A Day at the Zoo

We got up early this morning and Ky had his hotel breakfast. As we were getting ready and driving, I kept telling Kyler we were going to go to the zoo and see the monkeys. Every time I would say the word "monkeys," Kyler would say "ah ah ah" just like the monkeys say. He was excited.

Then we dropped Daddy off at "school" this morning (a training for an IT certification) and headed to the zoo. We were one of the first ones there. In fact, we were a little early and stopped in the gift shop first. I showed him the stuffed animal monkeys and he looked at me like "Seriously? These are the monkeys you got me all excited about?" So we went walking through the zoo in search for the monkeys ("ah ah ah"). The antelopes were pretty close to the walkway and Kyler was pretty interested. He stood up in the stroller and told them something.

We finally spotted some monkeys but they were a little underwhelming to Ky since they didn't make a noise like he thought they would. But under the bridge were a bunch of koi fish. We bought some food pellets and Kyler thought it was so much fun to throw them in the water and watch the fish swarm. But we had to keep moving because he could hear some noisy monkeys. To get to them, we had to walk through the gorilla exhibit.

He had a blast walking through it, especially a little cave-tunnel thing. I finally had to pick him up to get him to move on.

Unfortunately, by the time we got to the noisy monkeys they had stopped being noisy at all. So poor Ky didn't get to see any monkeys say "ooo ooo ooo ah ah ah." Dang! But he did get to play on the gorilla statues on our way back down to the cat complex.

The cats were one of Ky's favorites. We got to see a male lion very close up which was pretty amazing. I don't remember ever being that close to one that was awake and walking around. Here he is lying down while one of the females is up.

We also saw lots of tigers. This one was yawning and sort of growling when we went by. Some other kids were making similar noises, trying to get him to do it again. Ky joined right in and growled at that tiger. It was pretty cute.

We had to go to the petting zoo. Ky tried feeding this hay to some of the goats and gave one a couple pats on the back before trying to grab its tail. 

He was more interested in the chickens. Too bad most of them were in a pen. I kept thinking one of them would peck his little fingers but they were more interested in the feed.

We went into the barn to see what else was going on. There was a very noisy rooster in there. Kyler loved it and kept trying to say "cock-a-doodle-doo." It came out closer to "cockle-cooooo." Oh, and of course he tried to pick up some goat poop pellets while we were in there. Gross!

One of the best exhibits at Omaha's zoo is the penguins and aquarium. A couple of the penguins were pretty friendly and would come right up to the glass where Kyler's finger was. We talked about how they waddle and did it with our fingers "waddle waddle waddle." Ky would say "wawa wawa wawa." He also noticed how they would shake their heads and did a pretty good imitation of that. Maybe I should be re-thinking his Halloween costume!

One of my favorite animals is the giraffe. This was our first stop but I wanted to go back one more time. I could tell that was a good call by the amount of interest Ky had in the statue in front of the giraffe hut. He gave it a couple good pats.

Kyler didn't know what to think about the giraffes walking toward him when he was standing alone. He would keep backing up until he reached me but couldn't take his eyes off them. So funny!

We walked through the butterfly pavilion and got all hot and sweaty. One butterfly landed on a lady's ear and hung out there for a while. On the way out they had some honey bees on display. Ky liked saying "bzzzz" while we watched them. We took one last look at the penguins and then hit the jungle before we took off. Ky's favorite was definitely this bridge we crossed. I was impressed by how well he did - better than some of the bigger kids.

On the way out, we stopped back at the gift shop so Ky could pick out a stuffed animal. I gave him four choices based on what he seemed to be most interested in at the zoo - penguin, male lion, monkey, and giraffe. He chose the giraffe over and over again. When we got back to the hotel, he pretended to feed his giraffe Fruit Loops. And he was all cuddled up with it after he fell asleep. What a sweetie!

Grandpa Charlie

I meant to have this up last week for Grandpa Charlie's birthday, but better late than never! Sorry Charlie - it's been a little crazy around here lately!

Over the summer, Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Tammy came to visit and babysit. Kyler kept bringing them books to read. One day shortly after he woke up, Ky climbed onto Grandpa's lap and cuddled up with a book. It made for some very cute pictures!

"Happy {Belated} Birthday, Grandpa Charlie. I love you very much!"

See any resemblance here?!?!

Fun Fun FUN

Kyler has been having a blast here in Seneca. We get to be outside a LOT and that is his favorite thing. One of the first days we were here Brett took him to the park to play.

Here are my goofy boys getting ready for the park. They needed lots of sunscreen.

And here is Ky-man swinging.

Make sure you have your volume up for this screamer of a video.

He has been going for lots of rides in Papa's truck too. They take Frazier out to the country for runs and while they are out there, Kyler gets to drive the truck. They see cows and a horse and get to throw rocks off a bridge. Whenever Papa is home, Ky is pulling him toward the truck and repeating "truck" as many times as he can get in. He even knows which door to go to to get in his car seat. Papa says he knows the route and doesn't complain when they get to the end of the road and he has to get back in the car seat after the load Frazier up.

I don't know what we're going to do when it gets too cold to play outside all the time. Probably throw lots of fits.

Camping

We did some end-of-summer camping with my parents last weekend. Kyler would run all the way down to the water - it was a long way! And he really really wanted to jump in with Frazier (the dog).

Ky had a lot of fun feeding Frazier (who normally doesn't eat much or care about food). When Ky was feeding him, he would eat like crazy.

He also enjoyed the tractor and truck books that Papa brought out from his grocery store.

It was a beautiful weekend and just windy enough to fly a kite.

We fly kites on fishing poles, of course.

We went on the boat and Daddy wakeboarded. He even did a flip for us. Kyler liked blowing the whistle.

A little later, Papa let Ky drive his truck around the lake.

Ky saw a truck with a bunch of hay bales on it.

So they followed it. Surely there was a tractor somewhere!

Sure enough, there was a tractor loading up those bales. Kyler really studied it hard.

And I mean hard. He looked and looked.

Then we went and saw those big bales up close. Ky thought they were a little too pokey and wanted to get out of there!

It was so much fun at the lake!

Go Royals!

We went to a Royals game with Kyler and a group of family and friends a couple weeks ago. We tailgated for a while before.

 Ky had a blast at the game. He sat on the stairs next to me and thought that was great.

We walked around and every time he heard the music playing, he would stop and dance.

The kids area was a lot of fun - they had a playground and some water fountains that he enjoyed.

Another Move

We moved... again! Brett's job in Seneca starts on Tuesday so we moved yesterday. I wasn't too sad to leave Kyler's room this time - it was so boring and white (we didn't paint since it was SO temporary).

He is adjusting well to his new but familiar surroundings. We are staying with my parents. He is able to spend a lot more time outside which is fine by him. It is so hard for him to understand that when it gets dark, we can't play outside anymore.

Brett had this week off between jobs and he and Ky have been having lots of fun together. On Tuesday, we were still in KC and they ran errands, went to lunch with a friend, and stopped by Daddy's office one last time. Ky was so tired that he went to bed around 6:00 without dinner and slept until almost 9:00 the next morning! Today they went to the park and Ky was apparently having a blast. Brett came home with a video of Kyler squealing with delight going down the tube slide.

15 Month Statistics

We had Kyler's 15 month check-up today. He is healthy as can be and the doctor was impressed by the number or words he can say (around 15) and how well he does using his fingers to hold and turn objects in his hand. Kyler is 25 pounds which is the 55th-60th percentile and is 32 inches tall (75-76th percentile). Head circumference is 18.5 (50th percentile).

We did a lot of waiting because silly me made an afternoon appointment (I suggest going in the mornings before they get way behind schedule). But Kyler did well because there was a window right out to the interstate. He loved looking at the trucks and cars. He had to get two shots which he was not fond of. I don't think it is the physical pain for him as much as he doesn't understand why someone is hurting him (and why I would let them give him ouchies). But he thought his Bugs Bunny bandages were pretty neat and kept lifting up his shorts legs to see them. When we were all done and got him dressed, he walked out of the doctor's office like a big boy instead of me carrying him. My little guy is growing up way too fast!

In case you are wondering, here is the list of Kyler's words that I could think of:
Mama or Mom
Dada or Dad
Papa
Baxter
tractor
truck
duck
sock
toe
shoe
shut
sit
dog or doggie
uh oh (now shortened to just "uh")
come on
thank you

Now a lot of these words are very unclear and he won't say all of them when you ask him to, but these are words we hear repeated fairly often.

Fire Truck Jammies

Last night after changing Kyler's diaper for bedtime, I unloaded the dryer. I started sorting clothes near where he was playing and he quickly came over and started pulling clothes out of the basket and making his fire truck noise. He was trying to find his fire truck jammies. When I pulled the shirt out a few seconds later, he shrieked in excitement. Once he was dressed, he couldn't stop looking down and pointing at the firetrucks.

He has been doing really good at going down for naps and bedtime. Sometimes he cries a few minutes, but most of the time he is worn out and just lies down and falls asleep after I tell him "night-night" and give him kisses. I'm not sure how much longer that will last though... the other day I went down to get him from his nap and he was pulling himself up on the side of the crib. I have a feeling he will be climbing out in the next couple of months. I'm not sure how we are going to get him to sleep if we have to move on to the toddler bed!

Happy Baptismal Birthday!

Today is the first anniversary of Kyler's baptism. It almost slipped our minds but we chose a great Godfather for Kyler who gave him a gift this weekend and reminded us. 

We celebrated at dinner tonight by having Kyler's favorite - chicken alfredo. After dinner, we lit his baptismal candle and said a prayer for Kyler. Then we had white cupcakes. Kyler ate really well (as usual) and was pretty happy about his treat.

Next we went and picked out a bible for Kyler. I wanted to give him a bible that he could keep forever. We even had his name embossed on it. He has some childrens bibles already and we will continue to give him age-appropriate bibles as he grows older. We will also be making a charitable donation in his honor to Seneca's upcoming Out of the Darkness walk which is a suicide prevention event. It seemed fitting because my cousin is putting it together and I found out about it today - on Kyler's baptismal birthday.

Here is the prayer that Brett and I read aloud:

Remember this, Kyler. 

You have been washed in the saving waters of baptism and annointed with holy oil. 

Place on your head and in your heart the sign of the cross of salvation. 

(We traced the sign of the cross on his head and heart.) 

Loving God, You created all the people of the world, and You know each of us by name. 

We thank you for Kyler, who celebrates the anniversary of his baptism. 

Bless him with Your love and friendship that he may grow in wisdom, knowledge, and grace. 

May he love his family always and be ever faithful to his friends. 

Grant this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.

We want to keep this tradition alive and let Kyler know that his spiritual life is just as important as celebrating his life here on Earth. Hopefully in the future I will plan a little better so that Kyler's Godparents can attend the celebration.


And here are some pictures from that special day one year ago...

Kyler Jacoby being baptized.

He was so happy right after... he loves water to this day!

He was so interested in the camera and smiled the whole ceremony and dinner.

The baptismal candle.

We are so blessed to have amazing Godparents - Shelly and Andy.

And equally blessed to have awesome, involved, and very supportive grandparents.