Following Doctor's Orders...

So far, his favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate. As you can see from these pictures, he's pretty happy and pretty messy. This is definitely an outside snack. ;)

Kyle was told he could eat ice cream 3 times a day if he wanted to. What kid wouldn't want to hear that? It seems so wrong, yet our pediatrician told us today that Kyle gets to break all the rules. Wow. So, because ice cream is one of the very, very few things Kyle will eat, we are to encourage it as much as possible. Whole fat ice cream here we come! Oh, and fried anything is recommended as well. So all those donuts I've been telling Ru not to give? I guess Kyle gets them, too. Man! So the very saying we tease my dad about, "Let's get donuts for the kids," is actually legit around here!! My dad would be proud. Maybe there is a little Thune* in him after all!

*My dad's whole family is known for eating ice cream at 10pm every night of their lives. No joke. My dad probably has 5 different 1/2 gallon tubs in his freezer right now and will (hopefully) soon be adding chocolate to his collection. :)

Our Silly

Where is Kyle?

Yep, on top of our bookshelf.
We were there every step of the way... but our little guy is quite the rock climber and a problem solver. He currently moves furniture to get up on the things he wants to. This includes our kitchen table, desk and window ledges. And he gets on our chairs without using the foot rest, but by swinging his leg way up high. Our "child-proof" apartment keeps needing more work! :)

And pardon the blurry picture and Kyle's messy shirt, but look who's wearing mommy's shoes? He put one on all by himself and tried to walk.


And a little video with bad lighting, but pretty darn cute!

A visit from Auntie Michelle

We just had another great visit from Auntie Michelle. She and my mom have come to the rescue so many times that by now, I know I've lost count. I'm so thankful that my sister has had a flexible schedule and is able to help out even at a moments notice. One of those moments recently involved meeting me along the freeway to help entertain Kyle for our total of 3 hours in the car to visit my grandma and attend a meeting regarding her care. It was SO much more enjoyable, not to mention productive, with her there! ;)

Her last visit enabled Ru to study while I went to a baby shower and then the both of us got to go to a Christmas party later on that evening. Michelle spent the night, and even took care of Kyle in the morning so I could "sleep" in, and miracle of all miracles (even with the drugs) got Kyle to eat a WHOLE grilled cheese sandwich!! (Just don't ask how long it took or what theatrical measures were needed!) Then, we got to hang out, go to the park, shop, etc. I love you, Michelle!!!!

Our jeep ride to the park:

Kyle told Auntie he wanted her to join him in the other swing and then smiled when she obeyed.

Thanks, Michelle, for everything... including how much you know and love him by now.

Hello, December!!

I love this time of year. And this year, we were actually on top of our game. We had our little decorations up the day after Thanksgiving and bought our tree the following day. Then the day after that we got our family pictures taken and Christmas cards ordered! Hooray! All is done, decorated and Kyle loves it! :) He can't stop saying "light" and pointing at every.single.light on the Christmas tree. So far, he's done super well with leaving the tree alone. We taught him to "touch nice" and somehow he gets that the things on it are supposed to stay there. So far so good.

Although he still doesn't understand what's going on, it is so fun to see him take an interest in the things of the season.

Hope you all have a wonderful December!!

Kyle's GI follow-up

The facts:

Weight: 18.5 lbs (gained less than a pound in 2 months, no gain in the last two weeks)

Height: 31 inches (gained a whole inch! Bam!)

What we're doing right: Breastfeeding 2x per day is a good thing(according to the specialist). Kyle sure is happy about that. He's at least getting some nutrients from me. Also, Kyle is drinking more liquids in general than before. (He used to dislike water or any other liquid for so long.)

What we can try: Encourage even more of his boost drink mixed with whole milk (only after he has attempted solids). Bring back the medication, but maintain original dosage. We are to feed/encourage ANYTHING that he likes no matter what it is.

Overall, we just want him to be healthy. Our frustrations come not from how small his is or his exact weight, but from just how little he consumes on a daily basis. He can be small. He can be thin. Basically, he can be just how he was created to be. We'd just like to see him eat better. Oh, and lose the "failure to thrive" label.

Our little Dinker. The doctor looked at him after our consult(where Kyle was rearranging every piece of furniture in the room) and said, "He's just too active!" So... our sleep coach advised giving Kyle every possible opportunity to burn energy(calories) in order to sleep better. Our doctor advises more quiet, inactive play in order to save every spare calorie. What are we supposed to do? :) We're going to just let him be him. There's really no stopping it, just funny that our two major problems offer conflicting "solutions!"

Kyle's 1st Elephant Ride!

And first trip to the zoo!! :) Since Kyle has taken an interest in monkeys, we decided to go local and hit up the Santa Ana Zoo where they have quite a few monkeys. Grammie and Auntie Michelle joined us for this highly anticipated "first!" And while there, Ru and Kyle got an elephant ride. This elephant's name is Kitty. She weighs about 9,000 lbs and is 43 years old. She was very well behaved and didn't give us any scares. Then, Michelle and I got a turn.

Turkey Trot!!

My sister and I ran a 5k together on Thanksgiving day. We had a blast doing it and have agreed that we will definitely sign up for another run in the near future. We might try to better our 5k time and then do a 10k next! I normally do not enjoy running, but this was actually fun and pretty easy. The 3 miles came and went and before I knew it we were crossing the finish line. Now, for the first time in my life, I'd consider doing a half marathon or something. That's if my hip flexors will cooperate. Surprisingly, I made it through my sporatic training and the actual run, but today I've been hurting. I think our grand finale sprint was what did it. Without a doubt, I'm glad my sis convinced me to join her and that our family came to support us.

Here we are before the race and amped up with lots of energy!!!

The starting line. What line? Yeah, it was a mush of thousands of people.

Poor little Shmu didn't understand why his mommy was running away from him! Seeing him cheer for me was just about the cutest thing ever. I so badly wanted to stop and squeeze him!
"Yay Auntie!!"
Our nicknames... Don't ask! :)
A cheesy sister picture and the route we took along the boardwalk at the beach.
Ru's homemade "Yay Mom/Yay Auntie!" signs.
Thanks Dad, Mom, Ru and Kyle for cheering us on. It really helps!
Then, Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house.


We are so thankful for the many, many blessings we have, and especially our little Shmu.

Giro giro tondo...

That's the first line of Kyle's new favorite, singing, Italian bear named Giovanni. Grandma Sally sent it in a package and its been a big hit. He loves to press the button and say, "button!" Then, he will press it repeatedly until his favorite two songs begin. When they do, he lights up with a big smile and starts to dance. It is beyond adorable. Now he's got us singing along all the time, everywhere!! And we're learning Italian! :)

Kyle has a system here. He wants to go in the swing with Gio and wants everything "just so!" He will let us know if we're doing anything wrong by pointing and saying, "Maynko!!"

Funny faces...

Today, on our way to the park with Gio, the dump truck and shovels, Kyle continued to press the button and bounce to the music. Here, it looks like he's catching on to what you're "supposed" to do when Mom pulls out the camera! Oh, and he's holding Gio's hand!!
Pressing the button.

Arriverderci!

Can you find Kyle?

When Kyle was 6 months old a photographer in my MOPS group needed 6 month old babies for a Baby Lulu - Pepper Toes clothing line photo shoot. In return, we got a crazy expensive but so not practical outfit and a photo. It was just for fun. And although the Baby Lulu website hasn't been updated yet for it's fall collection (hello??), I did find Kyle on several links where Pepper Toes is sold. This one was kind of fun, because it's like going on a "Kyle hunt." He's so different looking here that it's almost hard to tell it's really him. See if you can find him! :)

http://www.forgetmenotkids.com/Pepper-Toes--Ships-725-815_c_1354.html

Girls' Getaway!

A couple months ago I had mentioned to a few of my mommy friends how much fun it would be to get just ONE night off and actually sleep!!! That thought led us to plan a fun trip to the mountains. So, this weekend 4 of us went up to Lake Arrowhead where one of my friend's family owns a second home. I think the others had done this sort of thing before but for me, it was my first night away from Kyle. Monumental, right?? :) I had actually been debating about not going because I am still nursing and he has been waking up at least a couple times a night and Rudy *claims* to not hear anything! :) However, with enough encouragement from Rudy, my sister, and friends, I took the plunge and disappeared for 24 hours!! And I'm so glad I did! Kyle and Ru had a great time together, Kyle ate (What??), and slept pretty well! Success! I, on the other hand, didn't sleep as well as I wanted to and still woke up at 5:30 and couldn't fall back asleep. Even so, it was nice to just lay there and not have to get up! Instead, I got to spend my early morning finishing a whole cup of coffee, uninterrupted, while sitting out on the balcony breathing in crisp mountain air and watching colorful leaves fall 3 stories down. It was perfect.

My friends had gone for the whole weekend, while I left Saturday morning (I couldn't bear to be away from Kyle for 2 nights without nursing him - for a couple of reasons!). Since my grandma lives at the base of the mountain, I dropped in on her before heading up. When I reached the top, I met my friends at the Village and we had lunch and shopped. And this was my lucky day!! I finally found my first pair of boots! I've looked for years and haven't found anything I liked that I could afford. So with a huge Veteran's Day sale, I got $120 boots for $40, thanks to a friend who went in on a buy one get two free deal! Woohoo!!! I couldn't resist coming home and trying on everything I own while wearing them.

Later that night we all snuggled by a fire and read, ate dinner, and watched a chick flick at the home's movie theater downstairs. The whole time I felt so giddy with excitement ... as if I was at my very first sleep over or something. Has it really been that long? Am I really THAT deprived? :) So fun. So glad I went!

Lake Arrowhead's Village

I was really excited about that fire and quality reading time.

My morning view of the lake.

Thank you Ru and Kyle, for letting me get a much needed break! And Dinker, thanks for being such a good boy for Daddy.