Mother's Day, 2011

I wrote my own personal message to Kyle in a journal I'm keeping just for him, but when your heart is so overwhelmingly full you can't let the day pass without saying at least something to the Internet!

So I just wanted to say that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be Kyle's mom. I can't get enough of him. And I can't stop thanking God for him. Can't imagine life without him, either. What does Mother's Day mean to me, as a mother? It's a huge celebration taking place in my heart. And I'm pretty sure the festivities last all year long! ;)

Some favorite moments of the day...

1. Having Kyle in church with us for the worship time. When he saw our picture on the slideshow of mothers and kids, he clapped and said, "Mommyyy!!!!" Then he kept asking for "more" of Mommy and Kyle on the big screens. Btw, that picture of us is seriously my favorite! We were given two hard copies that we tried to scan and post here, but our computer was having none of it. In any case, I'll treasure these Mother's Day pictures we get. So far I have three: one pregnant, last year's and this year's. With Rudy's help the photographer always gets the greatest smiles from Kyle.

2. Picking up Kyle from his class and having him give me a finger painted picture of a flower he made. I'm all giddy because I have a little one making me something. It's proudly presented on our kitchen wall and Kyle notices it and runs up to give me a kiss whenever he sees it! Have I mentioned that he's a little love-bug?

3. During Kyle's nap I grabbed some coffee and took a novel and a chair to the beach! It was a piece of heaven! :) The problem with starting one of those, is that now I can't put it down!!

4. My family came down for some yummy BBQ! Thanks for making the drive so we wouldn't have to! ;)

An Update on Poor, Little Otto

I'd have guessed we could keep the little fella longer than we did, but alas, Otto has seen better days. After realizing that our fish wasn't eating the prescribed fish food, Ru researched a bit on Betta's and found that some can be picky eaters. Who knew? And wouldn't you know it, Ru and Kyle picked out the pickiest of picky eaters? So, Otto was returned to the pet store for some rehab and a new, little Betta came home. We'll still call this one Otto, for Kyle's sake. Thankfully, this one eats!

And while we're talking about eating, would you believe Kyle has turned into a fabulous eater and is going through a serious growth spurt? I think this is the first one I can actually say we've recognized. All other growing happened every so slowly that no one really noticed until about 9 months later when pants started to get too short. He's been sleeping and eating a bunch and has outgrown most of his 12 month clothing!! :) Hooray Kyle!!

May Madness!!

This month brings a ton of excitement and a ton of madness. But lets talk about the positive first! :) In two weeks, I'll be done with my homeschooling job and by the end of May, I'll be done with the P.E. job as well. I am so excited to have the time off!

Then, the biggest, best news ever... drum roll... RUDY IS GRADUATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wooo hooo!!! May 25th. What a beautiful day that will be! ;) We've been waiting to say these words for the past 7.5 years. Talk about determination, commitment, and sacrifice! There were many times when this road seemed too long and that we'd never get here. I mean, did you read it?... SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS post graduate!!!!!!!! That's eleven and a half years of college! Eeek!! We're so thankful he will walk with all his classmates, even though he will have to complete an extra class later on. It's a nice sight on the calendar, that's for sure!

The madness part of this month is due to what our (especially Rudy's) lives will be like from today, May 2nd to May 25th. In order to get to that wonderful day, we've got 3.5 weeks of total devotion to the cause: hours and hours of studying, writing, and reviewing for numerous tests, projects, and practical exams. And by this, I mean no exaggeration. Even on Rudy's birthday, he studied most of the day. This guy studies. And he studies. I've never seen someone study so much. He's such a hard worker. You wouldn't believe the detail or intricacy of the material (our bodies) he needs to know. He lost me at day one of the very first semester! ;)

We all take a hit when Ru goes through times like these, so we are anxious to see it over! So please hurry, May 25th!! We want to celebrate!Until then, we thank God for the joy our little boy brings. Even in the midst of stressful times, his little antics make us smile and remind us of what really matters. Here he is, once again, finding his Papa (hiding behind a closed door to get some studying done before dinner). He notices everything and immediately wanted a pillow to lay "like Papa" and study with him. Rudy called for me to come and snap a picture. The joy this boy brings... I mean, just look at him! ;)

And I know I said I wouldn't post a picture of my boy in his underwear, but this one doesn't really count. He's got some clothes on and is facing down. I'll let it pass.

More bubbles!!

One thing I love about my husband, is when an idea pops in his head he will see it through to completion. And anything Kyle is interested in becomes a fun project for Ru. The Internet is his best friend when it comes to learning how to create this or that. After our bubble fun last weekend, Rudy took bubble-making to a higher level with this home-made contraption. Kyle loves it and always eagerly awaits his father's next project. And I love that Kyle has such a hands-on, fun, creative dad.

We're working on attention span! ;)

**Then, hours after I wrote this post, we saw Mr. Bubble Man on the Balboa Pier. His pvc pipe contraption makes even greater bubbles and Ru just had to learn how to make that. After learning a bit more, Ru decided to buy one off the guy for $5 and save a little time! ;)

Bubbles!!!

Last weekend, Ru, Auntie Michelle, and I took Kyle to Bubblefest at The Discovery Science Center. We've taken Kyle to a few big things like this before, but this time we noticed just how much he enjoyed the experience and was able to really absorb what was going on around him. It was SO.MUCH.FUN!! And as always, it was so fun to have Auntie 'Elle come with us! :)

Kyle got to explore bubble-making himself before attending an amazing 45 minute bubble show.

Looking up at a huge dinosaur.
One of the special exhibits was an Elmo Exhibit! Here we are at Sesame Street's front door.
Shopping at Grover's Grocery Store.

Meeting Elmo for the first time. We went through the line twice and still, Kyle was asking for, "Elmo again!"

Pushing the pins in with our hands, feet, and faces.
In the, "Science of Hockey" exhibit, Kyle got a kick out of driving this Zambonie with all its gadgets.

I can't kiss this face enough!! :)

Inside the big cube that hangs a bit off the freeway.

Underneath the rocket, Kyle got to experience a"blastoff." It was a little scary at first, but he quickly loved it and probably pressed the button to make it go about a dozen or more times.

Gosh, it was so fun to watch Kyle explore, learn, and have fun. And now that he's getting to be old enough to truly enjoy these kinds of experiences it's really exciting to think about all the places we can take him!! Can't wait for summer vacation!!

Happy Easter!

This year, my parents were out of town and so it was the first Easter we spent without family (except fortunately, my sister was with us!). And... it was the first year that I didn't get to hunt for eggs. Instead, I bought, stuffed, and hid an excessive amount of eggs for my son. I guess the tables have turned and I really am a grown-up! :) And I enjoyed it SO much! Kyle got really into it, too! We spent the day with our wonderful friends and neighbors whose sons are really, truly Kyle's friends. It's adorable how much they like each other and want to play together. Kyle will bounce out of bed some mornings and run to get his shoes and tell me he wants to go to Nick's house! So without question, we had a great day!!

Here's Kyle at church with his Gerald. It seems to help when we leave him in the 2yr old's class. (Yes, he's graduated a bit early. There's way more to do, including a playground and huge sandbox, to name a few things.) All day long I wanted to gobble him up, he just looked too handsome for words (my humble opinion, of course!).

Then, off to our neighbor's house for Easter dinner and egg fun.
Nick and Will are so fun. This picture shows an almost constant expression of Nick's. He's super cute!


Dyeing Easter Eggs! We decided to take the table outside...

1, 2, 3 ... ready, set, go!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter, too!

Sweetness

Lately, I've been reflecting on just how sweet my boy is. We've all long known this, but certain things have made me stop and thank God for what a sweetie he made Kyle to be. Rudy and I absolutely love his heart and the joy he brings to all we do. We also deeply treasure how much he loves the people in his world. I'm not kidding, his special people are so important to him. It doesn't matter if they are the faces in pictures he recognizes or the ones he sees regularly, he constantly connects things to the people he dearly loves. Whether it's an airplane that flies overhead (GG) or a white car that goes by (Auntie Michelle) or a simple song (Grammie) or a cat (Uncle Maco) or a skateboard (Papa) or a knee (Grandpa - he once fixed an owie Kyle had), so many things in his life bring him joy because of his special people. In fact, he's learning his letters by connecting them to the people in his life. Such a little love bug. Oh, how I love it!!!!!

Some pictures of our sweet, adventurous, silly boy...

Driving his friend's Gator with a little turning help from Nick and his dad.

Entering a fort Papa made for him that covered the entire back side of our apartment! :)

Another of Rudy's recent modifications...

Kyle and his drill.
This hat was from a real fire-fighter who let Kyle climb up into the driver's seat of the engine. Kyle acted like he owned the thing, not at all intimidated by its size. The fire-fighters were amazed and commented that they'd never seen someone so young be so confident up there! ;)

Reading to his animals on the "Mommy Mayko."

Wearing his "milkshake hat."

A funny, non-posed shot. What is he thinking?
Off to Mommy's school with her one Friday morning. He looked like he was going off to preschool or Kindergarten! I could hardly stand it! :)


Reading in his "favorite spot."

We love you SO MUCH, Kyle!!