Blast Ball - Year 2

Kyler played blast ball again this year. It went remarkably better than last year. He did great, participated, and did as he was told. See for yourself...

P.S. I love that he still looks so small on those big bases. :)

Questions for Kyler - Age 4

Here are the 20 questions I asked Kyler on his birthday last year, this time with his new "4-year-old" answers!

1. What is your favorite color? green 
2. What is your favorite toy? a tow truck 
3. What is your favorite place to go? to the children's museum 
4. What is your favorite TV show? Mickey Mouse 
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? stromboli 
6. What is your favorite thing to wear? pajamas 
7. What is your favorite game? Uno 
8. What is your favorite snack? granola bar 
9. What is your favorite animal? zebra 
10. What is your favorite song? Jake and the Neverland Pirates (the theme song to the cartoon) 
11. What is your favorite book? Curious George 
12. Who is your best friend? Brynlee 
13. What is your favorite cereal? (brought me the box of Frosted Mini Wheats) 
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? swinging 
15. What is your favorite drink? milk 
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween 
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? 'Affe (his giraffe, which he no longer sleeps with) 
18. What scares you? nothing 
19. What is your favorite car? a Highlander 
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? cement truck driver

Four!

Kyler celebrated his birthday in Gulf Shores, Alabama again this year. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time!

One of our first days there, we decided to check our their little zoo. It was much better than we expected for a zoo of this size. There were two options to pay a little extra and have an animal encounter. We gave Kyler the option to hold a baby kangaroo or a snake since it was his birthday weekend. As much as we tried talking him into the kangaroos, he insisted that he wanted to hold a snake. Even when we found out it was an 8 foot boa constrictor he didn't change his mind. In fact, he loved it. Unfortunately, a parent had to accompany him because of his age. Brett gave in and did it, and he was definitely more afraid than Kyler! He was able to hold a baby alligator and a turtle as well.

We had a lot of great beach days. It was much less windy than last year and the temperatures were great. The only rain we saw was on the day we drove from the airport to the condo. Kyler kept very busy in the sand.

We invested in a puddle jumper to give us a little more confidence taking him out into the ocean. He did really well with it in the pool as well.

We took the ferry to Dauphin Island. Kyler thought it was really cool that we could bring our cars on the boat. It was a first for all of us.

While there, we visited the aquarium. Kyler was able to pet some rays and skates.

As we returned to the beach one night, Brett found a crab running through the sand. We took it back to the condo for a few pictures. Kyler had found a shell for it to hide in and really made his little container into a home. Unfortunately, we didn't know how to properly care for him so we set him free under the bridge.

On his actual birthday, we asked Kyler what he would like to do. He wanted to play somewhere. Luckily, Papa had spotted a really neat playground earlier in the weekend. It was a lot of fun!

We had a birthday lunch at Lulu's. It's a fun place for the kids and we were there for his 3rd birthday as well.

We sat in a booth on a deck that overlooks the channel. As soon as we sat down, Kyler spotted some dolphins in the water. We also watched some sailboats cruise by. The best part about Lulu's on your birthday is the amazing chocolate cake and ice cream they give you. Yum! Kyler has been into taking goofy pictures, so here he is on his fourth birthday being a goofball.

We had ice cream cake again at the condo with the rest of the gang. It was a fantastic birthday, one that most kids would be very jealous of (except for that snake he held!).

A Crappie!

San Diego

We took a trip to San Diego in February to see Uncle Ryan, Aunt Jessica, and cousins Ally and Holden. We had a great time.

I caught this precious shot on the way to the airport.

We had to stay over in Kansas City before the trip due to a massive snowstorm. The luggage cart was a big hit for these two stir-crazy kids.

We toured an aquarium where Kyler got to touch a sea star. He has been into animals and particularly sea life so this was fun for him.

We also visited the zoo one day while we were there. We were up early (never did adjust to the different time zone) so went in search of a place to have breakfast on the water. Kyler saw these birds and was so excited. We let him feed them a couple crackers and then when we kept walking he said he wanted to see more animals. When I pointed to a pair of dogs, he seemed a little underwhelmed. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that he thought this area was the zoo.

He had a blast at the zoo. Like I said, animals are his thing right now.

We did a little exploring at a park and nature trail.

The favorite activity was beach time in pajamas. The kids would wake up and step right outside of our beach house to start playing in the sand.

One of the big highlights was the helicopters. We stayed on the Naval base so we saw and heard lots of helicopter, some flying very low right over us. It was really neat. Uncle Ryan even let Ky sit in one of the helicopters.

Recent Kyler-isms

Here are some of the funny things Kyler has said/done over the past couple of months:

Trying to get Kyler to pick up... "I'll have to potty in my pants if I clean up too much things."

Myelle threw her cup at Kyler while he was lying on the floor. His response... "Don't throw your milk on me you little stinker. You poop duster!"

After he went to the bathroom his dad asked if it was a good one. His response: "Yeah, it was big like sidewalk chalk!" You can't make this stuff up.

Grandma Rita: Are you my friend?
Kyler: No I just want some money.

Christmas

We were fortunate to have a white Christmas this year. We got 10 inches of snow to play in this holiday season. You may or may not be able to spot Kyler in front of the house. I love the look of snow!

The kids loved it too. And the dogs. Being pulled in the sled was one of the favorite activities. It's just too darn hard to walk around in all that snow gear.

Kyler also had a lot of fun decorating Christmas cookies. He did a great job. My cookies looked like a 3-year-old decorated them, and this year I had an excuse as to why!

Our elf, Alf (named by Kyler), left with Santa on Christmas Eve. He was good to Kyler and left him lots of little treats while he was around.

Santa was ornery and barricaded Kyler in his room on Christmas morning. Myelle was the first one up so we had to wake this sleepy guy to get him out to all the presents. He was a little tired to be dealing with obstacles.

Once he made it out, he had to check out the loot. Santa had eaten his cookies and Rudolph ate all but the very end of his carrot. Kyler got what he asked for this year - a monster truck set and a new Chicka Chicka Boom Boom book (his old one was tattered and torn). We also got some new board games and card games to play and the kids each got a big toy box. We were able to fill both toy boxes with no problem. Now the house is looking a little cleaner when we pick up.

Baxter even got some Santa treats. Ky was excited to give them to him.

Later at Great Grandma and Grandpa Haverkamp's, there was some goofing around with reindeer antlers and Christmas light headbands.

And after Christmas, we got a surprise in the mail. Grandma Tammy and Grandpa Charlie sent these adorable recliners. They melt my heart each time I see them in our living room. The kids love them too.

Kyler kicked back and watched Monsters University the other night in his recliner. He had popcorn, his blanket, and his new flashlight.

It was a great Christmas and we talked a lot about the real reason for the season - Baby Jesus!! We were able to spend a lot of time with each other and our loved ones which was the best part of all. Kyler would agree - he loves playing with his (actually mostly my) cousins and would probably trade his toys for cousin time any day.

Merry Christmas!

Winter

As much as I dislike the cold, it can be a very fun time of the year for kids. It's especially fun with Kyler this year since he can do, comprehend, and remember so much.

We went for a horse and carriage ride over Thanksgiving weekend with Brett's parents. His mom's cousin gives rides in Wichita. 

After we got a nice snow this month, Kyler had a blast playing outside in it. It was too dry to build a snowman but he tromped around, had his dad and papa pull him in sleds, and even drove his tractor in it.

And yesterday we made our first "gingerbread" house. We cheated and used Rice Krispie treats to make it more stable but it was a lot of fun. Kyler loved putting "Christmas lights" on the roof so much that he talked his dada into putting some on our house the next day.

All this before Christmas! Winter is bound to become even more fun. 

Halloween

This Halloween was much more fun than last year with Kyler. We visited the pumpkin farm which he loved.

He also got to go to the kiddie carnival at the high school. His friend Kadence was there and they insisted on pictures together. Don't let those innocent looks fool you. 

Kyler's first costume request was King Julian, the lemur from the movie Madagascar. That was a little difficult so I was not sad when he found a $1 dinosaur hat and wanted to be a dinosaur instead. I sewed some spikes down the back of his shirt and made a tail for him and that was that. 

At the costume parade he was not all about the costume but I got him talked into it and he realized it was a lot of fun to dress up for Halloween... especially when he had a big tail to swing around as he walked. 

He also had a lot of fun trick-or-treating. He is a bit of a slow walker so we pulled the kids in the wagon. He did very good saying "trick or treat" and ended up with a load of candy. He even went to a couple doors all by himself.