MY Super-Wy

Wyatt is fascinated with the fact that the boy from the show Super Why is named Whyatt! He says, "Whyatt- Wyatt. They both say Wyatt!"

This morning, while Grant was at preschool, I took my little Super-Wy to a park for some photo opps! I'm trying to find a good location for a family picture for our annual Christmas card (yes, I start planning in September!), so we ventured to Government Park in the east side of Enid, a place in town we rarely go to. I remember them doing some construction to make a new bridge a while back, and wanted to see if it made a good photo opp. Turns it, it was just ok. But the rest of the area was really pretty! We walked across the bridge, checked out the ducks, walked along the paths, went through the garden area, and played at the playground. I followed my little Super-Wy all around, clicking as I went! To say he is a ham for the camera is really an understatement. My first picture I took was just to check the lighting and Wyatt saw my camera pointed at him and gave me his best smile! I sure hope that doesn't go away anytime soon, although if he's anything like his brother, it will.

We had a wonderful morning walking, chatting, playing. I love my mornings with my little man! Wyatt said, as we were walking hand in hand, "Not Daddy. Not Grant. Just you and me!"

The Grocery List

Wyatt has been working on this grocery list for days now! And this picture of the list was taken two days ago, so you can imagine how much has been added to it- specifically in the colors of blue and green. Every chance he gets, he asks for a pen and asks what other groceries I need. I'll ramble off a couple things and he'll "write" it down and say, "Check!"  It's soooo cute! He always amazes me at his ability to concentrate on an activity for quite a while! 

I'll update to this post when his grocery list is complete!

The finished product!!!  This was front AND back!!

Swimming Lessons and Stitches

It all started with a simple beginners swimming lesson. Grant ROCKED it- I mean jumped off the side, went under water, swam across the pool, and went off the diving board. The teacher said he needed to be moved up into the next class because he was too good, so we stayed for another 30 minute session immediately following the first. Again, he ROCKED that session, but that is where he will stay for now! We were soooo proud of him! He swam his little heart out, smiling the whole way (well, until close to the end of the second session when he couldn't stop shivering!). He absolutely loved it!!! So after 58 minutes of swimming lessons, he got to play in the play area of the pool that has a slide, water fountains, and a big mushroom thing. In that last two minutes, he made a diving move to go under the water coming out of the mushroom, and he apparently overshot it and hit the pole with his face, specifically his chin. He looked at me and mouthed, "I'm ok, I'm ok." But it was time to get out of the pool anyway and as he walked towards me, I saw blood gushing from his chin. The instructors immediately swarmed up, and the main instructor said, "He's going to need stitches." 

Surprisingly, this is our first experience with Grant at the ER. I can't believe he hasn't had broken bones or anything yet, he's so tough and crazy! But that gash needed fixing! While at the pool getting bandaged, he sat so calm and so still. He never got upset, freaked out, whined, or anything!! When we got to the ER, we went back to the room, and the doctor said they could just use glue to seal it, but he said it stings and most kids freak out. But Grant said he wouldn't, so we went ahead with it, and the kid didn't even flinch. Not once! He was more concerned about being able to see the TV while the glue was drying because the Transformers movies was on! He was absolutely AMAZING!! 

I'm not sure I've been more proud of him than I was tonight, and in two separate moments! Watching him excel at swimming, and thoroughly enjoying himself made my heart race! Watching him be brave, and calm, and strong while going to the ER made my heart swell!  Makes me so thankful to such an amazing kid!!!

I All Sweaty

When Wyatt is all done with something, instead of saying "I'm all done," he says, "This makes me sweaty." For instance, he was eating some ice cream and he said, "Eating all this ice cream makes me sweaty. I'm done." He was ready for a new game to play on my iPhone, so he said, "This games makes me sweaty. I need a new one." He was done watching Max and Ruby and wanted to watch Leapfrog, so he said, "Max makes me sweaty. Let's watch Letters!" 

He is one in a million!! ♥

Wyatt @ 2.5

Wyatt officially turns 2.5 on Saturday! What a quick and crazy these past 2.5 years have been! I have such a hard time accepting the fact that Wyatt wasn't just a baby last summer, that was two summers ago! Its just nuts! But I am loving the little boy he's turning in to!

I'm pretty sure he lives his life to be silly! He's constantly walking silly, talking silly, telling jokes, putting his shoes on the wrong feet just to be silly, putting his shorts on his arm just to be silly...he's just SILLY. He HAS to tell me at least one knock-knock joke every night before going to bed. His latest- "Knock-Knock...Who's there? Orange....Orange who? Orange you glad its time for sleep?!" He just makes me laugh!

He LOVES doing "homework." Each day after we take Grant to school, we come home and do at least 45 minutes, if not an hour, of school activities. He loves tracing letters, numbers, shapes, lines, anything- and he's awesome at it, so he's getting lots of practice! He loves making patterns with magnetic pattern blocks, copying Lego designs I make, making letters and numbers with playdoh, do-a-dot paintings, etc. Sometimes he'll ask me twice a day to do homework! Seriously, love this kid!

We've made huge strides at the church nursery! For the first 4 months of us going there, he screamed and cried and didn't participate in anything for the 1.5 hrs he was there! After telling him he was going to preschool (Grant's preschool is at our church), he couldn't wait to go to church each Sunday! He grabs his tiny backpack and walks right into his classroom and has loved it ever since!

He's still kind of on the tiny side I think. Most of his clothes are 2t but I've bought some 3t shirts too. Most of his shorts/pants are still 18-24 months. He wears a size 7 shoe, and a size 5 diaper.

And while we're on that note, he's no where near potty trained, nor have I even thought about trying! As long as he isn't in diapers when he goes to kindergarten, I'll be happy! (Well, hopefully he will be out of diapers by next fall so he can go to preschool!).

He loves playing whatever his brother is playing- Imaginext, Legos, Busytown, whatever! He's in the midst of it. They do play really well together- Wyatt has quite the imagination and is great at following Grant's lead in their games! He LOVES playing games on my iPhone! He probably will ask to play games on my phone 10 times a day! His two favorites at the moment are Toca Doctor and Jellytoons. 

He loves doing art work- he asks to paint and color frequently. He's got a pretty creative side and can concentrate really hard on a project for quite some time!
He still frequents timeout a few times a week, and has been testing us a little more as of late. But he has a very sensitive heart, and knowing how sad we get when he misbehaves is usually what does that trick anyway!

He learned to pedal his bike last month and loves speeding around our driveway! He likes taking the strider bike (the two-wheel bike Grant used that has no pedals) for a spin or two around the driveway as well.

He still loves being held and is quite the mommy's boy. He wants me to do everything for him, I have to sit by him at restaurants, and buckle him in his carseat. I love that he loves his mommy so much! But I love that his growing a little more independently each day!! 

I've loved spending some one-on-one time with him while Grant is at preschool, something we've never really got the chance to do, so that's been fun for both of us! I'm so proud of my tiny little guy, turning into this smart and funny little boy!!

I LOVE YOU WYATT!

Grant @ 4.5

On Saturday, Grant will officially be 4.5. Sometimes I feel like he's so much older than that, but then other times, it's hard to believe he's already 4.5!! This will be a big year for my big boy, so I know this time next year, he won't seem so little at all!  

Grant goes to preschool for three hours a day, three times a week (TWR). He's done a great job so far! The only detail he usually tells me about each day was what was for snack, and if he ate it or not.  He's remembered a few songs and saying from school, but he doesn't "remember" much from day to day. 

He's been growing like a weed! I've had to start buying him all size 5 things for this fall/winter, and he's in to a size 11 shoe! 

I made him a morning chore chart to follow on school mornings and he prides himself in doing his chore chart with no help. It just has his routine- eating breakfast, brushing teeth, washing hands, etc. But he likes being independent and doing it without being told!

He has LOVED reading and watching the Richard Scarry books and shows. My MIL bought him a book for his birthday, and when I was at Toys R Us and saw a $5 movie, I had to get it! We've added many books and two more movies to our collection and both boys just can't seem to get enough! But they are good wholesome shows and books, so I don't mind!

He is been into building with anything he can get it hands on! His favorites being Tinkertoys, Bristle Blocks, Duplos, Magneatos, and MegaBlocks. I'm pretty amazed at his skills- he uses symmetry just as I did when I was a kid! It's fun seeing him get into a new activity!

He still loves his DC SuperFriends and all the Imaginext toys we've acquired over time! I feel we've single-handedly kept Fisher Price in business this past year! But it makes for some great imaginary play, so I can't really complain!

He's done great riding his bike! He learned to ride without training wheels last fall when he was 3.5, but he couldn't quite get started on his own, up until now. So now, he can just get on and get going without needing help from us! I'm still amazed he picked it up so fast!
He starts swimming lessons at the YMCA next week, for 8 sessions. He really excelled at swimming towards the end of the summer, so we are both excited to see what he can do with formal lessons!

We are trying to do "homework" a few times week, mostly working on handwriting and basic language and math skills. He seriously lacks some fine motor skills, so I'm trying to get him as much practice as possible before he enters kindergarten next year. He's got the knowledge down pat, he just can't write a darn thing! We also need help with drawing and coloring- he still just scribbles all over the page, without even trying to actually color in an object, or dry a picture.

He's such a sweetheart and still loves snuggles from his mom! He always wants to play with me and asks frequently if we can do things "just the two of us." He still loves cuddling with Cuddles and Blue Blanket. His bed is over halfway covered with other animals and blankets. He just has a soft spot for his furry friends!

We still have our moments where he needs alot of discipline and guidance in being a good example for his little brother, but I'm sure that's something that will never change, just evolve. 

I just love my little man and I enjoy seeing him grow and change each day! I'm pretty sure he grows overnight sometimes and I just stare at him in awe, and wonder how in the world my baby can be so big!!

I LOVE YOU GRANT!

Old Papa's Farmhands

The day of my grandma's funeral started off beautiful, exactly as she would've wanted it! And then, when it came time for the burial, the skies opened up and down came the rain...and the wind! We figured my grandma wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet, so her burial was rescheduled a few days later. That just gave us a few more days to be together as a family, which is probably what she was trying to tell us! So, Saturday morning, we all piled in to my car and headed down to Gigi and Old Papa's farm- always a happy place to be! All the boys absolutely love coming here.  I have amazing memories of playing with my cousins here, so its only fitting our boys make the same memories! Plus, I think Old Papa liked the distraction! 

He held off feeding his cows until the boys came, so they got to be a part of the action! They giggle and smile ear to ear when they hear him call the cows in, "Come, girls!" They helped roll the wheelbarrow down the rock road and then unload the stacks of hay. We watched the cows push their way around each other, as Old Papa described each cow to us! Sounds like he's got quite the handful with them!! As we headed back to the house, after Old Papa hauled all four boys on the wheelbarrow back to the gate, Wyatt asked to be held (of course!) but after a few minutes, my back was killing me, so Old Papa carried Wyatt all the way up the hill to the house! He may be 78, but he's a heck of a lot stronger than me! After a little playtime with Gigi's bears that line her steps, Old Papa let them pick out one to take home with them, just like Gigi used to do!  

Then we headed down to Uncle Dave and Aunt Donna's. Uncle Dave was ready to take the kids (and the moms!) on a very exciting tractor ride, down the driveway and out to the rock road to check on a neighbors address. He picked up a steel cage on the forklift of the tractor and that's where we all stood, except for Wyatt, who got to drive the tractor! The boys squealed each time he raised us to the sky! They said it was like a carnival ride!

Then my cousin, Chris, came with his brand new pickup and drove the boys in the back of his pickup down the road back to Gigi's and Old Papa's house! It was a day full of fun rides!!

It was such a wonderful day, full of happy memories!! That's exactly what my grandma would've wanted us to do with those extra days! I'm sure she was smiling down on us each and every moment, and saying, "See, I had a damn good reason for making it rain!"

Love You Gobs, Grandma!

We will love you, always and forever Gigi!!! I know you'll be the best angel God could ever give us!!

More and More and More Schoolwork

That's what Wyatt says to me each day...."Mom, can I do more and more and more school work?" So this is a random sampling of his "homework" he's done the past two days. He not only loves tracing numbers and letters and shapes, but he loves doing games, like pattern blocks, Lego matching, letter matching, puzzles, etc. Pretty much enough to last at least 45 minutes, like we've been doing. But I'm sure he could go much longer if I kept the activities coming! I wonder how long this phase will last? 

Homework

The first day Grant got home from preschool, he said, "Sorry Wyatt, but I can't play with you right now. I have looooots of homework to do."  I asked if he had work in his backpack (knowing good and well preschoolers DO NOT have homework) and he said no, but he needed to do some anyway. So during rest time, I pulled a couple things together for him to work on. He was so excited! I told him we will be doing "homework" more often since he is in preschool. (He needs serious work on his writing, and numbers, as well as trying to make sure he's ready for kindergarten next year! As you can see from his picture above, writing his name is one of his "homeworks.") Hopefully his attitude stays this way, as he usually isn't too interested in doing much school-related.

But Wyatt is the funniest!! He runs to the kitchen table and says, "I'm ready to do homework nooooowwwww!"  He thinks he's so big! So I've been pooling some resources together so I have plenty of work on hand for him to do while Grant is at school, or in the afternoons. Because this kid wants to do homework ALL THE TIME!! Can't say I'm sad about it! Getting Grant to do anything school related has always been difficult. So to have a kid who enjoys the "teacher-side" of me makes me a happy mama! 

Last week while Grant was at school, Wyatt and I worked on the letter A (the dot pages from above) and did some tracing and pattern blocks. FOR AN HOUR!! I'm pretty impressed with what this kid knows already: he can count from 1-12, sometimes 15. He knows his all his basic shapes and colors. He can sing most of his ABC's. His fine-motor skills are about as good as Grant's! 

I think Grant going to preschool is going to make Wyatt ready for Kindergarten as well! :)

Grant's 1st Day of School

I just dropped my Grant off for his first day of preschool!! Obviously, by the pictures, you can tell he was not the least bit scared or worried! He's only been wanting to go to school since he turned three, but our crazy life just didn't allow for that, until now!! I think he's going to have a great year!! I'm so proud of my big boy!!

Fun at the Farm

This past weekend was spent at Levi's parents house in Western Kansas. We had a baby shower for a family friend to attend, so it was a great excuse to get all the cousins together to play! It helped that it was probably the nicest weekend we've had in MONTHS! Which led to many hours playing outside! Lots of riding bikes, digging in dirt, and running around crazy!

 We got to see Summer and Cooper's new house in Hays. The kids loved playing on the front porch and running races back and forth! We had a yummy lunch, visited the cows at the pasture down the street, and tried to snag a few good cousin pics! I'm sure not sure if "good" would describe it, but the pics are definitely telling of what stage of life we are in- CRAZY!!!! It was a great weekend and we hope to enjoy another fall farm day soon!

Mimi's Boys

There aren't many things these boys love more than their Mimi! It's safe to say that they are all definitely Mimi's Boys!

XOXOXOXO

Wyatt Learns to Sew

A few weeks ago, when my mom came to visit, she let the boys pick out some fabric for new pillowcases. And last weekend we went to Kansas City, Wyatt got to help Mimi sew his pillowcase. He loved watching the needle go up and down- apparently he didn't know it was run by a pedal on the floor because he said it "goes like magic."  Mimi gave him the job of pulling out the pins and putting them in the magentic holder. He was so careful and loved having a big responsibility like that! 

He also loves his pillowcase!

Light Saber Fight

Uncle Eric is good for a lot of things. But apparently, one of the things he's great at is Light Saber fights! Eric decided to take advantage of Luke's new birthday toys and declared battle on Wyatt. As you can see from the picture on the right, Wyatt didn't make it through the fight. But good thing Big Brother Jango Fett came to the rescue!

Gotta love boys, young and old!

Luke Turns 5

We made it back to Kansas City two weeks ago to celebrate Luke's 5th birthday! All four boys went to the zoo with Aunt Sara and Uncle Eric, and Grant even got to have his first sleepover. There were loads of presents, yummy cakes, and lots of fun!! 

Happy 5th Birthday Lukey!!

Our Gigi

I have been blessed with an amazing grandma for the past 31 years! She has always been a big part of my life, and she has been a big part of my boys life as well. Even though we don't get to see her as often as we'd like, we always try and squeeze in a visit, no matter how long, as often as possible! 

A few weeks ago, we found out my grandma has cancer. She is such a trooper and sometimes, she would lead you to believe she feels fine. But that's just how she is- she always stays strong for everyone else. We know our time with her is running out, but these moments will never escape us! Each of the boys got a special moment with Gigi! And they all loved all her silly names she calls them- sugar booger, lamby legs, honey heart! You really never know what will come out of Gigi's mouth! That's just one of the things that make her the best grandma I could've asked for!

We will back very very soon so we can get as many special moments with Gigi as we can!!

Mommy Moment

We ran a few early morning errands today. It was a cloudy morning and the sun was trying to peak through the clouds. Grant made the comment: "See those sunshine lines, Mom? They make those so you can see what Heaven looks like."  

Possibly the sweetest moment EVER!

Little Helper

No matter if I'm cooking a full-blown dinner, or just prepping a small snack, Wyatt has to be on the counter so he can "help me."  If he knows I'm about to do anything in the kitchen, he asks, "Can I get up there and help you, Mom? Pretty please?"  Really? How can I say no to that!! And he really does mean help- he wants to stir, fill bowls, sprinkle salt, cut strawberries- you name it, he wants his hands on it!! Sometimes it seems like a nuisance to have his little hands where my hands need to be, but it does my heart good to know he wants to be where his mama is! Dinner might just take an extra 5 minutes! :)

Pumping Iron

(excuse my iPhone photos)

The boys brought home some Tinkertoys from Mimi and PawPaw's house and they have been building lots of things ever since! This morning, not even 10 minutes after they woke up, they said they needed to exercise. So they took of their shirts, "just like grown up boys do it," and started pumping some serious iron! 

These two definitely keep me entertained!!