cool dudes

As much as Kyalo likes to be in dirt (point in case...today, he was pretty much laying down in a puddle), he cleans up pretty well.  On Sunday, Dexter took these pictures of him prior to church.

 I love when he puts his hands in his pockets

May 5, 2013

I think Kyalo grabbed my sunglasses on his own, which made Dexter grab the camera.

Here's why:

How crazy is this?  And how cute was lil Dexter, eh?  We're not totally sure about the date or Dexter's age there, but he was somewhere between two and three.

I sure love these guys.

neighborhood walk

Kyalo and I spend a lot of time meandering through our neighborhood (basically, the block).  Sometimes he'll be feeling energetic and will walk about a 4 block square.  It is never very fast because there's so much to look at - esp now that the flowers are out and blooming.

One afternoon he insisted on taking his bike out - picked it up and carried it to the door.  I can take a hint.

Everything is so pretty right now with the cherry blossom trees so full and such an explosion of color.  I have neighbors who have yards filled with tulips and other friendly flowers.  I'm inspired for my own gardens some day.

This has been a nice way to get to know the neighbors.  There's a family just a few doors down who have three kids under 7, and Kyalo LOVES hanging out there.  The two boys, 3 & 5, are all kinds of inspiration for trouble.  I've enjoyed chatting with the parents, and feeling just a little bit more like this place is home.

This particular day we got to the end of the block and a bit up the next one before Kyalo decided he was done with the bike, which - lucky me! - means I get to carry it (and sometimes him).  He was really enraptured watching the teeny tiny ants crawling along a wall.  He kept waving at them and saying, "hi."

future biologist or something

There are a few stories I meant to share in the 25 month post, but that was out of control long, so I'll share them here.

At every meal, and sometimes tea time, he insists we "pway, pway" and holds out his hands for us to hold hands as we pray.  Sometimes he'll do this multiple times a meal.  We'll never forget to pray over food in this house, that's for sure.

It is fun to see how his imagination is coming to life (reading to Zero, for one).  Every morning when he wakes up the first thing he asks for when I walk in is "Ah Baba" (papa). Every day I tell him, "school"  so he's finally learned that papa is at "goo".  Now he'll pick up a bag or something, walk out of the room and say, "Byyyyeee."  I say, "where are you going?"  He says, "Goo"  and then, "Wuv you".

I die a little bit every time.

Also lately he's taken to saying, "Bye. Wuv you" any time he goes to another room (or for his bath) or when I leave to go get laundry or something.  Somedays, he can really be a terror, but underneath it all he is really a sweet, loving little boy.

I hope he is always that way.

25 months

Yep, I'm one of those moms.  You know, the ones who take monthly photos of their kid forever.  I figure I'll just keep on doing it til I forget, or it seems too much.  I like these little reminders of how our boy is growing, changing, and what we've been up to.

We're keeping busy around here...Music started back up at the library, we switched to swimming 'lessons' again, and of course as the weather warms up, we're spending lots of time outside.  Kyalo's definitely into toddler mode now, having melt downs and freak outs.  I was really hoping that somehow we'd skip this phase, but it isn't to be.  The days can be tough on me, I'll be honest, but hard as they are, he's also a lot of fun, showing more interest in things, and getting more involved.  I'm sure it won't be long til I've got him doing chores!

A friend gave us the book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus as a birthday gift and he LOVES it. So much so that I have to read it 5-6 times in a row, and I got other Pigeon books from the library.  One night he was busily gathering things up: Zero, his blanket, his juice, and even the fan from his room, and bringing them to the living room.   He and Zero read for quite a while, and as you can see, he was quite happy!

We also recently bought a small Weber for lots of summertime BBQs, and Kyalo helped assemble it.

 our little engineer

OK, so it wasn't exactly BBQ weather, but once we got it, we wanted to put it to work!

I finally got around to taking Kyalo to the doctor for his two-year check up (just a month late).  I had an awful, awful experience.  I guess I really shouldn't be that surprised since the times I've been there in the past were not exactly wonderful, either.  Still, I WAS expecting to have the doctor talk with me, ask me if I had any questions or concerns about Kyalo and his growth/development (why yes, yes I do), and to spend more than five minutes with us.  He diagnosed Kyalo as having a viral asthma wheeze and promptly prescribed a nebulizer for him. Having never used one before, I had questions, and he was just so mean and rude about it all.  I'll spare you the details, but I left (yet again) discouraged, frustrated and near tears. And determined to find a good pediatrician for the remainder of our time here in Belleville! Geesh.

So, here's our guy with his nebulizer mask:

See the black stuffed animal with the ribbon?  That's a black dog that my Aunt Ellen sent to remind us of Ananda, their dog. Kyalo was still asking about "Nana" pretty regularly, so this dog is obviously called Ananda. She was waiting for us in the mail after our return from the doctor's and pharmacy where I was loaded down with the machine and the drugs, so it was a perfectly timed arrival!  Thanks, Ellen!!

poor guy

At least he enjoys it for the most part (thanks to Dexter helping him to think the mask was fun!) And it does give us a chance to read together without him getting too distracted, so there is that bonus.

 25 months

32 1/2 inches

26.8 pounds

He's only grown 1/2 an inch since we saw a doctor in December. I wanted to ask the doctor if this is something to be concerned about now, but he was out the door before I could ask any of my questions.

He pretty much refused to look at the camera for me.  Here we are in our backyard, enjoying the picnic table my landlord put out for the tenants to use.

Here's the late breaking news from this month: Kyalo is finally sleeping through the night!  It was a tough week or so for us to get him to drop the middle of the night feeding, but then it just clicked.  Sometimes he'll still wake up and murmur for a bit, but he doesn't ask for nursing, and he goes back to sleep usually on his own.  Last night he slept 11 hours! He woke up this morning saying, "All done. All done. All done."  OK, sure, I probably could have done this a year and a half ago, but I'm glad to have reached this point at all.  Next up is dropping the last two feedings.  Not exactly sure how that's going to go - I think it will be very hard and am kind of dreading it...but I know I'll be (mostly) glad when it is all done.

And that's the wrap up!  Whew.

cherry blossoms

It is Cherry Blossom season!  Turns out that Belleville, NJ is the "Cherry Blossom Capital of America" (no, not DC) with its 4,300 + cherry blossom trees.  Not a bad place to live!  Too bad the blossoms are in bloom about 3.6 days so you've gotta catch 'em quick.  I went on April 3 to get pics of Kyalo on his birthday, and there was nary a blossom to be seen.  Two weeks later (and a couple of spectacular days) and now we're nearing the end of peak season.

Jenny and I went on Tuesday morning for a quick little visit before heading off to Story Hour.  It was not like last year when a) I didn't know a soul in NJ, and b) Kyalo sat still, or when he moved was moving much slower.

Needless to say, getting pictures of two active toddlers is difficult.

 cutie Ellen, 17 months

 (I wish I could delete the walker out of that pic!)

 it was easier to get pictures of the kids walking away from me

I quickly realized that cute poses with the flowers were a pipe dream!

pals

 you can't tell, but Jenny's holding Ellen up in a tree - she seemed to enjoy it

Kyalo was a little uncertain about being in the tree, but who can blame him - I was taking pictures, not spotting him!

{tree hugger}

4.16.2013

And thus ends another cherry blossom season for a year!  Actually, though, I hope to get back there this weekend with Dexter before the blossoms are ALL gone, if weather permits.

another sweater

I feel really fortunate that I'm surrounded by people who like to knit. And even more fortunate that they like to shower Kyalo with gifts. He has a baby blanket, and many sweaters to keep him warm.  You might remember this one that he wore this winter.  Well Linda, who knit it for him, knit him another for his birthday.

It is a perfect spring/summer sweater - bright and summery - and it looks awesome on Kyalo. I thought I liked the deep blue on him (and I do!) but this one is even better.

 all dressed up, ready for church

 so serious

4.14.2013

there's our happy guy

 it is a little out of focus, but you can really sense Kyalo's laughter/enjoyment about things here

Thanks, Linda, for another gorgeous sweater (and the matching shirt underneath it).  What a wonderful treat.

Kyalo continues to be the best dressed person in our family.

the gym

At the beginning of this year, my friend Jenny and I got memberships to the local family YMCA.  It has been such a great experience for us.  We started out with a 7 week session in swimming 'lessons' and are now doing a 'gym' class.  There's just one week left of that, then its back to the pool. Gotta get ready for the summer, after all.

I was able to bring my camera to the gym class a few weeks back and snap a few pics of Kyalo as he ran around the different stations.  He's loved the class. Today was the best, I think...lots of things to climb for my climbing guy.

 you know he's having a good time if the tongue is out!

He's our happy guy.

That was a nice day so when we got home we spent some time walking our block.  And, big surprise, Kyalo ended up in the dirt 'hill' at the end of the block.  He had a great time climbing the hill and then sliding down.  I had to give him a bath because he was so covered.

Then we had to clean the bathtub.

And in other, unrelated news:  On Sunday, Kyalo was suspiciously quiet in the bathroom, and that is NEVER a good sign.  I found him at the toilet, (with the toilet seat up, thankyouverymuch) trying to get his pants down.  Time for potty training, anyone?  I think I'm going to give it a few more months.  Summer time seems like a good idea.

Easter weekend, II

I'm going to let these pictures mostly talk for themselves (shocking for me, I know).

But let's just say, Kyalo found some of Grandma's lipstick. . .

 focused

helping Grandma clean up

this is how Dexter felt about it

So, Kyalo likes dirt AND lipstick.

We're trying to have him lead a balanced life.