The Second Birthday!

We did it! We made it to 2!

We taught Ky a few months ago to say "I be 2 in June" when you asked him how old he was. Then we taught him "I be 2 in a couple of weeks" then "I be 2 next week" then "I be 2 on Saturday." Well by the time Saturday came around--it was difficult for him to transition to a simple "I'm 2", but he is getting it down now.

Wow 2 years. It has all passed so fast. And this little boy knows so much for his age. It really makes you wonder what the future holds for him. He is very special and I know God has a special plan for him as he has already touched so many lives. He still greets everyone at the grocery store, and then makes sure they get a "good-bye, see you later" as they leave. He smiles and asks them "How are you doing?" It is neat to see the magic this little boy works in others--myself included. Okay so on to the b'day stuff...

So Grandma Maureen aka "grandma Mo" (Yeah we are guilty of teaching him that.) came Thursday afternoon for a visit. Ky was very excited (and of course I was too). He loves it when people come to visit. He likes to show them all his toys, have them read books to him, and of course sucker them into playing basketball/soccer/baseball.

On Friday, I subbed for my last school day this year and Grandma got to spend the day with Ky. They had a blast. When I came home, Ky didn't even want to give me a hug--he ran straight to Grandma and said "uppy Ma'ama." (Somehow "up please" turned into "uppy" over time.) They spent the afternoon playing baseball and basketball. Grandma worked with Ky on his stance--and she did an excellent job. Ky hits like a real ball player now. Amazing for a 2 year old. His coordination blows my mind. Have I mentioned how he kicks the ball? When he plays soccer often he will toss the ball up and kick it in the air. He loves kicking it like this because the ball takes flight. He hits the ceiling, lights, pics on the wall--with his foot! And I have determined that he can aim the ball with his foot--as the other day he was continually hitting a picture on the wall--finding it very funny--yeah we had to put a stop to that.

So that night we worked on Ky's cake. There is a pic of Ky and Dad making the frosting above in matching aprons given to us by Grandma. Ky picked out his cake. We told him we were making one and he wanted to help look through the cook books. I gave him several options and he settled on a peanut butter chocolate marbled cake. --and yes he said "I want peanut butter chocolate cake." So the theme this year---of course "basketball". It has been his obsession since March Madness and he asks to play every day. The boy is obsessed. He shoots better than me at this point. So I made a small rounded cake to go on top of the sheet cake and decorated it like a basketball.

Birthday pictures are at the top. Of course the first pic is of him getting up. We couldn't miss that. Of course we were there with the camera---Grandma actually woke him up--I think she was too excited to let him wake up on his own. We had a quick birthday breakfast and finished decorating the cake and then went to the farmer's market for some spicy cheese bread AND to see the cows! It was Cows on the Concourse on Ky's b'day. What a perfect day! So Ky got to pet the cows and even got a cow t'shirt that is WAY too big. (BTW--you have to notice that in the first cow pic the cow is sticking out its tongue...well I found that pic amusing...) Ky also got a balloon which was just too much fun! He loved it--and the other kids that came over later loved it too. Balloon = hours of fun! Remember that!

We went home, cleaned some house and waited for the guests to arrive. The guests began arriving---and Ky was still napping--so we had Nana go wake him up. (Of course long naps never happen at a convenient time.) He was excited to get up though.

Well Ky's party turned out to be very interesting with tornadoes touching down in the area. We were okay--got hit by some really hard rain and listened to the sirens going off. We kept the news on just to keep an eye on things. The kids had fun though (as well as the adults). As I said the balloon was a BIG hit. Next year I am getting Ky a balloon for his birthday (or as Ky says "baboon"). Robby grilled hamburgers in the garage and we ate inside. Then had cake and ice cream.

I never talked to Ky about blowing out candles on a cake--nor has he really seen candles on a cake lit that often, but the kid had it figured out. We lit the candle to sing to him and he blew it out before we could start. He then did it again. So we had to move the cake away from him so we could sing "Happy B'day" to him.

After the cake was presents time and he (of course) enjoyed opening them. I would like to let Aunt Liz and Uncle Adam know that Ky put that bow on top of his own head before he opened your present (there was no prompting) so that was pretty amusing. Now I realize this pic is not up here. Hmmm...I will load it in the next couple of days....

I am glad that everyone could come to Ky's party. We really had a blessed time and enjoyed having the family together--which never seems to happen often enough. I was so glad to have my mom come up and spend time with Kylan. I know there is some distance between us, but it is very important to me (and Kylan) that he has a special bond with all his grandparents. Thanks mom! I loved having you spend the time with me and for being there to talk to about Ky and the new one. Please feel free to visit whenever. You--as everyone else is always welcome in our house. I was also glad that it was a time my mom and Rob's mom could chat. As these are two very special ladies in our lives and it means so much to me that they know each other and what a valuable presence they are in our lives (yeah--I'm crying--darn hormones!)

Okay--back to the good stuff. So that was Ky's birthday. My boy is 2! I can't believe it. He is definitely a toddler now, and I am trying to break him (rather I should say me) of calling him "baby Kylan" because he really isn't anymore (though he will ALWAYS be my baby). I am also trying to avoid confusion in a few months when the new baby comes.

The last pics are from Sunday prior to my mom leaving. Ky didn't want her to go. He kept asking for her. The very last pic they are trying to show that Ky is "two".

So a couple extras--It rained and poured over the weekend and into the week. Many of you have probably heard that much of Southern WI is under water. The interstate is closed in several places because rivers have risen over it---AND--the water has yet to crest. Lake Delton--actually emptied into a river and is gone. A lot of our parks on water are a mess. And we have a lot of friends with basements under water. We were blessed to have not been affected--no water in the basement. My garden is a jungle (the tomatoes have loved the rain.) Please keep the many families affected by this in your prayers---including Iowa and Indiana which have also been hit bad. There have also been a great deal of tornadoes in our area, but once again God stepped in and kept us safe as the destruction here has been very minimal. At this time we are thinking of the farmers and hoping crops are not lost.

So other Ky updates--

Ky pretends! I have been meaning to blog this for a while, but keep forgetting. But the boy plays pretend! He will take his stuff animals and change voices for each of them. It is really neat to watch. He has been doing this for a couple of months now. And he will even tell you that he is "pretending."

His understanding is just blowing my mind. I will ask him to do things like set the table--and he will. Or I will have him carry his snack out to his table and sit and eat--and he will! He will also tell you if his hands are sticky. And the other day he actually told us that he "pooped" and needed to be changed---YEAH--maybe we are back to moving towards potty training. He also is beginning letter recognition and can write the letter "O". Have I mentioned before that I think my child is a genius?

I gave Ky his first haircut after his b'day (no pics yet). I did it in the tub. It looks much better, however he refused to let me cut it after 4 or 5 snips, so in my opinion it is still incomplete. I have really been at odds in getting his hair cut. I want that "first lock". However, I don't want to cut his hair short. He finally has hair for goodness sake. I also didn't want to spend money for someone else to do it, when I figure I could do just as good of a job. So I got some cuts in and his hair is more evened out and a little shorter. Hopefully, I can finish the job in the next bath or two. (Honestly, you probably won't really tell a difference.)

Let's see, so two has appeared to make a difference in Ky's life. This week at story time, Ky actually stood up and sang all the songs (loudly) with the other kids. He usually is really quiet and just watches. But this past week he was a totally different kid! It is funny, because I know that he knows all the songs (he sings them at home) he just usually observes instead of participates. But this week, I was so proud of my boy!

Okay--last Ky update (this is a LONG blog). I don't remember if I blogged Ky's vision appointment back in January--but anyways, Ky saw the optometrist in January and they discovered he was nearsighted and had an astigmatism. However, the 2 were balancing out his vision so he was seeing fine. Well, earlier this week we went to Ky's 2 year appointment. By the way he is 36.5" tall and 31.5 lbs (which is weird since 4 weeks ago he was 28.5 lbs--something is off with one of the scales) which puts him in the 93% for height and 84% for weight (my boy is tall!) Anyways, I spoke to the doc about him complaining about his eyes, she said to get him back to the optometrist, so I did. They found that he was more nearsighted than he was in January and may need glasses in 6 - 12 months. I guess at this point I am in denial. He is so observant and he points out things to me that are pretty far away and will tell me what they are. So I ask that you please join me in prayer that his vision gets better so he doesn't need glasses. Glasses aren't a bad thing--however they are an inconvenience, especially to a toddler.

Alright, that is it for Ky. Baby #2 is doing great. Very active kid! We are getting excited and nervous as the time nears. My last appointment I gained an add'l 5 lbs (which is good/normal) and am measuring on target (meaning the child should be average in length.) Baby should be 13" or so now and at least 1.5 lbs.

Okay this is a VERY long blog--but much needed. Time to go get dressed! Until later!

The athlete

Well, Ky had tubes put in earlier this week. 5 ear infections in 5 months was enough for us, plus we figured hearing out of his left ear would be a great birthday present for him. It went pretty well over all. Ky was upset when we didn't feed him or give him anything to drink in the morning, however he didn't dwell on it too much. Our appointment was at 8:15--but Ky didn't have the surgery done until about 10:00. After checking us in and filling out paperwork, they took us back to a pre-op room where they took his vitals and we put him in a gown. We read stories for a while and then had a visit from the anesthesiologist. He was a very nice guy and gave us a mask for Ky to get used to and to play with. Then after that the nurse came to get him. Ky did not want to go.

After the nurse showed him how to open and close the door with a button--I reluctantly handed my little boy to her. You should have seen his face. That lower lip trembling will always be etched in my head (yeah--now I am crying). She took him away and said he did very good. She gave him some balls to play with and then they put the mask on. She said right before he "fell" asleep he stuck his pouty lip out once more.

It was very quick. After about 15 minutes the doc met with us and told us all was good and that a nurse would come and get us once he started waking up. We returned to the waiting room, and after another 10 minutes the nurse got us. I could hear my little boy crying down the hall. When I took him from the nurse, his head rolled like an infants. He was still waking up from the anesthetic. This was the hardest part. Ky was disoriented and had no idea what had happened. NOt to mention his body probably just felt funny. He cried and cried and I just held him. This is when I lost it. I cried with my little boy and the discomfort that he had to go through, not to mention the fear he probably felt.

It took a while to get Ky to calm down, but after about 15 minutes Rob started throwing this light up sticky ball the nurse had given us. That seemed to do the trick. We were able to get him to drink some juice and milk then as well as have him walk out of the surgery center on his own. What a rough day though. We took it pretty easy after that and he had a very long nap. He did vomit once shortly after we got home, but I guess that isn't too uncommon. For the remainder of the day we stayed inside and watched his Signing Time videos. But, as I said he pretty quickly returned to his good old self.

So I wanted to make sure to get some pics of Ky outside. And well the pics I have pretty much sum up what he likes to do. The boy is still obsessed with basketball. He has to play every day--and it is good I have a small indoor hoop for him. He likes to dunk and shoot--and when he shoots he often makes it. He also likes baseball and does a really good job hitting the ball when you pitch it to him. You would be amazed at his coordination for his age.

Let's see--He is just as piggy as ever. Lately he has been taking over an hour per meal to eat. I think he MUST be going through a growth spurt. He is also eating almost everything on his plate--which is weird since he was being so picky before. The pic above is from him eating black beans. And he LOVES black beans.

We went to the zoo again earlier this week. I asked Ky what animals he wanted to see and he responded "goats". So off to the goats we went. He loved feeding them and watching them. I have a feeling that goats will always be at the top of his list from now on when we go to the zoo.

The past weekend, Rob and I went on a getaway. We went to Lacrosse to a Bed and Breakfast. We figured it might be one of the last for a while. We had a splendid time. We stayed at the Lumber Baron Inn which is on Lake Onalaska and we stayed in the "Attic" room which was a suite with a jacuzzi tub and a sitting room that overlooked the lake. You can see the view from our room in one of the pics.

It was fun. Breakfast was the best. It was like a five course meal! When we came downstairs, their was coffee and tea waiting in the foyer, then they opened the doors to the dining room. This is when they took our cups (because they didn't match the place setting in the dining room--but of course!) and seated us. We were then given fresh beverages on the matching place setting that had matching flowers, napkin ring holders, place mats, etc...

Our first course served was sweet bread. After that came a fancied up juice. Then came a fruit plate, then a palate cleanser--sorbet of course!, then the main course --a meat and vegetable of some sort--then dessert, and do not forget the after breakfast mint! I could go into extravagant detail on the courses, but I have things I want to do. But in my mind I will always relive these two yummy and very filling breakfasts at the inn. The other people at the inn were very nice and we had great breakfast conversation. One man was a doctor from Damascus, another family was from Guatemala, and then we had two other more local couples. Conversation was very interesting with the different backgrounds.

On Saturday, Rob and I hikes some trails at Perrot State Park. That is where many of the pics are from. It was nice. At one point I walked over a very large Garter snake that Rob then pointed out to me. EWWW!!! That was very gross. That is the second time in my life I have almost stepped on a snake. Rob also later discovered a tick on himself, and so that really made us more aware of our surroundings. After our hike, we went on a very very local Brewery Tour. Rob toured and drank, I watched. Then it was my turn for enjoyment--ice cream! Yum. We went to a local place and I enjoyed the ice cream and we walked the river walk. At this point, I thought I had lost my phone, so we spent an hour retracing our steps--Rob was pretty sure I had never brought it, but never pushed his opinion--instead looked diligently with me. Turns out he was right. This pregnancy has really been bad on my memory. I don't remember anything at this point.

We then drove past a two story Burger King that Rob was really excited about. So we stopped and took a picture. (I think people thought we were nuts!) But, if you ever want to see a 2 story Burger King--Lacrosse has one.

We then went out to dinner at Eduardo's a local Italian restaurant with decent food but high prices. The night before we had eaten at a local Rib place in the train station. That was much better food for much better prices.

Sunday we planned to walk Riverfront Park and look at their gardens (pic of dragon arch above.) I have to say we were very disappointed when we were done within 20 minutes or so. I guess when you have Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison or you just visited San Diego's gardens, four tiny gardens the size of rooms are very minimal. Not to mention, practical nothing was labeled. We then stopped at a local coffee shop "Grounded for Time" or something like that and I had the best Gelato made in Minneapolis (Kel--next time we are there we need to stop at the Gelato place.) It was SOOOOO good! I would definitely do that again. We then hit the road for home.

Well that is all for now. The next blog entry will be for Kylan's 2nd Birthday! Can you believe it?!

Mother's Day - Take 3! And Ryan's graduation...

I guess 3rd time is a charm!

So two Saturdays ago--we left EARLY in the morning to get to Ryan's graduation. Yes, the last of the little brothers was graduating high school. It was sad--I mean a happy occasion--but sad to see how quick the years had gone by. I still remember little Ryan and what an affectionate kid! And let me say he has turned into a very handsome and mature, yet sincere young man. I only teared up briefly as they promenaded into the gym (remember pregnancy hormones--I cry every day!) It was a very long commencement, but worth the moment of watching Ry walk across that stage with a dignified smile--and yes I have it on video camera. There goes my brother! Ry graduated with a very high GPA --somewhere around a 3.9, he played football, rugby, baseball, even did some track I believe as well as was apart of the National Honors Society. This fall he will be heading off to Concordia Mequon pursuing a degree in pharmacy. So if you need any advice on your prescriptions in a few years--you will know who to call. With his chatty, friendly, and genuine personality, I know he will have a very loyal customer following. There is no doubt that he will be someone that many of his customers go to for encouragement.

So pics above are from Ry's graduation. Ky and Dominic played with stickers through part of the ceremony. We really should have pulled them out early. Stickers = happy babies....And yes that is my husband with the short hair. He had been talking about getting it cut really short and now he did it. I prefer it longer, but everyone needs a change of pace from time to time.

Following the graduation, we were off to Pops and Debi's for a brief Mother's day celebratory, prior to their departure for the weekend. Ky enjoyed counting potatoes with grandpa and reading books with G'ma Debi. Then we were off to spend the afternoon with Nana & G'ma Jan. At this point, I was starved--the new little one was starting to make me nauseous--so we made a quick trip to Beans & Barley for lunch--and what a yummy lunch. They always serve good stuff! I had the veggie hummus pita pocket & the black bean burrito (NO--I did not eat 2 meals! You think I am a big or something! Shame on you! Rob and I split our meals in half! You shouldn't make such assumptions---just because i am pregnant does not mean I am a pig. For goodness sake!...okay that was fun...) One of the pics up there is of Ky eating a lemon at the restaurant...hey you gotta try everything at least once...and he enjoyed it! After that we had a jaunty walk back to Nana & G'ma Jan's. We gave Nana her gift and then Jan pulled out her accordion. This was hilarious. Ky had been begging to push buttons all day. So she got her accordion out and said--"Okay push one of these buttons." So Ky pushes and the accordion just blares a note at him. It made him jump so high! And then he ran to Nana out of fright! It was very funny! Oh---silly boy....He then warmed up to the accordion and him and G'ma Jan jammed to some music. What a fun day!

The last pic is of Ky and his girlfriend Morgan. He talks about her ALL the time. She is a bit younger than him, but age appropriate. They are very cute together.

So--I am not sure I have a whole lot more to add right now. The next blog entry will be in regards to Ky's surgery (getting the tubes in.) He just had ear infection #5 in 5 months--so the tubes are a good thing at this point.

Baby #2 is doing fabulous. Very active--especially loves sugar and fruit which makes my cravings horrid. At least Ky was a healthier craving pregnancy. 24 weeks now and am really enjoying preparing for his/her arrival. Until next post....