Kyler -- Week 45 (9/22/12-9/28/12)

It has become a lot colder here in Michigan, and with that comes new clothes for Kyler. We had a great time shopping for some pants and sleepers, but shoes were always something that he has really disliked. We finally found some shoes that he tolerates, but some day that might have to change. He looks so much older in his little outfits, since during the summer, he spent most of his time just in onesies. On one shopping trip, we even picked up a movie for Daddy, too! Kyler has been having a great time learning new things, including high fives across the table with Daddy and how to play with Duncan. We need to make sure that he does not "pet" Duncan too forcefully, but they actually like to play together now. Duncan likes to leave toys for Kyler to throw, and then returns them to him. Or sometimes Kyler holds toys out for Duncan to take. It's fun to see how much they like each other! (Check out the video below to see proof.)

We had a great time going to ArtPrize downtown on Sunday, even with the chilly weather. Kyler was having a great time looking at all the art and people. At one point, we were inside a building looking at some paintings, and Kyler decided to blow raspberries as a sign of approval--or at least that is what we told the artist. Already an art critic, little guy? Kyler also went downtown to see a urologist, where we scheduled a minor procedure for late October. Thankfully, we were able to schedule it on a day when Ryan did not have to be at work, so we can try and comfort each other in the waiting room. Kyler also got his second flu shot, which seemed to "crabbify" our little man for a few days.

Food-wise, Kyler still loves to eat! We often wonder if he will ever get full. He never seems to get enough of the finger foods we put in front of him. He tried eggplant and tofu this week--much to Ryan's dismay. We had sweet potato pancakes for dinner one night, and Kyler thought they were delicious!

We enjoyed ArtPrize on a cold fall day

"I think that a penguin is staring at me, Mommy!"

Ryan and Kyler by T. rex art

Up closer to the dino

Had to take a break and get some dinner in...even if it all ends up on the blanket

I can only assume they are watching baseball together

Even though you picked it out for Daddy, it will be years before you get to watch that movie, little guy!

Such a cute little guy

Discovering the joys of playing with Duncan

"C'mon, Duncan! Take my toy, and let's play!"

The Yard

Buying a house is a lot of work, but after a few weeks, we had to tackle the next large project--the yard! We are so thankful that we have so many wonderful people who were willing to come and help out with all the work. We could have not done half of what needed to be done without the hard work of family and friends. Thank you so much!

We started out doing the front yard which was overgrown with weeds, building scraps, and super hard clay. After a lot of weeding (it took days of working during Kyler's nap times), we got a large burgundy belle red maple planted in the front and a lot of top soil delivered. Also during that week, we had loads of help cutting some trees down and pulling out tons of poison ivy in our back yard. Even though the backyard was not finished until another month later, it was great to get some of that brush taken care of. We had a late night of moving top soil and smoothing out the yard before having a very long day of my dad roto-tilling the yard. What a lot of work! We put in some edging and planted loads of great plants before finally fertilizing and seeding the yard. We don't have in-ground sprinkling, but Ryan set up an elaborate system of hoses, splitters, and sprinklers to water our muddy yard. After about two weeks, little blades of green started to pop up, and by winter, we had a good deal of grass coming up, with just a few spots of mud. The yard will still need a little work in the spring, but it's off to a great start.

The front yard -- lots of weeds

Side yard

The backyard needed a lot of work...

...including this jungle of dotted hawthorn trees, poison ivy, and weeds

Our new tree in the front yard; we had already started to weed at this point

The clearing of brush and cutting down of hawthorn trees

Ryan was the designated poison ivy remover; he actually managed not to get any skin irritation!

Shot of Jesse, Dad W, and Mom W working on the trees, while Duncan supervises

Edit (from Ryan): We inexplicably don't have any "after" photos. Sorry! I'm sure we'll get some in the spring. :)

Kyler -- Week 44 (9/15/12-9/21/12)

Kyler and Ryan had a lot of fun on Saturday while I worked at Lynsey's garage sale. Ryan did a fabulous job and even had time to swing by with a very well-dressed little guy and bring us lunch from Checkers! Kyler had a great time visiting with everyone, and even got to try out pumpkin doughnut holes! Sunday was a trip to another church, where Kyler spent most of his time in nursery pushing things around--that does not surprise me at all. We had a great evening at Lori, Matt, and KayLynn's house to celebrate Grandpa and Grandma's anniversary. Kyler enjoyed played with KayLynn's toys, but really seemed to like pushing the pink princess ride-on toy. I guess this kid doesn't care what the toy is, as long as he can push it!

Speaking of pushing, Kyler thought that Monday would be a good time to rearrange some furniture, as he moved his highchair all the way from one end of the house to the other. He is a pretty strong and determined little guy. He also found the pantry closet to be a source of all types of wonderful toys, including the boxes in the recycling bin. With Duncan's help, he "arranged" them all over the kitchen. When I tried to mop the floor, Kyler thought that using a bucket of water was just not quick enough, and he wanted to dump all the water out to save time, making it a fun-filled chore time. We had a great time seeing lots of people this week, including a great trip to the park with my friend Emily and her girls. It was fun to run around the park, have Kyler play on the swings, and--of course--push the stroller. Yes, even at the park, we like to push things.

A few new things for Kyler this week were grapes, honeydew melon, and finding the sound buttons on his books. If you hear a roar from his room, it's probably just Kyler playing in his books. He also likes to spy on Mommy in the shower, much to the amusement of Ryan and the surprise of me! Kyler pretty much never stops moving unless he is eating or sleeping, but he suddenly became interested in only one television show: Super Why! It's probably too old for him (it's all about reading), but for some reason, he will actually stop pushing things around to sit and watch. We don't have him watch much television, but it is kind of fun to hold him in our laps and say the ABCs.

Oh, the trouble begins...

...and the fun also starts... These two have fun together

"I found your bucket, Mommy! Now you can mop the floor!"

Have I mentioned that this kid hates to wear shoes?

Eating breakfast at the park while waiting for friends

Probably blowing bubbles or talking :) 

Oh, the swing--how much fun!

Hanging out at the park; next year we might be doing more than just standing around

"Mommy! I found the lens cap!"

"What? This isn't how you mop the floor?"

Kyler -- Week 43 (9/8/12-9/14/12)

We started out the week as a family divided -- but it was only distance between us. The Wiersum family tries to go to a University of Michigan football game every fall, and this year we saw UM win over Air Force. Kyler is still a little too young to join in on all the fun, so we had wonderful people playing with him all throughout the day. My aunt Diane and her granddaughter Abby took most of the day, which included lots of playing and fabulous babysitting skills by Abby. (I guess Kyler napped a little too long for her tastes though.) My cousin Sarah and her husband Andrew came over for the evening and had a great time getting to see what they have in store for themselves as new parents. Kyler is such a happy guy, and it sounds like he had a great time playing with such wonderful people.

We spent Sunday as a family, enjoying a walk and having Great Grandma Linda and her mother come for a visit. Kyler was excited to see them, but what really seemed to fascinate him was the walker! Oh, my son and his fascination with things that move... Kyler also started to wave today, but not very consistently. As the week went on, the waving morphed into high fives as well. Kyler continues to explore and has since found where we have hidden Duncan's food and water bowls (in our closet). We now have a dog that eats/drinks from on top of our bed off a breakfast tray. Oh, the things you have to figure out with such a busy little boy! Kyler has also discovered how much fun it is to play with Duncan's crate, which includes putting toys in there that we find later in the day.

We were very busy socializing this week. Levi came over on Tuesday morning, and we all took a trip to the park. Kyler doesn't really understand how to share yet, and that seems to be true of the space in the stroller as well. To keep Kyler's hands from grabbing his water bottle, Levi just held on to it. On Wednesday, we headed out to see cousin KayLynn and enjoyed playing at her house for the morning. Thursday brought Aunt Sharon over for a nice morning walk and a time to catch up. By Friday, Kyler was not feeling the best, as evidenced by the fact that he was not eating his lunch (which never happens--trust me, this boy can eat!), so we skipped going to Aunt Lynsey's garage sale.

Easily the biggest highlight of the week was when Kyler started to say "Mama" on Wednesday. He may not know what the word means just yet, but it is so wonderful to hear him say it! What a great little guy. :)

Great Grandma Linda came to visit!

"I get to hang out with TWO GRANDMAS?!" Kyler is clearly excited!

Kyler and Levi holding hands on the way to the park. 

"I just wanted to see why Duncan likes it so much, Mommy!"

Watch out--this kid is fast!

All decked out for fall and on our way out for our morning walk

"So where are those dog food dishes?" Kyler is also sporting some über-long shorts

And we have spotted the camera!

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

Kyler -- Week 41 (8/25/12-8/31/12)

This week was very busy with seeing lots of friends and working on the yard. Kyler enjoyed all the excitement and getting to visit Grandma and Grandpa's pool. We started out the week with a trip to Menards and Sonic (still too early for Ky to have tots yet...bummer, kid!) and arrived home to see our friend Melissa from Ann Arbor. On Sunday, we went to Ivanrest CRC to visit Brent, Jen, and Emma before heading home for more time in the pool. Kyler now likes to drag his hand across the top of the water and make noises (that one boat trip must have really made an impression). Grandma watched Kyler while we picked out a wonderful burgundy belle red maple tree for the front yard and picked him up a pair of cars from Costco -- Batman and Joker, of course.

On Monday, Kyler helped me clean up lunch by wiping off his own high chair tray with his washcloth. Then we headed out to Calvin for the Biology Department picnic. Kyler had not napped much, and then we hit some really bad traffic due to a car accident. We were stuck in the car for almost 2 hours! Kyler was great the whole time and actually fit in a nap that lasted almost an hour. Tuesday was yet another picnic at Calvin, but this one was for the new faculty. We were able to talk with the new president (Michael LeRoy), but Kyler thought his prayer was too long and squealed loudly for it to end. Oh, the fun of Kyler! :)

Wednesday brought the planting of our tree and Jen bringing Emma over to go swimming in the pool. Later that evening, Grandpa was cutting down hawthorn trees in the back yard, but Kyler did not like the sound of the chainsaw and had his little lower lip quivering anytime we went outside. We had dirt dropped off at our house on Thursday, but the truck driver came right as I was up to my elbows in a dirty diaper. So we ran to the door with a bare bottom. On Friday, Grandpa came over for the day to rototill, and we spent the day eating our meals outside. Grandma came over at lunch and after work to help out. Kyler enjoyed both of the new foods he tried this week: barley and broccoli.

Trying to help Daddy with the computer

"Daddy, I need to check my email!"

He likes his books, even though he looks tired in this picture

Look how tall he is!

Playing with the laundry basket

Trying to get in the cupboards

Watching the tree get planted in the front yard

So mesmerized by either the tree or the truck

"I am coming to get you, Mommy!"

Watching the hard work in the yard...

...but he needed to take a chewing break