Frosty the Snowman

Smiling for mommy

Last Christmas Wyatt got a wonderful gift from his Opa - a read-aloud book from Hallmark. The wonderful story of Frosty the Snowman comes alive with Opa's voice whenever Wyatt wants. I wanted this for Wyatt, and was most appreciative of it at the time. About two weeks ago, I dug the book out, it had been pushed aside during the warm months. At first I think Wyatt was a little scared of the book, since it seemed to come to life. By the end of that first day he was over any fear and had flipped through it at least 15 times.

Now it is a daily activity for him. He pulls the book out, and talks along with Opa. It is the best gift in the world, and Wyatt doesn't even realize it yet. It is awesome because Opa and Oma live out of state, and being about to hear Opa any time he wants at such a young age helps. Plus it is a gift that will be cherished for years to come.

Frosty needs his hat...

Every time I listen to Wyatt interact with it, my heart aches for the opportunities that were lost by not having my grandmothers read a recorded book for my kids. Of course hindsight, but still, my words of wisdom for anyone reading this is to have those you love record a story for your kids. Pictures are great memories, but story reading is a gift that can live on and on. My goal for this holiday season is to get as many of my loved ones to read a recordable book for my boys as possible.

**Side note - I did get Wyatt on video with this book, and if I can pull it together I'll post that video soon - although my history of posting videos is not good...

Autumn Leaves

Last year Wyatt greatly enjoyed raking the leaves, so I was hopeful he would be into it again this year. Luckily he was all about helping Patrick get the leaves to the curb for pick up. He even got into using his own rake. Of course once there was a large enough pile he was more interested in jumping in it, throwing the leaves and then hiding in the leaves. He did such an amazing job listening to Patrick, I was able to take Levi outside to enjoy the nice weather.

Flopping into the pile

Hiding in the leaves

Covered in the flying leaves

Later Levi had a little mini photo shoot while his big brother continued to enjoy the leaf pile outside.

Holding up his head at 6 weeks old

Cooing at mommy

New Friends

Over the past couple of years I have enjoyed watching Wyatt interact with other kids his age. I like to hope that some of the kids he's played with enjoy playing with him as well. Throughout the posts I have mentioned many of them, every once in awhile I got a picture of them up.

Just in the past couple of weeks Levi met his first possible friend. My longest best friend - we have been friends since we were three years old - had her first child. She had a gorgeous little boy. It just so happens that Levi and Landon are just about a month apart. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will grow up being friends since I spend so much time with JoEllen (the above mentioned friend). For now though, it is great to spend time talking about our discoveries with our little guys.

Holding Levi

Originally Levi was Nana's baby - when Wyatt first met him at the hospital. Then Levi was only Mommy's baby - I was the only one who could hold him if anyone was around or when we weren't at home. For a short time he was Daddy's baby. And now he is mostly Wyatt's baby. This means that Wyatt wants his chance to hold Levi at least once a day. Don't get me wrong I am thrilled Wyatt is so interested in Levi, but my heart always beats a little faster when Wyatt is demanding his holding time!

Patrick's nice long arms and big hands allow for Wyatt to really feel like he is getting to actually hold Levi without giving me a heartache in the process! And it is heartwarming to see all the men in my life sitting cozy on the couch together. I am learning how to relax and trust Patrick during these times. Plus it is great a chance to Levi and Wyatt to really bond with each other. I don't know how I got to be so lucky to be blessed with such a loving little family.

Teaching Levi

Cup for mommy

Wyatt and I have been practicing his numbers quite a bit recently. I have been forced to come up with unique counting opportunities simply because Wyatt is always on the move. Just this past week Wyatt has gotten into setting the table, a nice side effect to a focus on always having dinner made and ready when Patrick gets home from work. Granted Wyatt likes to use the disposable plates and cups because they are in a drawer he can reach, but hey beggars can't be choosers! So we have been working on counting while we set the table every night. Sure we only get to four, but that is better than nothing.

practice counting

End it with a kiss

The other evening after dinner we were putting the disposables away (I actually set the table with the real plates after Wyatt is done) when Wyatt decided it was time to teach Levi what he was learning. All four of us sat on the kitchen floor for just about twenty minutes and counted the cups. Wyatt loved showing Levi each cup he was counting and Levi watching intently the whole time. Near the end Wyatt decided to pass out the cups for each of us. He then pretended to drink from his cup and wanted Levi to taste. Precious moments like these make all the stress of the day melt away - I'm so glad my boys are getting along and I keep praying they will grow up being great friends.

Pictures by Wyatt

Wyatt has always shown an interest in our camera, which is why most of his pictures are action shots - once he realizes we are taking a picture he wants a turn and won't stay in front of the camera any longer. So we have allowed him to take a picture once in awhile and I thought I would share a few of his recent shots.

Mommy & fan - a masterpiece

Church story hour picture

Self portrait

Big Stroller



Checking on the baby



I am not sure if I have already said this, but I am willing to repeat myself - For my birthday (which is coming up in a couple of months) we are going to Disney World!  Yes it is my favorite place, so I am hoping that Wyatt enjoys it as much as I do! 

In preparation of our big trip Patrick and I decided to buy a nice double stroller. We got it now because it is super handy to be able to go places as a family - the library, the mall - Christmas shopping, family pictures. 



smiling for the camera



I was worried that Wyatt wouldn't really want to use the new stroller because he loves his original stroller. I never had to convince him to go anywhere if it meant he got to ride in his stroller. Granted most trips with the stroller ended with a trip to the park or the pool, but still. I had no reason to be concerned - Wyatt had a blast picking the stroller out, and even more fun when we put it together.

Then a couple of weeks later we packed up the new stroller to go for family pictures (that is another story) and he loved it! He had to make sure the baby was safe in his seat before he would get into his, but after that he was all about sitting in his new stroller.

I can't wait to see all the fun we will have with this stroller!

Front Street Fountain

In an effort to convince Wyatt to wear his costume before the big trick-or-treat we decided to take the boys to Front Street for a trick-or-treat party. Last year it was a nice little event where the kids received candy from local companies during the day without worry of streets and cars!

This year however it was a little disappointing in my opinion. There were some people giving out candy, but all the other fun things we had to pay for! I would have but Wyatt was too short for most of it - I mean this is an event that appeals to parents of young children you know?

Well we still enjoyed some beautiful fall weather and walked the whole length of the front street mall. At the end Wyatt spent some time enjoying the large fountain. So overall it was a nice break from the norm, and we enjoyed some family time outside during this gorgeous season.

Opening Mail

I am a little behind, but oh well!

Wyatt and Levi got mail from both sets of grandparents for Halloween and Wyatt truly enjoyed opening all of it!

They got cards and stickers from Nana and Chief.

From Oma and Opa came a good sized box, which Wyatt loved opening and going through. Wyatt got a card with a kids first bible stories book (which he has great enjoyed carrying around the house). Levi got a card and an adorable Curious George hat & book set. Wyatt has enjoyed bringing the hat to Levi and saying silly monkey. It is cute.

Halloween

Overall our Halloween did not turn out as I had pictured in my head - but isn't that true of everything for moms? The main culprit of my disappointment was because Wyatt wouldn't wear his costume! He picked out a Thomas the Train costume, and is completely obsessed with trains, so I figured it was a slam dunk costume - I thought wrong!

Then the day we planned to go to Boo at the Zoo fell through because of nap schedules and weather (it was a beautiful day which meant the place was packed and I didn't feel like walking a quarter mile just to get to the zoo!). But Wyatt is still young enough to not really care if plans fall through, so I was the only one really effected.

We did end up finally carving our pumpkins the night before trick or treat. Wyatt really loved drawing out his design - granted it was his art style which was not carve-able, but still he enjoyed it! He helped Patrick scoop out all the "yucky" insides. And he poked out the pieces as Patrick carved.

Wyatt was into going trick-or-treating though. He loved going up to the doors of the neighbors and getting treats. He was even pretty good about saying thank you. There was one really memorable moment to this year's adventure. One house a couple of streets away was using a strobe light in their main window to scare the older kids. They would hide below the frame for a few seconds and then stand up with scary masks on and the light added a scary element. Unfortunately for us we got to the house in a large group of bigger kids, so they didn't realize Wyatt was a little young. But we still went up to the porch, that was when Wyatt saw the masks. He stopped, looked up at me unsure. I said we can go get our treat, trying to downplay the masks (a big accomplishment since I scare easy). He took two more steps then started to move backwards. "Scary mommy" he informed me. So we skipped that house. As long as that house was in view Wyatt would look over to it and say "scary house" to me, Patrick and all the other neighbors passing out candy. I am happy to report that Wyatt did really great with his first scary house experience, at least compared to me, who ran a whole block back to my house (I was 6).

Big Boy Bath

Wyatt has again entered a phase where he isn't all ways interested in getting a bath. However he needs a daily bath because he plays so hard, and usually that hard play is outside. Do I need to explain it any further?

So in a moment of genius, I suggested that Patrick have Wyatt help him bathe Levi the other evening. Granted it didn't quite work out the way I had guessed, but both of my boys ended up clean, and there wasn't that much crying!