Grama Sue's Backyard

It's been nice enough weather here in Midland for Kyle to go outside and play. Grama Sue's house has a great outdoor patio and a big backyard, too. He loves being able to run around on the grass, get into the dirt, hear the birds, and feel the wind blow. I like having an enclosed area for him to play in, so I don't have to worry about him running into the street (or the water, in Miami's case.) It makes me excited about having a backyard of my own someday.

Back to School

After my downtown meeting going over "Math Melodies," Kyle and I went back up to the school to see more friends and visit the students one last time. Kyle was ready to just get up to a desk and get to work!


I don't know if anything amazing will come from my meeting this morning, but I made a goal for 2009 to do something with my math songs, and I'm determined to stick with that goal. I kind of went in with low expectations, like Marty in Back to the Future: "What if I send it in and they tell me I'm no good? What if they say "Get outta here, kid, you got no future"?
I didn't want to have to take that kind of rejection, and I don't think I will have to. We'll just have to wait and see what happens in the future.

Grandmas, Grandmas Everywhere

While we're here in Midland, we get to stay with Grama Sue (or, Great-Grama Sue, in Kyle's case.) It's also been fun to play with Auntie-Deb!

It just so happened that Grandma Timee was also in Midland this week, so we got to see her, too! We went to lunch today and were supposed to see Grandma Anne and Grandma Polly, but they couldn't make it. There's just so many Grandmas here and so little time!



P.S. I keep forgetting to post a picture of my new, darker hair color, so here's a pretty good one before I forget again!

My Half Birthday

I have only six more months left of my 20's. In a mere half-year, I will be starting the next decade of my life. I better make this one last! There's still so much to be done until I actually hit the "Big 3-0."

I was able to spend a few hours with some good friends today. Kyle and I went up to Jane Long, my old stomping grounds, to have lunch with Michele and Rhonda and to say hello to all my former co-workers. No one could believe how much Kyle has grown since September. I especially enjoyed seeing my students from last year. You would have thought Obama himself walked into that school, giving away kitchens and cars, with the reception I received. My former students happened to be in line for lunch when I walked in to sign in, and they came spilling out of the cafeteria like it was on fire when they saw me. For about a second, I missed my years of teaching....maybe half a second. I do love those kids, the absolute best group of students I ever had and by far my favorite year of teaching--a great year to end on. I miss them, but not so many other parts of teaching and not enough to get back into the field, if I can help it. But, who knows what will happen in my 30's?

Mommy vs. Kyle

I decided that Kyle and I do not make very good traveling buddies because we differ in a few major opinions on what makes travel fun/bearable.

1) I like to sleep on planes; Kyle does not.

Even with only having about 20 minutes of a nap earlier in the day, Benadryl in his system, and leaving on our last flight an hour and 1/2 after his normal bedtime, that kid wouldn't close his eyes. I think sleeping makes the time go by faster. Not sleeping, coupled with the fact that I had to stay awake and keep a toddler entertained did not a fun OR fast trip make.

2) I like to drink my complimentary beverage without spitting it out all over myself; Kyle does not.

At least I had a blanket to sop up the mess.

3) I like to be quiet and not disturb the other passengers; Kyle does not.

Yep. He screamed and threw a few tantrums, even to the point that the woman in front of us wanted to change seats. I finally just got up with him and walked the aisles. (Boy, it's fun to see all those irritated looks as you walk past the other people on the flight!) We also spent a lot of time in the back of the plane in that area where the flight attendants hang out and fix the beverages.

4) I like to turn on my iPod and chill out to some good tunes; Kyle hates headphones/ear buds.

I even brought the DVD player and The Lion King, thinking that might kill half the flight. It lasted about 35 minutes because Kyle kept getting frustrated that by having the headphones on and even more frustrated when he took them off and couldn't hear the movie.

5) I don't like to climb up the backs of the chairs, jump off the arm rests, stand or sit on the trays, jump up and down on the seats, crawl on the floor, or bang my head against the wall when I'm mad; Kyle thinks it's great fun.

He really got mad when I had to make him sit still on my lap for take-off and landing.

6) During a lay-over, I like to get something to eat and find a place to relax, listen to music, and read; Kyle likes to run all over the aiport and into the restrooms to throw away trash he picked up off the floor.

That 3-hour lay-over was a killer.


With all our traveling differences, there's one thing we can agree on: It's great to finally get to the destination!!! (By the way, whoever said, "It's all about the journey, not the destination," was either crazy or not traveling with a child or both.

Today's Thoughts

My brain needs a rest from a few of the random ideas swimming around in there, so I'm just going to drop them off here.

1) What are we going to do without the free Chick-fil-a breakfast specials we've been getting everyday for the month of February? Our local Chick-fil-a has been giving out a different free breakfast entree every weekday for the whole month! Today was the last day for me, since Kyle and I are flying to Midland. We sure are going to miss that morning drive.

2) Speaking of morning drives...
This morning, on the way to Chick-fil-a, I almost got in a wreck. It was 8 o'clock traffic, crazier than usual. We were just coming down the over-pass when traffic came to a sreaching halt...out of nowhere. I thought there was a wreck up ahead because everyone seriously had to slam on their brakes. I actually pulled over a little into the shoulder to avoid slamming into the SUV in front of me. It turns out, there was no wreck at all. At the bottom of the hill, a cop had someone pulled over. I guess she (yes, a female officer) was done giving the ticket and didn't want to wait for a pause in traffic, so she just turned on her lights and tried to cut right into the flow. What a moron!!! She's lucky she didn't cause a wreck. The most ridiculous part of all of this was that she could have waited for about 35 more seconds and there was a HUGE gap in traffic!!!

3) Stephen and I played Phase 10 the other night and I couldn't believe the hand I was dealt on Phase 7. For those who don't know off-hand, that's the phase that requires 2 sets of 4. I was dealt SIX 11's and a Wild Card! Guess what the next card I picked up was? Yep. An 11! What are the odds that anyone would get that kind of a hand AND have it be on the exact phase that required 2 sets of 4 AND then pick up the very card to complete 2 sets of 11's. I thought it was pretty amazing, so I had to share.

4) I love the band U2. They are coming out with a new album next week, their first in several years. Apparently, I'm the last fan out there who hasn't already heard it via the internet. I hate being out of the loop.

That's it. I just needed to free up some thinking space on my hard drive! That should do, for now. Thanks.

Time-Out

Here's a place Kyle is starting to become quite familiar with, Our Time Out Corner! He's having a rough day today and has already been there twice: once for trying to hit me when I took away his car after he threw it down the stairs; the second time was for getting mad and throwing his sippy cup across the room after spitting his milk out all over himself. (You can see evidence of that in the pictures.) Pretty much all of Kyle's "time-out" offenses include some sort of lashing out when he's frustrated: throwing objects, trying to hit someone, or banging his head against a hard surface. (I don't see why he hates it so much....look at that comfy Boppy pillow he gets to sit on!)

I make him stay there for a minute OR as long as it takes for him to stop crying, get himself under control, and come give me a hug and kiss. (He can't really say "sorry," so that's the closest thing I could come up with.) It's amazing how much he understands about the whole thing. He must know when his minute is coming to an end because he usually starts to perk up:



Today he was really trying to turn on the charm because he heard the intro for "The Price is Right." He immediately stopped screaming and started to smile and clap his hands along with the audience, all while still in Time Out. What a little stinker! (I still love him, though.)

Be Thou an Example

New Beginnings is over and was a great success! I'm so grateful for all the hard work everyone put in to make this such a great event.

Tiffany and I were basically in charge of the planning. (Notice that I dyed my hair a little darker than usual.)


Kyle even got to be part of the big event because Daddy was studying. (Thank you, Stephen for coming to pick him up towards the end. I was SO ready for a break.)


We had a few talks, a special musical number, a slide show about Christ, we made pendants with all of the Young Women Value colors represented, introduced the young women who will be joining us this year, and had some yummy refreshments!


Hopefully all the girls had a wonderful time and will be inspired to be examples of our Savior and to make the world around them a better place by standing for truth and righteousness.

Party at the Park

The group that provides the anesthesia for this area hosted a party today, and we were invited! They really went all out: tons of food, fortune tellers, magicians, balloon artists, face painters, inflatable toys, a rock-climbing wall, and more! (Stephen ensured me that it's ok...there's plenty of money in anesthesia!) Stephen was able to hang out with his "peeps" and spend some time away from school or the hospital or studying. I was able to meet one of his teachers and see a few students who weren't at the Thanksgiving party.

With all the amazing activities to keep Kyle busy, you would think we could have stayed at this party all day. Instead of taking advantage of the provided fun, Kyle insisted on staying off the beaten path and heading straight for the pond.


He even went so far as to scoot down the hill when I told him not to walk down to the water. He is SO stubborn!!! He was nearly wading into the water when I stepped in, and he threw an ABSOLUTE fit when I carried him back to the center of the party. It wasn't much longer until we had to throw in the towel and head home...where he went straight to bed.

Sous Chef

Kyle sure enjoys helping me prepare dinner. (By "helping," I mean taking every last pot, pan, utensil, or appliance out of the cabinets and placing them all over the kitchen floor where I can easily trip over them while I'm trying to cook.) I think my little "sous chef" enjoys being second-in-command in the kitchen.

ROAR!!!

Kyle's new favorite thing to watch is Disney's The Lion King. He knows where the DVD is located, what the cover looks like, and even how to ask to watch this movie without using words. All he has to do is give a big ROAR, pointing to the television, and I know what he means. Once I agree to his movie-viewing demands, Kyle starts to get really excited. He usually roars a few more times, grins from ear-to-ear, and starts gasping with delight and anticipation of the film beginning. It usually goes a little something like this, with more roaring:

Once the movie starts, he's zoned in for the next four minutes. He can't get enough of "The Circle of Life" and all the animals on their way to the presentation of little Simba. I find it interesting how intensley he watches or how happy he gets when recognizes an animal he knows. I like to watch him flap like a bird when they fly onto the screen, trumpet like an elephant as they appear, and ROAR like a lion the second Mufasa enters the picture. I took a video of this, but I warn you that it's probably not suitable for most viewers, unless you are one of Kyle's parents or grandparents!!!! Most of you don't want to sit through 4 minutes of watching Kyle watch The Lion King.....trust me. It's seriously just a video Kyle staring, intently, at the tv, interspersed with a few of his own "comments" on what transpires there. I'm simply putting it on here so I know where to find it for the future!

New Beginnings

I've been busy with my new responsibilities in the Young Women program at church. One of our big activities is "New Beginnings," and Tiffany and I have been planning and preparing for this program for the last month. Today we got together and worked on a craft that will be part of the decorations and will be a gift to each one of the girls, to help them remember the theme for the year:


I think they turned out really well, and I look forward to all of our hard work paying off on Sunday. What a relief that will be when it's over!

*It was also fun to see our two boys playing together while we were making the craft. We could hear them laughing at each other from the other room (after Kyle whined for about the first hour we were over there....thinking I was going to leave him...like at church in nursery, maybe) and we tried to get a picture. Camden was pushing Kyle around on some kind of car and they were having such a fun time. Of course, right when I went to get the camera, they stopped playing. I'm glad Kyle is getting a chance to get to know friends that are close to his age.

500th Post

Today was truly a day when I needed to look back and remember what Kyle was like exactly one year ago:

I didn't get any pictures to document this 500th post because they would have just captured lots and lots of moments like this:



Perhaps I could have taken some photos of Kyle in "time out" because he spent a great deal of time there today. I might have been able to capture him banging his head against the wall or the floor or the couch or any other hard object, like he does when he's throwing a fit and not getting his way. Maybe I could have started taking pictures at 1:20 this morning, when he woke me up and wouldn't go back to sleep for over an hour; he just wanted to run around the living room and drink juice. I could have gotten many pictures to help document this day in history. Instead, I'll just think back and fill my mind with happy memories:

More Cheap Toys

Who knew you could have so much fun with two baby nose syringes?

Kyle found these "toys" a few weeks ago and has even (sort-of) learned how to use them properly. We've been cracking up seeing him play with these things for the last few days, and I was able to get a few pictures today!


Kyle has also found several other ways to be entertained with bulb syringes, beyond the proper use. They make great drum sticks. They can be used as weapons. He's also started to put them in the back of his Tonka truck and take them for a ride. Too funny!

Flu?

After our fun, Friday night date, we got a call on Saturday from the mom of our babysitter. Apparently, Kaitlyn (our babysitter) came home from babysitting and realized she had the flu sometime in the early morning hours. Shannan (the mom) just wanted to let me know so I could be on flu-watch for Kyle (and us.)

Kyle was great yesterday, but his core started to feel really hot last night. He woke up at 4:45, but didn't feel hot and was showing no other signs of sickness. I, however, wasn't feeling too hot: upset stomach, diarrhea, achy, exhausted. Thankfully, Stephen decided to stay home (instead of going to his early church meeting) and let me go back to sleep. We didn't want to take the chance of getting anyone at church infected, if we were going to develop the flu.

I am feeling a little bit better. Maybe the flu will pass over us, after all....knock on wood.

Happy Heart Day

Here's wishing you a very "Happy Valentine's Day!"

Stephen and I were able to actually go out on a real date-out of the house and without Kyle-last night to celebrate the day of love. Despite a rocky start: 1) The security rent-a-cop at the gate of our babysitter's neighborhood basically refused to let Stephen in, even after we gave them TWO phone numbers to call. Stephen was at the frustration level, so Shannan just decided to drive Kaitlyn out to meet him-on the other side of the gate. 2) We actually made it to the movie with time to spare, BUT while the commercials were still playing, Stephen was checking his phone, finishing up a text, and turning it to silent. Some old guy right behind us leaned over and started chewing him out about how "that phone is glaring right in my face." WHAT?! Stephen just said, "Okay," and finished what he was doing, putting the phone away before the commercials ended. Thank goodness "Old Man Winters" didn't say another word. He's likely to have gotten a mouthful back, since Stephen was still trying to recover from the frustrating experience with the security guard. (Stephen also thought the old man kicked my seat when he was trying to get our attention over the phone, so that added to the frustration.) Besides....IT WAS ONLY COMMERCIALS!! It's not like the previews had even started, for heaven's sake! There were people talking LOUDLY all over the theater, which is MUCH more annoying to me than someone finishing up stuff with their phone before the movie starts. (I'm ranting now, so I'll move on.)

We did have a great time after that. Father Time kept his mouth shut, and the movie was actually better than we expected. Then, we went out to eat at Outback, one of our favorites, to which we just happened to have some gift cards. There was only a 20-minute wait and we both had excellent meals, complete with the Sydney's Sinful Sundae for dessert! It was pretty much a perfect evening.

Today has been slow and relaxing....a nice treat. (Stephen was unavailable for pictures, as he's just been working on one of his PowerPoint presentations all day!) Kyle's been in a great mood and was excited, as always, to watch "The Lion King." Whenever you ask him if he wants to watch it, he roars, like this:

I just love his Valentine's Day shirt, "Born to break hearts!" He's getting so big, and we are amazed by something new he learns/does every day. (Just compare how much he's grown and changed since Valentine's Day 2008!)

Cheap Toys

While I'm working out downstairs, Kyle is also able to find things to keep him busy. He has hundreds of books and toys to play with, but he instead chooses to get into the ONE place in the house that is a total mess....the under-the-stairs closet. It's basically just a black hole for all the things that don't have another home: empty boxes, the baby swing, board games, the vacuum, and food storage/emergency essentials.

Kyle has learned how to open this closet and pull out some of the junk. His favorite stuff seems to be the food storage. He pulls out cans, peanut butter, and bottles of water and uses them to make towers which can then be knocked down. (Who needs expensive toys?)


It also makes me think that sometimes he's going "shopping" in there because he will grab something from the closet and put it into his little car.

He then "drives" home and stacks his groceries on the shelf. (More evidence of O.C.D. or just a sign that he's paying attention when we go to the real store?)

Fun at the Park

Kyle was in a great mood this morning at the park! It was nice to be able to talk to my friends and just seeing him playing and running around with a huge grin on his face. Even when he fell or got upset, he didn't really cry or throw one of his usual fits. Maybe the winds are changing. Maybe it's the warmth back in the air. Maybe....just maybe, it's the FREE Chick-fil-a breakfast sandwich we picked up on the way!

Six Months Ago

I'm a few days late, but about six months ago we were in Dallas for Hubba and Rebecca's wedding. It was hard to find something purple for a little boy to wear, (both of our brothers' weddings' colors were purple!) so Kyle just wore this multi-colored number:

It was a little bit too big for him then, but I thought I'd put him in it today in honor of Hubba and Rebecca's 6-month anniversary. It fits much better now, and he sure was being goofy today while I was trying to take some pictures!

Stairs

(I'm actually quite glad that we live in a place with stairs; I have plenty of time to have Kyle practice his climbing. When we first moved in, we thought about keeping gates up all of the time, but soon realized it was easier to just teach the little boy how to go up and down. (Plus, both of his grandparents have stairs at their homes, so we didn't want to worry about having him fall when we visit other places.)

Kyle took to stairs like a fish to water.....or maybe like a seal down ice, originally. (There's a video on that post of how he used to go down the stairs.)

Kyle doesn't need to slide down the stairs anymore-he's SO grown up!

At first, watching him do this freaked me out. Then I realized, "He's a boy. He's going to do crazy things and get hurt. I just need to try to make sure he doesn't kill himself." So far, so good!

Future Career?

Kyle likes to organize things. Lately, I've caught him lining up Goldfish crackers (or other snacks) on his tray or cars and trucks on the floor. I've also seen him get all of his Nilla Wafers and put them in a nice, neat row on a ledge of his book shelf or even on the top of the printer. He also keeps himself busy in the bath by putting all the toys in a line on the edge of the tub.
It started with all the rubber duckies. He's started to include other items, as well.

There's no particular pattern in his organization, yet. Maybe he's just being creative. Perhaps he has a future as a professional organizer? Maybe he's just going to be a little OCD. Time will tell.

I do love how proud he is of his accomplishments! (Ta-da!!!)

Sunday Morning

Church was pretty much a bust today. We had Stake Conference, an bi-annual meeting of all the members from our area, so our starting time was pushed back to 10:00 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. You would think that would help us out, but we were 10 minutes late. Blame it on me making French toast or on not getting in the shower until 9:00. Being late was hardly the big problem this morning.

The big problem began about 30 seconds after we walked in the doors. The big problem is about 3 feet tall and weighs 30 lbs. Can anyone guess the source of this problem and why I felt like it was a complete waste of time for us to have made all the effort to get to church?

Here he is:


Within 7 minutes, Kyle had already been through all the books we brought and 2 games of iPhone bowling and went straight on into screaming. Boy, am I glad we got up, got dressed, and drove all the way to church, only to have to head back out the doors 7 1/2 minutes later. I tried hanging out in the halls and in the "mom" room, but none of that was working. I waited until the intermediate hymn to motion to Stephen, and he made the decision to give up and head home.

Our intentions were honorable, but our actual actions fell short of the finish line. I guess all we can do is keep trying.