Work

Last week one evening I was sitting outside with Myelle, and Kyler wanted me to walk around the front yard a little with him. He told me he was going to work and asked if I wanted to go to his work too. Here is how our conversation went...

Kyler: You want to come to my work?
Me: Where do you work?
Kyler: Over there (pointing toward the end of the sidewalk).
Me: What do you do at your work?
Kyler: Work.
Me: But what kind of things do you do at your work?
Kyler: I work with dinosaur bones.
Me: Oh, so you're a paleontologist.

He tried to repeat that big word and told me about how he digs up dinosaur bones. It was pretty cute that he came up with this on his own. He has quite an interest in dinosaurs, but not quite as much as his interest in anything with a motor. He sometimes asks for dinosaur food for dinner (when he's not being silly and requesting bugs or bug sandwiches). And he sees lots of imaginary dinosaurs around the house.

Swim Lessons - Days 2-5

Well, the rest of the week sounds like it went more like I had originally pictured it. I had to work so Brett and my mom did Tuesday through Friday of swim lessons. It sounds like he didn't listen well and wasn't following along with the group... and he just didn't want to do most of the activities. I think maybe the first day it was something new and exciting so his attitude was better. Oh well, we tried and will have to try again next year.

Swim Lessons - Day 1

I am kicking myself for not bringing my camera. I honestly thought that this would be a huge failure and we would not be going back the rest of the week. Mainly because that water is COLD! It has been in the 50s and 60s at night lately and we had a ton of rain the past couple weeks. It was only in the 70s outside this morning when we walked to the pool. Plus, I had Myelle so between making sure Kyler was following directions and taking care of her, how was I going to take pictures?

Kyler did okay at the beginning. He kept wanting to explore the bridge that goes over our pool so I had to remind him several times to stay with his class. He participated in the activities (blowing bubbles, kicking, walking in the water) and some required the lifeguard to pretty much force him (going underwater, front float, and back float). He kept lying down on the concrete. I think it was to try to stay warm. When they walked the kids over to the deep end, I wrapped him in his towel. I felt a little sorry for the kid.

They had the kids jump off the side into the deep water where a lifeguard caught them. I convinced Kyler to do it by telling him I would wait for him right by the side with his towel and that we could walk over the bridge when swimming lessons were over. He did it. Then they walked the kids over to the diving board. Kyler followed. He actually wanted to go off the board. I held his towel while they took him up and lowered him in. I wrapped him back up and he walked back over to get in line again. This time he needed less help walking to the edge and they dropped him in the water. I don't think he was prepared to go all the way under so he came up a little shocked.

I was so proud of him for going off the board twice. And like I said, I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera as he went off the diving board for the first time. He said he was going to do it again tomorrow when his dad is there. Hopefully he does better and better this week and we will have a little fish in the water this summer!

3 Year Checkup

Kyler had his 3 year checkup on Monday. He weighed in at 35 pounds (75th percentile) and is 38 inches tall (50-75th percentile). He was a little nervous about his appointment since the last doctor visit was no fun... he got a nose swab to test for influenza. But he did a good job. She suggested that we reach out to his preschool teacher right away when school starts and try to get him some speech help. Other than that, it was uneventful.

3rd Birthday Party

I decided to do an airplane theme for Kyler's 3rd birthday party since he flew for the first time right before his birthday. I got some inspiration from the invitations online and created my own.

We decided to have Kyler's party at his Grandma and Grandpa Brack's this year since last year was at his other grandparents' house and we had celebrated his actual birthday with them on our trip. Plus, it was Memorial Day weekend so they were having a get-together with friends and family anyway. I decorated the dining room with a sign, balloons, and streamers.

His cake was a Jell-o poke and pour cake with blue Jell-o. I used colored whipped topping for the frosting, some 4th of July marshmallows for clouds, and his new Delta toy plane for decoration.

After watching his annual birthday video (something Brett and I put together each year), it was time to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles. He loved the attention.

As you can see, we created a runway on the table with a black tablecloth and masking tape. Before we ate, it was littered with toy airplanes.

Kyler enjoyed opening his gifts. We hurried him along since it was a busy day.

The one thing he had asked for over and over again was a little cement truck. Any time we talked about his birthday party he would say that all he wanted was this cement truck. So we saved it for last and he was very satisfied.

We took a few family photos after the party. There are lots of little ones in the family. One of Brett's brothers has twins that are almost a year old and his other brother is expecting a little boy in about a month.

These proud grandparents have their hands full... and they are about to have one more little to hold.

You think maybe Brett takes after his dad? I just noticed that their hands are positioned exactly alike.

Baby sister was excited to get in on the birthday boy photos too!

When we got home, there was one more gift for Kyler. Brett built him a sandbox. Kyler helped with the finishing touches.

Papa brought just enough beach sand back to Kansas to fill the sandbox. He is a lucky boy to have possibly the only beach sand filled box in Kansas.

These two will have lots of fun out in the sandbox the next several years... and I will spend my summers cleaning up sand.

These happy faces make it all worth it though. Happy 3rd birthday to our growing boy!!

20 Questions - Age 3

I had been seeing on various blogs where parents ask their kids the same 20 questions each year on their birthday and record the responses. Some of the responses are funny and it's also fun to see how the kids change from one year to the next. Here is the 3rd birthday edition:

1. What is your favorite color? Blue 
2. What is your favorite toy? Race cars 
3. What is your favorite place to go? Grandma Tammy’s 
4. What is your favorite TV show? Curious George 
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? Bierocks 
6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Football shirt like that (pointing to a K-State football) 
7. What is your favorite game? Playing ball 
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Loops 
9. What is your favorite animal? Monkey and giraffe, I like two animals 
10. What is your favorite song? Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and Santa [Claus is Coming to Town], I like two songs; monkeys should not jump on bed 
11. What is your favorite book? Curious George 
12. Who is your best friend? T 
13. What is your favorite cereal? You already said cereal 
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play football 
15. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk and orange juice 
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween 
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Monkey and giraffe 
18. What scares you? Lions 
19. What is your favorite car? Bug one 
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I don’t like jobs 

I could tell a few of these responses had to do with what was going on that day or that moment. (We were heading to Grandma Tammy's later in the day, his cousin T had come to visit that morning, Curious George was on TV before we started this, and there was a VW Beetle looking toy car on the floor.) Whether that would have changed his answer, I have no idea. Oh, and I hope the response to #20 does not have a direct correlation with is work ethic in the future!

Picture Preview!!

This is too adorable to wait to share. I can't wait to get the rest of the pics, although I can't imagine one being more perfect than this one in the middle.

Birthday on the Beach

We spent Kyler's 3rd birthday on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama where my parents own a vacation rental condo. They bought us plane tickets for Christmas. It was Kyler's first flight. We kept telling him he would be three when we go on the airplane. So as soon as we were boarded he turned to us and said, "I'm 3 now?!?!" We told him it would be a couple more days until his actual birthday.

His ears bothered him on one leg of the flight. He suddenly started crying and said, "I have ouchie!!!" while covering his ears. Luckily, I had packed fruit snacks and chewing on them must have done the trick.

We had a connection in Atlanta and had to change terminals so Kyler was excited to ride on the train.

Ky absolutely loved the beach. He liked the waves, although he was maybe a little afraid of the big ones. 

He wanted to be buried again and again.

He was even trying to bury himself.

The beach was awesome. It wasn't crowded at all so we had plenty of room to dig and play.

Kyler had a hard time keeping sand off of his hands. He would rinse them off but then couldn't help himself and would pick up two fistfuls of sand.

One of the days we were there, my dad rented a pontoon boat. Kyler loved helping Papa drive. We stopped at a restaurant called Pirate's Cove for a burger. (Side note: it was delish and supposedly where Jimmy Buffet wrote "Cheeseburger in Paradise.") While we were there, this pirate ship went by. The pirate spotted Ky on the beach and yelled "Argggg." Kyler hid behind Uncle Ment (Brent). We saw tons of dolphins in this little cove too.

On Kyler's actual birthday, he chose to visit a Go-Cart track (The Track). They had some other kiddie rides like this airplane. He was able to ride as a passenger on the go-carts.

His favorite part was the bumper boats. He could pretty much control them on his own and would get mad if we tried to do it.

After the go-cart track, we went and had dinner at a place called Lulu's (Jimmy's sister Lucy Buffet's restaurant). They brought out a huge birthday dessert that we shared. There were sailboats going by on this waterway where we sat and they had a huge area with lots of sand toys for the kids to play. The live music was good, too.

When we got back to the condo, we celebrated with candles and a DQ cake. One funny thing at the condo was that Kyler was constantly yelling, "Oh Dane-O" trying to find Brent's friend Dane who came along.

We had a lot of fun on our last day. We spent it on the beach.

Papa and Kyler were feeding the seagulls right out of their hands. Several people stopped to watch Kyler do this. It was pretty neat to see a kid that small holding up a cheese curl and actually letting a bird get close enough to grab it.

Of course he had to be buried again. This time we did it up to his neck.

We gave Kyler one of his birthday presents on his birthday. It was a Delta airplane set that he played with in the airport while we were waiting for our plane.

When our plane finally landed in Kansas City and everyone was waiting to depart, Kyler yelled, "We're back. Woo hoo!!!" Everyone around us was laughing. It was a great trip and Kyler may have had the most fun of all! He says his favorite part was the airplane.

Truck Races

About a month ago, Brett got a pair of free tickets to the NASCAR truck series race in Kansas City. I told him he should take Kyler so off they went. It was a little chilly and windy but they had a good time and stayed for the whole race. Kyler even got to see some of his favorite race car drivers when they had the Sprint Cup series practice. Brett bought him a Kyle Busch M&M car to take home.

Kylerisms: Don't Worry About It

Kyler (putting on a batting glove): You wanna play baseball with me?
Me: I can't right now, buddy. I have to change Myelle's diaper.
Kyler (with a sad little puppy dog face): Okay. I will play by myself.
Brett and I exchange a look. We are about to crack up.
Kyler (walking out the garage door with a defeated voice): Don't worry about it. I will play by myself.