Kyler -- September 2014

Kyler has been growing up so much, and I cannot believe that he is going to be three in such a short time. He has become so funny and loves to be around people. We had a lot of fun staying in a hotel for the first time with the kids for Keith and Nicole's wedding, and Kyler loved it. Kyler travels really well and just loves to meet people. Along with all of this fun comes the realization that he is growing up so fast. He has started to get out of his bed on his own, often having shorter naps and getting up earlier than I would like. Kyler has been showing us his stubborn side as well, and I often cannot believe how whiny he can be if he really wants something. We all continue to grow and learn as each month passes, but here are some of my favorite memories from September.

• We had a Labor Day celebration and got Kyler his own ice cream cone (a whole waffle cone)--he ate the whole thing!
• He loves to show Devin all kinds of toys, but especially letters and his zoo animals.
• He has loved pretending to be a baby so he can be cuddled.
• He had a great time helping me make guacamole and kept calling it "macaroni."
• We had a candlelight dinner together and saw a rainbow for the first time after a storm.
• When he gets ready for a bath, he says that he wants to "take my dress off, Mommy."
• He loves to play Wii games with Daddy, especially Coconut Mall course on Mario Kart.
• He has fun "doing" my hair for me.
• He went to nursery for the last time...Mommy welled up for a moment!
• He did a dance that looked like the ballet dance in the Wiggles "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
• Great Grandpa Tony Bebej came over and had a great time playing trains with him.
• After coughing a lot at night, he took a 3+ hour nap and then told me, "No want to get up, Mommy"
• He went to BSF for the first time, and when I asked him what he learned he told me, "Jesus...he a treasure, Mommy," which just melted my heart.
• He had a great time with "my new friends" when we had Calvin students over for dinner.
• He sat in the chair all by himself and listened well during his haircut.
• He had his first time going to Little Lambs at church and had no fear of going up in front of the whole congregation for the children's message. 
• He loves to wear matching clothes with his brother.
• He has become so good at riding bikes, scooters, and other outdoor toys.
• He went to Bible story hour during coffee break and started singing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Deep and Wide" in the car.
• He did not nap the whole 3+ hour car ride to Nicole and Keith's wedding, but loved reading books the whole time.
• He had a great time in the hotel with the elevator and jumping on the beds. We snuggled and had a great time "sleeping," while Kyler hogged most of the bed.
• He loved going to the wedding and seeing all his fun cousins and family.
• He likes to watch Monsters Inc. and actually will sit through a lot of it. 
• He said, "I make him happy, Mommy," when he brought a toy over to Devin.
• After getting his flu vaccine, we both got ice cream cones.
• He had a great time at the Calvin biology picnic, where he hung out with friends and students.
• He had a great time with his babysitter Abby, and right away the next morning, he asked when she could come back.
• He has been coloring pictures on the iPad all by himself. 

Kyler and Grace at the biology picnic

The skeleton twins 

Kyler loves to match his brother!

With cousin Keira

"Daddy, I want to sit in that cheese!"

Someone likes the slide

What a great smile!

Reading a book about one of Daddy's favorite animals

Someone loves to dress up

Snuggle time with Mommy

A boy and his dog

Riding a scooter...

...a balance bike...

...and a big wheel

He still loves his lovey

Kyler -- Week 42 (9/1/12-9/7/12)

Labor Day weekend was a lot of fun, especially since we had our great friends Matt, Becky, and Louisa to share in all the adventures. We went shopping for shrubs and other plants out in West Olive with Grandma and Grandpa before our guests arrived. On Sunday, we headed out to Lake Michigan to play in the water and have a picnic. Kyler absolutely loved the water and giggled or laughed pretty much the whole time. He loved the waves, watching the people, and even putting his feet in the water. On Labor Day, our guests had a great walk with us, but then had to head out on their long drive back to Illinois.

At the start of the week, we had our first morning with Levi at our house! With Levi to play with, Kyler has been learning to share and not go after toys that are being played with by others. Ryan teaches a class on Tuesday nights, so we made sure to video chat with him that afternoon. Kyler thought it was pretty fun to see Daddy on the computer screen, but all he wanted to do was grab the computer. On Wednesday, Kyler started making all types of fun noises, including "Ba, ba, ba, ba" or something similar. It is so much fun to hear him chatting while pulling books off the shelves or racing behind his dino toy. On Thursday, he started to be able to turn said dino toy on his own! He often would cry or whine when he got stuck and needed assistance to have it moved, but now he can do it all on his own--what a big boy! Kyler also discovered that he likes vacuum cleaners and wanted to climb up the machine, much to the disdain of Duncan, who thinks the vacuum is pure evil. So funny!

Taking pictures after getting out of the pool and playing in the grass

"Maybe try me at this angle"

Just chilling in the grass...soon we might have our own

"Just hold my calls and have your people call mine"

Just pushing his car around...

...and around, and around! He never seems to stop!

This is how we eat at a picnic: Kyler-style

"Wow, Daddy! That is a really big pool!"

Jumping the waves with Daddy--he LOVED Lake Michigan!

Louisa and Kyler hanging out...Kyler was pretty taken by her :)

We hope these two like to hang out in the years to come