Big Boy Bed

Today we decided that it was time for Kyler to start learning how to stay in a big boy bed, so we took off the traditional crib railing and replaced it with the "toddler bed rails". As soon as I was finished putting it together I brought Kyler in the room to show him his new bed. When he caught a glimpse of it, he immediately got a huge grin on his face and raced over to it to practice climbing in and out. He was in love! He could easily get up and down with out any trouble. Had I done the right thing, or would we have a little munchkin wandering about the house throughout the entire night? Oh great!

When it was nap time, we went into his bedroom and I placed him in the bed as usual. As soon as I turned my back to leave the room, he was right there behind me. Again, I picked him up and put him right back into his bed, kissed him goodnight and went to leave the room. But there he was - right behind me again. We did this about 5 more times before he realized that he needed to stay in his bed. Once he realized that it was not a game we had SUCCESS!

First nap in my big boy bed!

He slept his entire nap without even getting up or falling out.

Tonight for bedtime we did our normal routine (brushed teeth, read a story, gave kisses and got into bed) and Kyler only got out of his bed once. Now that he is watching sugar plums dance in his head, we can only hope we don't hear a "thump in the night"!

Spoiled!

Tonight Josh and I both had "Back to School Night" (we have NEVER had it on the same night before), but luckily my mom was in town to watch Kyler. She picked him up from daycare and took him out to dinner at Roma's (our favorite Italian place - gotta love the Carolis)! After a delicious dinner she took him home to our house and decided to bake us a chocolate cake. Kyler got to lick the beater!

Mmmmm!

Kyler is definitely spoiled by his "Mema", but that's what Grandmas are for - right?

Growing up!

Kyler just amazes me each and every day. He is just getting so big as he morphs into his own little person.



In addition to feeding himself at every meal, Kyler is: sitting in a "big boy chair" at daycare and restaurants, napping on a mat at daycare, walking EVERYWHERE, saying many words and doing signs that go along with them, brushing his own teeth, giving hugs and kisses (which I LOVE!), turning the pages in a book, pointing to pictures, dancing to music, and even trying to sing his ABCs (which makes the teacher in me jump for joy!). Kyler is my little man!

I just can't believe just how fast time truly flies by! This time last year I was still on maternity leave!

Mommy's Little Helper

One of Kyler's favorite chores to help out with is laundry. When I am folding the laundry he likes to come into the laundry room, take all of the warm, dry clothes out of the dryer and put them into a pile on the floor.

"See Mommy, I can do it!"

"All done!"

The other day I had to convince him that the wet clothes had to stay in the dryer. He tried taking them out before they even got a chance to dry!

Kyler likes to help with a lot of other things around the house such as: emptying the dishwasher (or cleaning the plates with his tongue), wiping up the table after he's finished eating, putting the liquid soap on his washcloth during baths, and placing his blocks back into the basket (we kind of make a game out of it). I can only hope that he got this desire to "clean" from his "neat-freak" mother, and that the behavior will stick with him! What a good little helper!

Baby Steps

On Monday afternoon when I picked Kyler up from daycare, we got home and started playing like we normally do. I was sitting on the couch right next to where Kyler's toys are. I watched as he pulled himself up to a standing position using his toy bin for assistance; he had been doing for quite some time now. Then all of a sudden he decided that he wanted to WALK towards me. He took two Frankenstein-like steps towards me. Once I realized what he was doing I cheered and clapped for him, he stopped to clap for himself and then continued with three more steps in my direction.

My baby is walking!


Practicing walking around the house

Savin' it for later!

When Kyler was eating his dinner last night, I turned around only to find that he was stashing a piece of his cracker in his ear for later!


We all got a good laugh out of this one! What can I say? Our kid likes to eat!

Date Day!

Friday is the one day that Josh has off from his master's classes and Kyler can go to day care. So Josh and I decided that we needed a "date day." This morning we took Kyler to Diane's so that we could spend the entire day together. All week I had been pondering what we could do with a day all to ourselves, and I came up with this elaborate plan.

After dropping my car off to get its oil changed, we grabbed our bikes and headed out to the Poudre River Trail. This paved trail follows the Cache La Poudre River from Greeley to Windsor. It was such a serene and relaxing ride. We rode about 10 miles into the small town of Windsor where we stopped at Loodles Coffee Shop and had a snack. I had been wanting to stop there since last April (2008) when I had met the owner/children's author and illustrator at one of my reading council meetings, and now I finally had an excuse. Once we were finished up with our treats we hopped back on our bikes, sore asses and all, and rode the 10 miles back to Greeley. We had a quick lunch, a Target run, and then we went to a movie (something that Josh and I hadn't done for who knows how long). We watched The Proposal. It was the perfect movie for date day - a cute little romantic comedy about marriage.

Now I am just finishing up a nice cold beer - what a perfect ending to the perfect day! Cheers!

Sharing the wealth!

Today Kyler had some friends over to play in his "Water Park". All of the kids absolutely loved it! We all played in the water for awhile, then we had a picnic lunch. It was a fabulous day - thanks Angy, Lanie, Kim, Abby, and Luke!

Loving the ball popper!

Lovely Lanie!

Luke and Kyler

Our picnic lunch - we just threw them back into the pool to wash them off when they were finished!