Kyle's News!

Yes, Kyle has some pretty great news! He's going to be a big brother sometime near January 15th! We told Rudy by having Kyle wear this shirt my cousin handed down. I can remember getting it from her when Kyle was born, and thinking that this day would be a loong way off. And it seemed so huge, too. But here we are! It took Ru quite a while to understand what that shirt meant! :)

Kyle sure understood, however, and immediately moved my shirt up to kiss the baby in Mommy's belly. And boy did he kiss the baby. Over and over, he showered this one with his love. It was precious and Ru got up to snap a picture.

Since telling Kyle, he hasn't forgotten and wants to kiss the baby on a daily basis. One day, while giving the baby a kiss, he asked, "Baby out?" and then, "Kyle hold?" After explaining that the baby would need a lot of time to grow and get bigger, he nodded yes, patted my stomach, and then moved on with his toys. Anyone who has a sibling knows there are ups and downs to that whole deal, but we are super happy about all the ups Kyle will experience with having a little friend in the house! 

I've been thinking about how to make this new baby feel just as loved and eargerly anticipated. And since I don't want to bombard this blog with daily/weekly updates and thoughts, I decided to start a private blog (for Ru and I only) to write to our little one. I plan on publishing the little blog sometime after the baby's birth. I don't know if I've mentioned, but I published this blog from Kyle's conception to first birthday in a hard bound book and I plan on publishing a second book from his first to second year, as well. I don't know how long I'll do this blogging thing, but for as long as I write, I want to make a hard copy for our kids to some day look back and read. In case something should ever happen to me, I want my kids to "hear my voice" and know how much their mother loved them. So all that to say, I'll post highlights or anything newsworthy, but other than that, I'll not mention the pregnancy as specifically as I did for Kyle, here.

I will say right now, for the record, that morning sickness (or as we should know by now... ALL DAY SICKNESS) really stinks! I'm really trying hard to not be jealous of all my friends who had the UNBELIEVABLE blessing of not feeling this! However, considering how miserable I was with Kyle... I look at him and know that every second was worth it!! It was different however, being sick without having a little boy constantly wanting to be on the go! Agh! Oh, and I won't be telling my work until sometime after school begins next fall, so please don't write anything on my fb wall, as I have colleagues as friends. Thanks! And thanks for all the expressed congratulations! (Sorry my blog has been acting weird!)

Kyle and his Uncle Ryan

Kyle had been anticipating his Uncle's visit for many days before he finally came. We're so glad they got some time to be together!

Spinning Elmo at the park.

The grin we love.

One of Kyle's favorite spots at our park.

Saying hello to GG down below.

Thanks for the visit GG and Uncle Ryan! Kyle says he wants to go on an airplane (like you) to PapaCago (Papa's Chicago).

Graduation!!

Woohoo!!! We finally heard that glorious music! It was a beautiful day!

GG

GG and Uncle Ryan flew out to celebrate with us!
My family.
We did it!!
Yay for my Dad!

Then, Kyle began another wave of celebration...

Mr. MPT!!

So proud!!

Rudy has already begun his first 6 week internship, at the Long Beach VA (Veteran's Affairs) Hospital. He started right after completing 10 finals in 2.5 weeks. Whew! After taking an oath, being debriefed, oriented in security issues, breaches, and other military stuff, he set off to begin working with patients who have back problems and also with amputees. Many of these patients were injured in combat. They are amazing soldiers with amazing stories and it's quite an honor and privilege to work with them. Again, another amazing learning experience for Rudy.

Can I say it again? So proud!!! And yes, I've got some more posting to do! ;)

Things That Go...

Kyle is in love with cars, fire-trucks, and backhoe loaders, as well as any other moving vehicle. These top 3, however, seem to find Kyle pretty often.

Cars: One of Kyle's favorite things is to sit and play in our cars. Auntie Michelle's car and Rudy's truck are his absolute favorites. (Auntie's key makes a little beep sound when you unlock the doors and some lights flash on the side! Oooh! And I don't think I need to explain the truck!) Every day, you'll find Kyle is in someone's car pressing buttons, driving, rolling and unrolling windows, etc.

Fire-trucks: He can't get enough of them and climbs right on in whenever given the opportunity. We live close enough to a station to hear the sirens going on a regular basis. He always asks to "see?"

Backhoe loaders: The 35 minutes of freeway we travel 3 days a week to Grammie's house is lined with them due to the construction going on. It makes for a fun commute!

Here are some pictures of Kyle in his moving things.

Kyle acts like he owns the thing and like this is a normal, daily event.
On our friends' boat with their sons, Nick and Will.


Any equipment, and he knows their proper names, makes Kyle a happy little guy.

Some local fun.

Today was my last day teaching at the homeschool campus! Yay for summer break! And since my sister was down watching Kyle and could stay the afternoon, we decided to go on a few of our favorite, free, local outings.

The first was to Centennial Farm. We got there right at their dinner time and those animals were making a ton of noise until the food came. Kyle was kind of scared, watching the animals clamor up their pens and butting heads with each other. It was all out anarchy!! This trip, I noticed an older Kyle as he could appreciate, interact, and run around to see what interested him. It was so cool.

Then, we went to the Back Bay's Nature Center.

The Pretend City!

My mom, sister, and I took Kyle to visit our local children's museum called, The Pretend City! We had a blast! Kyle loved traveling on the roads, stopping at stop lights and pressing the "walk" button to cross the street in order to explore many sections of the "city." They have an art studio, library, health center, marina, post office, cafe, fire station, dispatch center, police station, gas station, beach, theater, home, city park, center plaza, amphitheater, construction site, farm, bank, and grocery store. There was lots to see and explore. And it was just flat out fun being a kid again while we experienced all of these great things through Kyle's eyes!

Here's a limited amount of pictures (I really tried) to show you what we did:

One of the first stops Kyle made was to the ATM! And he knew what to do!!

Then, in honor of Grandma Sally, we had to dress him up in this Postal Worker's uniform.

Some home improvement projects including plumbing, electrical, you name it!

Construction site

The farm

Kyle loves his lawn mower at home and instantly took to this one as well. He went up and over this bridge a hundred times!

At first two of us were interested in the "Gerald"project.

Then it was just one. How'd I do? :)

The Marina

Kyle caught a shrimp! Yum! He loved his fishing boots! ;)
At the pediatrician's office.

Kyle LOVES buttons! He was the DJ/lighting technician for the amphitheater's musical production. (The buttons really work and turn on lights, change the music, etc. He LOVED dancing with the beat!)

And if he wasn't doing behind the scene's work, he was right there on stage with all the twirling princesses! Here he is in the middle of a dance move.
Pretending is such fun! Thanks, mom and Michelle, for making a memory with us.