Wild and Wacky Whirlwinds

Wow.. this has been one whirlwind of a weekend.

It started Wednesday night when I got home from work. As I was walking through the door at 2:45ish AM...I saw Chris carrying a puking child into the bathroom for a change of clothes. Chris had been up with him since a little after midnight with an upset stomach. Needless to say, it only got worse from there. After a long night / day of Kyler having a stomach virus, Chris and I got it. Yeah us! Thankfully it only lasted 24 hours.

He SO badly wanted to play...but as you can tell by this picture, he was not feeling well. We had just gotten back from the doctors office and HAD to wash a ton of clothes and his favorite blankey:


My Lil Cowboy was starting to feel a little better and found this hat in his closet:


It takes a Lot of umpf to drink tea..thankfully the cabinet was there to brace him HA!:


On Saturday, my handsome bedhead......


....and I wanted some much needed fresh air. We were DONE being couped up at home. So we called Gramma and the 3 of us took off to our local water park. I didn't get one picture the whole day of us. So I went onto the water parks website and "borrowed" this picture:


Kyler LOVED this slide!!! After about the 2nd time, he got the hang of it and was off to a run up the stairs to do it again..with or without us. One of us would be at the top with him and the other would be at the bottom to catch him. He would raise his hands up in the air and scream GO! It was TOO CUTE! We played in the tot spot section a little, but mostly in the lazy river or the slides. I was SO proud of him because he would run to the top and sit down on the steps and wait for the lifeguard to tap him on the head to say it was his turn. She couldn't believe how young he was and how well behaved he was (proud mommy moment). He rode down the lazy river on my back like a little monkey holding onto my swimsuit straps. He LOVED it. My water bug even went under water on his own terms several times.

This was taken Monday- riding bikes (before the crazy bug hit our house):


Now Lil Man is at home with a head cold and bad cough... I know, I feel like a bad Mommy. He went back to the doctor this morning and was put on meds. Bless his heart, he was passed out when I left for work.

On a Side Note:
I would like to extend a HUGE Thank You to my brother, my uncle, my late Grandfather, to all past, present and especially to those who have lost their lives Serving our country, battling for the Freedom that we are so lucky to have today because of you and your sacrifice. Much Love and Appreciation to you ALL. Thank you!:

Julian's Surgery

Julian underwent his first of several surgeries this morning. It went well. It also did not last as long as they initially expected-- Whew.

He will have to remain in recovery for a couple of days. He is currently on pain meds as they want him to sleep and not move around. The doctors were able to reconstruct his main veins from his heart and made an incision in his heart for blood flow. His parents were supposed to be able to visit with him today.

I also know that his mom Johanny is not doing well health wise. She's still battling and needs to see a heart specialist herself. She had an appointment scheduled for today but since Julian had to have surgery, she rescheduled. She is still in the hospital with both legs swollen. She is off of the ventilator but still fighting.

These two are true fighters and I just hope and pray that they will continue to fight for one another.

Thank you to all who are keeping in touch and keeping this family in your thoughts and more importantly in your prayers...they do work!

I will keep you all posted with updates as I receive them.

Happy 22 Months Old!

I cannot believe that my "baby" is 22 Months old today! Wow where did the time go?

I love the smirk on his face..like he's trying to hold back his laugh:


To my sweet "baby" boy...

You are killing me with this growing business...but I (secretly) love it too. Watching you grow, learn and experience things through your eyes are such a true joy to me. You're talking more and more every day and it thrills me. I've heard people say.."you'll be sorry wishing for him to talk... and once they start they never stop".... but to be honest, I haven't reached that point yet. I'm not saying that at one point many years to come that I wont (cause I'm sure when the teenage years reach here it'll be different some days--wait, did I just admit that I'm going to let you be a teenager--Ha!)

You are a climber..(this I could do without). The heart attacks that you are already putting me through already and you're just now really starting to climb. Be still my heart!

I love watching your personality grow and seeing you mold into this funny, handsome, happy boy. Your smile lights up a room and is SO contagious. Your laugh is the same way. When you smile, everyone around you smiles. When you laugh, everyone around you laughs. You love getting the attention. I keep teasing that I'm going to find you a manager for modeling / acting.

You LOVE anything and everything to do with outside!! Just the other night we were playing in the sprinklers because you weren't ready to come inside. I love that about you. You're making me enjoy the outsides more and more everyday. You are molding me into a better person and I appreciate that more than you know!

You sleep all through the night still (unless you are sick) and you LOVE to eat and help us cook. Even if we aren't cooking anything but happen to be in the kitchen near the stove you start pushing your chair over and asking for a spoon before you're even at the stove. Cooking...well...we are your Sous Chefs. We have renamed our kitchen to Kyler's Kitchen. We assist you with the cooking.. HA!

This weekend you have decided to take full interest in the potty chair. You would sit on it before, but fully clothed. This weekend you have even tried pulling your own shorts and diaper off because we weren't quick enough. If we changed your diaper, you would have a fit if we tried putting a new diaper on you before letting you sit on the potty chair. I'm not rushing you and want you to take your own time on learning, but since you are showing interest, we are rolling with it.

You LOVE swimming and bath / shower time. I will ask you if you want a shower or a bath and well if you had it your way, you'd probably take a bath first and then head straight to our room for a shower.... this of coarse after swimming in the ocean followed by Grandma Greats pool and then a rinse off in the sprinklers. HA!

We have started going to gymnastics every other Friday. You are having a blast meeting friends and have a new found love for the trampoline. You run on it and its the cutest thing I think I've ever seen. I'll have to bring the video camera next time.

Chores-- HA! I'll have to remind you of this one day when you absolutely will hate doing them. But right now, you are ALL about helping with the laundry. I will hand you garment by garment and you will put them in the dryer and then try to steal the fabric softener sheet. You love pushing the buttons and know exactly which ones to push and when to push them (on the dryer and washer). After the dryer is loaded, you'll take your stool over and stand on it for me to hand you garments to put in the washer. You also have a fit if I don't let you help me put the detergent and liquid fabric softener in. You love helping vacuum and even want your own turn to do it by yourself when we are "finished". You get this really serious look on your face until you meet our eyes and then you smile a proud smile of yourself. It's too stinkin' cute! Mopping is another big time favorite...again, I'll remind you of these in a few years when they are your chores and you don't want to do them.. trust me I'm taking pictures now to remind you. HA! The dishwasher...oh my..it cannot be opened without you climbing in it or pulling out the racks and immediately unloading the dishes.. clean or dirty..doesn't matter. You like closing the door of the detergent holder thingy and then pushing the button to turn it on. This of coarse is after helping us unload and reload the dishwasher.

Two favorites...Mopping and watching Super Why!:


Vacuuming:


You LOVE Kady (our dog)...a little too much I think. She isn't as fond of you as you are of her. She loves you but there are times she wishes that she could get away from you, other than being thrown outside. She used to be able to jump on the couch and hide...but now you climb up there with her if not on top of her. She tries to hide under the table..but you are right on her tail..literally. HA! The only "safe" place she has at the moment is our bed but you're even trying to master that one. It's gross but you two love giving each other kisses. I keep thinking one day you'll be the best of friends and she'll sleep with you in your room, but so far she keeps her distance in that department.. maybe its because you're both bed hogs. HA!

Football is your favorite sport..closely followed by if not tied with soccer. You're starting to take some interest in baseball..but I think it's because you're very fond of swinging the bat..even if it's not at a ball. Watch out Kady!

The newest and biggest Love in your life is "Melmo" (Elmo). You are ALL about "Melmo"...you're hat, watching your DVDs, playing with, carrying and sleeping with your Melmo stuffed creachers. When we ask you about Cookie "Monster", you make the numm numm numm numm sound that he does on TV but there's not the same love as "Melmo". We had a Major Melmo Meltdown the other day when your "Melmo" pjs got food on them and I took them off to wash them.. Oh My Goodness. I thought the cops were going to be called to our house..good thing I work for them. HA! I tried to defuse the situation by putting the only other Elmo shirt on you, but it was NOT the same. I guess we will need to stock up on Elmo shirts / pjs / outfits.

You love looking at pictures and pointing out Momma, Dad-da, Mam-maw (which is what you now call Gramma), Cagen and Charleigh, although they both somehow sound like Kady. You are learning to say Aunt Sherry and know Zach. You are still working on Uncle Kevin and Nich.

Every night that I am home (not working) I LOVE giving you your baths and then cuddling with you in the rocking chair and "reading" your favorite books. We have a series of about 7 or 8 that we go through until you fall asleep. Then I just sit there snuggling you as I know it wont be too much longer and I wont be able to hold you or much less carry you down the hall to put you in bed.

You've just started getting into TV shows. Every morning when you wake up, we have to change your diaper then go get your milk and you run with your blankey and "baby" (which is a monkey you've recently named Baby) over to my rocking chair and you wait for me to sit down and then we snuggle until you're "awake". While we're snuggling, I put on Channel 3 which is PBS and you watch your shows. We don't sit through all of them. You'll get about halfway through Martha Speaks and then you're up and off to a run. You like to "watch" Martha Speaks (which is about a talking dog); Arthur; Curious George; Super Why and The Cat in the Hat. You are GLUED to Super Why (which teaches you to read and write..so I love that) and The Cat in the Hat (which is the Dr. Seuss characters). You do this cute little dance when The Cat in the Hat comes on and just yesterday you were trying to sing along with it. LOVE IT!! Although I now find myself singing the theme songs to each one and you don't even have to be around me. I can be at work singing them or sometimes they pop up in my sleep. Just as I'm typing this, I'm singing Super Why! Nope..sorry I will not demonstrate for the rest of you reading this.. sorry! HA!

You are just shy of 3 feet tall (yes, you're going to be a big boy); I'll have to weigh you to see where you're at now; you're in size 6 diapers but hopefully will be in big boy pants before too long. You wear size 2T-3T in clothes and have a size 6-7 foot which is growing by the second and already needing new shoes..so you may be closer to the 7-8 or 8-9 range.. however that works.

These are just some of the things that I wanted to highlight on for your monthly "chart". I have to write them down in a blog so that in 50 years, I'll be able to remember them.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! You are truly a blessing and such a joy to my life. I thank God for letting me be your Momma. I am truly honored. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter, more fun child. Momma (Daddy, Mam-maw, aunts, uncles, cousins, family and friends) are very proud of you.

Prayer Request

Ok people.. I am asking for a HUGE prayer request for Julian.

If you have been following my blog, you know that Julian has had a rough start to his precious life. He was born prematurely, has been in ICU in St. Pete since birth. He has been on oxygen and has even had blood transfusions. The doctors were trying to wait until Julian reached at least 6 pounds before doing his heart surgery. However, they sadly can no longer wait.

Julian is scheduled for surgery in the morning. Prep will begin at 7am and will take around 7 hours.

PLEASE PRAY FOR JULIAN AND HIS FAMILY. THEY REALLY NEED ALL THE PRAYERS WE CAN GIVE DURING THIS TIME OF NEED.

To the Beach!!

Friday, Kyler and I hit the gym again. He had such an amazing time. He ran and ran and jumped. He LOVED it! He was so worn out he took a 4 hour nap after lunch.

Then on Saturday, we loaded up and headed to the beach!! I was packing up the beach bag and took Kyler's sunglasses out. He's NEVER wanted to wear them before and he had a fit for them. So I put them on him to see what he would do and he hasn't taken them off since.. HA!:


He's got the.."I'm cool like that" look:


Wanna wear mine line Daddy:


When we got to the beach it was SO choppy. I was getting sea sick just watching to boats at the dock coming and going. I know had I been on a boat, I would have jumped over board and swam in...or better yet just not gone out to begin with. But Kyler liked the waves. He sat at the edge of the sand where the waves just could get him and he played in the sand with his shovel and bucket. He kept trying to bury Daddy with the sand. Once we were done, we walked the pier and checked out the bird and boats. On our way back down the pier, a helicopter took off and he was one that was able to land on water....I'm not sure if you call them a Sea Chopper or what. But Kyler LOVED it. It circled this boat and we thought it was going to land on the boat but it went over to Ft. Myers Beach and we watched it the whole way just in case it landed.

I got him changed out of his swimsuit and into a diaper. We weren't even out of the first turn when I looked back and saw this:


This weekend..Kyler has been wanting to sit on the potty chair. He doesn't potty YET but its a step in the right direction.. and he's all about wanting to sit on it with no clothes this time! Whoo hoo!! We're getting there. Every time I went in to change his diaper he would say "I sit potty". He would actually scream and start crying if I tried to put the diaper on before he got to sit. He would make a sound like he was peeing and then say "done". Several times I had a streaker running through my house.

Chis told Mrs. Donna today of his new interest and she said she'd work with him. That it was a start and if he's showing interest, why not go with it. I'm excited but yet another sign my "baby" is no longer a "baby". ;-(

Yesterday we went to WalMart Neighborhood Market grocery shopping. This was my Kyler..he saw his sunglasses in the car where I took them off so that he would have them when we went someone where and did NOT want to take them off:


He slept for maybe 5 minutes..however long it took from our house to WalMart and he was groggy when I laid him down in the cart. Shortly after he came up...but kept the sunglasses on the entire time.

Chris cooked steaks, baked potatos and corn on the cob for dinner last night. Kyler got through all of his steak and some of his potato..one bite of his corn and then...


He was OUT! He woke up several times during the night last night but I think he is coming down with a cold. I really hope that it's nothing to do with his ears. I'm worried now that due to the big waves at the beach that when they slammed into him that it might have gotten into his ears. I really hope I'm wrong.

Happy Happy Happy Dance Dance

Kyler dancing to "Melmo" (Elmo):




A night of running through the sprinklers:




He was having a Blast running and running:


Even though his teeth were chattering he didn't care, he kept going and I LOVE his laugh!:

My Very Special Mommy's Day

This morning, Kyler came running into the room to tell me that he and Daddy were going to the park. He gave me a huge kiss and ran out grabbing his motorcycle. I went back to sleep (worked last night and had to come in again today).

When he came home, I was in the living room and he came running at me with a beautiful bouquet of "fowers".. (love how he says flowers).




Then he and I prepared some lunch for us all while Daddy cut up some watermelon and pineapples. The knife Daddy had kept hitting the cutting board and oh did that grab someones attention. The boy whole LOVES to cook had to move his chair from the oven to kitchen sink to watch what Daddy was doing...when I found this:


Oh I LOVE this kid!!! He was extra funny today and it sure did make my day. Although it also made it extra hard for me to leave for work. He and Daddy were both taking a nap when I left so that made it a little easier, but still hard. At least today is my Friday!

My Mothers' Day Gift - 2011

Friday when I picked Kyler up from daycare, I was greeted with a beautiful bouquet of handmade flowers from my handsome lil man (and help of Ms. Donna).

Each kids flowers were different and Ms. Donna sprayed perfume on them (my house still smells good when I walk in the front door):



Here is the card that was tucked inside the brown paper bag:


The card says:
ALMOND JOY BAR for all the joy you bring to me
SMILE FACE STICKERS to wish you happy days always
TEA BAG so you can sit back and relax every once in a while
BANDAGE for all the boo-boos you make better
SEEDS because you help me grow strong and healthy
RUBBER BAND to remind you to be flexible
CANDLE for being my guiding light
TOOTSIE ROLL so you let the small stuff roll off your back
ERASER to erase the mistakes that we all make
BATTERY to help you keep going and going and going...
SMARTIES for all your wisdom you teach me
ROPE in case you get to the end of yours
HUGS AND KISSES for the unconditional love you give me every day!

I LOVE YOU, MOMMY!

Isn't that the sweetest?! Everything listed was in the bag as well. I sure do love and appreciate Ms. Donna and everything she is helping to teach and instill in Kyler. She and her family are very grounded and I could not be happier with any other daycare provider.

I LOVE them!:


I have 2 huge Tupperware containers full of special memories that Kyler has made or something related to things he's done and all the cute little arts and crafts that he makes at Ms. Donna's. I need another tub.

Kyler's 1st Major Boo-Boo....

(first of many to come I'm sure)

Last night after getting home from Gramma's of a Fun Filled Weekend (see previous post) Kyler and I took a nap. After we got up he and I were clearing off the kitchen table while Daddy went to get some dinner.

Just as Chris was walking into Publix he received this phone call: "Chris get home now, I have to rush Kyler to the emergency room, he just busted his eye open".

Oh yes... I was not as calm as I am trained to be. (I guess when it comes to your own kid the rules don't apply??... HA!) I was a mess to say the least. I was trying to call Chris, my Mom, stop the bleeding, console a screaming child and get dressed all at once. I remember standing in the kitchen going in a circle for not knowing which direction I really needed to be in. I knew I needed to get dressed (at least put on a bra, it didn't matter if the rest of me matched or not).

Kyler was running around the table, tripped and fell hitting the corner of our dog bowl which split his eye open.

This was us on the way to the ER. I was sitting in the back trying to rotate an ice pack and a cold wet wash cloth trying to get the bleeding to stop. It was gross with the pieces of flesh hanging out:


They ended up gluing his eye. Whooo-hoooo no stitches. And they said it would be better with scaring. Thankfully its in his eyebrow line too.


Then this morning we wake up and his eye is swollen...shut! You can't see how pink it was in this picture and this is a "good" picture with him having it open considering how it has been all day, but you can tell its swollen and you can't even see his eyelashes. Every time I looked at him today, my eyes would water.


I had to pick him up from daycare to take him to the ENT for a follow up on his Myringotomy and Tubes. When I got there, his eye was starting to ooze..nasty. So I called and made a doctor appointment for when I was done at the ENT I would take him to the other doctor to be checked out.

The ENT visit went AWESOME!! Mr. Kyler's hearing has been restored in Both ears; his tubes and ears are clean and look great; And he is allowed to go swimming (no plugs needed since he's not an avid swimmer at this point). I'm LOVING that. And while I was there, the doctor was concerned with his eye so I asked if he wouldn't mind taking a look at it for me (even though that's not his specialty) and he had no problem doing so. He said it looked good to him (considering) and that even though it was oozing some, it was mainly the glue (whew sigh of relief). It didn't appear to be infected to him and said to just ice it (if he would let us -- ummm yeah right) and look for any redness or bloody ooze (I know, I know..gross). But I was very impressed with him and ended up calling the other doctor and canceling my appointment with them.

Sea World!!!

This weekend we went to Sea World! Santa had brought us tickets for Christmas last year and my brother and his family and our Mom all planned to go this weekend. It was Kyler and Chris' first time going. The weather and company were both Great!


When we first got there, it was at lunch time. So we all met up and got a bite to eat. While we were eating the Manta Roller coaster was going on above and behind us and Kyler LOVED it! I honestly think that if he was tall enough to ride it... he would have:


After lunch we headed to see Shamu and the gang.

Aunt Tamara loving on some Kyler...Gramma loving on some Buddy Roe:


Now that is one big splash...thankfully we were not in the soak zone for this one:


Not sure if you can tell or not, but I think he liked them... HA:


This was as they were coming around. I didn't know where to watch, in front of me at the show or behind me at Kyler:


Two very handsome boys watching Shamu and the crew:


They were catching some air:


Shamu break dancing:


Check out that camera action....belly flop:


Back flip:


We visited with the Penguins and the Puffins.

Kyler loved this Puffin. We have several pictures and he's either poking it or laughing at it or something. I thought he would scream bloody marry like he does at Santa:


We also went to the Shark Tank. It WAS MISERABLE! The conveyorbelt was broken and has this very loud, high pitched alarm going off the entire time and it was HOT! But I grabbed this super cute picture of Kyler and his cousin BBug holding hands.. they sure do love each other.. so sweet:


Daddy and Kyler (I love this picture) :


One very handsome boy in his Elmo hat. Both Kyler and Buddy Roe got matching Elmo hats but I didn't get a really good picture of Kyler in his for some reason. (But that's not the last of it.. the boy is ALL about his Elmo hat and even wants to sleep in it..so you'll see it on his):


We went to the kid section to let the kids stretch their legs a little and do something fun. We found this Carousel ride and a HUGE sandbox.

Me on a squid and Kyler next to me (he had to be in the middle isle with Daddy standing next to him):


Chasing us was BBug "the Princess" (I love that wave) riding a dolphin and her brother Buddy Roe in the middle with his Mommy standing next to him and their silly Daddy riding next to him:


Two handsome boys in the stroller:


This was the 2nd show we went to. My niece SO BADLY wanted to sit in the splash zone and get wet. Her Daddy promised her that she would leave wet no matter what that night even if it meant going to the kid zone and running through the water park part.

Group shot..(my SIL has a better picture):


This is one big whale:




Shamu:


Saying hello:


Well....needless to say..she got her wish at the first splash! And she was none too happy about it. Her Mom could hardly carry her from laughing. They left the show early to go dry off and when we got to her at the end, she still wasn't happy:


Kyler was SO excited...he was pointing at them like crazy:


My sweet nephew Buddy Roe was sitting next to me and kept scooting closer and closer and the next thing I knew he leaning on me asleep. I ended up picking him up and putting him in my lap so he could be comfortable...(that made one jealous cousin to have someone sitting in his mommy's lap):


We stayed at my Mom's that night. The next morning she and Kyler got up and went for a nice bike ride to the park and played. When they got back, they got a popsicle and this is where I found them:


Kyler (with help of Gramma) picked Mommy a beautiful bouquet from Gramma's flowers:


My bouquet minus the gardenia that smelt oh so pretty!:


Here's he is in his Elmo hat:


Kyler, Daddy and I played some baseball. Here's me up to bat, Kyler "catching" and Daddy pitching:


Kyler batting: