The Bebej Blog: July 2014

Kyler -- August 2013

August has been a lot of fun with a lot of activities and learning this month. We started out the month enjoying something that most kids do -- sidewalk chalk -- but soon discovered that it turned EVERYTHING a different color and did not wash out of the clothes that Kyler was wearing. We visited a few parks, and Kyler loves slides and would go to the highest point with no fear and not wait for any help to go down if not carefully supervised. He definitely does not have his mother's fear of heights currently -- that is for sure! One trait he really does share with Mommy is his propensity for neatness because there are times he does not want to leave the nursery at church because he is too busy picking up toys. I hope that stays with him!

Ryan took his last research trip of the summer before having a nice 1.5 weeks off before the start of the fall semester. But before then, Melissa had her great friend Melissa (yep -- same name) stay with us. We took her to the farmer's market, enjoyed time at the pool (which included a bit of Kyler streaking), and picking fresh blueberries in the great outdoors. Kyler loved the blueberries and especially the long rows for the boy to explore and run around. During Ryan's time off, we had a great time visiting the Hudsonville Fair and meeting all kinds of different animals. We visited Cabela's and Kyler pointed out the "doggies" at the entrance (a large exhibit of wolves -- close enough, right?). We visited friends and had our last pool parties of the summer, knowing that next year we will have just as much (if not more) fun!

Kyler has really gotten better at expressing his wants (though sometimes not the best desires), but we are getting to see more and more what our little guy likes. Kyler can be very stubborn about walks and often does not like to return home when directed. He loves to climb into his high chair on his own, but prefers even more to sit at the table and eat like a big boy. His volcabulary has been growing so fast that it is hard to remember words that he has learned or which ones he just picks up. He will follow instructions so well, but really only when he wants to (not much different from everyone, right?), and we hope that this continues when the baby comes so we can have him help us get things and throw things away.

Unfortunately, we have very few photos and videos from this month. In fact, the video below is actually from the beginning of September 2013.

With the whole Wiersum family

With cousins KayLynn and Josie

With Great Grandpa Tony and Great Grandma Linda

Kyler's new room -- August 2013

With the new baby 5-6 weeks away, we wanted to get Kyler used to his new room before we throw a real curve ball into his life. We spent a long time looking at bedding that reflected his enormous love of cars and found a really cute set, but I was disappointed when I noticed that there was not a stitch of blue in it. I wanted to do stripes on his wall and after debating between colors that seemed to match rival football teams, we went with the red, white, and grey stripes (yes, we know they are OSU colors, but our other option was MSU green -- clearly, a lose-lose situation). We do have a twin bed for Kyler, but with him not even being two years old, we thought that one change at a time would be best. So Kyler is currently in the crib until possibly after the holidays. Ryan, Grandpa, and Grandma are the amazing painters that made the stripes look so great!

The stripes!

My mom helped with the pictures and shortening the drapes

My brother's old dresser with the bookshelf we found at a garage sale

"Go-go" bedding for Kyler

Summer projects done by Ryan -- Summer 2013

So being pregnant, you often get a nesting period where everything needs to be cleaned. That would be every day in my life. Poor Ryan loves the fact that our house is neat and orderly, but hates the fact that I often stress if things are not taken care of and often reminds me that in the grand scheme of things, it really will not matter if the house is dusted once a week. Unfortunately, as my belly grows (very big), it has decreased my ability to do many things and increased my need for naps. Ryan was able to take off some time this summer (after being at the office full time for most of it) and completed a fairly long "Honey-Do List" for me with a lot of help from my parents. We put up more shelving in what will be Kyler's new room, added shelving in the garage, organized the basement storage area, put in a retaining terrace by our cement slab in the backyard, cleaned out the back brush border in our yard, and took down a large weedy bush. Not only did he do all of this during his "summer vacation," but we enjoyed some good days at the park and lots of shopping for both boys.

Side shelves in Kyler's new room

Second horizontal shelf in Kyler's room

Large amount of ground litter/trash moved and mulch spread out
(Ryan also planted our two trees from our wedding, with one visible on the far left of the picture)

Large bush removed from corner of the lot -- now just mulch

Close up of a much more cleaned up corner of the lot with just a little more to do

Terrace built with railroad ties to help prevent erosion from under our cement slab

Garage organization -- bike racks and shelves

More shelves for storage tubs

Pegboard to organize outdoor tools

Kyler -- July 2013

Note: Clearly, our busy lives have prevented us from updating the blog as often as we would like. Melissa has been diligently putting together entries all along, but Ryan has been delayed in uploading the videos. Over the next several months, he will make a concerted effort to begin bringing these posts online -- he's only about a year behind!

So as the summer continues, Kyler continues to learn and grow so quickly. He has been saying so many new things, and understanding even more. He loves to mimic us, so when we gave him our old cell phones, he knew right away how to open them and say "O-low" and then hands it back to us. He has often come out on the deck to help me water plants. He loves to click the buttons on the keys and can sit in the house and click our horn button on the car, smiling every time he hears it beep. (Unfortunately Duncan does not get the game and barks because he thinks someone is here.) He loves to be social and at a recent Calvin potluck with students and faculty/staff, he made himself at home between two college girls on the couch...away from both Mommy and Daddy. I have a feeling we might have to watch him with the older women! He loves to be helpful and will often put things in the trash for us when asked, close doors for us, and bring me groceries from the bags so that I can put them away. He will raise his hand up high for "high" and low for "down low" when asked. My favorite new mimic/trick was when he kissed my belly after seeing Daddy do it. I hope he loves his brother!

Kyler continues to expand his vocabulary every day, and sometimes with surprises. On the fourth of July, he started to say "boom" after hearing fireworks going off. He started saying "blue" and "go" a while ago, but we have started to have him combine them for "Go Blue!" and with some practice it will come in handy this fall. Kyler loves to eat, and will often stuff his face if given the chance, so we have asked him to say please which sounds like "cheese" before he can have another bite. It helps him to be polite, but also makes sure he empties out his mouth a bit so that he can talk before eating more! He has been saying "balloon", "Dutch", "duck", "purple", and other many other words.

We have had many other adventures this month with some being just at home. Kyler discovered how much fun it is to have a blanket over top of his crib, making a simple tent. Sometimes he just does not want to come out! He always has fun going to the Hudsonville farmer's market on Wednesdays where he sees bunnies, kittens and a new favorite -- parsnips (just look at the pictures)! We continue to love the pool at Grandpa and Grandma's house, often jumping or running of the diving board into someone's arms. Kyler has started to feed himself dry cereal out of a box, but unfortunately thought that eating it and then dumping the whole box out on Mommy and Daddy's bed was a good idea. We had a great time with the Evans family coming to visit and a trip to the beach where the sand was something fun to be played in and tasted. Kyler did not seem to love the waves but pointed out at the "boat" and the kites a lot. We enjoyed going to a bowling fundraiser where Kyler rolled his first balls and danced to the lights and music. He was able to be part of a salad world record with Grammy and Papa even if he did not eat the salad. Kyler had a great time visiting goats with cousin KayLynn, but they both seemed to think that they would want to eat dirt rather than the grass by the fence. As busy as Kyler is (he is almost always in motion), he did discover a nice quiet activity that Mommy has been enjoying -- coloring!