My little guy is getting bigger and bigger all the time. I thought it was probably time for a post on what Ky is like at this age since he's probably changed a bit since the last time I did this.
Talking
Kyler's speech seems to be slowly improving. He talks a LOT but is still pretty hard to understand at times. I do think it's getting better little by little and he really tries hard to properly say words that we work with him on. He seems to have a lot of trouble with "F" and "B" sounds. Here are some of his mis-pronunciations:
Kyker Bock = Kyler Brack
knee = me
gook = book
mott-mer = monster
hootgall = football
hoob = food
Ment = Brent
hod = frog
Dat-der = Baxter
cwuck = truck
Imagination
One of the biggest changes lately is Kyler's imagination. He's got a good one. I've shared stories about how we frequently have monsters in the house. He's also pretty imaginative in his play. His cars and trucks now seem to conversate with each other and about where they are going. He also brings us pretend food quite often. Once in a while he's turned into an animal and has to crawl out the door instead of walking.
Laughing
This kid likes to make people laugh. We are amazed at how well he understands sarcasm and humor. One of his favorite things is to tell people he's Bob or call someone else Bob and laugh. He thinks it's funny when we say that an animal makes a different sound than it's supposed to and plays along. Lately he figured out that it makes people laugh when he says that someone is his girlfriends. The other night he told us, "Frankenstein's my girlfriend." Anything to get a couple of people laughing and he thinks he's pretty hot stuff.
Eating
Ky is a pretty good eater. He's pretty picky about his vegetables though. One way we have gotten him to eat some green beans and peas lately is to tell him how we can see his muscles growing each time he eats one. He doesn't like to sit still long enough to finish a meal so we can get him to hurry by telling him his dad or grandpa or whoever is nearby will eat it if he doesn't. He also doesn't like anything to go to waste so he will either eat or get really upset when I threaten to throw his food away once he gets up from the table. He finally started liking mashed potatoes over the summer. His favorite foods are pancakes, macaroni and cheese (or any pasta dish really), fruits other than melons, cheese, popsicles, juice boxes, burritos (he calls them tacos), rice, and corn dogs. Somewhat surprising is that he likes hummus and guacamole.
Sleeping
Ky has gotten slightly better at being put to bed. It's still not an easy task but there isn't quite as much crying and fit-throwing as before and his dad doesn't have to lie in his bed every night. A sippy cup of water seems to keep him there. He goes down sometime between 9 and 10 most nights and sometimes closer to 11 on the weekends depending on what we're doing. He usually wakes up once or maybe twice throughout the night and we have to take him back to his bed and either get him a drink or pat his back or tell him a story or lie with him to get him to sleep. He is only allowed in our bed once the sun has come up. His only other option is to sleep on the floor next to our bed but now that it is getting colder we aren't letting him do that as much. He sleeps with a couple of stuffed animals - his monkey and giraffe - as well as his Cars fleece blanket. They aren't must-have's but he asks for them when he's sleeping in his own bed at home. He likes to sleep in, usually joining me in bed once Brett gets up for work. He usually wakes up between 8 and 9, sometimes a little earlier or later. Napping is hit or miss. He really needs one to be pleasant in the evenings but if it gets too late in the day I try to keep him up so that he goes to bed at a decent time. When he does nap, they are between 1.5 and 3 hours depending on how much he needs to catch up on sleep.
Potty-Training
Ugh. Potty-training is not my fave. We have tried a few different times but never got it mastered to where we didn't have to go back to diapers. Now Kyler is pretty adamant about not even trying to sit on the potty chair. We talk a lot about diapers and underwear and big boys but so far he still wants to wear diapers and avoid going on the potty. I've heard stories about regression after a new sibling comes so I think I'll just lay off until after the baby unless he suddenly seems to want to wear underwear and use the toilet. Hopefully since we will be grounded more at home with a newborn I will actually be able to keep the diapers off for several days in a row and get potty training marked off the list. He will also go back to cloth diapers once the baby gets here so maybe that will help some too. He poops about 4 times each day and the stink factor has turned me away from cloth for a while.
Learning
Kyler can count to 13, but not every time. He gets going in a sequence and then will suddenly start over at a lower number. But generally he knows the order to at least 13 and will sometimes do some higher numbers as well. We are starting to work on identifying some more letters (something we slacked on for a while) and have worked on letter sounds some too. He knows all of his colors now. He's started enjoying to color more and more, especially with markers. He likes to use each color one time when he makes something - it's very orderly. He is starting to understand the concept of staying in the lines a little when coloring in a coloring book. Kyler has also learned to put things together in his head. He remembers things from one place and applies them to something else he might see. I wish I could think of the example from a few days ago - it's so amazing to see him make these connections. He is using new words and phrases all the time and pointing things out that are right and wrong, same and different, etc. Lots of new concepts in the past month or so! He is becoming more and more interested in sports. He's started punting balls in the living room and really likes football (although he would still prefer to watch racing). He throws okay but isn't great at catching yet. He uses his left hand and foot a lot but when we tell him to use his right he seems to be possibly even more coordinated. I think he'll be a lefty but we are holding out that he can use either when it comes to sports (it would sure make things cheaper). One thing Mama and Dada have learned is that reverse psychology is awesome right now. If we want him to do something, all we have to do is tell him not to do it. It's great.
Playing
Kyler's favorite toy right now is matchbox cars/vehicles. He plays with them all the time. He loves using his rug that has a road and little town on it. One of our couch cushions has become his designated race track and we get in big trouble if we sit there or even if we put our feet on that cushion (even when it is not occupied by the race cars). He's really good about keeping himself entertained which is nice. He loves playing with a couple of his friends, Kadence and Kendal. He plays very nicely with each of them. They will go off and play by themselves and only once in a great while will there be a reason for an adult to go in and interfere. Usually we are just going to check and make sure they're okay because of the "scary silence."
Loving
Ky's biggest love right now seems to be Grandma's race cars. Hers are apparently better than ours since most of them have numbers like real race cars do. He plays with them on the bottom couple of stairs at her house and wants them all the time. He is always asking for cookies and cupcakes lately and will never turn down candy. He's been singing a lot and dancing more. He makes up little sing-songs all the time. He really likes pets too. Baxter and Frazier are his good buddies and it's funny to hear him talk to them like they are people. Any time he sees a cat, he laughs and really wants to pet it (but usually they run off too quickly, for good reason). Kyler is pretty content at home but once we venture out, he hates coming back home. He usually cries when I open the garage door and pull in. He loves to go visit people, especially Grandma and Papa. He just can't get enough of their house. He has started getting back into his books. We make frequent trips to the library and he gets a lot of use out of the library books. This week he even memorized a couple of short ones and that's pretty cute to listen to. Mostly, I think he loves his Mama (although I may be a little biased). ;-)
