Chronicles: Unplugged

Sorry to all 3 (?) of my loyal readers, but I will be going off the blogosphere until the weekend. I'm off to chaperone youth conference in Orlando....in a cabin....at the LDS Ranch there. I'll have no internet or computer, and I'm just hoping I'll still be able to call home.

While I'm away on "vacation," unplugged from all social-networking sites, life will continue to be semi-normal here. I'm sure Kyle will still be watching his favorite movies, reading his favorite books, playing with his favorite toys, and getting to spend some time with friends and Daddy. If all that doesn't keep him busy, he can always sit back, relax, and plug into a favorite CD....

A Better Day

Yesterday's no-good, very bad status was replaced by a good day of productivity, fun, and family time today. Kyle and I got so much accomplished this morning: made breakfast, changed all the sheets, did laundry, swept, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen, ironed Stephen's scrubs, picked up the dry cleaning, went to the library, watched Shrek, read books....all before nap time! With so much going on, it was almost impossible to have time for throwing fits.

When Stephen got home, we all took a walk and then decided to go swimming. After that, we had a great dinner together, watched Wheel of Fortune, and had Family Home Evening.


Today definitely made up for yesterday.

Had a Bay Day

You had a bad day-
You're taking one down.
You sing a sad song just to turn it around.
You say you don't know.
You tell me don't lie.
You work at a smile and you go for a ride.

You had a bad day-
The camera don't lie.
You're coming back down, and you really don't mind.
You had a bad day;
You had a bad day~

It's days like today that make me wonder why I even bother. Why get up, shower, make sure my make-up is right, curl my hair, and plan the perfect outfit? Why feed, bathe, and properly dress Kyle, making sure his hair is combed, his nails clipped, his teeth brushed? Why pack up the bag with books, treats, diapers, and toys and get all the way to church, only to carry Kyle, screaming, from the chapel 11.2 minutes later?

Then, for added torture, why try to take him back in after he's, supposedly, calmed down, only to repeat this process twice more in an hour because he, TWICE, threw a fit that resulted in his head slamming against both the back of the pew and, when he flipped out over the original injury, the hymn-book holder on the back of the pew in front of us? So, not only do people hear the 2 loud head bangs, but they are treated to the blood-curdling screams which followed. Also, why didn't I remember to grab a diaper and wipes the last time I hauled him out because he pooped the minute we were outside the chapel? AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Plus, the topic of today's meeting was "Reverence." What a shining example we were. Why. Even. Bother???

*At least he has a few more bumps and bruises to add to the growing collection on his head.

Recent Crime Activity

A few nights ago, we were just sitting down to a nice dinner when, all-of-a-sudden, FOUR cops blaze onto our street, stop outside our place, and jump out of their cars, leaving the engines running.

(No, someone did not call CPS on me.)

Feeling like we might be able to be seen on Cops, we opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony to get a closer look. The officers were definitely looking for something/someone, but hustled down the street and out of view.

About 15 minutes later, one officer came back to her car (all the vehicles were still running) and opened the trunk to retrieve what looked like a form of some kind. I asked her if there was something going on that we should be worried about or not be going outside, but she just said something like, "It's not that big of a deal."

We were curious and wanted to know more, but it was clear she wasn't going to give us any info.

Yesterday, our property manager put a memo on our door, which we can assume correlates with the police visit. The notice was:

"to advise {us} of recent criminal activity in the area. Vehicle and apartment burglaries have been reported....It is recommended that you become acquainted with your neighbors, and stay alert to any suspicious activity. Keep your apartment home and car doors locked at all times, and be sure all windows are securely closed and locked....Please remove all enticing items from view inside your car...If crime is suspected, occurring, or needs to be reported, PLEASE DIAL 911 IMMEDIATELY. After first calling the police, please report all incidents to the Management Office....As you can appreciate, crime occurs everywhere and no noe can ensure your safety or the safety of your belongings. Although we care about your safety, we cannot provide or guarantee it, please remember that your security is your responsibility and that of the local law enforcement agencies."

There goes the neighborhood, but at least we know why the police were on our street.

I love that the office sends out a memo showing their concern (especially the part about calling them only after first calling 911, as if someone would be stupid enough to call the office manager BEFORE the police) and giving us advice on how to keep safe, but quickly makes it clear, for legal reasons I'm sure, that they are not liable, in any way, for a theft.

That's the kind of note on my door that really makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Gotta love Miami!

Before Someone Calls CPS......

...I'll go on the record about how he got the bruise on his forehead, the large scrape on his left temple, and the shiner under his right eye.



The black eye happened today. The book he was climbing on slipped out from underneath him, and he fell right into a living room side table. The other 2 marks happened when he tumbled down the stairs on Wednesday.

I promise I'm not abusing my child. Would I make this stuff up?

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day is an official holiday in the state of Utah. It celebrates the day when the first Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. In Utah, this holiday is much like 4th of July, with parades, fireworks, bar-be-ques, games, etc. In South Florida, we have to make our own celebrations, since no one is even aware that anything of significance happened on this day, so many years ago.

On Wednesday, for our Young Women activity, we learned how to churn our own butter in a jar and we made ice cream in a bag. (Who knows if early settlers really made ice cream, but I'd like to believe that everyone, even pioneers, looked forward to a sweet, frozen treat, every now-and-then!) It turned out SO great! Here's the recipes:

• Butter in a Jar
• Ice Cream in a Bag
  

In case you want something a little more active, here's some great ideas for games/activities pioneers used to play!

Happy Pioneer Day, y'all!

Pool Day

I missed a great photo today. I'm usually better about taking my camera with me because I know I'll want material to post, but I left it at home while we went to the pool to meet our play group today. I'll just have to try to explain, in less than 1,000 words, what this lost picture moment would have shown.

While at the pool, all the boys were coveting Kyle's car. Camden even decided to take matters into his own hands, jump behind the wheel, and start driving away. Even though Kyle was busy playing with me in the pool, jumping off the side onto a raft, the minute he noticed someone in HIS car, all hell started to break loose.....until he decided to steal Camden's soccer ball and even the score. He kept his eyes and ears open for Camden to let his guard down and abandon the stolen vehicle, at which time, Kyle grabbed the wheel, started running away, pushing the car to the opposite side of the pool. This back-and-forth play went on and on. Then, Jacob, another play mate, discovered his own love for the little, red convertible. Camden tried to get back in the hot seat, without luck, and succumbed to pushing Jacob around the pool, even though he wasn't happy to give up "his" car, either! When Jacob became interested in something else, Camden jumped back in the car, victorious. By this time, I think Kyle was tired of fighting and ready to compromise. He became Camden's personal chauffeur, pushing Camden around the pool, stopping at scenic spots, opening the door to allow Camden the chance to get out, shutting the door, and heading off again. Would that not have made an excellent picture?

A boy's love of cars; it begins at an early age.

One Little Monkey

Life is tough. Sometimes bad things happen "just because," but many times the tough moments come upon us as consequences of our own poor choices. That's life. That's how we learn to start planning ahead and making better choices in the future.

As parents, there are times when we could swoop in to slow or stop some of the negative consequences from happening to our children, but how will they learn if we don't let them?

I stood by and allowed Kyle to get caught by one of his poor choices today, even when he screamed and cried and got mad at me.

Maybe one of these days, he'll learn.

We got home from the library, (where he was a total mess, but that's another story), and he wouldn't come inside the house. He wanted to run around the car to the other side of the garage. So, I told him that he had 3 seconds to get inside or I was going to leave him in there. I counted out, "one, two,.....three...,"and waited. He didn't come, so I shut the door. I walked upstairs to unload the huge bag of library books and heard the screaming. I let him scream.

He figured out how to open the door, but couldn't hold the door open and climb up the stair into the house on his own. I let him struggle for awhile, even when he screamed and looked at me with angry eyes. Finally, he stopped struggling and looked up to me, as if pleading for help. It was then that I held open the door for him to come in the house.

Yes, it would have been easier for me to just go pick him up and drag him into the house. It would have been quicker and less painful and would have achieved the same result: him out of the garage and inside the house. But, a lesson might have been lost.

Maybe in the future, he'll remember that he doesn't want to be stuck in the hot garage and he'll plan ahead of how to follow me, the one who knows how to hold the door open while climbing the step, into the house.

If not, I'll keep letting him sweat it out because, as I wanted to tell him today if he could understand:

"Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

Hammer Away

A package was delivered for Kyle yesterday, another birthday present! It's called "hammer away," and boy did he!!! This little gem kept Kyle busy for at least 2 hours yesterday. He just loved taking the hammer to those balls, watching them roll down the chute, and starting the whole process over again.



This toy also came in handy today on taking out frustrations from having to have blood taken. Poor guy. It took me and two lab techs to hold him still to get the needed amount of samples. He is strong!!! He ripped off the band-aid the minute we got in the car, wanted me to kiss it better, and soothed his sorrow on a dum-dum. Then, he went right back to hammering away when we got home.

2 Year Stats

We just got home from Kyle's 2-year-old doctor well-check. He did really well even though he had to get a Hep-A shot. We're done with vaccinations for a while! Here's his stats/percentiles:

• Weight: 29.5 lbs (68th percentile)
• Height: 35 in (63rd percentile)
• Head Circumference: 19.5 in (71st percentile)

He's growing well, eating well, a "big boy" and "very active," according to the doctor. Now we just had to wait for the results from blood work--they're doing a CBC, CMP, and lead level check. I'm sure it will all come out great.

These appointments are so funny to me, with the comments the nurses and doctors here make. There's definitely a cultural difference in the health care I've seen here. I miss my pediatrician in Midland and good insurance. Soon enough I'll be back to good doctors who speak my language...literally. That is, unless Obama has his way with things.....

Kyle's Birthday: Take TWO!!!

We are planning on having an "official" birthday party for Kyle, but it's so hard to coordinate during prime vacation time. Most of Kyle's friends are out of town right now. When I knew it would be no use to have a party on his actual b-day, I wanted to schedule one for the last weekend in July, but now I have to go to youth conference then. We're planning on doing the real thing in August, but that meant that Camden would be out of town. Arghhh!!! Instead of totally leaving him (and his parents) out of the fun, we decided to have the whole gang over for dinner (and dessert) last night in honor of Kyle's actual birthday.

We enjoyed yummy fajitas and all the fixin's. (I usually don't make guacamole unless there's more people coming over to help me eat it. I'm SO glad Scott and Tiffany like it, too!!!)


Here's Kyle and Camden, munching on some chips before dinner. (Don't they just look like they could get into some major trouble together???)


The adults played a fun game of Phase 10 while the boys played together. (By "played," I mean, Kyle ran around, trying to protect his stash of toys from Camden's invasion. Sharing is not quite a part of Kyle's daily routine....we need to work on it. Once Kyle realized that Camden wasn't there to steal his toys, they actually started playing together.)


Who needs to play, though, when you can just watch Shrek? They finally found something they could both enjoy at the same time.

Two couch potatoes in a pod:

After the games and movie, it was finally time for the good stuff: cupcakes and ice cream!


Kyle only blew out one of his candles and then got a little afraid of the other flame--maybe it was too close for comfort because he tried to back away. We got it out in no time and made way for treats.



It's good to be the birthday boy!


Happy birthday, Kyle. We love you very much and are so glad that you are part of our family!!!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday, Kyle!

Can you believe it was 2 years ago that Kyle was posing for his first photos?

He's had lots of practice in his 24 months with a mom as blog-happy as I am, so he's definitely improved on his modeling skills. We love this little man! Happy birthday, Buddy!

Kyle Goes Camping

Our subject of study for this week has been camping. It's too hot/rainy to REALLY go camping right now in South Florida, so we made our own day camp today.

We went fishing in a bathtub "stream," took a nature walk, hunted for teddy bears, grilled hot dogs indoors, and made microwave S'mores....much like a book we read this week: Bailey Goes Camping.

Here's Kyle, sneaking a bite of a marshmallow while we're trying to build our S'mores.


They were finger-lickin' good!


And because I couldn't resist....here's one from last night's dinner. Kyle LOVED the corn-on-the-cob, but thought the spaghetti was better for hair gel than for eating.


I think Kyle will make a fantastic camper someday. He's already got most of the basics down, plus he doesn't seem to mind getting a little messy every now and then.

So Long, Houston

We had so much fun in Houston, but even the best things sometimes have to come to an end. Thank you so much, Bando and Julia, for taking us to the airport and spending that last morning with us. (You can see from the picture that we're all pretty tired.) See you soon!

More Fountain Fun

At first, Kyle was timid about going into the fountains. He would only stick in a finger or a toe. After only a few minutes of time and the great examples from Uncle Bando, Kyle went from

this:

to this:

Kyle's Birthday: Take 1.5

It's good to be the only grandchild! (I should know--I had that title for a few years, but only on ONE side. Kyle is numero uno on both!)

We already celebrated a pre-birthday party in Utah, and Kyle also got a practice run-through in Texas. What a lucky guy.


He needs all the practice he can get on opening presents--still not quite sure about being given some object in brightly-colored paper. With just a little help, he started to figure it out!


He got a few really cute outfits, some much-needed pajamas, a fish book, some magnectic letters, and Phase 10 for Kids** (featuring Brobee!)


**Kyle had the funnest time playing Phase 10 with Uncle Bando and Aunt Julia. They would look through all the number cards and have a huge celebration whenever the stack brought up a WILD CARD or a SKIP! They all let Kyle get "Phase-10'd." This basically meant that he would run under a shower of cards--over, and over, and over. Kyle even started looking through the deck himself and bringing us wild cards, just to get the desired reaction. Thanks for playing with him, guys, and for finding Kyle his own set of cards.


Next came the best part: CAKE! Grandma made Kyle his very own bundt cake with sprinkles and a #2 candle. Let's see how he did on trying to blow it out on his very first try:

He did it!!!!! What a boy: doesn't really care about the shopping/presents, but give him some fire, and he's all over that! He also knows how to did right into that cake and get messy!



Mom tried to take a bite. That didn't go over too well--check out his face. (He stole the piece right back from me!)


And, take a look at what happens when the cake is gone:



Don't worry, Kyle! That was all still just practice for the big day! You have more cake in your future!!!

The Big Slide

No baby slide for Kyle! Nope--he goes straight for the stairs of the tallest slide at the park, climbs up, all by himself, and loves every minute of the ride. (If only he could figure out that he'd slide so much better if he put his feet out in front of him instead of down on the slide itself!)

The Downtown Aquarium

On our last night in Houston, we wanted to celebrate Kyle's upcoming birthday by going out to eat somewhere special. We pretty much went to the perfect place--the Aquarium Restaurant. It's great because Kyle could get up-close and personal with the species that live in the sea while we were waiting for our food to get there. Plus, there were plenty of extra hands to walk around with him so he wouldn't get bored or start throwing a fit.


We saw pretty much all of Kyle's favorite characters from Finding Nemo-fish, sharks, rays, turtles. It was great.



The sign says "Please keep hands off glass." I guess we better work a little harder on reading, right?


A huge fish came right up to the glass, so Kyle leaned over and gave it a big kiss!


This eel was huge, beautiful, and GRUMPY!


What would a birthday dinner be without a fantastic dessert? Here's Kyle with "The Shark Attack."

My Little Genius

I am biased, but my son is one smart little cookie. It can be a challenge at times, since he's also quite stubborn.

As you may know, I've been doing my own home-version of a preschool with Kyle, and maybe, just maybe some of it's sinking in.

Kyle doesn't say many words. In fact, he's WAY behind, according to the "experts." I'm not too worried because I know he can hear, I know he understands things, he LOVES books, he has a good attention span for his age, he can answer questions about the world around him-even if it's in his own way. Plus, I think he's just holding it all in, biding his time, waiting until HE'S ready to talk. (Remember the stubborn thing?)

We got home from vacation last night and unpacked. Kyle immediately started playing with his toys and books. He got some alphabet letter magnets for his birthday, which I put up on the fridge for him to start playing with. The next thing I know, he's found a block with the letter B on it, taken it over to the letter magnets, found the 2 B's, and pulled them all down. Then, as clear as crystal, he told me what they were. Luckily, I had my camera ready today when he did the same thing again. (Don't mind the messy hair....he just got up from a nap!)

Okay, okay. It was just a fluke, right? So, I started asking him to point out other letters for me: W, G, O, L, H, I, S, M.....he got at least 80% right! He also started matching up pairs of the same letter on the fridge. YAHTZEE!!!!!!!

Street Fountains

After learning all about bodies at The Health Museum, it was time to cool our bodies down in the interactive street fountains at Hermann Park. A short stroll through this beautiful park in downtown Houston took us to our very own free "water park," a wonderful way to beat the Houston heat!


(I have many more photos of this fun-time-had-by-all, but I'm waiting to post any more until I can compare mine with those taken by Julia and get the best shots!)