3 years old

Look at that handsome face. I just want to squeeze it all day long. Here's some things I want to remember about Kyle at 3 years, 3 months old:

• You talk NON-STOP. Words that end in "T" you pronounce with a "K" so you say "giank" for "giant," "righk" for "right," "presenk" for "present," etc. And some words that start with "S" you use "G" like "Gop!" for "Stop!" Words that start with "L" are "Y" like "Yoyo" for cousin "Lolo."
• You also like to say "that's funny huh?" or "that's silly huh?" "oopsie daisies!" and "aye yay captain!" 
• When we do thumbs up, you use your pointer finger shaped like a hook. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.
• You can write your name like a champ!
• You are about to finish your first year of parent participation pre-school, and you've grown up so much. You follow the rules, sit on the mat, do story time by yourself, etc. So proud of how far we've come since we started!
• You love to color and your pictures are no longer scribble. You stay in the lines and use all different colors. You're an amazing artist!
• You also love to paint and do such a good job on your crafts at school. You take them very seriously.
• Your favorite shows right now is Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Paw Patrol.
• You finally gave up your pacis last month. We were so scared to do it because you were OBSESSED your whole life, but after one night of torture we got through it and survived. The paci fairy brought you some Paw Patrol guys and their vehicles and I think you were satisfied with the trade.
• You started swim lessons last week and aren't sure if you love it yet.
• You sometimes sing a song to baby sister in my tummy that you made up. "Go to sleep, baby sisterrrr."
• You were a super potty trainer. Once you were ready, it was like you never even wore diapers! For us, the key was really just waiting until you were ready.
• You love the Step Into Reading books about Batman and the super heroes. But you also really love the Dr. Seuss books. We read a ton of books every night and you always ask for just one more.
• We like to go to the library and you help me pick out books now. 
• Last time we went to Knott's, you went on the log ride with Mimi! But now you say you don't want to do that again because you didn't like it. But you tried!
• After you get out of the bath, you and your dad like to trick me. You get in your jammies and then put your towel over them and make me think you just got out of the bath. You call it "jammie burrito" and think it's hilarious to do it EVERY NIGHT! You always say "I tricked you huh!!"
• You are a super friendly neighbor and say hi to everyone when we are on a walk or go to the park. The Fed Ex delivery guy came yesterday and you told him "I'm Kyle and I'm 3 years old!"
• We've been working on writing letters and you are doing really well! You can identify all of them and most of their sounds, and you can write A, C, E, H, I, K, L, M, O, Q, T, U, V, W, X by yourself (capital letters).
• You like to do puzzles and we play games a lot, like Candy Land, Memory, Chutes and Ladders, Sequence for Kids and Go Fish.

You are so stinkin sweet with your baby cousin and I can't wait for you to meet your baby sis. Only 5 more weeks!!

strawberry picking // 25 months

It was almost 90 degrees in the OC yesterday, but that didn't stop us from lathering on the sunscreen and spending some time at Tanaka Farms. During the spring they do strawberry tours, where you climb aboard a tractor, take a tour of the farm and then pick your own fresh berries to take home with you. (In the summer they have watermelon tours, the fall a pumpkin patch and winter Christmas trees.)

The entire tour is about an hour, and Kyle did great! I was actually surprised at how much he enjoyed it. He loved climbing aboard the tractor and sat nicely the entire time, pointing out cool things he saw, like a scarecrow and a hawk. On our way to the strawberry field we made a few pit stops to try some of their home grown veggies - we got to try carrots, cilantro, onion, celery, bok choy and sugar snap peas. And would you believe that my little picky eater took a bite of every single one?! (except the onion - I spared him from that experience). I couldn't believe it! I guess he got caught up in the moment :) He liked the carrots and peas the best, which is no surprise since those are his favorites at home too.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at how much Kyle loved the tractor ride since that's totally up his alley, but what really made me smile was how into the strawberry picking he was. He wanted it to do it all by himself and looked hard to find the good ones that were perfect for his little basket. And he was so, so proud of himself when his basket was full and he carried it back to the tractor. He climbed back in with his basket, opened it up and grubbed! Shoved strawberries in his mouth for the whole ride back.

We bought some sugar snap peas from their market and headed home, where Kyle was really excited to show his dad his basket of berries and eat a few more before dinner. We can't wait to go back this summer for some watermelon fun!

2 years old!

We celebrated Kyle's 2nd birthday with a train-themed party at the park behind our house. This kid loves his choo choo's, and he was pretty stoked when an actual train arrived to take the kids on a ride around our neighborhood! For the next few days every time we'd leave the house he would put on his fake pouty face and say "choo choo bye bye" - meaning he didn't want to say goodbye to that thing. It was pretty cool.

And check out that amazing train birthday cake that my mom got for him! The entire front part was made out of a rice krispy treat, and then the three train cars were chocolate cake, topped with hard candies, cake pops and cupcakes. Kyle was pretty obsessed with it and actually woke up early the next day, snuck into the kitchen and climbed up on the counter to stuff his face with blue frosting before I even woke up! Oh, and he pooped blue for 2 days :)

Since we kept Kyle's 1st bday party relatively low-key (just invited the family over for some cake and ice cream), this was our first time throwing a kid's party. I tried not to go too over-the-top, but I did want to throw a fun party for all of his little friends. We splurged on the train, but other than that I just had some train coloring book pages and crayons/colored pencils out, lots of outdoor toys for free play and sent the kids home with a cute little goody bag filled with a train cookie made by grandma, a train whistle or little wooden train, bubbles and a sheet of Thomas stickers.

Since his party was on Saturday and his actual birthday was two days later on Monday, we wanted to do a few things to make the day special for him. We snuck out to get him some birthday balloons and a birthday muffin, and then took him and his cousins to Chuck E. Cheese's for pizza dinner. Overall I'd say he started his 2nd year on a pretty happy note!

23 months

Our last month with a 1 year old!

I took this photo of Kyle last Wednesday. I taught my first class that morning, picked Kyle up from his auntie's house and put him down for a nap. When he woke up I wanted to do something fun with him because it felt like we had been cooped up for the past few weeks while I met deadlines and prepped for school. I decided I wasn't going to open my laptop for the rest of the day, and we were going to make an impromptu trip to Knott's - just me & Kyle! It was one of those trips that I was soaking in every second because I was having so much fun with the sweetest boy. He's so good when we're there - he gets off the kiddie rides and waits for me, holds my hand, climbs in the stroller for a snack and has so much fun running from one place to the next. I know I'll remember these trips forever and will miss this time when he lets me hold him close while we ride the swings together.

23 months is really fun in our house, but can also be frustrating. It's so fun to watch Kyle remember words and communicate with us, but then it's hard to know what to do when he won't let us put pants on him or doesn't get his way and lies face down on the kitchen floor kicking his feet. He definitely gets his share of time outs, but I think they are mostly because he is working really hard to test his limits. Just recently he's starting doing "2 year old things" just to see if he can get away with them. Super cool things, like climbing on top of the piano and playing with his feet twice after I asked him not to, or pulling the diaper geenie bag out and wasting the entire refill pack by pulling 15' of plastic bag across the house. He also learned the phrase "no, no, no, mine" and can be possessive over things that he takes an interest in (where the F do they pick these things up?), so Brian and I are working very hard to teach him that those words are not allowed out of his mouth! It's so important to us that he's a respectful kid and treats others nicely. I know it's a process and will take time, so we are just trying to be consistent. It's a never-ending, exhausting journey through the terrible 2's!

I know things are clicking for him though, because he's usually a very sweet boy. He starting saying "thanks Mommy" or "thanks Daddy" without being prompted, which breaks my heart every time. He's asks nicely for things "play choo choos peeeeeese" and always takes a break from watching his show to pat me softly on the face and say "hi mommmmy" - you can only imagine how that melts me. We always talk to Daddy about our day while we're eating dinner, and he's starting to contribute to the conversation. After Knott's last week he kept telling him "choo chooooo!!!" because he was so excited that we took a ride on that train (his fave). 

23 month milestones

• Sleeping in his big boy, toddler bed.
  I feel like this milestone came a little too quick for us because I was definitely not ready to say goodbye to his crib, but he had been climbing out for months now and it just seemed silly at this point to keep the rails up. He loves his toddler bed and takes good naps in it, has only rolled off once and generally sleeps through the night (with the exception of last night of course when I finally fell asleep at 2:30 a.m. after my bar shift and he comes in our room at 3 a.m. and turns the TV on ready to watch Toy Story).

• Identifying a million pictures in a book.
  OK I'm exaggerating, but we read his "first words" book the other day and he could tell me so many words, I was so impressed! I'd point to a picture and ask him what it is, and he would tell me "hose," "bird," "shoes," etc. We're not quite there yet on the instruments page (no "cello," or "banjo" haha) but he nailed all of the foods, household and clothing items.
• Interest in sitting on the potty.
  Ok not sure if this is an actual milestone because he's definitely not even CLOSE to being potty trained, but he totally gets the process. He tries to go pee on the potty, but it just hasn't happened yet. But this month he would sit there and push, so I know he knows what to do. He also tells us when he needs a new diaper (sometimes). Baby steps! We're not going to push him until we know he's ready...
• Counting to 5!
  He loves to count, but he usually points to things and says "2, 2, 2, 2!" But a couple days ago he lined up his markers and counted "1, 2 3, 4, 5" and I freaked out! I randomly got it on video too, yay! I wasn't expecting it at all, and it's so fun to see things click in his mind. He hasn't done it again since, but now I know that he knows that there is a world beyond 2 ;)

22 months

At 22 months, Kyle no longer walks anywhere - he runs or skips as fast as he can. He is all over the place and touches everything in his sight. Today at the store, in the 1.5 minutes it took me to pay for groceries, he pulled down the car air freshener and a bag of plastic bags off the shelf. The checker said "that's what boys do, mom!" and I guess he's right! He loves to explore outside and inside drawers, play with his cars and choo choos, throw balls, do play doh, watch Curious George, eat peanut butter off the spoon, and pull boxes of cookies off the counter and stuff them in his mouth (ok, that just happened once but it was hilarious).  

Kyle is really trying to put sentences together! So far they're just 2 or sometimes 3 words, but in the past few weeks his vocabulary has really grown. He loves to say "shoes on" or "shoes off," "out back," "bath time," "ready... go!" "watch show" "silly Penny" ... his little voice is so sweet. His favorite saying is still "up up up up up up" any time I'm sitting or relaxing somewhere because he just wants me to be UP holding him up or walking around doing whatever he's doing. Until this morning actually it sounded more like "uh uh uh uh" and then out of the blue today he said "uP" and enunciated the P!

He loves going on adventures with his mom & dad. He gets really excited when we all get ready to go somewhere. He makes sure dad is wearing his hat, gets his hat out of the closet, brings me my shoes and chooses a toy from his toy box to take in the car with him and gets cozy in his car seat with his blanket. He loves car rides and is such a good boy when we run millions of errands together every week. The ladies at the bank love him because he knows how to swipe my ATM card correctly, and everyone gives him so much attention because he's just so sweet and handsome with his red mop ;)

My favorite time of day is the morning, even though I'm never ready to get out of bed. Kyle will wake up, come in our room, climb in bed with me and get under the blanket. He'll snuggle with me every day - sometimes just a minute if he is excited to start his day, but sometimes for up to 30 minutes if he's feeling sleepy still. Sometimes he'll actually fall back asleep on me, and those days are so special since we've never been co-sleepers and I get to hug my boy as I catch a few more zzz's. Then we'll get up, get his milk, make coffee and watch a show before breakfast. An easy routine but I feel so happy and spoiled every morning being lazy with my boy before our day gets going. 

Kyle is really, really funny. He loves to tease us and make us laugh. He LOVES to be chased and "hides" by running away and dropping on the floor and crawling up into a ball. He loves his sister Penny - no one can make him laugh like she does. Except maybe cousin Jacob, who makes him belly laugh just by shaking his head silly. He knows how to push his boundaries and do things he knows he shouldn't be doing, but is also a great listener and such a good boy when we go places. He's been refusing to give us kisses and wipes ours off for a couple of months now because he thinks it's so hilarious. It is pretty funny, but I really can't wait until he's over that joke so I can get kisses from my boy again! 

Just two more months until we have a 2 year old! The thought of that is just crazy to me. I can't talk about it too much because I'm known to cry at the drop of a hat just thinking about my boy growing up. I'm going to miss these days when I can still rock him to sleep and he likes to hold my hand on the couch and do anything in his power (i.e. climb on my head while I'm working on the computer, climb up my legs when I'm standing or lay on my chest) just to be close to me. Great I'm crying now. Love my boy so much and this phase has been so much fun.

21 months

I can't believe it is almost time to start planning Kyle's 2nd birthday party! I'm getting so excited about it because I know he's going to have so much fun playing with all of his friends and celebrating. He is changing so much every day, I can't even imagine what a big boy he will be on his special day in just 3 months.

At 21 months, our sweet boy is talking more and more. He's really trying to put sentences together and sometimes I can even understand him :) He is also learning how to charm his mom, which of course melts my heart. He bribed me with a kiss the other day and is starting to smile so sweetly at me when he knows he's starting to get into trouble.

Kyle loooooves to be tickled, laugh and be chased around the house. He's really into Play Doh, his Woody, pretending to take a nap (so silly), playing with his choo choos and riding his little Jeep around the house. He's becoming a much better eater and recently discovered the joys of new foods like mac n cheese, and he even ate broccoli willingly! He'll sleep until about 6:30-7 a.m. in his crib and then come climb in bed with mom for some morning snuggles. Some of his common words and phrases are "up up up" (all day long), "outside" and "pleeeeeease" when he wants to do puzzles on my iPhone. 

I just love my sweet boy to bits and cherish every single day I get to spend with him. He is my heart!

20 months

My big boy is 20 months tomorrow! He said his first 2-word sentence this morning: "bye daddy!" You could see his little wheels turning as he put the 2 words together! He said it a few times with a big smile on his face, like he knew he just did something really cool.

I always say Kyle is 20 months going on 3. He jumps in the bounce house with the big kids and does a great job, climbs like crazy and has great balance. He's really tough, but also loves a good cuddle with mommy or daddy. To my dismay, he thinks it's hilarious to wipe off every single one of my kisses, but does give up sweet kisses to mom & dad before bed.

He's been having a really hard time falling asleep at night, but once he's out, he's out. When he wakes up, he climbs out of his crib to come find us, so it's probably time to transition to a big boy toddler bed pretty soon. He has his escape method down so I'm not too concerned that he'll hurt himself, but if he can climb out then what's the point, right? He just seems so young to say farewell to the crib forever! I was hoping to make it to at least 2...

I love so much about my boy, but it really makes my heart smile to see the way he treats other people and animals. He's had his going-on-2-year-old moments where he doesn't want to share his stuff, but he's generally very sweet and gentle to his friends. He loves to hold hands and give hugs, and today he pet a goat very gently and helped wipe some hay off of his friend's pants when she stood up :)  I hope he holds on to that sweetness as he enters his crazy toddler years!

Happy 20 months to my big boy!

19 months

Saturdays are the best because Brian and I are typically together with Kyle all day long. It's the only day out of the week that we're both off, and I can tell that Kyle loves having us all in one place. This morning was the cutest  - the 3 of us were playing in his room with cars admiring his sound effects, then the kitchen with his train set, then back to his room to drill things. Then we had lunch together at the table and when we were done he grabbed Brian's hand, then grabbed my hand and led us both together into the living room, where he jumped up on the couch and told us to sit on either side of him, and then asked to watch a Mickey. How do you say no to that? So we all sat on the couch together to watch a show as a family and he had the biggest smile on his face the whole time.

Kyle is only 19 months but in a lot of ways he seems much older. He likes to do things on his own, like carry his stuff out to the car, get the milk out of the fridge, put his dishes in the sink, put lotion on his body, open the door with keys. When we go to the park he likes to play by himself, which makes me super nervous so I still hover over him within arm's reach. He's talking up a storm and probably says about 30-40 words. My favorites are "toodles" "bagel" and "blanket" (which sounds kind of like a two-syllable "bit") and he says "ya" when people ask him questions. He's starting to have strong opinions about who holds his bottle/cup or snack when he's taking a break from eating/drinking (it's usually me and NOT dad), and really likes to boss me around by pulling me off the couch and pushing me on the ground so he can climb up my legs/sit on my stomach/dive over me (the joys of being a boy mom).

He loves being chased and rough housing. His favorite thing is being tickled/running around the house like a crazy person and throwing himself on the ground. Everywhere we go he likes to fall on purpose, which I'm totally used to now but makes my friends a fam a little nervous.

Sometimes I miss my tiny baby so much it hurts, like when I stumble upon this picture when I'm stalking my friend's instagram, or when I read articles like this and unexpectedly bawl my eyes out. But most days I just watch him in awe because he is really turning into this amazing, smart, adventurous little boy who is always thinking and exploring. I just wish he'd get over his intense obsession with opening the fridge and touching everything in sight sooner than later.

18 months

I asked my friend Morgan (@momoliti) if she would take some pictures of Kyle at 18 months and she captured him perfectly. I love these photos so much because I can see his personality in all of them, and I know they'll help me remember what he is like at this sweet age. He fell asleep on the way home from our little photo shoot, so during the quiet drive I was replaying the morning and thinking about how much fun I have with him and all of the little things I love about being his mama:

1. His cheesy smile for the camera and the way he says "chssssssss" in his high-pitched voice.
2. The way he shuffles his feet and walks silly when he knows he's doing something he probably shouldn't be doing.
3. How he thinks that if he curls up in a ball between the couch and the ottoman he somehow becomes invisible.
4. How much he loves ice, playing in the sink (still!), the hose, digging up sand/dirt, clicking his high chair straps, running up and down hills, being tickled and chased, hiding in his closet, running around with a towel on his head, playing with Penny, elephant pictures and sounds, gym class and wagon rides.
5. His continued obsession with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the way he says "Daisy" in his sweet baby voice.
6. His love for tortillas and chips, and how I can bribe him to eat pretty much anything if he gets a tortilla chaser.
7. How he opens his mouth, sticks out his tongue and says "aaaah" if he wants a bite of whatever I'm eating.
8. His stubborn streak and how he sometimes won't do a puzzle or animal sound because he knows I really, really want him to do it.
9. How much he hates sitting still at story time.
10. How sweet he is to babies and little kids, holding their little hands and giving hugs and kisses.
11. His amazing 2-3 hour afternoon naps that I do not take for granted.
12. How he's starting to "count" by pointing to things and saying "two two two."
13. How much he loves opening the refrigerator and staring at its contents.
14. How much he loves gym class and coach Lisa.
15. How he points to his cheeks when we sing "then you're face will surely show it!"
16. How he laughs at daddy's Donald Duck impression.
17. The way he curls up in a little ball on my chest when I'm in my work uniform and he knows I'm leaving for a while. 
18. How he gives daddy a sweet kiss goodnight every night.
19. His southern drawl when he says "hiiii" and "byyyyye."
20. How he asks me to rub his feet or hold his hands at night.
21. How he thinks he's such a big boy when we let him eat a snack or meal in the big chairs at the table.
22. How much he LOVES animals and making all the sounds.
23. His red curls and huge man hands. 
24. How I had to buy him the shoes in these photos because after we tried them on at Target he cried real tears when I put them back on the shelf.
25. The way he asks nicely for things: "asky plsssss."
26. Infinity more memories that I hope will never leave me.

Thank you Morgan for these sweet pictures that I will treasure forever!

17 months: a letter to Kyle

My sweet Kyle,

Nothing melts my heart more than when I get love and snuggles from you. You're such a loving boy, and you show it by giving me quick cuddles, kisses and hugs out of nowhere. This doesn't happen every day, but sometimes out of the blue you'll look up at me and give me a quick peck, hold my hand or crawl over to me on the couch and lay your head on my chest. During these moments I can feel my heart soar and I am trying my hardest to lock those memories in so they'll never escape. It breaks my heart knowing that one day, when you're big and tall and hairy, you probably won't do these things anymore. But it's okay; I'll try and understand. For now, I'm soaking them in with all of my might because nothing can match that feeling of joy and true love.

I know you're only 17 months old, but I can see it in your eyes that you are a good boy, and that you are very caring and smart. Your first instinct with animals (real and stuffed) is to give them hugs and kisses. You put shape puzzles together like it's no big deal, and you can correctly point to every animal on the last page of "Brown Bear." 

When we go to the park (which is practically every day, by the way), you come and get me when you want to venture off. You walk over and reach up for my hand and lead me to where you want to go. Or when you need my help, you'll get my hand and show me what you want me to do. If you're running around and I ask you to stay on the grass, you'll (usually) stop when you reach the sidewalk. All of these things make me so proud of my little man. You're listening and learning and trying your best.

Speaking of the park, you're becoming a little pro at playing and climbing. You go down slides like you've been doing it your whole life, and you love to go super high in the baby swing. We bring a ball or your sand toys along, and you'll scoop sand and roam around and explore. You also love playing in water, whether it's the hose, sprinklers, water table or especially the sink. You ask to play in the sink every day by leading me to the kitchen/bathroom and saying "seeeeek seeeeek." This can get pretty boring for your mama, who has to stand there and make sure you don't fall out, but it's ok because you love it so.

This month you surprised me at gym class! We've been going every week for about 5 months now and you would just sit during circle time and listen. I would help you with the arm movements to songs, but you weren't ready to do it on your own. But two weeks ago, you decided you were ready and you participated in every single song! You knew all of the arm movements to the "butterfly" song, you talked on your "foot phone," you made "meatballs" with your hands and you touched your nose to your feet! All in one class! I was so proud, my face hurt from smiling ear to ear. I guess you were just soaking it all in until you were ready to do it on your own. 

I love our bedtime routine. Since summer has started, you've been pushing your bed time later and later, but we don't mind because your dad and I are enjoying our evenings together so much. Once summer is over we'll get back on an earlier routine, but for now you've been going down around 9-9:30. After dinner, dad's usually the one to give you a bath, and then we hang out together as a fam. When it's time to go to sleep, you'll help dad turn off the light and then give him a big kiss before joining me on the rocker. We tell daddy we love him, we'll see him in the morning, and then it's me and you rocking away until you drift to sleep. What you don't know is that every night dad comes back in to take you from my arms and lay you down in your crib so that I don't hurt my back. He also checks on you before we go to sleep to make sure your comf and the temperature is right. And he's the one who will comfort you if you wake in the middle of the night (which is pretty rare these days, but it does still happen). You sure are lucky to have such a loving daddy!

Here's more about you at 17 months:

• Favorite foods: tortillas, yogurt, applesauce, carrots, oranges/cuties. In the past few weeks you've become a pickier eater! Foods you used to love are no longer acceptable (i.e. bananas). Meals are becoming much more challenging and I've been pureeing your veggies/meats so you'll eat them, or making spinach smoothies during the day. You'll love something one day, and spit it out the next.
   
• Favorite books: Brown Bear, B is for Bear, Peekaboo Sophie, Where is Baby's Belly Button (still!)
   
• Favorite toys: BALLS to throw anywhere and everywhere, baseball mitt, your Mickey tent to roughhouse in, rocking horse, cars, stackable blocks, dad's iPod headphones, anything from the kitchen drawers/cupboards
   
• Favorite activities: gym class at the park (especially the parachute), playing outside, playing with water, sitting in the sink, saying hi to the ducks, exploring, being tickled on mom & dad's bed, ring around the rosie, putting on shoes
   
• Activities you tolerate/hot & cold: story time, stickers, coloring (mostly putting crayons in and out of the box), sidewalk chalk, building blocks, bubbles, bath, magnets, puzzle
   
• Favorite TV show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You could watch this all day if we let you! You will get the remote, bring it to us, point to the TV and say "Mi-eeeeee." We usually watch a few episodes a day, and a couple more on the days mom has a work call or deadlines. You just started getting up to do the hot dog dance :)
   
• Words you say: seeeeek (sink), ice, dad, hi, bye, Mickey, Penny, tuck (truck), bottle (you enunciate this perfectly, no "baba" over here!), chissss (cheese! - to smile for the camera) passssh (paci), peeeesh (please), pop!, noooo, eeeew, bup bup (up), down, out, go. You still sign for "more," "all done" and "help."
   
• Sleep schedule: down for the night 9-9:30 p.m., up anywhere from 6:30-8 a.m. Nap time is around noon and most days you'll sleep 2+ hours. By noon you are so ready for a nap that you fall asleep right away.

Next month you'll be 1.5 years old! Your dad and I are thinking of something fun to do to celebrate... I can't wait!

16 months

Almost every day either Brian or I says to the other "our kid is so cool!" Of course he has his moments, but at the end of the day we always chat about our times with him and what a fun boy he's turning out to be.

Here's some thoughts about our boy at 16 months old:

• He is so into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. So much so, that sometimes he will climb up on the couch, hand me the remote and point to the TV! He has also started to smile and laugh at the funny parts, which melts my heart. As a mom, I'm so torn about spending time watching TV in the house, but he loves it so much that we let him watch a few episodes a day, especially when it's time to wind down or when we all need a break (or mom needs to get some work done).
• Kyle loves to watch and learn. When we do something new, it takes him a little bit to warm up. He'll sit on the sidelines and observe, but by the end of our stay he's usually out there having a blast. He'll also watch Brian and I very intently do things until he has the hang of it himself.
• He's slowly starting to communicate using words. He says "bup bup bup" when he wants up, or more commonly when he wants me to get up (which is inevitably 1 minute after I sit down). He also says "down" and always says "ball" whenever he sees any type of ball. He loves to say "bop!" when he's popping bubbles (in real life, in a book or on the iPad). He says "bottle," even though I usually call it a "baba," which cracks me up. No baby words for him! It sounds more like "bah-doo." He is saying the word "more," along with the sign. And my mom told me that when she was babysitting the other day he said "Penny" clear as day!
• Speaking of the iPad, we've introduced him to a few games and he loves it, of course. He taught himself how to use the home key and swipes the arrow to open it. He calls it the "pad pad." I was reluctant to let him play with it, but it's pretty cool to watch him learn things, like animal sounds and puzzles. Everything in moderation, right?
• This kid is a pointer. He points at everything, and usually points appropriately! He points at the moon, at birds, cars driving by, or when he wants something out of the fridge. He also points at things in his book when he wants us to tell him what it is. 
• He LOVES being outside. He asks to go outside all day long and gets so bummed when we have to come back in the house. We take Penny for tons of walks (in the wagon, or with his tricycle) and go to the park every day to run around and play on the playground. We also hang out in the back yard and play with the water table, and Kyle loves to be in the garage with Dad. He gets to sit in the cars and touch all the tools - boy stuff.
• At almost 16 months Kyle stopped nursing, which was harder for me than it was for him. He pretty much weaned himself when we skipped a few night or morning sessions, and then just stopped asking for it. At this point he wasn't nursing very often/much anyway, but we were continuing because it was still working for both of us. But it's been about a week, so I think I can officially say he's done. Tear.
• Recently, Kyle has had a hard time saying goodbye to me. When he knows I'm leaving for work, he clings to me and puts his head down on my chest and won't let anyone touch him. He does fine once I'm out of sight and he stops crying, but the initial separation has been rough. He never used to be like that, so it's been hard having to break away from a screaming baby. Hopefully it's just a quick phase.

I'm really looking forward to having tons of fun this summer with my big boy! I'm sure by the time fall rolls around, the list of things he's doing will be 10 feet long. It's so amazing how fast this time is flying by, and how quickly he's growing and changing.

15 months

My big boy! Here's some tidbits about our life together at 15 mos:

• At your 15 mo. check up you weighed just a little over 25 lbs, which puts you a little above average in weight (and height).
• You are so tall now that you want to open/close doors with the doorknob, and oh ya - YOU LOCKED YOURSELF IN MY CLOSET! We were putting clothes away in mom &  dad's room. You ventured into our closet like you've done 100 times before, but this time you closed the door, reached up and twisted the lock. Of course I freaked out, ran to the kitchen for the screwdriver and frantically took the doorknob off. I had to FaceTime daddy to figure out how to open it after that. Luckily the light was on inside and you were happy as can be sitting in there waiting for me to figure it out :)
• You LOVE to go in the closet in your room and play "wheeeere's Kyle?" You also like to play a similar game with a towel on your head.
• You want to be outside all. the. time. You'll beg to go out front, go for a walk, go out back, go to the park. You have a baby pool and splash table out front, which you love. You are never happy to come home and get back in the house.
• You love your iPod! We "gave" you our old iPod touch, and you love to carry it around and listen to kids Pandora. You're dancing has really improved, and you like to move around and snap your fingers. You also like to carry your "boom box" around and listen to tunes.
• You can almost jump! You try really hard, but your little feet don't leave the ground just yet.
• You are trying so hard to form words. So far you've actually said "mom" and "dad" in various forms, and you've kinda/sorta said "down," "up," "Penny," "paci," "bath"... you move your mouth like you're talking all of the time but still trying to figure out the sounds.
• You kick serious ass at animal sounds. I know I've mentioned this before, but you're on a whole different level now. You've added the sounds/movements of the snake and crab to your repertoire, and you've started to make the animal sounds when you see one in a book or come on the TV. Proud mom. 
• We started swim class and you're not the biggest fan. You don't want to kick your feet or lay on your back/tummy yet, but mom is loving the fact that we get to swim together and get some sun.
• You're still in gym class too and are the most awesome one on the slide.
• You're pretty into sidewalk chalk. We'll go out back in the morning and you'll color away on the cement and gate.
• You're totally into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's our morning ritual to cut up a banana and watch an episode while mom and dad have some coffee. Sometimes you get so into the episode that you'll laugh, point and dance. Mom & dad usually end up watching you as you watch TV :) 
• You are napping really well lately, giving us a full 2+ hours (usually 12-2). You have also been sleeping well... only getting up at night a few times a month. Sometimes you just can't sleep without us in the room so we'll lay by your crib for a few hours, but those nights have been pretty rare. You usually sleep 8:30-6:30 ish. Bed time is 8, but mom & dad have so much fun with you at night we usually don't get the ball rolling until 8:15 and asleep at 8:30-8:45.
• You have been loving spinach/fruit/yogurt smoothies, tortillas (with cheese and chicken if mom's lucky), bananas, apples, carrots, cuties, peas, greek yogurt and ritz crackers. Still not the biggest meat fan because you don't like the way it feels when you swallow it.

14 months

Kyle is 14 months old today! I sometimes still can't believe this sweet boy is all mine (ok, half mine). The past couple of months I've been navigating the new world of "toddler mom" - which is MUCH different than "baby mom," by the way. When Kyle was born I knew the day would come that it would no longer be just about sleeping, eating and diaper changing... but I'm not sure I was fully prepared. Yes, it's still very much about those 3 things, but they now seem to be such a small part of my day. I'm now focused on teaching Kyle about the world and how to be a "good boy," while navigating the trenches of picky eating.

It's pretty crazy how much life changes month to month. Here are some highlights of what our life is like at 14 months:

• Kyle likes to go on the front lawn and blow bubbles. My independent boy is semi-interested when I do it, but he really likes to hold the wand and "blow" them himself.
• We just finished his 1st gym class through parks & rec. He absolutely loved it and we'll be continuing the next session. When we first started he could barely crawl up the "cheese wedge," but by the last class he was walking up and down! He loves being able to do the free play and explore.
• He's learning that he needs to stay by me and hold my hand outside (a big improvement from 12 & 13 months).
• He's also learned that there's things he's not allowed to touch, like the baby monitor cord and mommy's laptop. He's usually pretty good about the laptop, although he will still come over to me when I'm working and touch the keyboard delicately with his pointer finger. I think this is one of the cutest things ever so I can't get mad at that!
• He likes to throw trash in the trash can (yes - exciting times over here).
• He is getting better at cleaning up after himself... he understands where "things go" and will put things in their correct place. It's definitely not his favorite thing to do, though.
• He loves "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" and any other book where you can lift the flap.
• He has gotten time-out a few times for things like throwing blocks at me, throwing his sippy cup off his high chair or pulling on the glass table. He understands for the most part that these are not nice things to do and will point his finger and shake his head "no" at the table when he walks by :)
• Speaking of throwing, the girls at gym class all think Kyle is going to be a baseball player. He can throw a ball across the room, and actually has pretty good aim!
• He recently started to get excited when I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He loves the theme song and the Hot Dog dance! 
• He loves to brush his teeth. I tell him that mommy and daddy get a turn, then he's allowed to do it himself if he sits down. He's really good at sitting and brushing... for a lot longer than I'd like, haha.
• He's great at getting down steps by himself! At grandma's house, he knows he needs to sit down and scoot down the step.
• He looooves stickers and tolerates coloring.
• He sometimes moves his mouth like he wants to form words, but no words come out. He looks like a ventriloquist dummy :)
• His favorite foods are apple bites (slightly cooked), avocado, cut up cuties, peanut butter on toast, strawberries, cut up grapes, pureed carrots, yogurt, sweet potato. He's pretty good about eating his veggie purees (since he doesn't like to eat veggies as finger foods), but needs some coaxing sometimes. He does not like the texture of meat (with the exception of tuna), so I've had to be a little creative to get some protein in him. I'll scramble eggs and put them in his oatmeal, or put little bits of chicken in his veggies and he won't usually notice. I wasn't prepared for how stressful feeding a toddler can be! Luckily he likes milk so I don't have to worry about that part.

1

Kyle, I cannot believe you are 1! Sometimes - ok, all the time - I just watch you in amazement because I can't believe you are my son. Not a day goes by that I don't pinch myself and wonder how I got to be so lucky to be your mommy! Your dad and I are constantly smiling at each other when we watch you play and learn because you are so smart, and funny too. We lay in bed after you go to sleep and talk about how lucky we are and how much we love you. We share stories about our experiences with you and just laugh and laugh because we are enjoying this time with you so much.

It is bittersweet watching you grow up, because we loved you as a little baby so much. But now that you're 1, we're entering a new time in our lives. We no longer have a baby in the house... but a handsome toddler who surprises us every day!

Here is Kyle in a nutshell at age 1:

• You kick butt at animal sounds and faces. You can do the elephant, cow, kitty cat, sheep, monkey, squirrel, bunny rabbit and you try to make the fishy face. You even make the sound when I show you the flash cards with these animals on them.
• You just started to color with crayons. We color a little bit in the morning and you enjoy it, but you really like to put the crayons back in the box. 
• You have a crazy arm. You can throw balls across the room and sometimes have pretty good aim!
• You are getting so good at walking, it's almost a run!
• You LOVE shoes. You try so hard to put them on yourself, which is hilarious. Usually you'll pick some out and bring them to me and then lie down and wait for me to put them on your feet. The best is when you're running around naked and want to put shoes on. How can I say no to that?
• As much as you love shoes, you dislike hats and other things on your body, like blankets. You take them off instantly.
• Your favorite toys are your tool box, your blocks (you just learned that you are not allowed to throw your blocks and set them down gently on the carpet) and cars. 
• Your favorite books are the ones with animals that you can feel. You are also really into the Very Hungry Caterpillar, and like to stick your finger in all the little holes.
• You love to "ride" (aka be pushed) your tricycle through the park and run through the grass.
• You are in your big boy car seat, but still facing backwards for now. 
• You sleep through the night most nights! Woohoo! Your bedtime is 8, but we usually end up having so much fun with you at night that we play with you until 8:30. Last night you slept 8:30 pm - 7:30 am without waking up once. Sometimes you wake up around 2-3 am and go right back to sleep when Dad goes in there to check on you.
• You take one nice nap in the afternoon around 11:30 am. You usually sleep around 2-2.5 hours!
• You're a pretty good eater. Your favorite finger foods are cooked apple pieces, banana, avocado (although you're kind of getting over it), strawberries, blueberries, cheese. You grub on any veggie puree, but don't like eating cut up veggies (mom is working on that). You don't really like meat yet, but you'll eat tuna off a fork.
• At your 1 year check up, you were 30 inches long and weigh 23.1 lbs.
• You looooove bath time. Dad gives you a bath every night and you guys have so much fun.
• You have lots of tricks now: you say you're "1" by holding up 1 finger, blow kisses, do "big sigh," fake laugh and cough, kick your feet and clap, "snap" your fingers to the music, dance, tell Penny "no no" by wagging your finger at her when she barks, say "hmmm" and put your finger to your mouth, and shake and nod your head for yes and no.
• You say "more" and "all done" with sign language. Next we're going to learn "help."
• You love to play with Penny. You throw her toys for her and try to put them right in her mouth.

I'll probably come back and add more to this list, but you are waking up from your nap now and I am ready to pick you up and get some snuggles. I'm loving this phase, where you are discovering new things every day and are so proud to show off your skills. I can't wait to see what you learn next!

11 months

I can't believe how behind I am on this 11 months post... 3 weeks behind. How did this happen? So much has changed in the past 3 weeks, and Kyle's 1st birthday is in just 8 days. I'm kicking myself, because I want to remember just how he was at each month milestone. Mommy fail.

Oh well. Here is is his 11 month picture at least! Kyle started walking right when he turned 11 months, and he is all over the place now. Yesterday, he walked from the living room into his bedroom and back again (which is quite a distance!) and he continues to amaze me and melt my heart with his genius baby brain and cuteness overload.

I'm going to attempt a 1 year post soon... that is, if the tears don't break my Mac and my eyes don't fall out. Sniff.

10 months

Kyle, you are 10 months old! The best part about being 10 months is that you're starting to communicate with us... it's so fun! When we ask you "how big is Kyle?" you raise your arms above your head and we say "soooo big!" It never gets old. You also give us hi-5's and wave bye bye. You even say "ba byyyyyye" when you do it! Most of the time it's a delayed reaction and you're waving bye to a closed door 2 minutes after daddy leaves for work, but it's happening :)

You are also showing us what you want by grabbing our hands and putting them where you want them. If you want us to push your wagon, you'll grab our thumbs and put them on the handle! Or if you want us to rub your forehead when you're in your crib you place our hand there. You also grab my hands and push them together if you want me to clap or do another round of itsy bitsy spider.

At 10 months your little personality is really coming out. You're finding more things funny, like when mommy has a towel on her head after the shower or daddy pretends like he doesn't have any bones in his body (mommy cracks up at that one, too). You LOVE Penny girl and get really excited when she wants to play with you. You like to share your pacifier with her too, but mommy draws the line at that one! You also really like to play with your friends and cousins.

You know what you want and have a little stubborn streak. Once you put your mind to something (like getting your little hands on mommy's computer, phone, cup of coffee, or anything else you're not supposed to touch), it's all over until you succeed or we find a distraction.

Your balance is getting really good! You haven't taken a step yet, but you can pull yourself up with one hand on any piece of furniture and are getting really good and holding on and walking from the couch to the table, or from the wall to the piano. Your crawl has gotten super fast and you love to crawl all over the house and explore. Your favorite thing to do is open and close doors and drawers.

You're a great eater, but mostly with purees. We haven't gotten very far with the finger foods (you're a pro with putting Cherrios in your mouth and chewing, but not much more), but we're working on it. We're going to try soft, cut up veggies and some beans in the next couple of weeks.

Also at 10 months you had your 1st sick trip to the doctor with an ear infection. It was so sad to see you not feeling well, but I have to admit I loved all the extra snuggles I got when the only place you wanted to be was laying on my chest.

Kyle, you are so much fun at 10 months! I love when we can make you laugh and I love watching you learn new things. You've already mastered lots of your new toys from Christmas, like putting balls through the basketball hoop and making your new truck talk. You're a super handsome, smart, funny, sweet boy and growing so fast!

9 months

Kyle, you are 9 months old today! At 9 months, you are so much different than at 8 months. You're turning into a little boy before our very eyes; a sweet, determined, funny, handsome boy!

Here's some facts about you at 9 mos:

• At your 9 month check up you weighed 22 lbs, 4 oz and were 29.5 inches long. 
• You pull yourself up on anything and everything and walk along the couch and furniture.
• You are an expert crawler and getting faster every day!
• You love to crawl to any cord you see and pull. Trouble! We still have some serious baby proofing to do.
• You also love to close doors.
• You sit in the shopping cart like a big boy (see above). You're really good until the end of our shopping trip, when you try and stand up, crawl out and grab everything in sight.
• You are such a good eater. You eat all veggies and fruits I give you, except eggplant - which is so gross anyway. You also aren't a huge fan of asparagus, but you'll eat it mixed with banana or apple.
• Your diet includes pureed: broccoli, zucchini, squash (yellow and butternut), green beans, yams, banana, apple, pear, peas, carrots, cauliflower, oatmeal, avocado, asparagus. I'm still making your food, which is time consuming but still pretty fun.
• You just started eating puffs and you're already good at picking them up and getting them in your mouth. You like to chew them with your front teeth :) Once you've mastered puffs, we'll move on to Cheerios and then soft steamed veggie pieces.
• Speaking of teeth, you now have 7! Your teeth are coming in left and right, all over the place. Right now you have 4 on the top and 3 on the bottom.
• You're still nursing every time you wake up, and right before bed.
• Your bed time is 8 pm and you usually go down without a fight. You wake up around 7 or 7:30 am. Daddy gets you up, changes you and brings you to bed for some morning snuggle time with Mama.
• You're still taking 2 naps a day: around 10 am and then at 3 pm - both unpredictably range from 1-2.5 hrs. You really wear yourself out now that you're crawling and standing/pulling yourself up all day long.
• You are talking so much. You say "baba" "lala" "mama" (although you don't know what you're saying yet) "aaaa" and you just started screaming. You open your mouth and eyes really wide - it's so hilarious.
• Your favorite book is "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" You love to pull the flaps and turn the pages before mom and dad are done reading them.
• You love the animal sounds. Oink oink and ribbit ribbit make you laugh the most.
• You get so mad when we change your diaper - which is all day, every day. Sometimes when I sing the Sesame Street song it makes you forget how mad you are.

Your doctor said babies usually start walking 2-3 months after they pull themselves up... so it looks like you'll really be getting around the house sooner than later! Only 2 more of these updates before I have a 1-year-old boy. Hard to believe!

8 months

Kyle, you are 8 months old! Here's some fun facts about you at this age:

• You learned how to sit up from laying down, but for some reason you only think you're capable of this while in your crib at nap time. You haven't yet figured out that you can do this outside of your crib - hilarious.
• You're teething again! I see a little white poking through for a 3rd bottom tooth. Lots of drool happening, but no pain yet as far as we know.
• You love the swing at the park! I take you almost every day.
• You still don't sleep through the night, but we're (semi) OK with that. You go to bed like an angel at 8 pm and don't usually wake up until 4. I'll nurse you, and then right back to sleep until around 7. You've skipped your night feeding a handful of times, so I have a feeling you might actually outgrow it yourself. 
• You still nap like a champ - once at 10 am and then again at 2:30-3 pm.
• Now that we've given you a couple of fruits (apple and banana), you are GRUBBING. You're up to 3 meals of food a day. Yesterday we did: oatmeal with banana for breakfast, peas with apple for lunch, and avocado and yams for dinner. Grubbed it all up. Your favorites are apple, avocado, banana, carrots and yams. Next up is pears, spinach, and broccoli...
• You like drinking water out of your sippy cup and are really good at doing it yourself.
• You still want to stand at all times. You're not showing too much interest in the classic crawl - you're all about pulling yourself up (usually by grabbing mom or dad's hands) and standing as long as you can. You think you're such a big boy when you do that!
• You're into peek-a-boo with a blanket. We'll put it on your head and you love to pull it off and laugh.
• Your hair is still red and it's getting thicker! When we brush it after your bath you have an actual part - so cute.
• You make lots of funny sounds, especially a low grunt and you think you're so hilarious. You'll stop nursing for a second to grunt at me and then smile and go back to business.

I think you're going to do lots of fun stuff in your 8th month and we can't wait! Love our big handsome boy, Kyle Martin! 

7 months

Our big boy is 7 months old! Here's an update about our sweet boy at 7 months:

• He has his 2 bottom teeth! They are about 1/4 in and popped through a few days apart from each other. The day they each broke through the gums, Kyle would wake up in a pool of drool, and had a hard time falling asleep. Just as he would doze off, the pain would wake him up. No fun! But now that they've cut, they don't bother him at all. And they look so cute.
• We're trying a new food every 3 days. So far he's eaten rice cereal (which he loves), peas, green beans and avocado. He's a great eater when he likes the taste. He'll grab the spoon and keep it in his mouth until all the food is off, and open his mouth wide! Today he ate half an avocado, and I had to go back and scrape the blender because he wanted more. On deck is zucchini, sweet potatoes and carrots.
• He's turning into an amazing napper! A couple months ago, I never thought it would be like this. I can remember trying to lay him down in his crib after he fell asleep and getting so upset because he would wake right up. I spent many, many hours sitting in the glider letting him nap on my chest so he could get some sleep. But now that he's older, we did some sleep training and he's old enough to sleep on his tummy, he's been taking two great naps in his crib every day. Usually 1-2 hrs in the morning, and 1.5-2.5 hrs in the afternoon. I'm loving this phase!
• Our nighttime routine is pretty fun. We start with eating dinner as a family, if Brian's home in time. Kyle sits in his high chair at the table, and I'll feed him his cereal while I eat. Then bathtime (he's still in his baby bath on the kitchen counter), then about 30-45 mins of play/reading as a family, a quick nurse and then it's off to bed! Kyle seems to love the routine and is so mellow as we turn off the light, turn on his sound machine and sing a couple of songs before I lay him down. Sometimes he even lays his head on my shoulder, which melts my heart to pieces.
• He can jump like crazy in the jumper! 

• He hasn't really gotten the hang of crawling yet, but this boy LOVES to stand up. If you're sitting in front of him, he'll reach out, grab your hands and pull himself up into standing position (like a skier!). He also loves to be held up to a table and act like he's standing there himself, and can scoot around on his butt a little bit.
• He actually likes drinking water out of his sippy cup and is getting the hang of doing it himself.
• His favorite show is the Baby Einstein Old MacDonald. We watch it in bed sometimes in the morning :)
• We'll sit on his play mat, and bring a basket of toys over. It's fun to watch him pull them out one by one and decide which ones he likes.
• He loves to grunt, and we call it his lion impression. Sometimes he makes a low grunting sound almost all day long! He also likes to scream sometimes and blow air between his lips.
• Other kids crack him up more than anything. He loves to be around little friends and will laugh at anything they do.
• His hair is still red! I thought it would have changed by now, but maybe he really will be our little redhead for life!
• He still loves Penny. If she's around, he'll stare at her and always tries to grab her little tail. She's very patient with him.

Every single day I just stare at my baby and feel so grateful to be his mama. He is definitely the cutest thing I've ever seen and I'm loving every minute I get to spend with him.

6 month check up

Yesterday was Kyle's 6 month check up! He weighs a healthy 19 lbs, 4 oz (75th percentile) and everything looks great! The doc recommended we start rice cereal this week, and then introduce green veggies in about 2-3 weeks. He also wants me to start giving him a little water, out of a bottle or sippy cup. We tried it when we got home, and the faces he was making were so funny. But after a few tries he drank a little bit. I think we'll try the sippy cup next time.

He also got another round of shots, which he took like a champ. He only cried out of irritation that they were holding his legs straight; the shots didn't even phase my tough guy. I'm so relieved he hasn't had a reaction to any of his shots so far... if anything, he is just really tired.

After his appointment we relaxed out front on our new outdoor blanket. I'm not sure how we survived the summer without one of these things! I got this one at Better Surf Than Sorry and it is huge and awesome - perfect for sitting on the grass (which we do at least twice a day!).

Kyle thought it was hilarious when I was shoo-ing away the ants that were trying to crawl on his head :)