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.

Father's day/ Mom's b'day

Kylan is having a great summer. He just started swim classes at the YMCA and he LOVES jumping into the water (with mom/dad there to catch him.) Right now we are trying to teach him to blow bubbles. He is VERY close.

Kylan also enjoys his pool and the sprinkler. He doesn't like it when the sprinkler gets him though--he only likes to put his hands in it. (When the sprinkler gets him he cries--I think it just surprises him.) Ky also enjoys the hose. It was so funny, the first time he picked it up and tried to get a drink from it, it squirted him in the face. That caught him by surprise. Since then he has learned to be more careful.

Kylan has also discovered the raspberry bush in the backyard. When we go out, he will run over to it and pick off the ripe berries and eat them. And when he can't find anymore berries, he will eat the leaves--though we stop him before he gets too many.

For Father's day/Mom's B'day we went to the beach (Lake Mendota) and had a picnic. It was a very nice and relaxing day. Ky was a little more interested in his surroundings to eat though--so he spent more time running around than relaxing. He played in the water and the sand (and tried to eat the sand many MANY times.) SIDENOTE--YUCK! you would think that after one mouthfull of sand he would learn that sand is pretty disgusting and sticks in your mouth and is icky-crunchy--Not my boy. YUCK! The boy eats everything....

The weekend following Father's day we went to Milwaukee to visit with Rob's folks. We had a nice lunch with Nana & Gma Jan and then went to Grandpa's and Gma Debi's for more bir thday fun. (The pic above with Ky and Graham crackers and a hammer--is of him helping us make a pie crust for Grandpa.) There Ky got to swim in the pool and of course drank lots of pool water --YUCK! But he had lots of fun. We also went strawberry picking--but Ky did not enjoy that very much since he was stuck in the backpack.

Okay my turn to blog about myself. So This year --as mentioned before has been a bad car year. I didn't even mention the Flat tire I got last month. Well on June 14th I was rearended by a guy who attempted to run--but thanks to a good samaritan, was chased down. Anyways turns out it was a 20 year old kid (I know--i just dated myself) who was driving mommy & daddy's car and had a suspended license. There turned out to be no damage--but the kid should not have been driving in the first place--and since there was no damage no one really cared. The police officer simply gave the boy a ticket for driving with a suspended license (oooh...do you really think that stopped him from driving ....) and because he did eventually return to the scene of the crime (after endangering other lives). So here is the thing...I wanted more to happen--so I hope it did. I wrote a letter to Mommy & Daddy and I also informed his insurance of everything that happened (and don't get me started on the insurance thing--that was another huge mess.) So anyway--below is the letter to Mommy & daddy--and hopefully they took some action. But who knows. (Next week will be a blog on Ky's first camping trip!)

Mr. & Mrs. XXXX,

I am writing in regards to your son, Alan. Last week I was in a car accident with him. Your truck, a blue and white Ford F-150, was involved. I was not sure if you were going to hear about this accident, which is why I am writing. As a parent, I know that I would want to know about my child’s actions--if they were driving MY vehicle which was covered by MY insurance.

Last Thursday (June 14), I was sitting at a traffic light at the Cottage Grove/Stoughton road exit waiting to make a left turn. Alan was behind me and there was a car in front of me also waiting to turn left. When the light turned green, the car in front of me turned left. I then moved into the intersection and stopped, yielding to an oncoming car going straight. It was then that I heard squealing tires and was struck by Alan. My car was pushed forward several feet.
As most people in an accident, I was in shock. I quickly turned to check that my 12 month old son in the back seat was okay. This was when I realized Alan was leaving the scene of the accident. He did not pull up to check that I was okay—in fact he didn’t even glance at me. He quickly pulled around my car and sped off. I did at this point look at his license plate which is now forever engrained in my mind-- XXX XXX.

At this point, I can only tell you what happened through several other witnesses. I was more concerned about my child and getting out of the intersection. I pulled over to a nearby parking lot, checked my baby and called my husband.

During this time a witness (who happened to be the oncoming car I yielded for), chased down Alan who was speeding away. The witness was able to get him to pull over and come back. During this time, Alan sped through the YMCA turnaround. My coworker (I work at the YMCA), was in that turnaround unloading her children at the time he sped through. She was concerned about her children’s safety as well as other families who were also present.

Alan did come back several minutes later to my car along with the witness who chased him. At the time, I was too concerned about my child and car to care much about Alan’s presence. He obviously did not care about me or my child’s safety or he would have checked on us sooner. I did get his information at this point of time. I asked to see his driver’s license, he said he forgot his wallet and had no identification. There was no visible damage to my car or the truck, so we left it at that.

Once I got to the YMCA, I called the police to report the accident. They were going to mail me a self-report to fill out. My coworker (who had been unloading the children in the Y turnaround when Alan came zooming through) also called the police on her own and they sent an officer out since he endangered lives by recklessly racing through the YMCA turn around.

Due to Alan’s irresponsible driving and endangering the lives of the public, the officer further investigated the accident to discover that he was driving with a suspended license. He should have never been on the road. Meaning—this would have never happened if he had obeyed the law. I know he was cited and ticketed for driving with a suspended license and warned for reckless driving.

The primary reason I wanted to write this letter isn’t because Alan hit me (accidents happen.) It was his actions following the accident and the fact that he had a suspended license and should not have been driving to begin with. My personal belief as well as the witnesses was that he intended to leave and not return. Alan may or may not agree with that, but his actions say otherwise.

I also wanted to point out that insurance follows the vehicle in the accident NOT the driver. Therefore, if there are any problems with my car or medical expenses, the claim gets filed on your insurance, as owners of the vehicle in the accident. Honestly, this angers me—because it is Alan’s fault any of this happened—not to mention his lack of sensitivity in the incident--and I would rather have it reflect on his insurance record.

I wanted to make sure you knew all of this, just in case Alan is still driving YOUR truck illegally with a SUSPENDED license. I would also like to point out that Madison has a wonderful bus transportation system that cheaply and effectively gets you where you need to go on a timely basis. It also covers the entire city. I have traveled on it many times and have been impressed. There is no reason Alan should be on the road at this time.

I don’t know you, but I hope you appreciate this letter and have a talk with Alan and reclaim your vehicle or have it put in his name (before he gets YOU in trouble.) As a parent, I know that I would want to be aware of my child’s actions—especially when they are putting my good name at stake by his/her careless actions. If you would like to contact me about any details my phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. As far as the other witnesses, I will give you their information only if you request it and they are okay with me providing their numbers to you. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jessica Schnake

The Birthday Party

Ky's b'day went very well. Uncle Adam and Aunt Liz actually drove from Indy on Saturday and were able to spend a lot of prebirthday time with him. He had a great time with them and they helped prepare all the birthday stuff including make the cake. Thank you so much for all your help Liz and Adam! It would not have gone nearly as smoothly without your help.

In honor of Kylan we made a banana cake (banana being his favorite food.) And what loves bananas--monkeys of course--thus inspired the monkey cake with yummy chocolate cream cheese icing. Thus also inspired the Curious George birthday outfit. It was a monkey of a time!We also made a mini cake with whipped cream for Kylan ( a little healthier and a little more fun for him to eat.)

The day of his party Kylan was awesome! He did great. WE were a bit concerned with the large crowd of people coming over, but he took it all in stride. So let's get to the good part--the cake!

So we sang happy b'day-Ky just seemed a bit mystified by the ritual chanting. Then we placed him in his chair with the big cake in front of him. He slowly poked at it and played with the frosting. He did not seem to understand that it was food. Eventually somebody stepped in and helped by giving him a fingerfull of frosting. Then Ky was like--"Hey this is good!" and hopped to it. (the pics above pretty much tell this story.) He even shared some cake with Dad and cousin Devan. (We've raised such a fine boy!)

Ky was pretty good with opening presents on his own--though slow. Good thing Devan was there to help him out He got some pretty neat things like clothes, a pool and accessories, bath toys, a hammer/ball set, and a talking bear.

We gave Ky a bubble lawn mower the next day as a present. He loved it..well until he realized that it would not support his weight--thus the crying baby on the ground. He has since learned not to put all his weight on it--and once again loves it. (I had to put these pics in because they are hilarious and just show his personality. He gets really mad and throws tantrums when things don't work the way he wants them to.)

Alas, my baby is one--and now officially a toddler. I like this age. He interacts and does so much more with us now. Did I mention that Kylan can say please..well not really, but we taught him to ask instead of cry for things he wants. So now if he sees something that he wants he points at it and says "BA". And if you ask him to say please, he will say "BA". OOOhh a couple more milestones to quickly add--

Ky will grab your/his mouth/nose if you ask him --where is Mama's/Ky's Nose/mouth? (He is so smart.)

He has also officially learned to stand up on his own without grabbing on to anything. Before he would always crawl to something and use it to stand up, but now he will stand up on his own.

And have I mentioned my little boy hugs! I know I have, but I just have to reiterate...he will run up to you, wrap his arms around your legs and go "AHHHH" and look up at you with the biggest smile. Gotta love this little guy.

More to come soon!

The Big ONE!

On Birthday morning, Ky was greeted by mom and dad with a birthday song. He seemed pretty please about that--especially since dad was able to take the morning off of work. We then got ourselves ready to head to the zoo. Before the trip, we turned his carseat around--so he faces forward. It was funny putting him in. It was clear that he knew something was different--but wasn't quite sure what it was right away.

The Madison zoo is very cool. We had a fun time (except for all the kids on field trips) looking at all the animals. Ky especially enjoyed the animals that moved. If they didn't move, he wasn't very interested. I think his favorite animals were the Bears. The bears were pacing, and one even decided to take a dip in the pool. The only thing Kylan did not like so much was the big fish. We had him walking on the ground by the aquariums and when he saw the giant fish he ran to daddy's arms and insisted on being picked up.

After the zoo, we decided to give Ella's Deli a second try (See feb blog entry). They have a lot of neat gadgets and games to keep kids occupied so we thought it would be fun for Kylan. Plus we figured there shouldn't be too much of a lunch rush. We were right, there were not many people there---however we still waited 45 min to get our food. And we ordered simple items that do not need to be cooked, just merely assembled and heated. Yeah--I don't think we will be returnng anytime soon. We ordered a kid's meal for Kylan--that was too small for him. He ate it--then ate part of mine and Rob's food. Prior to arriving, we had considered getting some ice cream for the b'day boy--but dad had to get to work, and I think we were all a little irritated by the experience.

After Ky's mid day nap he spent his time playing in the driveway. We grilled and ate outside--which he loves. He loves to see other people walking--the neighbor kids playing--and cars driving.

Oh-yeah and there was a brief visit to the doctor. (Ky remind me to tell you about this later--I won't put it here--that way I can save you the embarrassment of everyone knowing.)

All in all it was a very nice day. Stay tuned for the next blog--Ky's first b'day party!