Here comes the...Kylan!

There he is, tux and all! (I had to start with that picture even though it is out of order--his laughs and smiles are so contagious!)

So we drove late Thursday night to Goshen. Ky surprisingly stayed awake through most of the trip--and for once, driving through Chicago was not that bad. We made it in about 4.5 hours. Here is a key to driving late at night with an awake child--toys that have lights. Ky played with two light up toys and my cell phone--and it kept him happy.

Friday morning we got up early--thanks to Ky --and went to the Amish store. We stocked up on all sorts of good stuff---spices, wheat flour, etc... It was a very long trip to the Amish store though, since construction made things difficult. In fact, we cut it very close to being late for the rehearsal dinner.

At rehearsal dinner, Ky got to meet his Great G'ma Irvin, Great Uncle Don & Great Aunt Sally, as well as G'pa Irvin. It was neat seeing my family. I have only met my Aunt Sally once and have never met my Uncle Don so I was excited. Ky spent some special bonding time with G.U. Don at the piano.

Joel and Jamie were like any antsy couple the day before there wedding. They appeared somewhat calm and collected, yet you could tell they were a bit concerned about how everything was going to pull together.

Ky did not like waiting in line to walk into the place where the ceremony was to be held. He was a very antsy ring bearer. When it came time for him to practice, he sat down several times in the aisle (not a good first impression.) I had to pick him up and push him to move. After we got to our seats and they practiced the ceremony, Kylan did not want to sit down. (He was hungry so this was a bit difficult.) He discovered that there were a lot of things to play with. For example, he discovered the blinds on a window located near the stage--and how much noise they make. He also discovered that the skirt of the stage was held on merely by velcro. These were not good things. Rob and I knew we were going to have to make sure to have things to keep him occupied during the ceremony.

After that, all was well. We ate some much needed pizza and we went back to my brother Joel's house so he could leave us instructions on taking care of his dog the next day (since he would be a bit too busy too.) BTW--did I mention what a beautiful house my brother has...he built it and him and Jamie picked out everything for it. Anyway--while I got doggy instructions, Ky spent more time with GG'ma Irvin and enjoyed watching the fish. And I do have to brag about my G'ma here--93 years old and the woman moves faster than a rabbit. She kept one step ahead of Kylan the whole time. It was great to see her. She moved to New York to live with her daughter(Sally) and so I don't get to see her when I visit Indiana anymore.

DDAY--

Ky had a great morning. G'ma Irvin gave him a present--a caterpillar pull toy--and he loved pulling it around. He also had fun playing in Bear's crate--DON"T WORRY--he put himself in there and closed the door. We would never do that! Don't think such bad thoughts!!! Personally, I think Ky was just taunting the dog.

Anyway, Ky went down for an early nap and we had to wake him and take him to the hall to change. We figured the less time in the tux before the ceremony the better. (Less time to mess it up.) We were lucky. We got to dress Ky in the same room as the bride--so we got a sneak peek. She was/is beautiful! The perfect dress for the perfect girl! (YEAH I AM GETTING A SISTER!)

Before the ceremony, KY walked around and showed his duds off to everyone. He also got to meet some other relatives he (and I) had never met---Great Great Aunt Mickey & third cousin Gretchen (I think I have that right.)

He also got to meet his great Aunt Char and great Uncle Frank and 2nd Cousin Katie and 3rd cousin Jade. (I hope I got that right too.) Boy extended family get complicated.

So what were all the brothers doing....Jeff was reading a verse for the ceremony. He arrived cool and calm. John & James were the ushers--and I have to say they looked more like bouncers the way they stood in the door with their arms crossed and donned sunglasses. They are a funny pair.

Okay--so ceremony time came--and everyone was walking in well. Ky had to walk with the flower girl (with my guidance.) It was his (our) turn--but something happened--no one came to pull out the aisle runner--some confusion....So off we went anyway. It was very funny. The flower girl tossed her petals and Ky tried his best to stomp on them as he walked down the aisle. Everything was going well. I was so proud of my little boy for walking the line. We passed my brother (groom) and were making our way to our seats when i heard a "SKEEEEEE". Ky had casually extended his arm and reached for the skirt on the stage and YANKED it off. The little booger!!! Well, I repaired it and quickly sent Ky to his Dad's awaiting arms.

Phew! So the ceremony went well. There was an extended amount of time as the bride awaited her aisle runner (As Joel said--"we paid for that aisle runner and we were going to make sure it was used!") , but she made it up the aisle and arrived happily into the arms of my brother. There was also a small incident with one of the groomsmen...

Rob and I were sitting by the groomsmen (directly behind them) I was videotaping the ceremony when I noticed the last groomsman --we'll call him Harry (to hide any future humiliation) began to sway. Rob also noticed, but his arms were full with Kylan. I was looking to see if anyone else was noticing in order to catch him and Rob began to Snap his fingers as Harry began to fall. Everything at this moment was a bit of a blur--but thank goodness the other groomsmen caught him before he fell off the stage (he was at the edge.) I at some point had stood up and gotten behind him--but what was I going to do--give him something softer to fall on?

Anyway like I said the ceremony went well. The rest of the groomsmen kept an eye on Harry for the rest of the ceremony--and even Rob went up and stood behind him for a little while, just in case he was about to faint again.

Okay--so this is a really long blog entry at this point and I really need to wrap things up...so...

Yes that is a picture of my brother doing the chicken dance--and yes I will hold this over his head for the rest of his life, his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will all see it.

I got an action shot of Kylan playing peek-a-boo..his favorite game in the whole world.

Ky tried to make a living being a part of a three man band--but that did not last long. No tips.

Yes I have pics of the groomsmen vandalizing the groom's car (which they accidentally dented).

Ky was exhausted by the end of the day.

We spent the night at Joel & Jamie's and they came back early the next morning and woke us up? What kind of wedding night was that!?

We spent the remainder of the morning with them and then spent early afternoon with G'ma Irvin, then stopped at G'ma & G'pa VanderHedyen for a cup of Iced tea. Ky is a klepto and stole a key to their fireplace. Somehow he discreetly placed it in the diaper bag when no one was looking--so I had to mail it back when we got home and discovered it.

We then visited my Uncle Ricky in the hospital on the way out. Not too much to say. It is hard to see a loved one slowly dying, yet selfishly I am still glad he is here. I am also glad that he has met Kylan, yet I am sad that Kylan will not remember him.

And lastly--and I saved this for last on purpose. Over the weekend, we found out that we will be returning to Goshen in a few weeks. My older younger brother (are you following me?) is now engaged and will be getting married on September 1st--his beautiful bride's birthday. He says that he is her birthday present. Yes a very quick wedding. Is the proposal a surprise---no...The date--YES! A six week engagement. I guess they don't mess around. So that is why there are a couple special pics of them above. Two sisters in two months...I had to wait almost a quarter of a century for one sister and now I have two more in two months. So here's to Jeffrey and Sarah!

4th of July/Noah's Ark

Fourth of July was a good time. We attempted to go to the beach, but that failed (no dogs allowed in the beach area.) So instead we came back to the house and let Ky run around his pool. And yes--he was naked. He had a bad diaper rash so we gave him "air time". And yes we have many more naked photos to show all his girlfriends when he gets older.

That night we went or again attempted to go to the park Rob and I got married at. They were setting off fireworks there. Due to a large crowd of people, we were unable to get there, but found a nearby church. We sat there and Kylan enjoyed watching his first firework's show. (Last fourth of July he could only see 6" in front of him.) For the most part Ky enjoyed the fireworks. After a while he did get bored though and preferred to run around and play with Dad's face.

The next weekend we had a cookout with Mark, our godson Aidan and Gianna. Ky had lots of fun playing with Aidan and Gianna in the pool. We put the slide in--and the kids really enjoyed going down and splashing in the water. They also enjoyed eating raspberries off the bushes. (It was hard to get them to stop.) It was a hot day, but the kids enjoyed themselves—and we enjoyed ourselves when Ky fell asleep after his hard day of playing.

On Monday, Grandpa and Uncle Ryan came over to watch the All Star game. They also spent the night. Mom escaped to have some time to herself while the boys enjoyed eating, drinking, and watching the game—and watching Kylan display his hammering talents and musical abilities. He also played many many MANY games of peek-a-boo.

The next morning Ky was up bright and early –yet Grandpa and Uncle Ryan continued sleeping. I was impressed. They slept through Bear’s barking and Ky’s screaming. It wasn’t until the zucchini bread was done baking that they finally aroused.

Speaking of zucchini—my garden is doing fabulous this year. The spinach is gone (we ate it all and then it went to seed), but we still have lettuce and now we are picking tons of zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, green beans, and peppers. My tomatoes are just now starting to turn red. YUM YUM. Oh yeah and some of my peas survived the bunnies. And I didn’t even mention the watermelon. I was in doubt when rob wanted to buy watermelon plants, but right now we have 3 softball sized watermelons with lots of other little ones.

Back to the Schnake adventures.

So on Friday Lisa brought over Jordan and Devan to stay with us for the weekend. We were taking them to Noah’s ark for birthday presents. Right before they arrived though Rob and I and Ky were out in the backyard working and then Ky started screaming. Rob ran over to him and saw a bumble bee in Ky’s hand (He must have tried to pick it up.) So Robby got it out and squished it (the carcass is pictured above.) We then took Ky in the house and had him play in some ice water. The bee stung his thumb and his whole hand swelled up. We made a baking soda bandage for him –which he chewed off—but it seemed to help. The next day he was as good as new.

Before Lisa left, Ky got to play with his cousin Dominic who is sitting up now. (Babies grow so fast!)

The next morning we were off to Noah’s ark after a filling breakfast of homemade blueberry/raspberry/chocolate chip pancakes and a quick run to the farmer’s market. Ky went on his first two water rides—Dark Thunder and Congo Bongo. He liked them for the most part. He didn’t like the fact that the water was cold in Congo Bongo and Dark Thunder caught him by surprise at the end when it dumped water on his fast—however he was all smiles for the journeys down the slide. (Sorry no pics—didn’t want to get the digital wet.)

The rest of us took turns going on other rides. Devan was a little intimidated by the big rides, so Rob and I took turns going with Jordan while Devan and KY played in the water playgrounds. Ky particularly liked the playground where water would randomly shoot out of spouts in the ground. When the water would disappear he would put his head over the hole looking for the water—then –of course—the water would come out and spray him in his face. We all thought it was funny—however—Ky was surprised every time.

We ended up leaving the park early. The temperature was getting too cold—and we didn’t want to get wet and even colder. Where is the heat when you need it?

The next morning, Ky crawled on his cousins to wake them up. Jordan got up quickly, however Devan took a lot more work. That boy can sleep through anything. We then hopped in the car back to Milwaukee—to return the boys, drop Ky off at Nana’s and G’ma Jan’s, and to head off to a Brewer game. The Brewer game was good—but way too hot.

Alrighty so milestones for Kylan—

He now says Nana, banana, and night night—but it is hard to tell which one he is saying.
He will ask for the name of things and then sometimes attempt to repeat what you just said.
He climbs—I have been having to get him off the tops of tables lately—and fences—yeah he tries, but doesn’t get very far.
He runs—boy does he run
In swimming class he now kicks his feet and blows bubbles.
He LOVES the phone and vacuum. He puts the phone almost behind his head and says “hi” over and over and over…and then he dials numbers and does it again. He also pushes his FP toy around me when I vacuum. At the Y he pushes the play vacuums everywhere. (He is going to make a good housekeeper someday.)
He is beginning to understand the concept of picking up toys…I said beginning—It doesn’t mean he will always do it.

Well I think that is it for now…stay tuned to the next blog entry—Ky The ring bearer!—yes tux and all

First Camping Trip

Kylan's first camping trip went really well. He really enjoyed himself. We went to Devil's Lake and camped for 2 nights (we didn't want to go for too long--just in case Kylan didn't do so well.)

We arrived early Friday and immediately set up camp. Ky enjoyed walking around the site, attempting to open the car door, and picking up sticks (and of course attempting to eat them.) After we set up camp we went on our first official hike to a waterfall. (There is a picture of it above--Ky and Rob are standing in front of it--it's just a little too dark to see.) It was a beautiful walk. The gorges, bluffs, and cliffs are really pretty. Bear was with us as well--and we sort of accidentally took him on this trail which he was not allowed. (We know better now--and won't do it again.)

Friday night we ate hamburgers cooked over the campfire and vegetables. YUM! Thank goodness for the portable high chair Karen got us--it kept Kylan coralled away from the fire and made it much more convenient for him to eat. (We have used that chair more times than I thought we ever would.)

That night Kylan went to bed very easily (we were surprised.) We brought along the pack n' play and he was out within minutes (I guess it was a bit too much trail walking for him.) Rob and I then got to enjoy S'mores! Too bad for Kylan--maybe next year.

The next mornind we were up early (or I should say Kylan was up early) and ready to go. Ky was very excited to discover he was sleeping in the same "room" as us. And anxiously yelled "mama mama" when he awoke. That sort of forced us to get up. We let Ky run around in his pj's and sandals. He was stylin'.

We soon discovered that the fuel arm to our coleman stove was missing. This really bummed us out. We had brought pancake mix and sausages for breakfast.--and there was no way we were going to attemp to cook pancakes over the fire. So very VERY sadly breakfast was the small amount of cereal we had brought along with a dabble of pancake batter. IT didn't bother Ky much. He liked the batter and ate graham crackers with milk.

So we once again were trail bound and walked up some pretty steep stone steps to the top of the bluffs around Devil's Lake. They journey wore Kylan out. He was asleep by the time we reached the top and didn't spend much time enjoying the view. On our way back to camp we stopped and let Bear swim a bit. It had been a while since he had been able to swim. (Our house in Milwaukee was next to a park with ponds--so Bear used to swim a lot.)

We then decided that it was beach time and took Bear and Ky out for the journey. Ky had fun walking across the sandbar to an island, and we spent most of our time hanging out there. Bear attempted to fetch stones that we threw in the water and Ky ran in and out of the water and played in the sand. He is definitely an outdoors boy.

That night we drove into town and stopped at a store and bought donuts for breakfast. We figured we couldn't survive another morning on pancake batter. Ky once again went down really well and in fact slept until 8 am. What a nice kid.

The next morning Dad tried to take Kylan to the water fountain to get water. Kylan, however, decided he did not want to walk with dad and fought the hand holding until Dad lost the grip--then Ky fell on his head. He then had two nice bruise/scrapes to show for not obeying. We hoped he learned a lesson--but we doubt he did.

So Sunday morning we went on some more hikes (shorter ones) and also hung out at the beach before we left. Ky was very excited. You can see him above happily taking his dirty diaper with him to the beach (to of course be thrown in a trash can.)

When we got home Dad installed the new dishwasher (don't make me tell you about the old one--I may get very angry--however we do have a brand new sealed in the box dishwasher if anyone is interested--$200 obo) and mom went to work creating a new playhouse for Kylan from the box. He loves it. He loves going in and out and popping his head out the windows. What fun! Hopefully it lasts for a while. (BTW--if anyone has any large boxes they would like to donate to make Kylantown, let me know.)

One big thing that Rob and I learned from this camping adventure is that we are TOO old to sleep on the ground anymore. Air mattresses here we come. We also now know that Ky will do just fine on camping trips. WE do have one more trip coming up in August--but perhaps next year we will try to plan a whole week.

Okay --beyond camping--a few milestones ...

Ky loves to play peek-a-boo. He will place both hands over his eyes and the "surprise" you by revealing his face.

Ky has big feet. He outgrew the shoes I bought him for my brothers wedding. Right now he is in 5's but they are almost too small. I gotta go buy some size 6.

He is really attempting to talk more. Now he tries to say "mail" and I think he is working on "nana". I am not sure if he says it on purpose or not--we will have to see next time he sees her.

Okay--Jessica Sidenote

So today I am going to work and I am at a stop light and who is ahead of me--the guy who rearended me. So I am thinking to myself that either his parents didn't receive the letter or they don't care. (I am really hoping he still isn't driving with a suspended license.) Anyway--I notice he has no rearview mirror--another ticketable offense--so he has no idea I am behind him. So the light turns green and he takes off. He is obviously late to work --again and is swerving in and out of traffic to get ahead. I however purposely slow down in hopes to lose him and keep him away from me and Kylan. So I get to the intersection where he hit me and there he is sitting at the light--I had to get behind him. I keep a good 10 - 15 feet between our cars, I have no desire to be near him. He then adjusts his side mirror so he can look at his face (girl to impress??) and so for the first time I get a good chance to see his face. Anyway, he adjusts the mirror back and suddenly has a very confused look on his face, he adjusts the mirror again. This is when I realize he has recognized my car. (YES THIS IS A VERY LONG LIGHT.) He turns around in his seat and looks at me. I politely (and forcefully) smile and wave as I say some very nasty thoughts in my head. He almost embarassingly waves back and quickly turns around and shakes his head. The light turns green and he is gone. So just so everyone knows--this guy most likely with a suspended license is still driving and driving crazy. Don't we all feel safe. I guess you have to seriously injure or kill someone before the law is enforced. Happy thoughts people!

Sorry bad way to end the blog entry--scroll back up and look at the pics. It will make you feel happy again.