the hall. But thanks to the baby monitors, we still know when he wakes up. It is also nice because his room is off to the end of the place so we aren't waking him up walking around and talking.

In addition to moving, Kyler started a new daycare this week. We switched him to a different KinderCare that is closer to our new place. The old daycare would have been a little out of my way and way out of Brett's way. He had a good first day - they said he was happy, ate well, and took a good nap. It is a bit smaller of a place and the staff and director have been there a long time so we will have more familiar faces. We were sad to leave Sally (Ky's infant teacher) and Meghan (Ky was her favorite and she was really sad to see him go).