20 weeks...plus a few days

Well, good grief, we hit 20 weeks on Wed. and I was totally excited, but neglected to post. Once again, this pregnancy is going really, really fast. I tried to get off my anti nausea meds over the weekend and early in to this week, only to find myself puking Tuesday morning...at the tour of a preschool where we would love to have Kyle go if we end up in Tucson next year for some reason. It was lovely. I called the midwives and wow!, heard back from them in less than two hours! They immediately called in a refill and I am almost feeling normal again.

The pregnancy dreams have been coming for awhile, but just last night did I have a dream like the kind I had with Kyle. I dreamed that I gave birth to a little boy with brown hair and blue eyes, and I was only in labor for 4 HOURS (crossing my fingers for that to come true)! Kyle could make this baby laugh like no other person in my dream; it was wonderful. Do we know what we're having yet? Nope. Our ultrasound is Monday afternoon and I am excited to find out!

Of course, I've already been wanting to buy things for this baby, even though we don't really and truly need anything. There is so much cool, new baby gear out since Kyle was born. Truly, I need to start sewing up diapers from one of our king size flannel sheets and (as soon as we know if it's a boy or a girl), looking for the "take home outfit". I look back at the onesie we put Kyle in to come home and think "That was a first time parent thing to do". We were hot, as it was August, but he was cold a good part of his early life I'm sorry to say. Kevin figured this out one night when Kyle would stop crying if he took him on our front porch. So, we finally started dressing Kyle a little warmer, even if it was 100 degrees out. Even now, Kyle will cry out in his sleep if he gets cold. One thing we have nothing of (I got rid of Kyle's stuff a long time ago), is clothes.

Also, I am so sad that our Fisher Price Safe Embrace Convertible Car Seat expires on March 9th of this year. Kyle still fits in it and likes riding in it, but I was so hoping to use it for our new little one. I think it has been my favorite car seat of the three we own for install and comfort of the child. Kyle never did well in the infant bucket car seat (screamed every car ride, probably due to reflux) and I'm loathe to try it again with this baby, but the bucket seat is in good condition and has not expired, so that's where we'll start with car seats for now.

Ah well, it always works out! I'll post again Monday with the big news! Have a great weekend and GO CARDINALS!

19 weeks

Kyle taking a picture of me while I take pictures of him:


So, the last two nights I've definitely been feeling this little one kick and it's awesome! Not enough to keep me awake, just enough to let me know "Hey, I'm here!". I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting to feel this baby on a regular basis. It makes me look forward to going to bed, lol. On the down side, my uterus has been so sore today, you could swear I must be doing some kind of internal aerobics the last couple days. It's not cramping, or sharp, shooting pains, just like if you had a good workout and you were sore. It's uncomfortable, but I'm assuming this just means our baby is getting bigger!

I finally broke down and registered us for WIC again today. After I started teaching, I didn't see any need for us to continue with WIC, but now that I'm pregnant again and Kyle and I drink a gallon of milk every 2 days, it will be so amazingly helpful. I almost fainted when they checked my iron and poor Kyle had no interest in getting his iron checked after that! It was fun to find out that I've gained 10 lbs and Kyle's height and weight is right on track. My goal has been to gain about 30 lbs w/this baby (as opposed to the 50 I gained with Kyle) and I seem to be on track with gaining about 1 lb a week. These are all silly things you think about when you are pregnant.

I have yet to start walking or doing water aerobics like I did with Kyle, however I'd like to do both soon on a regular basis. The water aerobics will be the toughest to work out because I will need someone to watch Kyle during that time. Kyle and I have been spending a couple hours outside every day because the weather here has been in the 70s and 80s; just beautiful for this time of year!

Well, despite the fact that the medication I'm on allows me to eat, I feel awful if I eat anything except for bland, bland, bland protein (think grilled chicken everyday) and drink milk. I tried branching out to a few foods I've missed: pizza, chili, root beer, chocolate...and well, I feel awful all evening after eating my usual non pregnant "comfort" foods. Ah well, just about 20 more weeks, right? I'm already looking for take out menus for places near the birth center! After Kyle was born, Kevin got me a BLT and I remember it was so delicious because I didn't feel sick at all...it's like magic after the baby is born, lol.

Well, it's almost 9 o'clock and I am exhausted. I think, at least for me, pregnancy forces me to take better care of myself (early bedtime, watch what you eat/drink, take it easy on your body), so that is a good thing. Good night!

We are still here...

Oh dear, it's been way too long since I blogged and I apologize. At 12 weeks I was allowed to go off the progesterone (YEA!) and immediately started puking up everything (BOO). So, I tried unisom plus B6, just like with Kyle; and it didn't work! Boy, was I surprised. So, after two different anti nausea medications (the first one didn't work), I'm now happily eating, although still nauseous some of the time. Just a little update: At our 13 week appointment, I was measuring 3 weeks larger than usual so they scheduled an ultrasound to check for twins. Well, I am having twins, but not twin babies, just twin fibroids that are growing as the baby grows due to the pregnancy hormones. It sure was fun to get pictures of the little squirt, although this child is already suffering from second child syndrome since we have yet to scan and share those with all of you, ahem. However, looking at those pictures has sure helped me make it through some very sick nights and mornings, ugh. At our most recent appointment, I was measuring 4 weeks larger than how pregnant I actually am. There are two frustrating things about this: one, I'm huge already and two, the midwives are worried about preterm labor.

This pregnancy is going really, really fast. With Kevin finishing up his Ph.D. this semester and chasing Kyle around everyday, I'm not thinking about being pregnant every second of the day. Also, with those fibroids I have yet to feel the baby move on a regular basis; just a couple times a week, so I don't have a constant, moving reminder that there is something growing in there.

Kyle likes to give my stomach squeeze hugs and kisses. We just passed the due date for our first miscarriage (Jan 12th) and that was tough. Kyle and I spend Sunday mornings together and he crawled up in to my lap the weekend before the due date, puts his hands on my stomach and says "I don't want the baby to go to heaven". Of course, I believe he means he doesn't want me to miscarry, not that he doesn't truly want this child to go to heaven, haha. I teared up and it totally amazes me that he remembers.

I have to go now, quiet time is almost over and I've yet to rest! Enjoy the pictures, sorry I can't put captions up right now. Something seems to be wrong with the blogger picture post function. Ah well, that is everything Kyle has been up to this past Fall, and the hair cut he got today...he's been asking for short hair all week long, lol.

Happy 12 weeks to us!

I'm about two hours early, but elated to be pulling in to the home stretch of our 1st trimester...I may have to celebrate tomorrow, stomach allowing.

I forgot to tell you...

...that Kyle also wanted to buy everything else for the baby yesterday: crib, playpen, cradle, sling, diaper bag, stroller, etc...however, he claimed that we didn't need a car seat because we already had a baby car seat at home (I guess he doesn't remember that as "his" car seat). I informed him that the baby would be using his old crib, playpen, sling, diaper bag, stroller, etc... and at first he protested, but then asked if he could "share" the playpen with the baby. I told him sure, and will of course get a picture when that happens about 9 months from now: my almost 4 year old and newborn sharing a playpen. Anyone with more than one kid have stories of their toddler not wanting to share their baby gear with the new little one?!?

I couldn't have said it better...

I was going to blog about how these first few months of pregnancy feel, but Dooce summed it up so well, that I'm just going to let you click over there and read, then know that I feel like that, exactly, everything she wrote about morning sickness. Actually, I will quote her with the caveat that many of my readers may not appreciate some of what she blogs about:

"That horrible feeling I had after the fifth serving of pasta, the one where the noodles feel like they're sitting at the top of my throat, where my pants are so tight that I can't maneuver into a comfortable position, where I feel like I might hurl if I move my head too quickly, that is what I feel like ALL THE TIME. It never goes away, even if I haven't had anything to eat in several hours. And my brain and gut are telling me that I'll feel better if I just eat something, which is a lie. It's after I eat that I feel the worst. Food tastes phenomenal, yes, but during the two hours after a meal I have to assume the fetal position and remain perfectly still. This is not convenient when life has to be lived, when dogs need to be fed and walked or certain daughters need baths and bedtime stories. Leta has grown used to the grimace on my face during her bedtime routine and more than once has voiced her opinion that "that baby isn't being very nice." Really? In that case your feelings won't be hurt when I tell you that this is nothing! When you were in my womb I used to daydream about how much less painful it would be to shove a fishing hook through my upper lip.

All of this is to say that no, I do not like being pregnant. I am thankful that I am pregnant, so grateful and hopeful about the baby, thrilled about what it means for our family, but I do not enjoy what this does to my body. I cannot relate to women who say that they love this, that they wish they could be pregnant for years, that they have never felt more like a woman. I don't know exactly why, but there are things about this that make me feel totally disenfranchised. I have no control over my body or appetite, and I cannot do anything to improve the way I feel."

So, there you go. Kyle and I are in Phoenix for the week while Kevin flies over to London to decide if we want to move there for two years. The holiday was rough, touch and go, but we made it to Phoenix and I've only puked a couple of times. My midwives graciously lowered my dosage of progesterone and that has seemed to help with some of the nastiness I was experiencing. Kyle is at his Grandad's tonight for a family dinner that I so desperately wanted to go to, however, I am toast after about 4 o'clock everyday.

Last night, our first night without Kevin, I put Kyle to bed and told him he could fall asleep on Kevin's side of the bed if he wanted. Well, not only did he do that, he procured a family of teddy bears from my closet and tucked them all in on my side of the bed. It was adorable.

Today, I have felt remarkably good, so Kyle and I left the house in search of a mall play area. As we cruised through a clothing store, Kyle insisted that his baby needed some slippers, just like him. I told him his slippers were too big, but we could check the baby section. Turns out he wanted a whole outfit for the new baby: shirt, pants, hat, and slippers. He picked out pink, so hopefully we're having a girl, lol. Otherwise, one of our pregnant friends will be getting a cute little ensemble for their baby girl later this year!

And now, I must eat. I'll write again soon.

A Good Day

Good days are hard to come by for me when I'm pregnant. I am not the woman who feels better than ever when she's pregnant; I feel sick, out of sorts, unable to do things I normally do...long before the true physical manifestations of pregnancy make day to day activities a challenge.

However, today was a good day. The best day I've had since we found out we were pregnant (as far as feeling good, hearing the heartbeat was my true best day thus far)! I was able to eat, pretty much what I wanted; and drink! This is a true treat, to drink a glass of juice or milk or water, oh water how I miss you!, and not feel like it's going to come straight back up.

This was a hard week. I was unable to keep all but one dose of the progesterone down starting Sunday night through Tuesday night. I was spotting, just like with the miscarriages, and I was frustrated. I cried and prayed a good part of the night, knowing I needed to keep the progesterone down if I was going to keep carrying this pregnancy. In the morning I woke up to find goodies of lemons, ginger, tea, and honey sticks on the counter. Kevin told me our friends Jon and Kirsten had dropped them off after she did some research on morning sickness. Well, let me tell you, the lemons have done it for me! I smell them when I'm sick, lick them, suck on them, and I have been able to keep my meds down since Wednesday, every time! I am so thankful, as I had never heard of using lemons to combat morning sickness.

Kyle has had some interesting moments since we told him we are pregnant. I was on the phone the other day with my cousin talking about adoption and he told Kevin he thought I was talking to Jesus about our babies. Last night, Kyle crawled in to bed with me (Kevin was at work), and stated that "My baby brother or sister wants me to sleep with them tonight". I couldn't help but snicker and let him fall asleep on Kevin's side of the bed.

I feel bad; Kyle is having to grow up fast with me being so sick and Kevin taking care of everything around here. I often see Kyle finishing up breakfast or dinner alone while Kevin packs lunches, cleans up the kitchen, or throws another load of laundry in the washer. He has always played well by himself, but lately he's had to do it more often than usual. I know this is temporary and I look forward to feeling better on a more regular basis here in a few weeks; enjoying these last few months of play time with just Kyle. I think a part of me is going to mourn this one on one time with him, as excited as we are for the new baby. Kyle will be old enough that I think he will have some memories of being an only child.

Kyle thinks we should get two brothers and sisters, I just asked him. He wants us to go and get them...some of the details are still lost to him, lol.

Time for bed! I'll update on my next "good day".

Good news!

Kevin got some great results at the lab today, just hours before his abstract is due for his big spring conference. I am so proud of him! He has been working so hard this year, his last year as a Ph.D. student; actually, if you took a glance at his CV, he's been working hard all four years,but this year we both knew would be a big push for him to be in the lab, getting results, and writing all the time in order to get published and finish up everything for his dissertation.

Our adoption classes have been going well and we are about halfway through. Amazingly, we had a positive pregnancy test the Friday after our first adoption class. I went in for some blood work that morning, and we got the results the Monday after: low progesterone. So, I started progesterone twice a day and have been taking it for the last 30 days. It's been really hard for me to believe that we are actually pregnant again, for the 3rd time, since May. Today we had our first pregnancy appointment, which is a hurdle in itself, one we haven't made it to since we were pregnant with Kyle. I was so nervous about everything (and probably will be until we deliver a healthy baby), but the midwife was optimistic. She was wrapping things up and I asked if we could try to hear the heartbeat (we heard Kyle at 8 weeks). She made sure we knew that it was unlikely we would hear the heartbeat this early on, that she would schedule us for two weeks out if we didn't hear it. She was searching and found my heartbeat (not hard to find) and then she said "I just heard it, let me get lower on your abdomen", and she found it and says "That's a strong heartbeat, feel it" and Kevin and I could feel it vibrating through the doppler speaker and I just started crying, I couldn't help it. Even now I'm crying, every time I think about it or talk about it, the tears well up, happy tears. The midwife made sure we knew that we weren't out of the woods yet, not with our two miscarriages this past year. I'm on progesterone for another 30 days and our next appointment is December 10th.

And so today I'm praising God, for my husband's success and the kind of heartbeat I wasn't sure I'd ever hear again. No matter what happens from here on out, I am asking for all of your prayers and support. We are 9 weeks pregnant and baby #2 is due June 17th.

Lots of company

Birthday visit from Grandad.

Kyle using his water backpack for the first time (and he now likes to take it everywhere with us)!

Reading books with Grammy on our front porch.

Here are just a few pictures I took off the camera last night, however, I have some really cute ones from the zoo today that I want to share with you soon too! We have had lots of visits from Kevin's mom and dad this month, which Kyle has been loving, in addition to my mom's monthly weekend trips, Kyle has seen a lot of grandparents!

Kyle was sick this weekend, totally out of the blue he came down with a fever and was out of commission for a few days. This was a total bummer for Kevin and me, as we were planning on heading to Mexico for a family wedding!

It seems we may have found a non binky option for Kyle to chew on to help him settle in for his sleepy times. We bought a chewy tube yesterday from a local talk/speech therapy clinic in town. We had warned him that the night before last was his last night with binky, as it had a tear in the nipple and was no longer safe to use. Kyle used his chewy tube most of yesterday and then fell right to sleep chewing on it last night. He had no problem using it to get back to sleep when rousing throughout the night either. This is a huge relief for me. Kyle has never attached to any other sort of lovey or sleep comfort item, so to find something that doesn't seem to have the side effects or social stigma of a binky, but still allows him to chew and relax himself is awesome (and cry free!). I think this would only work if your child was a binky biter; Kyle liked to chew on his, more than suck on them, as he got older.

In other news, we were supposed to have our first home visit this morning to get foster/adoption stuff moving along, but our contact had an emergency at another family's home, so we rescheduled for Thursday at 10:30, if you think to pray for that, we'd so appreciate it.

Well, quiet time is almost over, which means I've gotta go!

Is it Fall yet?

Every year, right after Kyle's birthday, all of these things start up: school for Kevin, fall recreation classes for Kyle, and Bible study for me. I feel soooo busy! This year we started something new too: preschool (at home for now).

Kyle and I read a little Bible, some Mother Goose, and sound out/trace the letter of the week while we eat breakfast. Later on during the day we listen to some classical music (Bach this month) and folksongs. Math consists of counting or measuring whatever we need to throughout the day (Kyle, can you count your fingers for me? 12! and your toes? 17!). And we sometimes throw in some art. Additionally, the bulk of our preschool time is spent playing outside for hours and hours and hours, now that it's not so blistering hot here in Tucson.

In order to assist us on our outdoor ventures, Kevin graciously has listened to me bemoan the fact that we don't have a bike trailer and must drive even short distances to have some outside fun. However, just this weekend, we were blessed to find a top of the line trailer on craigslist (Burley Solo) and the family was more than happy to trade it straight for our double jogging stroller (turns out they had twins, but grandpa had bought the single kid bike trailer before they were even pregnant). Yippee! So, Kyle and I have been using the bike trailer every other day for our errands and activities (my legs need at least one day in between to recover).

Which brings me to another topic, not so happy, but yes, WE ONLY NEED A SINGLE CHILD BIKE TRAILER. Looks like our TTC days are over, at least for now. We need to wait and see what kind of fancy job Kevin gets next year and what our health insurance will look like before we commit to producing any summer babies. More exciting is that I can now register for the Tour de Tucson and a couple of 5K races I've been wanting to run!

So what about Kyle? Well, he's doing great! His feet are growing like weeds, literally, he put on a pair of size 9.5 shoes in July when we moved to the new house and now he's a 10. I had thought he wouldn't be in the 9.5's until December (Anyone know of any good shoe sales?!?). At his 3 year old check up appt, he was 33 lbs and 38 1/2 inches tall. Finally, the doctor and I were both thrilled to see he broke the 50th percentile for weight....for the first time in his entire life! It is true, Kyle is eating a lot more different foods, although I don't know that he eats a lot more that he used to (it all just used to be Cheerios). He did receive a shot and didn't even cry, just flinched; and I did equally as well, not having another adult there in case I fainted! See the archives for that story.

Kyle is growing up to be a great encourager (You can do it mommy! Come on, give it a try!). My favorite was after he followed Kevin in to the bathroom and told him "Good job daddy!" after Kevin peed (we've been trying to teach Kyle to stand up to pee, which he does, but only on the trees at the park).

I must go wake Kyle up....he still takes naps! Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Kyle!

On Sunday, we went to Clarksdale and took a train ride for Kyle's 3rd birthday. Here are some of the pictures from that day:







Today, Kyle's actual birthday, we spent time with his friend Gabriel at the mall and they shared a smoothie. After that, we met my friend Serena at Chick-fil-a with her little munchkin Graham, and then we spent some time at the zoo! I think Kyle has enjoyed his whole couple of days celebrating his birthday this year, even without the party; I know I have ;).

I know this sounds cliche, but it really feels like yesterday, when we brought him home for the first time. Kyle and I looked at almost all the pictures we took of him that first year, from the moment he was born until he turned one and it is amazing and wonderful and awesome to have him in our lives. Here are just a few of my favorites from that first year:

Girls

Two college girls waiting to cross the street the same time as us catch site of Kyle in the stroller:

"Hi"

Kyle smiles up at them, then shyly falls back in to the stroller.

"He looks so cool" (I have never had anyone say that when commenting on my child!)

Kyle sits up and flashes them another grin. We all cross the street.

Later that night, Kevin asks, "Kyle, what did you do today?"

"I saw the girls."

Great, he turns three tomorrow and now I have to start worrying about college girls ;).

Ask Kyle how old he is the next time you see him...we have yet to hear him say his correct age (today he was seven, according to him)!

Early morning sunshine

Kyle comes in to our room in the morning and usually lays on his toddler bed until Kevin's alarm goes off at 7 a.m.. However, if he knows it's close to time for the alarm, he will stand silently right next to my side of the bed. I never know how long he's been there, but all of a sudden I'll turn over and open my eyes and Kyle is RIGHT THERE. He gets a big grin around his binky and says "Gooood mornnnning"!

Well, I'm at a loss. Now, that I have neglected to post for so long, I have no idea where to start! Let's see, in June we headed to Breckenridge, CO for a reunion with Kevin's side of the family and that was a wonderful, relaxing time for all of us. I've been to other areas of CO, but never Breckenridge, and it was beautiful! I couldn't believe how much snow was still on the ground. Kyle loved playing with the other great grandkids! We went on a hike and Kyle made it the entire way; I was so impressed!

After CO, Kyle and I headed to Washington, DC to see my family. He had a blast with all his great aunts and uncles and my cousins. On the flight there, my sling kept slipping, it seemed that Kyle was finally too big to be carried in his sling. However, I had neglected to bring a stroller with us because he just loves to be carried! I found a used Maclaren Triumph umbrella stroller to buy while we were in the DC area and it was wonderful; Kyle took multiple naps in it while we were touring around and was more than willing to be strolled while we went sightseeing(totally different attitude from other strollers we've used). This stroller continues to come in handy here in Tucson, as I have all but abandoned our double jogger in favor of it (and I love my jogger)!

This was Kyle's first plane ride where I think he actually understood what was going on because he was a little apprehensive about being on the plane and being in the air. Thankfully, he slept all but one leg of our flight and was never a nuisance on the plane. I did lug his enormous car seat on to the plane to go in his seat and I think that made all the difference for his comfort level and understanding.

After arriving home from DC, Kevin forwarded me an email about this amazing, wonderful, too good to be true house that was coming up for rent! I immediately called the owners and we were first on the list to get it, if we wanted it. Well, after I saw it, I was sold! However, knowing we had a year left here in Tucson, Kevin was a little more wary of moving us. In the long run, we decided to go for it and are now living in this great house, about a mile from where Kevin studies, and right across the street from this great park! It is heaven for a stay at home mom. If you need our new address, email me, our phone numbers are the same.

Did I tell you I'm not teaching anymore? Yep, gave the school my notice that I would not be returning after my contract ended. My last day was June 30th.

What have I been doing since then? Well, moving, unpacking, turning 29 years old, LOL! I can't believe how old I am. Kyle's birthday is in about a week and we are not having a birthday party for him, so please don't think I left you out of the loop ;). Kyle decided he wanted to go on a train ride, so we will be heading to the Verde Canyon Railroad on Sunday August 24th for the 1:00 departure...join us if you like!

Kyle is going to be 3 whole years old! He is officially potty trained, has been for awhile now I guess. He has curly hair; which just showed up in the past few months (you can look for it in the accompanying pictures). He talks about everything and has entered the "Why?" stage. He is amazingly talkative, playful, and observant/reflective. If you haven't seen him lately, please come visit us! Of course, Kevin and I would love to see you too...

Kyle sings songs, rhymes, talks in funny voices and intonations, and has a great imagination. He is really good at being silly, making jokes or comments to give us a hard time or trying to fool us. I love how his mind works, how much he understands at this age. One of the cutest things that has happened in the last couple weeks is that Kyle insists on saying our mealtime prayer for every single meal; if Kevin or I start the prayer he immediately jumps in and finishes it or says "No! Wait! Stop! I want to say it!", lol.

I think we are all getting a little comfortable being a family of three around here. However, let me assure you, this is not for lack of trying. It seems Kevin and I have no trouble getting pregnant, but staying pregnant has eluded us the last several months. We are still trying to add to our family the old fashioned way, but are also pursuing other avenues, such as adoption. Why would I share this on my public blog? Well, I am encouraged when I hear about other couples who have had similar problems to ours, and who knows where one of you might be a great resource on adoption or something else related to growing our family.

And now, what you've been waiting for, the pictures:

Hiking in Breckendrige, CO with Aurora

Ice skating for the very first time! Breckenridge, CO

Walking "Tiny" in Washington, DC

Jumping on the trampoline with Rose

Our little bike mechanic

My 29th birthday dinner

The recent life of Kyle in pictures

We've been doing lots of cool stuff lately, but I've been processing a lot personally and just not up for writing...so here is what we've been up to in pictures:

We took a little trip to the Phoenix Zoo with Nana while the weather was still bearable this past spring. Kyle had a great time, but truly, I like the Tucson Zoo better because it's not so "busy" and we can do it all in one trip!

Thanks to my cousin Anastasia, who consistently plans nights and weekends out for mommies, I get time off about once a month! This last weekend out Kevin and Kyle explored our local air and space museum. Kyle is fascinated by anything related to transportation.

Oh how Kyle loves older children! However, I think if he could've handpicked an older sister he would've chosen Emily. Of course, then Emily would be much less tolerant of his attempts to play with her! We spent a week in Pinetop visiting Emily, her mom Deborah, and her little brother Eric.

Kyle will jump on any opportunity to play mini golf...or putt around our house with Kevin's old clubs.

Most recently, my dad took us out on his fishing boat for the afternoon at Canyon Lake. Kyle was a little apprehensive at first, but hung in there and we all had a wonderful time.

Pictures

We saw lots of snow and friends over winter break!
Great Aunt Jewel came for a quick visit this winter

New bunk beds!

Kyle loves going to Mexico and playing on the beach!

Kyle enjoying his train table.

Washing cars

"Mom, I need a paper towel!" I hear Kyle calling from his bedroom during quiet time. So, I take him a paper towel...and feel the wet spot on his comforter. "Kyle what happened? Why is your bed all wet?". "I'm washing cars mom". "With what?" I wonder and say out loud at the same time. "I just washing cars". Ah yes, the milk cup I gave him with just a little bit of milk left in it; but that's a leak free sippy cup...hmmm. "Kyle, did you unscrew the lid and pour your milk out on the bed?". "Ah hu, I washed No Stall. Can I have another paper towel?"

We are so sick...

I'm counting the minutes to 8 a.m. so I can call the pediatrician. We're pretty sure it's croup that Kyle came down with Friday night, but instead of getting better, he's getting worse. I've been sick too, and numerous sleepless nights with a sick child haven't helped me get better very quickly either. Kevin seems to be none the worse for wear somehow.

A letter to little Kyle

Dear Kyle,

You turned 2 1/2 about a week ago. Lately you've been doing all sorts of new and exciting things. Your dad and I are thrilled that you seem to think using the potty on a regular basis may not be a bad idea after all! You've been interested in the potty process since turning a year old, but somehow we had yet to make the connection of using it all the time. Yesterday we went out all afternoon in your pants (you prefer to only wear pants, no underwear, pull ups, or diapers); talk about living dangerously! The highlight of the afternoon was the fact that you sat on two public toilets, which was a big "no way mom, nice try" kind of thing a few months ago. As yucky as I think public facilities can be, I realize they are a part of our future if we are to eradicate diapers from our lives (at least until mom and dad can furnish you with a sibling, right?).

On the topic of siblings, we often talk about you having a brother or sister. You look down your shirt from the collar, holding it open and saying "Mom, there's a baby growing in there"! You were saying "Mom, there's a baby in my chest!" last month, but now we've moved on to a baby in your tummy. You notice other babies all the time and ask for a baby of your own about once a week. You are often interested in checking infant car seats and strollers that are reclined, searching for a small baby. Sometimes I ask you what your baby's name is and you usually tell me "Henry", which is the name of one of your toy trains, LOL!

Going to bed and sleeping have been quit the adventures lately. It seems the going to bed part is better, as in you aren't trying to drag it out for every precious minute of staying up later. Now, we tuck you in, hand you your Pooh bear flashlight and you read books or play cars in your bed for minutes or hours, until you fall asleep. One night last week I went in and cleared off your bed, thinking that you were asleep, only to check back in on you an hour later to find the toy semi truck, flashlight, and water sippy cup that I had just removed, snuggled back under the covers with you. We leave your door open now, a night light on in your room, and another on in the bathroom. Around 5 or 6 a.m. you wander in to our room and lay down on the "bed" we've made you on the floor next to our bed: a camping mattress, some blankets, and a pillow. You are usually really good about just laying down, pulling a blanket over yourself, and going back to sleep. When I wake up to get ready for work, I tuck you in to our bed and you snuggle up to daddy to sleep for another hour or so.

Last Saturday we went to a spring training game! You wore your D-backs hat proudly and lasted until the 8th inning! We had such a good time eating sno cones and you loved playing with the flip up ballpark seats. Today, we were driving home from dropping daddy off at school and you saw a bulletin board ad for the spring training games. You said "I went to a baseball game!" and then you asked if we could go to one "right now". I'm hoping we'll get to go to another one later this month with one of your little friends.

I've been learning how to keep house lately and you are quite the helper. You love to climb up on the furniture to help me wipe windows, mirrors, and swipe at dust bunnies! We went to the ostrich farm not too long ago and fed the deer, ostriches, emus, and the lorikeet birds. I bought us each a feather duster and you love to help me dust once a week. Vacuuming is always exciting because you like to crash your pretend vacuum (usually your toy grocery cart or doll stroller) in to my vacuum and cry out "Crash!".

Lately, I've been taking you out in the sling again. Ever since you were born, your dad and I started wearing you in a sling and it still comes in handy today! We are working hard on teaching you to hold hands whenever you are on black street (including parking lots and such). Sometimes, I worry because we live so close to busy streets, so I just pop you in the sling until we get to our destination (usually Target). You seem to really enjoy being carried right now. You'll snuggle up to me in the sling and I think you can see more being high up than when we have you walk on your own holding our hands. I love the conversations we have while you are in the sling at this age. You'll point to something and talk about it or ask me a question. We'll sing songs or play peek a boo with the tail of the sling. Another reason I use the sling is because you don't enjoy sitting in the stroller for short trips out of the house; you prefer to push it, which isn't very efficient when I need to get things done!

We were thinking about putting you in preschool next year, but now we're going to keep you home. You enjoy learning new things and can easily count from 1-10, sometimes to 16 (that's how many stairs we have and where we first started counting on a regular basis). You love to memorize books we read to you over and over again and lately you've started singing songs! It's so much fun to see a new piece of knowledge click with you, that aha moment when you figure something out.

I hope to write you a little letter every month on here, because I don't update the blog as much as I used to.

Love you, Mom

Finally!

So it's been a really, really, really long time since I updated. Let's start with the San Diego trip the first week of December! Kevin and Kyle joined me in San Diego for a week while I was there for a work training. My training went smoothly, we stayed in a really nice hotel, and Kevin and Kyle got to go to experience all the southern CA attractions. Kyle started eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches on this trip and has continued to do so since we got home (he'll do jelly now too)!

Tropical bird at the Wild Animal Park

Carousel

Hippos

Petting zoo

Shamu

Turtles

At the beach one night

Kyle often insisted on pushing his own stroller!

After that trip comes the holidays! Christmas was great this year. Kyle received a package in the mail every single day before Christmas. On Christmas morning, he kept saying "I don't want to open any more presents!" after opening one. He just wanted to play! It was really cute. We were in Tucson for Christmas, then headed to Phoenix, Pinetop, and Flagstaff for the rest of vacation. Kyle has been talking up a storm since around Thanksgiving. In Flagstaff we went for some coffee one morning and a guy walks in, goes behind the counter, makes a drink and talks to the two girls who are working the morning shift. He was tall, had medium length brown hair, and a beard. Kyle says, "Mama, it's Jesus! That's God mama, it's Jesus!". He said it a few times and we explained to him that the man wasn't Jesus, even if he looks like some of the pictures of Jesus in Kyle's Bible story books. Everyone in the coffee shop had a good laugh, including ourselves.

I'm enjoying work, although it does make us quite a bit busier. Kevin still watches William four mornings a week and I watch Rose and her siblings one day a week. Kyle is in tumble and art class again this winter. I like to hit the zoo once a week since we have the membership too.

Kyle is learning to enjoy a lot more foods lately. He loves to play trains since he received a train table with tracks and trains for Christmas. Reading is still a favorite pastime of his, in addition to dancing when we have music on. Lately, he'll sing too if he knows the songs we're listening to. He's been hanging out in the kitchen more, helping me cook and watching Kevin do the dishes. He would still live outside all day long if we let him! We've been working on manners and just today he said "thank you" to the cashier at Trader Joe's after the guy gave him his kid cart back, without being prompted!

Over the past couple weeks, Kyle's been going through a sleep stage I guess you'd call it. He started getting up and joining us in our bed in the middle of the night. We don't really care if he joins us when he's having a tough night. The initial problem was getting him to stay in bed! We finally figured out that he just wanted his door open now, instead of closed (how we've put him to bed since he was an infant). As long as he stays in bed, he gets to have his door open and it's been no problem at all! He's still going to bed at 8 and waking up around 7, in addition to about a 2 hour nap every afternoon. We're very lucky to still have that nap, from the sounds of some of his friend's parents, a lot of 2 year olds seem to be phasing their naps out of the schedule already!

Well, that's all I have time for tonight. Have a great week!

Parent Hacks!

Hey everyone, I know there is a lot of updating to do, but briefly I wanted to let you know that one of our "parent hacks" was posted on the Parent Hacks website (one of my favorite parenting blogs)! You can find it here.

Toddler puke

There's something about watching a small child throw up that just breaks your heart. Kyle was up a good part of the night doing just that, at the beginning he threw up at least 5 times in 1 1/2 hours. We, of course, called the doctor and were told to wait it out. It seems that the frequency died down a little, and Kevin graciously took nurse duty last night, as I was planning on going to work this morning.

It started with Kyle waking up around midnight, which has happened off and on since returning from our trip to CA. We often put him back to bed in his own bed, but he does wander in to our room and climb in to bed with us sometimes. Last night, he went back to bed in his room, but then showed up on my side of the bed, so I pulled him up to sleep with us. Well, the next thing I know he's gagging and I realize there's something wet on my pillow! Oh no, he's puking. I later found it not only on our pajamas, but in my hair too. He threw up about every 20 minutes until 1:45, and the last I heard he had thrown up twice throughout the rest of the night. Kevin is still sleeping with him in the bedroom, so I don't have an update right now. My boss kindly asked me not to bring myself (and the potential stomach virus) in to work this morning. I also had to call all of our little charges, since today was a watch William and Rose day, and ask them to make other arrangements for their kids.

It is so sad to hear him crying "no, no way, no more" while he's throwing up. We did end up using one of his toy shelf bins as the catcher, as we only own glass bowls.

So, anyways, send a prayer Kyle's way. The poor little guy is not feeling well at all. I'll update on CA later, with pictures.

Thanksgiving

I finally found the camera, with our video camera. Now, why didn't I think to look there in the first place?!?!

This past weekend went pretty smoothly, all things considered. We were in Phoenix for Kevin's sister's wedding and all three of us were participants. The crowning moment was when Kevin walked out to where the bridesmaids were having pictures taken with Kyle in his tux pants and football shirt. Kevin insisted he couldn't get Kyle in to the tux so while the groomsmen were getting pictures taken (minus Kyle!), I did my best to reason with a 2 year old about why he needed to wear a tux that night. We were sitting in the hallway, in front of the snack machine, when it hit me: "Kyle, I'll get you anything you want out of the snack machine if you put your tuxedo on". Kyle's reply "Ok, Cheetos"! I really, truly thought he'd pick M & M's. The problem was, I made a promise with no money on me (who has pockets on a bridesmaid's dress?), but Uncle Isaac came to the rescue with a dollar, Kyle got Cheetos, and I got a 2 year old in a tux! He walked down the aisle with his pillow, handed it to me, then ran back down the aisle to nana; thankfully, that all happened before the bride started her walk down the aisle. He did stay in his tux a good part of the night and I think he was one of the best dancers out on the floor (someone tell Joey he's got a future in throwing toddler dance parties)! I got some video, but the lighting wasn't that great, so we'll see if it's good enough to post.

Thanksgiving overall, was less stressful than usual for me. We saw everyone, but my dad, and that was due to a last minute work emergency. There was a lot of Kevin's family in town and most of them hadn't seen Kyle since he was a baby. I'd say we all had quite a bit of fun this weekend.

Did I tell you we left half of our monitor in Phoenix...for the second time in a month! My mom mailed it to us last time, but this week Kevin tried sleeping on the floor in Kyle's room. That wasn't working so well, so we put up the gate across the hallway and opened Kyle's bedroom door when we went to bed. That seemed to work pretty well. As soon as Kyle got up this morning, he said "gate" and I explained to him why we had the gate up and he seemed okay with the whole deal. Why do we still use a monitor? Because we use fans in both bedrooms to drown out various other noises related to apartment living so we can sleep!

In other news, we're heading to San Diego next week! I know I mentioned it before, but I can't believe it's less than a week away now. We've been reading Kyle a book called "Goodnight Beach" and telling him about the ocean. I think Kevin wants to take him to the San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. I think Kevin wants to go to Legoland, LOL. We haven't been to California in a really long time and I'm excited even though I'll be working. On the plus side, I'm racking up a whole week of comp time! Oh how I love working part time!

Today was a lot of fun for me and Kyle. We watched Rosie, then headed to the Zoo for zoolights. It was a members only night and free for us! We walked around a little, but spent the most time in a big grassy area where they had a steel drum band doing Christmas songs. Oh, how Kyle danced! It was so cute and there were so many kids for him to run around with. Around 7:00 he started asking for dinner. I told him he could have anything he wanted and he requested Peter Piper Pizza. So, we did a late night pizza (for him at least) and I found a lone token for him to play skeet ball. He won 5 tickets and was so proud of them! We went over to the counter to exchange them for a toy. I told him he could have a toy from the bins with a "5" on them because we had 5 tickets. Well, he chose something from the "25" bin, which makes me laugh now because there was a "5" on it, now wasn't there? The girl behind the counter gave him the glow in the dark lizard worth 25 tickets and he was pleased as punch. When we got out of the car at home, he put the lizard on the ground to see if it would run off, LOL!!! I love the way his mind works at this age.

In regards to Christmas, we're planning on staying right here at home. You are welcome to come see us on Christmas Eve, Christmas day, whatever suits your fancy. We'll be in Phoenix at some point, but will be spending the actual holiday at home. Also, if you'd like some ideas for Kyle for Christmas, please check out The Cool Mom Picks blog by clicking on the graphic to the right of my posts or go to Kyle's wishlist.

I did it!

Our camera is MIA, for the second time this year! I'm so flustered not being able to take any pictures of all the cute things Kyle does everyday lately. The other night in the bath tub he learned how to use one of the water squirting toys and every time he squirted himself in the face he would yell out "I did it"! It's really neat to hear him using the correct personal pronouns too.

Kyle is getting really, really tall! I'm often asked "Is he 3" by other moms when we're out and about. Older children talk to him and then come up to me "Can he talk"? LOL. He is a little shy about talking with other people if he doesn't know them, even kids.

We've noticed that Kyle really was listening all those hours we spent reading books to him these past 2 years because now he "reads" to himself from his favorite books almost verbatim of how we read them to him! It's so cute to see him pick up "Goodnight Moon" start flipping pages, and saying the story.

My job is going really well in that I still love it! We will be heading to San Diego the first week of December for my job; I'll be in training sessions most of the time, but Kevin and Kyle will be seeing the sights and playing on the beach.

Basketball

There is something about having a child, loving a child, raising a child that is completely eye opening in a way no one can explain to you; it's something you have to experience yourself. Kyle teaches me things I already know in a new light everyday. I love it!

Tonight we took him to the U of A red/blue game. We took him when he was only 3 months old I think it was, but missed last year, so this was his second time attending. Kevin narrated the game for Kyle and had him shouting things like "Go Wildcats"! Kyle lasted a good 35 minutes and then said he was "all done" and wanted to "go home". Of course, as soon as we're walking out to the car he starts talking about "basketball game" and "go back", LOL. It was his bedtime, so we went home. Maybe next year he'll last through the first half of the game!

He has been singing more lately and reading to himself out loud! So, not really reading, but spouting out the memorized text to the stories that we've been reading to him.

That's all I can remember for now; it's just too late to be working on a good post!

Yes, we're still here and Kyle is still growing up!

Well, you've probably guessed by now (due to the dormant blog) or I've told you that I got the job! Yep, my official title is "academic instructor", but really I'd say I'm more like the English Language Learner coordinator. I work M-Th 8-noon and F noon-4. It's great! I love going to work and Kyle is doing really well having Kevin home with him in the mornings. I'm on salary and could have had benefits, but we decided to stick with Kev's from the university. We still nanny (I say "we" because Kevin is taking care of our morning charge, William).

So, Kyle is amazing, as usual! He counted to 10 the other day all by himself; he was looking out a window at nana's house, counting buses. I was sitting on the bed next to him and it was awesome to hear him count all the way from 1-10 with no mistakes by himself. We don't deliberately count stuff all the time, but we do count the stairs just about every time we go up and down from the apartment. We've seen a lot of family the last couple weeks, and will be seeing a lot more in the weeks to come! Kyle warmed up to his grandparents, aunts, and uncles faster this time than he has in the past. He's been trying new foods lately too. We noticed he likes to lick things (besides food), so we ask him to lick a new food first to see if he likes it, then he'll normally try a bite if the food passed his lick test! It's so cool to see him eating things like trail mix and hummus. He's been asking for tacos lately, and we had no idea where that had come from until Kevin was packing his lunch and as soon as he pulled out the cheese crackers, Kyle started saying "tacos", LOL. Who knows how some associations come about?!?! Kyle has been climbing in to and out of his carseat all by himself lately. He does usually prefer to walk by himself when we're going somewhere, but lately has been asking me to hold him more again. He's getting so heavy, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to carry him around for extended periods of time. The sling still works, but I can't wear it comfortably for near as long as I used to since he's in the 30lb range. This evening we all went and played miniature golf and Kyle loved it! It was his first time and he figured it out quick. He would place his ball near the hole and use a variety of ways to putt it in. He liked all the different water features, caves, and topsy turvy curves of the course. I think we'll definitely try it again as a family outing.

Lastly, I ran my first 5K this morning. Kevin said I came in at 33 minutes, my official time on the website is 35 minutes. In my category (20-29 year old women), I was 26th out of 37 competitors and overall I came in 143rd out of 281 runners. I pushed Kyle in the jogging stroller the whole way! He did awesome and pointed out the dogs, trains, and other kids we saw as we ran along. This is the first truly competitive thing I've done since we first got pregnant with Kyle. I think I'd like to do a couple more races before we try for another baby.

Next weekend is going to be fun: I have a wedding shower, a baby shower, and my 10 year high school reunion! All my favorite girlfriends who I've kept in touch with are coming and I'm so excited to see them.

Bedtime

I've always enjoyed putting Kyle to bed, his bedtime routine. Lately he's been so cute about it! Last night he started talking after I finished praying for him and Kevin asked "Kyle are you praying to Jesus?" and he says "Yes". Then tonight, after I finished praying I asked Kyle if he wanted to talk to Jesus and he says "Yes", so I wait and he talks and I hear him finish with the word Jesus. I ask him if he's all done and he says Yes again. It is so sweet. Then as I tuck him in I always say "Goodnight Kyle, I love you, see you in the morning" and lately he's been saying "Goodnight mama, I love you". The funniest part is he pretends to snore as Kevin and I leave the room and close his door. That's all, just wanted to share.

We are busy!

So, what can I tell you in the few minutes before Kyle wakes up from his nap...?

Well, none of us are sick and I've been able to keep up with all the laundry; our new washer is much quieter than the old one. We are using all cloth diapers now, even for naps and overnight! There are still a couple pull ups lurking in the house and we keep a pampers in the car for unexpected emergencies. We moved the piano in to the main living area and I put the playpen up in our room where the piano was formerly stationed. Well, Kyle has decided that he needs to take all of his naps in the the "crib", so he is currently taking his nap in our room in his playpen. This has been going on for almost a week I'd say.

We are busy busy busy! Kyle has lots of friends that we see often and we are starting up his tumble class and an art class this week. Ever since his birthday, we've been to the zoo at least once a week because he is now the proud owner of a zoo pass! All of his birthday gifts have been getting a lot of extra attention these past couple weeks.

Kyle is talking up a storm and teaching us new things about raising kids every single day! I know you can't learn how to raise children by reading books, but I still work on gleaning wisdom and advice from the so called experts. My latest foray into the parenting book realm is Parenting with Love & Logic. So far, I would highly recommend it!

As far as my life goes, I'm teaching the effective reading course again on the weekends, playing softball on Thursday nights, and going to Bible study Friday mornings. I'm still trying to get a regular jogging schedule going, but with watching another little boy in the mornings it looks like I may need a double jogger to get it done!

Next week I have a job interview and that's all I'm going to tell you unless it pans out! So, if you would please put that interview in your prayers I would very much appreciate it.

And lastly, a Kyle story: Kevin usually wakes Kyle up, except for on Sundays. Well, we've both noticed that when we go to get him in the morning Kyle is cuddled up with his Bob the Builder tool belt (minus the tools). We never tuck him in with it, so he must grab it in the night! So cute and funny to see him laying in bed all snuggled up clutching a tool belt.

This and that

So, I wanted this post to be about all the things I remember that Kyle was doing last year, but that he's not doing this year (like nursing, walking but not running, using sign language instead of talking, etc...). However, Kyle woke up around midnight with a fever and I woke up with a sore throat, so we're out of commission for a few days!

I will give you the updates from Kyle's 2 year old checkup: 36 inches tall, 27 lbs, and everything looks good all around!

Our washer had an oil leak, so we picked up a used one off of craigslist last night. However, it seems to not have that safety feature where the cycle stops when you open the lid. So, Kevin is going to fix that and then I can do laundry. Yes, we have quarter machines right downstairs, but with us being sick, I'm not going there today. So here's to laundry load number 6 piling up in our hallway. I did have to make a run by the cloth diaper store for a pound of retired diapers to hold us over until we're up and running again. Ah well, cheaper than a box of huggies, that's for sure!

Have a great holiday weekend!

He's 2 years old!

That's right, our little boy is growing up! He turned 2 today with a big birthday bash at the splash park. Thank you to everyone who helped out and attended. We had a great time seeing all of you and hope you had a good time too! Kyle made some progress over last year's party by opening his own presents and not being afraid of the cake. Pictures to come!

A few new things

Kyle and I have been so busy all week! Errands and chores galore. Today we sold some clothes to a resale store here in town, went to library storytime, and had lunch at a sit down restaurant! It was time to cash in for my birthday burger at Red Robin, so I chanced taking Kyle out all by myself. As many of you know who have eaten out with us, he doesn't sit still for long! After a prayer and an explanation of what we were doing and how I expected him to behave, we went to eat. Kyle was awesome! He stayed in the booth the entire lunch, and our waitress was even a little relaxed, so it took longer than I anticipated. I got to eat my whole burger and he eat 3/4 of a kids pizza. After lunch we went to see the puppies at the pet store (Red Robin is in the mall) and then played at the indoor playground. It was a great afternoon!

My brother came to see us on Tuesday and we all went clothes shopping. At the Vans store, Kyle picked up a slip on Vans shoe with flames on it. He clodded around the store in the one shoe while Uncle Steve tried some shoes on. Then we decided to have them bring out the shoes in Kyle's size. Well, they accidentally brought out some with dragons on them and Kyle said "no" and pointed to the flame shoes. Okie doke. We finally got a pair of flames in the right size and Uncle Steve treated Kyle to his new trendy Vans for his birthday. I was so nostalgic about it all. Steven and I lived in Vans the first couple years we raced BMX because everyone used flat pedals then. I remember going to nationals and the Vans semi truck would be there selling the now very trendy slip on style for $10 a pair. My favorite was a pair of purple ones I had until there were holes in the toes. They matched my bike which had all purple anodized parts. Kyle didn't take his new shoes off until bedtime that night and immediately chose them to wear the next day.

Also, we just got our new cloth diapers in! Well, new to us. We've decided to stop spending money on diapers and picked up 4 nice cloth diapers with super soaker inserts for the remainder of Kyle's diapering days (we still have 4 or 5 retired covers and 20-30 trifolds). These will mostly be used for nap and nighttime. The kind we got are Drybees. They are so nice compared to our covers and prefolds. I used the Drybees all day today, even while we were out and it was super easy. Kyle has been using the potty about once a day successfully this whole week! He had been on a potty strike all summer, but we started a new morning routine that includes a potty stop and he's taken advantage of that a few times. He'll let us give him his privacy and read about 12 books to himself while he goes potty. I went to the bathroom this afternoon and he comes in, does the sign for book, then proceeds to bring me some of his books to read to him while I pee; LOL!

I guess that's about all! Have a great weekend; I know I will!

A walk I won't soon forget...

After dinner tonight, we all walked to the mall to see the puppies. Kyle pushed his little play stroller alongside/behind Kevin pushing the big jogger stroller (in case Kyle got tired) and it was too cute! Kyle loves to walk anywhere except the sidewalk; like the grass, rocks, bushes, etc...

We were almost to the mall and Kyle stepped right on a piece of cactus! I totally freaked out, but Kevin picked him up and I pulled the needles out. It was in his heel and the heel of the shoe. He cried and said "Kyle owie!" a bunch of times. We asked if he wanted to go home and he said "No, puppies", so we went to the mall. I put him down gingerly in his bare feet at the pet shop and he tiptoed around for a few minutes until a German Shepard pup started jumping for him and then Kyle danced around for the puppy. His feet don't seem to be bothering him at all and I am so thankful. We did wash/soak his feet in the sink after we got home, which he loved because he could stomp his feet and make huge splashes. I think he'll be okay. I'm the one who will be putting us both in socks and tennis shoes all week!

That's all the excitement for today.

Rough week

This week has been tough. Kyle has been up almost every night and super clingy during the day. I've still taken him out and we've seen some friends almost every day. We went swimming twice in one day, hung out at the splash park, and today we went to the zoo.

We went to the zoo by ourselves and it was awesome. There was hardly anyone there and Kyle walked the entire zoo all by himself. There were a few animals that weren't around, so after Kyle finished walking the zoo, I popped him in the sling and we checked on the animals we hadn't seen earlier and they were all out! He got to see everything today and it was so cool. He talked and talked and talked the whole time we were at the zoo. We spent two hours. I wanted to take him at least one more time before he turned two because then we have to pay for his admission. I may try to get a zoo membership, because I think he would go once a week with the way he loves seeing animals.

Have a great weekend!

Kyle ate and ate and..

ate today. Four bowls of cereal this morning and two bowls of mac n cheese for lunch; kid size bowls, but still! He NEVER eats that much, ever!

We spent a day'ish in Phoenix this weekend seeing family. Kyle did great, except when it came to napping. The Tatums left this morning; very bittersweet as we're excited for them to move on, but sad to not have them nearby. At least the timezone won't be so problematic with them in Wisconsin instead of Jordan!

We are busy, too busy I think. I picked up a little more nannying for the school year: 2 hours a morning, Monday-Thursday. And then, of course, tutoring should pick up here soon, in addition to my reading class. I do need to call my boss about that class as I haven't heard much this summer.

Kevin is plugging along with his program and chatted with me about doing a post doc here as a possibility...which means we'd be here 4 more years instead of 2 more years. I couldn't say how serious he was about it, but it has given me this desire to look for a place to live. Like, a 3 bedroom so we could have more kids and not feel suffocated in our 2 bedroom apartment. Additionally, I'd prefer to not drag an infant, toddler, and groceries up and down these stairs for the next few years.

I'm not complaining, just thinking ahead.

In other news, Kyle's birthday is coming up and we'd love for you to join us in celebrating his 2nd year:

August 26th, 2007
3:30 p.m.
Brandi Fenton Park, Ramada B
Make sure you wear/bring something to get wet in. We're right next to the splash park!

Not sure what a two year old might be in to? We made him a wish list on amazon:



Ah yes, and in hindsight, Kevin and I celebrated our 4th anniversary last week. Time just flies by! Although, I know we've been married awhile because I no longer remember what it feels like to be a newlywed nor do I feel qualified to give any kind of advice on the first couple years of marriage. I love that it feels like we've always been married!

I hope you are getting as much rain and fantastic weather as we are here in Tucson! It almost feels like fall most days. Come visit us anytime!


We're back!

Did you even know we were gone?!?! Yep, we left for Phoenix last Wed. night after Kevin and I got off work, then headed to Lake Havasu to see The Tatums for a couple days and meet their newest arrival, Rowan. Kyle did great traveling, the portable DVD player may have had something to do with that (thanks Kristy!). We got to do some sightseeing and just hang out; it was a lot of fun. Kyle did somersaults at the house where we were staying: right in to a couch, poor thing, and ended up with quite the bruise. Additionally, he got bit by the tiniest little dog while trying to retrieve one of his pacifiers from the dog's mouth without assistance from mommy and daddy! We even got to spend a day or so in Phoenix and see some family. It's been awhile since all 3 of us have been in town for an extended period of time. Kyle's favorite part of our trip had to be running through the birds underneath the London Bridge.

Kyle is talking more and more and more lately; as I'm sure anyone who saw him this weekend will attest to! I can't believe he'll be 2 years old in a month! Not only that, Kevin and I will be celebrating our 4th anniversary in a little over a week and I'll be turning 28 in the next couple weeks. August is a really busy "family holiday" month.

Today Kevin and I had physicals in order to up our life insurance. There is something about having kids that makes you think "what if". For those of you who know me well, I survived the blood draw with flying colors and no fainting!

I guess that's about it!

So a couple things I thought I'd share with you...

The other day I walk in to the bathroom and find Kyle has completely unrolled the brand new roll of toilet paper on to the floor. He looks at me and makes the sound for a monkey. After a brief moment of puzzlement, *smack*, Curious George, that's right. Now my son is imitating behavior from his favorite movies. I ask "Curious George?" and he emphatically nods his head and exclaims "Ah hu"!

When I talk to people using the speakerphone, Kyle will say "bye bye *insert name here*" when he's ready for me to hang up.

There was something that happened this morning too, but I'm blanking on it. In other news, Kyle is loving swim lessons now that we switched to an evening session and Kevin can come with us. He is totally comfortable, even going under water!

Kyle is waking up twice a night and I'm not really sure why. Okay, so he had yet another leaky diaper the other night, so that's expected, but that doesn't explain his continued waking up. I thought maybe he wanted to wear pajamas, because we run a fan on him when he sleeps. Usually, all he wears is a diaper because his room gets hotter than the rest of the apartment. However, I guess his 18 mos pajamas don't really fit anymore. The arms are tight. I didn't realize this and put him to bed last night. Forty minutes later he's still up and asking for "momma", so Kevin goes in and Kyle asks to have his jammies taken off. Kev said the arms were really tight, which I guess I never noticed putting them on (bad mommy!). Oh well, stuff like that happens by the end of the day! I'm convinced that I should go to bed when Kyle does and I'd be much more productive.

Oh right, Kyle falls asleep in the bike seat. So cute, on a less than one mile ride home from the mall, he was out!

Tonight Kyle started jumping off of our ottoman on to the floor! He's always done this kind of one footed hop/jump before, but tonight he was jumping with both feet! The only thing we are trying to teach him is to say "Mama/Dada jump" if he wants one of us to catch him; it's a little alarming to have a child fly in to you when you're not expecting it!

Lastly, Kyle does this "happy dance" whenever he's really excited about something. He does his one footed hop and goes around in circles shouting whatever he's excited about, e.g. milk! milk! milk! or truck! truck! truck!; I hope you'll get to see it before he grows out of this stage.

Kyle's 1st Fireworks

Fireworks were a hit last night! We put Kyle down for a later nap than usual, and headed over to the park where we wanted to watch fireworks around 8 p.m.. Kyle played and played with some other children sitting near us, but as soon as the show started he was mesmerized and sat with us to watch. He did the sign for "flowers" to describe the fireworks.