It was another busy week for Kyler and our family, which all started off with Lynsey and Darrel's wedding. Kyler was able to spend time with Grammy and Papa during the morning, and the after pictures, he got to spend the afternoon and evening with his cousin KayLynn--and Lori's siblings too! Kyler made a special friend with Lori's brother Danny and had a great time snuggling with Lori's sister Jaci. When we arrived to pick him up after the wedding, he had just fallen asleep (a little later than usual) and then had no problem falling asleep as soon as he was put him in the car.
We had a very warm week in Bourbonnais when we got home and soon discovered that our son is not a fan of the heat. Even though it was great weather for walks in the park, our house warmed up quickly and required the AC to be turned on. We let Kyler pretty much live in just a onesie for the rest of the week, and he seemed to have fun working on finding his toes. Kyler even started rolling over onto his sides, which means much closer observations when being put down.
Thursday I was able to volunteer as a patient for the ONU nursing program, so Ryan and Kyler got to have a little male bonding time, catching up on ESPN or whatever guys do together. Friday we got groceries together, and Kyler loved to look at everything! He normally sleeps during outings, but now there are just too many things for him to see. We picked up a treat and visited Ryan at work for the afternoon, stopping in to see so many friends there.
The gorgeous newlyweds with Kyler and KayLynn
Wonderful Grandparents with their grandkids
"Look Mom! I can suck my thumb through the rings!"
The EXCESSIVE drool has required us to use a new arsenal of tools....bibs.
We spent this whole week in Michigan getting ready for Lynsey's wedding, which meant that lots of people came to visit Kyler. On Saturday, the bachelor and bachelorette parties took place, so Kyler got to spend the night hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma Wiersum, as well as with his cousin KayLynn. I think that KayLynn and Kyler are going to be great friends when they grow up. KayLynn loved to come and give him kisses, which always seemed to make Ky smile. When KayLynn started to cry, it really upset our little guy because I am not sure he had ever heard another baby crying. The next day at family dinner, he again could not keep his eyes off his little cousin. Aunt Lori had fun holding him too, and KayLynn didn't even seem to mind him being with her mommy.
Monday was a busy day with Ryan grading midterm exams and everyone helping out with wedding programs. Ryan had a great time getting Kyler to laugh. He would laugh, and Kyler would laugh back at him, so on. It was so cute, but by the time we got the video camera out (see below), it was almost over. As the night went on, Kyler started to get cranky with his teeth, but somehow Uncle Darrel got him to smile huge when he saw him! Tuesday we had a great time going for a walk in the park as a family. It was so nice to have a little family time during Ryan's spring break. Wednesday was another night of working on the wedding, and Kyler had fun hanging out with Aunt Nancee and watching all the fun colors of the candy.
Thursday brought a day with Ryan doing research at the museum in Ann Arbor and many things to be worked on for the wedding. That evening, Grandma Wiersum watched Kyler while all the bridesmaids went to get their nails done. When we got back, Kyler was flirting with all the girls, and Duncan was keeping an eye on them at his side. We have a pretty protective puppy when it comes to people he doesn't know around his brother. Friday brought a lot of prep work and the rehearsal dinner. Aunt Diane came over to watch Kyler, and they had fun playing and giggling. What a fun busy week with so many wonderful people to see!
So there have been a lot of changes, namely that my sweet little guy has become a cranky, drooling teether. At first, I think that I was in denial. I mean, the kid is barely 3 months old--this shouldn't be happening so quickly, right? After struggling to calm a screaming boy and having some interrupted bedtimes, we finally gave in and gave him some Tylenol. Later in the week, I noticed that his poor little knuckles on his fists were chapped from sucking on them so much. I could not think about what would be safe, until a Google search suggested Lanolin. Yep, if he can ingest it while eating, why not to cover up the knuckles?
We also had a few visitors this week. Uncle Dave, Aunt Kami, Kathryn, and Ethan stopped by to visit and hold our little one on Sunday. Aunt Britani stopped by on her way to Chicago for the weekend and had fun hanging with our cute boy. She is quite the pro and even changed a diaper for me while I was packing up the car for our road trip. We headed to Jenison late on Friday for the week before Aunt Lynsey and Uncle Darrel's wedding.
A few other milestones included much stronger tummy time, learning to suck his thumb professionally, and starting to move in his crib so that when morning comes, he is perpendicular to where he was at the beginning of the night. We also took a rough weight and found that he was almost 17.5 lbs! We have a great growing boy!
We love reading time before bed
He can still fit into his bouncy seat, but his feet hang off the end
Sacked out... I guess Mommy's cooking lesson was not very entertaining.
Tummy time with Salvador
Yeah, I know I rock at this!
Watching TV, but not sure what he thinks of it
Okay, now I am better. Plus I have my dino-lovey with passiraffe!
This week Kyler got some "guy-bonding" time while I went to another one of Lynsey's bridal showers. Kyler has been loving his jungle gym and has been grabbing onto things and "throwing" them when he lets go. I don't think that he has been intentionally doing this, but it is pretty funny to see the distance that he can get! When I got home from the shower, Kyler was not really all that happy to see me, and I figured out that it was because my hair smelled like fire/smoke from the indoor fire they had at the shower. After I was clean, Peanut loved being near me again.
On Saturday night, Grandpa and Grandma Wiersum offered to babysit so that Ryan and I could go out on our first date since Kyler was born! It was really strange, but also nice for us to be out and about without our little man. Kyler was having a great time splashing in the tub when we got back, and he barely seemed to notice that we had left. He slept through church again on Sunday and for most of the drive back to Illinois. I think that he plays and has so much fun visiting people that he forgets to nap like he should!
We did have one night when he woke up at 5am, but other than that, we can usually expect him to sleep through the night. Kyler has also become even better at grabbing onto things, sitting up with even less support, doing tummy time on the Boppy, and even protesting a little when I took a toy away from him. He is smiling and responding to people so much more and is already becoming such a little man.
Hanging out under the rings at 3 months old!
Grandma playing in the gym too
Sacked out with his two buddies after a lot of "jungle time"
Sitting up in the big bed while Mommy folds laundry -- he loves to just sit up and look around.
The boys all together before another UM basketball game
So focused!
I'm ready for my close up Mommy!
All this gym time is hard work
Here is the ring that Kyler just did not want to let go of
We still love bath time, but now we love towels too!
Kyler has been growing and learning new things all the time this week. He has begun trying to stand up while being held and has been grabbing onto things such a rings and toys. He continues to work on may different skills such as smiling, laughing, and trying to put "Passiraffe" back in his mouth when it pops out. He continues to love his bath times, talk A LOT on the changing table, and enjoy story time before bed. This week we celebrated Valentine's Day with Daddy working the in the physiology lab all day and eating leftovers. Kyler and I were going to go shopping for him, but with a hurt back and me still not picking up the car seat, we sent him a "Love Email" instead.
We headed out to Jenison for a dress fitting and another of Aunt Lynsey's bridal showers. While waiting for Daddy to get home and load the car, I gave Kyler his first "lovey" since he had been holding onto things. The lovey just happens to be an elephant, and the trunk went straight into his mouth (see below). I think he thought that their should be a pacifier connected since it was soft and felt like his "Passiraffe." During the car ride up to Michigan he was a champ, but he did cry a little until we figured out he was warm and wanted the window open for a little while. While at Grandpa and Grandma Wiersum's he enjoyed a lot of extra spoiling and play time, including a pizza party with Great Grandma Van Dyke, Aunt Lynsey, Uncle Matt, Aunt Lori and Cousin KayLynn.
So happy on the changing table, and wearing such a cute onesie! Of course he is made up of A, C, G, and T--the nitrogenous bases of DNA :)
The boys helping fold laundry
His first "lovey" experience, with the trunk right in his mouth
Thanks to "Passiraffe," I believe Kyler thinks all stuff animals must have some type of sucking device attached
We had a week full of visitors this week, but not exactly by design. We went to French Toast for breakfast with our friends Dale and Emily, but Kyler was not super excited about being there, mostly because he was feeling too warm. My back started to hurt a lot that day as well, so Ryan needed to do all of the lifting with Kyler for the rest of the weekend. Kyler was super good for Daddy, but he did miss being held by Mom--and I missed it too! When Monday came and I tried to take care of Kyler on my own, I couldn't lift him without help, so Ryan had to come home every 2-3 hours to help with diapering and feeding. I sent out an email for help, and we ended up having loads of people respond with either help or prayers. Great Aunt Dawn came on Monday afternoon when she unexpectedly had an afternoon off, which allowed Ryan to get some work done. Aunt Ginger came for the day on Tuesday and had a great time snuggling with Kyler and bringing some clothes from his cousins Parker and Chase for when he gets older. Nancy (the wife of one of Ryan's biology colleagues) came by on Wednesday and had fun "practicing" being a grandma. Thursday brought Great Grandma Linda and a nice morning of catching up and spending time together.
Ryan was going to stay home on Friday because it was Olivet's winter break, but Papa Bebej offered to stay for the day after dropping off Grammy at the airport. He had a great time spending time with his grandson while Ryan got caught up on all the work he needed to get done. We were so thankful for all of the help that we got, and we felt blessed with all of the love that was lavished on Kyler when Mommy could not carry him.
Hanging out with Daddy on the couch
Watching the Superbowl with his first football...but the pink chair does seem to take away from the manliness
Ryan cannot wait to share one of his favorite greasy spoons with his son.
One of our great helpers--thanks so much, Aunt Ginger!
This week was a nice stay-at-home week with no traveling for the family. We did have a great visit from Matt and Becky with their little girl Louisa, but unfortunately we forgot to get the camera out and actually take some pictures. At this point, Kyler was only getting up once at night--if that! He has really helped us get back into sleeping at night and not needing naps ourselves. During the day, Kyler has been a nap champion, with at least one (sometimes two) long naps that allow me to get all the house work done and sometimes even a workout. We eventually instituted a rule at home that once Daddy gets home, it is family time, so no computers until after Kyler goes to bed. This has been an adjustment for Ryan and me, but overall I think it will be a good habit to get into, especially as Kyler gets older.
We did have Grammy, Papa, and Aunt Nicole come and visit on Friday February 3. They could not believe how big Ky had gotten, and they even got to experience some of the famous tub time, including his screaming protests of being taken out of the tub. He really does love it, so we are wondering if this means swimming is in his future. Kyler continues to hate tummy time, but we continue to force him to do it and smiles are becoming a much more common occurrence.
All dressed up to meet with friends. Mommy told him to be nice to Louisa since you never know what could happen in 30 years :)
He does love Daddy, that is for sure!
Here are the cloth diapers that we are using. They have actually been surprisingly easy to take care of and very cost effective.
Loving the tub time!
Good morning to Mommy! This kid likes to move in his crib and often ends up diagonal to where he was at bedtime.
Kyler does love his changing table, almost as much as his tub, but I think part of it is the dinosaurs on his wall that you cannot see. We still need to give them names.
Kyler had a lot going on at the beginning of this week. On the January 21, he got to attend his Aunt Lynsey's wedding shower. This will probably be the one and only wedding shower that he ever attends, but he seemed to enjoy hanging out with all the ladies and showing off his new trick: drooling while sitting on your knee. After a fun-filled shower, we headed over to celebrate cousin KayLynn's 1st birthday party. Kyler was still pretty tired from the earlier party and slept through most of it. On Sunday January 22, Kyler had a good time worshiping at Mars Hill with the family. He loved to just look out at the crowd and watch people, but I am sure that was a little distracting for all the people around us. Going back home to Bourbonnais, things were going to be calming down a little. Kyler spent a lot of time playing in his gym, hating tummy time, and catching a few Michigan basketball games with Daddy.
Kyler is showing off his drool-and-sit trick with cousin Lauren
Hanging out with the bride-to-be, but clearly partied out
Still trying to recover from the bridal shower, but cousin KayLynn wants him to get up and play at her party!
4 generations on the Van Dyke side--I say we have a good looking group!
Watching one of the many basketball games with Daddy
