The Scotts

New House Pics

2010-05-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Almost there! We've got grass and trees now, the stone was added to the front, lights are turned on, and there's an air conditioner now.

The dining room light fixture is in now.

Most of the kitchen appliances are in!

Yay the sink is in!

The new wall by the bathroom.

The cork flooring in Kyan and Asher's rooms looks amazing! It's beautiful and we are so thrilled for them to have it in their bedrooms.

Now that the lights are on I was able to get a picture of the tiling in the boys bathroom.

The lighting going down to the basement is awesome!

Storage closet in the basement. I have a feeling the boys are going to like the short door when they're older.

Only a few more weeks to go! Still can't believe it.

House is Painted

2010-04-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

The house is all painted inside and it looks beautiful. I can't pull myself away from the kitchen. It is flower pot red and looks amazing. We took Kyan into the backyard for the first time tonight, and he loves it. We couldn't get him back in. Here he is looking into the kitchen from the patio.

This is the bottom of the basement stairs. I have a hard time getting pictures down there because of the lighting, but for some reason this picture turned out.

Here's the front door and stairs.

This is the living room with the kitchen in the background.

They are getting the master bathroom ready for tile. It is so nice. I wish I could get a good picture of the closet. It is amazing. There's no light in there yet.

It's hard to see the paint colors from pictures but this is Asher's room...a light yellow.

Kyan's room is a light blue.

This is the kitchen closet and pantry...huge, awesome pantry.

These kitchen cabinets were just put in today. They look awesome.

I couldn't really get a picture of the corner cabinets with the sink because of the glare from the windows. They look great too.

All the bathroom sinks are in now too.

Once we let him out back he was so happy to come and go by himself through the backdoor. I have a feeling this will be his favorite thing about the new house.

Oops. I misinterpreted his 'showing his teeth sound' for his 'sticking out his tongue sound.'

He was a very happy boy on the back patio.

Finally...a picture of Asher. We are awful. This is our first belly picture of Asher at 26 weeks.

Daddy Lions

2010-04-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

We were able to get a photo of the house last night without the van parked in front and the garage doors closed. They are painting and staining inside today :)

Kyan loves all the "yellow flowers" that are everywhere now. He points at them as we drive down the road. This morning he wanted "fourteen yellow flowers."

He also likes the "daddy lions" although he can't quite blow the seeds off yet.

He is hoping for lots of yellow flowers and daddy lions when we move into the new house.

Just kidding Papa ;-)

It's Painted!

2010-04-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here it is all painted...almost. You can see what color of red the door will be around the windows. So pretty. This picture was taken two days ago. I drove by yesterday morning to get a better picture (and because Kyan wanted to go see his and "Asher's house") but the garage doors were still up and the van was still there. Maybe they pulled an all-nighter :)

Kyan knocking on the front door. He loves the porch.

Kitchen. I am freaking out about the huge pantry. Can't really see how big it is in this shot though.

Big bright dining room windows with the patio out back.

I'm standing in the loft looking out toward the stairs, bedrooms, laundry room. The railings are up now but not the spindles yet.

Matt and Kyan checking out the Son Rise room. It will be so exciting for Kyan to have his own therapy play room in the basement. He already loves it down there and wants to go into the basement all the time.

Here is a shot of the back of the house from the street behind.

It's coming along so fast now. They should be staining and painting the inside in the next few days or so. Very exciting.

Chicken Fingers

2010-03-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

Matt had a little oops when he was cooking up Kyan's pheasant nuggets the other night. Poor guy.

We are disgusting...

and proud of it!

This is the house on the first day of Spring. Lucky for us it's already melted and beautiful outside. Below is a shot taken from the living room looking into the kitchen, dining room area.

The bathtub and shower are already in for the master bath.

This is the loft area.

This shot is looking out from the loft into the bedrooms and laundry room.

Fuse box :) Thought Halbert might want to check it out. Don't men like to look at fuse boxes?

Hard to believe only a month to go. Wow! Kyan will be so excited when we move. Everytime we drive up to the house now he says, "There's our house!"

We've Got Shingles!

2010-03-05T06:25:00.000-08:00

This is the house just a couple of days ago with its new roof.

Yesterday it was all finished with shingles!

We are getting really excited!

Fun With Bras

2010-03-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

Yes, that's right. Matt is enjoying my bigger cup size in more ways than one. Fortunately Kyan refused to participate in this game. He wouldn't come close to Matt with that crazy thing on his head.

Look at that sweet (potato) smile! I love to see that!

Second Story

2010-02-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

The top half is coming along! Wow! I love the popped out window (not sure what that's called). It looks awesome! Some neighbors have already commented on how great it looks like that. Very exciting.

Parental Supervision Required

2010-02-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

Kyan's early intervention had a free gym day in Olathe this morning. It was pretty cool. There were tons of sensory activities, and it was nice just getting out and running off some energy. I wasn't paying attention to the wall when I took this picture, but just a little more to the left and it would've been perfect.

I couldn't believe he actually got into the foam block pool. What a sensory win for Kyan.

Check out his poor lip. He had a run in with the kitchen table Sunday morning.

He LOVED the super long trampoline runway. I'm thinking that would make for fun flooring in a hallway at a new house. Hmmmm.

What a fun place. Hopefully we can do this again sometime.

Whatever Works

2010-02-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is Matt laying in Kyan's crib. He has been having trouble going to bed lately...Kyan, not Matt.

Matt's so sweet to crawl in bed and comfort him.

He's still in there. Hehe.

House Updates

2010-01-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

The house is really going up fast. The first floor is pretty much framed. Here are the stairs leading up to the second floor. Past the stairs is the garage.

This is our dining room taken from standing in the kitchen. A half bath will be directly ahead and then there's the back part of the garage.

Back of the house

Front of the house

WOW!

Fayetteville Visit

2010-01-26T06:12:00.000-08:00

We were able to go to Fayetteville last weekend to visit Matt's sister and family. On Saturday we went to Carson's basketball game, and Kyan had a great time there. I couldn't get any good shots of Carson playing. Those boys are too fast for my little camera.

He found a basketball on the bleachers that he played with while watching the girls on the court next to Carson's game.

Kyan sitting next to Uncle Wade.

After the game he got to run all over the court. It was fun.

Here is Carson in his new Halloween costume he got for Christmas.

The boys played football. This picture is really crooked...oops.

Carson, Callahan, Matt, and Wade. The Ramer house has lots of helmets!

Carson and Cal versus Wade and Matt

Here are the boys, Michael Ann, and Matt looking spiffy after church.

Kyan with his Aunt Mikey (oo oo ah ah)!

We had a wonderful weekend. Thanks Michael and Wade for having us. We need to do this more often.

It's UP!

2010-01-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

We drove by the house over the weekend, and there's actually a house coming up there. Sunday morning after church there were two guys putting up the front. Later that afternoon we drove back over with our camera. The two guys were just leaving and they had put up a back too! Can't believe they can work so fast. There are windows and everything!

Here's the back side!

It was real muddy or we would've got out and danced around.

How Does A Dinosaur Say Goodnight?

2010-01-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share this video of Kyan and I reading his current favorite book. We do turn taking, where he fills in blanks in the story. I wish I knew how to put words on the screen so you knew what he was saying. You might have to let it buffer (or whatever) before you let it play if it keeps getting stuck.

Counting

2010-01-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Kyan counting his numbers. He can count to thirteen, but these little foam numbers only go to 9.

PJ Pics

2010-01-11T14:18:00.003-08:00

These are a few pictures of Kyan playing around in his jammies, since I haven't posted in awhile.

Cheesy boy

Loving his bean bag chair.

Kyan's checking out all the snow on the back porch.

White Christmas

2009-12-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful white Christmas at home, just the three of us. Matt, Kyan, and Moose are snuggling on the couch while it starts to snow outside.

Kyan got some little stacking Sesame Street characters in his stocking, along with an Elmo toy, which has now trumped even Moose. Elmo is the new favorite. So far he hasn't even been thrown out of bed OR down the stairs. Kyan lovingly carries him around by his eyeballs.

This is Kyan's first Christmas to be most alert and aware. He even unwrapped some presents, and exclaimed what it was when he saw it...especially Mickey.

The basketball goal is perfect. We set it up the night before and as soon as he came downstairs he made some baskets. He would make a basket, then say "Do it again!" and make another.

He loves his new drum. That will be fun when the guys play their guitars together next time.

He is kissing his dinosaurs from his big bucket O dinosaurs. They are really fun to play with, especially when we read his favorite dinosaur books.

We got lots of snow for Christmas. Matt was outside shoveling the driveway, and Kyan finally got to wear his snowsuit and new "manly" snow boots (is it wrong to get a good deal on some girlie snowboots for a two year old?).

Kyan got hit in the face with a blast of snowy wind and it took his breath away. Dad to the rescue.

Thanks so much to everyone for making Kyan's Christmas extra special. Can't wait to see everyone again soon.

Christmas Party

2009-12-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

Saturday night we were able to attend Matt's company Christmas party; big thanks to Justin and Jenny for watching Kyan for us....and taking these first few pictures. Big big thanks.

Anyone know why Blogger is being so weird lately? The spacing is all messed up and I can't type between pictures. Any advice Michael Ann? I am really annoyed and frustrated everytime I try to post something now.

Another Kiss

2009-12-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Just one more kiss. You can't get too many kisses from a sweet little two year old.

There's plumbing

2009-12-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

We were excited to see that the plumbing is in at the house now.

This is what Kyan has to say about the new house.

House Updates and Thanksgiving

2009-11-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

Kyan has gotten really good at balancing forks on his head recently. He can even eat steak while balancing a fork on his head. He's got his daddy's talents.

I did an awful job of taking pictures this Thanksgiving. I pulled out my camera one time during our entire trip to Ponca. Here is a cute picture of Kyan with his grandma.

Here are the recent pictures of the house. I believe this is the stim wall. It went up really fast

There's a hole!

2009-11-18T12:07:00.000-08:00

It's been rainy here so it's hard to see, but there is a hole dug! Hopefully it'll dry up soon and we can walk out there and see it better. There's lots of dirt piled around it.

Here is Kyan at a birthday party a few weeks ago. He just liked to lay down in the bouncy houses while all the kids jumped around him.

Here he is pointing and saying "camera."

Kyan has totally blown my mind lately with his new friend. He has gotten together a few times with this little boy and interacted in a way that I've never seen Kyan interact with another child before. They share toys, follow each other around, imitate each other. Kyan really watches him and initiates play with him. It is amazing for us to watch. They played together Saturday night. When I opened the door and Kyan saw who it was he became so excited that he danced around squealing. When it was time for his friend to leave I told Kyan to "say bye bye." Kyan ran into the kitchen, hid in a corner, and said with a sad voice, "No thank you." It was so sweet. Here they are jamming out on the piano together. I'm so excited for this new connection.

Beautiful Days

2009-11-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

It's been so nice outside lately. We took some more pictures at the park a few days ago. Kyan refused to leave his monkey cup at home (or in the car) and carried it with him around the park on this particular day.

More October Pics

2009-11-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no Halloween pictures this year. Kyan was a dog for a couple of minutes on Thursday night. When we tried to put his costume on him Halloween night he said "No thank you." That's that then. So these are just some random shots from October.

Blogger is being weird and I'm too tired to mess with it. No descriptions needed anyway; just cute pictures of our boy.

Fall-time Pics

2009-10-21T11:03:00.001-07:00

My mom and Tony came for a visit last weekend. Kyan really enjoyed snuggling (and waking up) with his Grandpa. We had a great time, and Kyan ate ribeye for the first time ever. Grandpa Tony was especially proud to teach Kyan what monsters say..."Hi I'm grandma."

He is showing Tony his nose.

Yesterday was possibly the last nice day so we decided to go to Deana Rose one last time. We planned to go the their pumkin patch until we realized we had to pay. Oops. So Kyan picked out his own little pumkin at Walmart instead. He was very proud of it. Anyway here is Kyan at the windmill area of Deana Rose Farmstead checking out the waterfall.

He really loved the numbered stepping stones this time. He went through all the numbers while counting out loud. He has been learning the alphabet too. Last night at 8:00 Kyan pointed to our digital alarm clock and said "B-O-O." Then when it turned 8:01 he said "B-O-1."

He is pointing to the pink flowers. He is getting so good at pointing.

He is checking his head for his hat.

He really checked out the animals. I love taking him here because I can easily compare his awareness with his previous trips. He did much better than the times before. He pointed out some animals without me telling him what they were. And everytime we moved onto something new he'd say "bye bye goats" or whatever we were leaving.

This trip was much better also in the fact that Kyan didn't try to climb into the water from the deck. Last time was pretty scary. I never knew if he'd just plunge off the edge. This time he did really well and watched the ducks and the fish a lot.

The trees are so beautiful this time of year. The farm was especially pretty yesterday. I love fall.

This is Kyan with his little pumkin. Our fall decoration this year.

Kisses

2009-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update and a few pictures. Kyan is doing awesome with his social communications research study and just advanced into the second stage of the project, which is turn taking. Our therapist took her first 'turn-taking' video last week and was really excited by Kyan's progress. She came this morning and brought me the results from the video (they score the weekly videos by how many eye contacts he made in the 10 minute video (last stage) and now how many turn takes). They usually don't share the scores, but she was so excited and said that Kyan's score was extremely high (with 24 turn takes in 10 minutes). He did another awesome video this morning too. I can't wait to get the videos and share them. I will get them all once the project is over. This therapist was one of the first to work with Kyan, and she's been with him since before he even started the diet. She was pregnant and went on leave for about three months to have her baby. She's been back with us for a month now and every week she says how amazing Kyan is doing. It's always so encouraging to hear that from an outside, professional perspective. He is really doing so good. We are so proud of him.

In these two pictures he was playing with his current favorite toy...the truck. You push the driver's head and it drives forward on its own. He was making the truck come after him on the couch. He actually wanted to sleep in his bed with the truck yesterday. Every nap and bedtime now Kyan picks out the toy he wants to sleep with. That is so exciting to us because he had never developed an attachment to anything before. He is seeing and feeling things for the first time.

Kyan got a talking kissy card in the mail from Mimi and Papa. He loves it. Now when he sees it he makes kissy sounds too. The video was taken with my cell phone so it's a little fuzzy.

Matt's Music Videos

2009-10-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

Matt loves to play his guitar for Kyan, and he always makes up silly songs on the spot. He cracks me up every time. I don't know how he thinks of it all while playing the guitar. Now you know how our dinner and evening went last night. I wish I could figure out how to add the words to go along, but I'm not that talented yet. The tapping sound correlating with the camera shaking is Kyan hitting the camera with a spoon.

It is true that Kyan didn't eat his chicken last night and was awake at 4am. I was worried about his blood sugar so he sat in bed and ate a snack in the middle of the night. Hopefully that will not turn into a nightly ordeal.

2009-10-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd update with a few recent pics. Kyan received a sound card from Mimi and Papa that kisses. He really likes it and imitates the kissy sounds. He is sitting at his table having a snack of his new favorite cereal, Amazon Flakes. He asks for cereal all the time now, but unfortunately can only have it once every four (actually five now...woohoo) days with his rotation diet.

His tactile sensory issues are improving so much that he is actually wearing these Wiggles slippers around the house every day. We went through all of his hand-me-down shoes at the beginning of the summer and found these, but he refused to even touch them back then. Now he asks for "slippers."

Kyan loves playing with his beans. When we started going to playgroup last spring it took awhile just for him to touch the beans. Now he is asking for beans and scattering them all over the house. Even the messiness is exciting for us b/c he used to want everything put in order. No way would he have scattered beans all over the place even just a few months ago. I can't believe his improvement with his sensory problems in such a short time.

There it is! Look at that beautiful, red Sold sign! That pile of dirt is sitting where our future home will be next spring! So I have about six months to snap out of disbelief and denial and into reality. Is that for real?

New Random Pics and More Deana Rose Farm

2009-09-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated in awhile. Oops...sorry Halbert. There are a few random pictures from the past month. Remember those old, black and white photos of kids sitting in rocking chairs? This picture made me think of that...except for the cord hanging down in back, anyway.

Here is Kyan taking a bath. He loves sucking the water out of the wash clothes. Apparently Matt did too at this age. Kyan really likes to take a wet wash cloth, put it over his face, and spin in the middle of the living room floor.

Kyan is kissing his new Mickey Mouse that my dad brought him from Disney World. He has actually developed a real attachment to this toy. It is the first toy ever that he wants to sleep in bed with. We are excited about that.

We went to Deana Rose again yesterday for awhile. Kyan sat on the bench in front of the waterfall for about 2 seconds...long enough to get one picture.

He liked playing on the playground and crawling through the tunnels.

Dad and Kyan

I got a great idea from a fellow Son Rise mom to use toy noses and masks for promoting extra eye contact. It works really well. Here is my little Super Man and Matt, the clown (fitting, I know). Kyan loves this nose the best...it squeaks.

And we thought we were done with cats

2009-09-07T11:08:00.000-07:00

Not too many posts ago I was super excited that Kyan regained his spatial awareness and began climbing. Don't get me wrong, I'm still very happy about that. Lately it just feels like no place is safe anymore. It's like we have a cat again. At least Kyan doesn't leave behind litter pieces and throw up hairballs every five minutes.
He now regularly brushes his teeth with all the toothbrushes. I won't tell you what he did with Matt's toothbrush (J/K).

A nice foot soak in the sink.

Okay, maybe I'm not the best influence either.

"I want tunnel"

2009-09-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here is Kyan saying his first three word sentence. I started saying it yesterday when we were playing with the tunnel, and he's already saying "I want tunnel" on his own. I'm so proud! He is so smart. I learned some good stuff last week.

Son-Rise Start Up Program

2009-08-31T13:03:00.001-07:00

These are all pictures from last week during my trip to Massachusetts for the Son-Rise Program training. It was awesome. I'm so glad that I was able to do it. I really can't explain the whole concept in a paragraph, but basically the Son-Rise program is a parent-directed, child-centered program based on the principles of love, acceptance, and respect. If you know ABA...well, this is opposite. Instead of stopping Kyan from stimming, I join him when he's stimming. Instead of trying to get Kyan to do what I want him to do, I follow his lead. They helped me to have a more accepting and non-judgemental attitude toward him. It has really helped me to change my perspectives with lots of things...not just Kyan. This is also the only program that focuses on the entire family and not just the child. AND I finally was able to connect with 90 other people just like me...Proactive parents and volunteers who have hope for their special children.

Here we are at the airport saying goodbye. It was really hard being away from my boys for a whole week, but it was so worth it.

Here is what some of the cabins look like from the outside.
This is me with my roomie, Tanya. She is from Wichita and her son is only 10 days older than Kyan. We have a lot in common and really hit it off well.

This is the room we shared. I got to be on top!

We went hiking in the woods. Isn't this what people look like when they're hiking?

This is Saralee on a really huge wooden swing set.

The huge house on the top of the hill is where the offices are. What a beautiful place to work.

This is the view from the house on top of the hill. The area was gorgeous.

This is Saralee and Lydia, the two other girls who shared our cabin apartment. They are both volunteers who have already been running Son-Rise Programs.

This is a pond on the campus that has crystal clear water.

Everything was so pretty.

Thursday night everyone decided to go down the road for a little party off campus. (There was supposed to be a live band but it cancelled at the last minute). Did you know that 10 people can fit (uncomfortably) into a PT Cruiser? It looked like a clown car.

This is me, my roomie Tanya, Monique (from CA), and Gretchen (from Atlanta).

I love this picture because the four people (not including the half face girl) are all from different countries. The three people dancing all speak different languages, but they all got down together to some Funky Cold Medina (is that how you spell that song?). This is so descriptive of the entire week together.

In our class there were people from 11 different countries and 22 different states in the US. The people who couldn't speak English were given headsets, and translators sat in a booth during classes.

This is me with Brian, my family counselor. He talked to me numerous times on the phone before making the decision to go, and he gave me advice while I was there. He recovered his severely autistic son using the Son-Rise Program, and now he and his wife moved to Massachusetts to work for the Autism Treatment Center.

This is where we spent our days. You can see pictures of our children on the walls behind us. I sat in the front row almost every day! (that is so unlike me). Jewell on my right lives in St Louis, then me, Ursela, Monique, and Lydia.

This is me with Bryn, who taught several of the classes. She is Raun Kaufman's older sister and daughter of the founders of the treatment center. She also recovered her adopted daughter from autism.

Monique, Lydia, me, and Tanya.

Crazy timer shot with Saralee.

Here we are again. I'm holding Kyan's picture from the wall. I really met some amazing people there who are going through the same things. We all formed a big support group and plan on continuing to support each other in starting up our own Son-Rise programs. It was a great experience.

Happy Anniversary

2009-08-18T12:17:00.001-07:00

Today is our 3 year anniversary. Wow, it seems like it's been so much longer...in a good way. I could not find our wedding pictures on the computer so this is Matt and I at our old house in OKC.
So for our anniversary (not really, but I like to pretend that I planned it this way) we officially became animal free! Our love for animals was initially one of the qualities that attracted us to each other, but with Kyan's allergy problems we have been so fortunate to find wonderful homes for all of them. Isabelle drove off with a new family last night and our house is (or soon will be) pet dander free. Welcome Halbert! Hopefully Matt and Kyan will notice a big difference soon.

Happy Anniversary, Matt...the greatest husband of all time!

ProCharger Party

2009-08-16T10:55:00.001-07:00

Saturday afternoon we went to ProCharger's 15 year anniversary party. It was great. They had a bounce house, a big waterslide, and gigantic inflatable obstacle course....not to mention a clown, food, games, and prizes. Here is Kyan in the bounce house. He had lots of fun.
Kyan loves water and was obsessing over the big waterslide. These super nice girls offered to take him up and down the slide with them. He was in Heaven...hanging out with two older girls in bikinis. He had such a great time with them. They were so sweet to play with him.

He was devastated when the girls had to leave. I tried to take him up myself but couldn't make it up the slide. I really felt old.

Here is Matt going through the big obstacle course. I wish I would have taken a picture of the whole thing. It was huge! I've never seen anything like it.

He went down the slide head first, and this is how he landed. He's lucky he didn't skid across the parking lot on his face. All three of us were super exhausted when we left.

Ponca Pics

2009-08-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Kyan and I made a quick trip to Ponca the other day to visit my family. I hadn't seen my granny since March. But we didn't get to stay long at all. It flew by super fast. Still it was good to see everyone and we had a fun time. Hopefully next time won't be so rushed. Thanks mom and Tony for everything!

Kyan loved playing in the backyard and on the deck. That's pretty much all he wanted to do most of the time.

"This backyard is AWESOME!"

Grandma has a big waterfall on her back deck. Kyan loved playing in the water. It was the first thing he asked to do when he woke up Friday morning (that's why he's still in his jammies with crazy bed head).

He also liked the turtles who live in the waterfall.

Here is Kyan seeing how close he can get to the chiminea before I get onto him. The only thing I asked him not to touch was the inside of the chiminea; so of course he teased me with it.

Kyan really liked all the plants on grandma's deck. Sorry grandma, hope they're all okay.

We played in great-granny's backyard. There was lots to explore there.

We tried to take pictures on the bench...it didn't work out so well.

Here is a cute pic of Kyan standing on dad's belly while dad is singing "If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet."

'Working' with K

2009-08-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Several people have asked about what I do with Kyan throughout the day...how I 'work' with him during our 'table time' and so forth. He has changed so much in the past three months that we've finally decided to start documenting with video as much as we can. I wish we would have started in the beginning, but hopefully in another few months his progress will be as remarkable and we'll be able to look back to these videos in amazement.

So I started the ABA therapy almost three months ago. I began with asking Kyan to imitate me putting a block into a bowl. It took several days just to get him to drop the block into the bowl on his own. I had to physically, hand over hand make him do it over and over again. For awhile with each new addition that's what I had to do...hand over hand help him imitate me. We work every day on motor imitation (like clapping, pointing, etc) and object imitation (like driving and crashing cars, feeding babies, and eating play food). I reward him with 'reinforcers' such as toys that he only gets to play with when he's 'working.'

So now we are working on receptive labeling (labeling objects and pictures by taking, giving, or pointing), colors, matching, and the big yes/no concept. It's amazing the things kids learn easily that autistic children have trouble grasping. If I ask him if he wants something like juice then he'll just repeat "juice" rather than saying yes or no.

This first video is me working with Kyan on saying "yes" instead of "more." I think he is starting to get it because yesterday I told him "No, I'm not opening that door right now" and he looked right at me and said "Yes." BTW he loves door stoppers so I'm using that along with throwing him on his couch as a reinforcer.

The second video is a short clip of our normal table time. We obviously cover a lot more in a session, but this is what it basically looks like everyday. I had him drop the block into the bowl just to show where we started and how hard it was to master the first skill. Imitation is still really hard for him, but he is definitely improving a lot with practice. He loves to work and even practices on his own at the table sometimes.

Deana Rose Farmstead

2009-07-31T11:26:00.001-07:00

I took Kyan to Deana Rose Farmstead for the second time this summer. His morning appointment cancelled so we decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather. It has been so perfect outside lately. We should have been going every single day this week. Anyway, I love taking Kyan to this amazing place. It is awesome to see his reactions and responses to all of the fun things that they offer (for free!). I tried to take lots of pictures since I have been a real slacker lately in that department. I was so proud of Kyan for wearing his hat nearly the entire time (first time all summer he's actually kept it on for more than two seconds).
There are lots of beautiful flowers, nature trails, and a butterfly garden for nice background...if I could just get Kyan to sit still for a few. They should totally invest in some straps like they have on grocery carts to put around on benches, rocks, etc. Hello??? I know I'm not the only mom who would appreciate that tremendously. I could photoshop out the straps. Or I could invent some short-term adhesive butt glue. Anyhoo...

Kyan was really interested in the animals. I couldn't hardly get him away from the bunny rabbits. He really liked the goats, but rather than touching them with his own hands, he would take my hand and make me touch them instead.

He also prefered that I feed them myself. Which was fine because they were a little aggressive this time. Maybe they hadn't had breakfast yet, but they were jumping all over me like hyper dogs.

He did awesome on the big playground by himself. I was really proud of him.

Kyan's favorite thing was probably playing in the water. He LOVES water. He would've stayed there all day.

He drove a big tractor.

Me and Ky taking a cheesy together picture. We had such a great time today.

Kyan is taking a break, having a snack and drink on a stump. Can you tell he is exhausted?
We will definitely be going back as much as possible...when the weather allows it anyway.

Fourth of July

2009-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend our Fourth of July in Fayetteville with Matt's family. Hopefully this is becoming an annual tradition since we all got together last year too (However, we did forget to drop off a dog at Miss Linda's this year....oops.).

This is the first time all four grandsons have been together since Christmas '07. Wow, and Dylan you almost smiled in this picture. Dylan has a great smile, but doesn't like it captured by the camera right now. That way it will be much more valuable later when taken by the paparazzi.

Mimi and Papa took the younger boys for a walk.

Wade, Michael Ann, Carson, and Callahan liked watching Dylan shoot fireworks Saturday night. Carson didn't like the noise so much. They were really loud.

Kyan really liked the big trampoline...especially naked.

We didn't get many pictures swimming, but here is Callahan in his swimming suit. Aunt Mikey got Kyan a suit like Cal's to swim in. Kyan loved the swimming pool. He is a fish like his mom.

Kyan looks deep in thought. Maybe he was wondering what was in his birthday packages.Callahan is wearing Mr. Potato Head's glasses.

Carson is wearing Mr. Potato Head's mustache (?). These are two cute and funny boys.

All the boys are sitting together looking at pictures on Michael's camera.

Halbert used Callahan's bunny towel after a shower. There is no shortage of hooded animal towels at the Ramer house.

Friday night we ate at the Mellow Mushroom pizza place (yum), and they had drawings hanging up front. Of course we got some crayons for Matt and this is what he drew....a Star Wars Mellow Mushroom character. "Use the Forks." Matt is the funniest and most talented guy I know.

We had a great time. Thanks for everything, and we hope to see you all again sooner than usual.

Trampoline

2009-06-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

We found this trampoline for Kyan on craigslist (where else?) last week. We were excited to get it, and he's been doing great practicing his jumping skills. Thanks grandma and grandpa for Kyan's birthday trampoline!

Poor Ky had to get the scratch test on his back yesterday. He did really good. He didn't even cry until almost halfway through, but his back looked so sad afterwards. Apparently he is allergic to everything...big shocker. Anyone need a basset hound?

Big 0-2!

2009-06-23T10:52:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to Kyan! Today he turns two and we can't hardly believe how fast the time has gone. He is growing up so quickly...even more so lately.

My cousins got him this big dinosaur tent and tunnel for his birthday and we set them up last night. You can't see from the pictures how huge this tent is. I guess eventually it happens...the adult things get buried under all the kid stuff. Kyan loves it and spent all evening playing in it. It is pretty cool. We took lots of pictures last night.

Father's Day

2009-06-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

My dad and Becky came up to visit over the weekend to celebrate Kyan's birthday and Father's Day.

Kyan was excited to get an Aquadoodle...actually Matt really enjoyed drawing on it too.

We had a party for Kyan and Carli at my cousin Michelle's house. Here they are blowing out their candles on their cupcakes.

Carli was very protective of her things. Look at that face. That was the main look that Kyan received from her throughout the entire day. Carli was hilarious.

You see where this is going. Poor Matt. Happy Father's Day to the best dad ever. Kyan is so lucky.

Matt is always the hit of the party with the kids.

And look what he created...

Wow. All the kids together in one picture. They really enjoyed jumping on the beds. And Kyan was really excited about the Elmo room.

East Side Cribs

2009-06-12T12:27:00.001-07:00

It was 9pm… milk was given, snacks already devoured. It was time for bed. I took Kyan upstairs to get his night nights on and realized to my dismay that we used the last nighttime diaper earlier that day for his nap. Avoiding a guaranteed leakage problem, I put on my shoes, grabbed my keys and told Andrea I’d be back momentarily.
“We have $20 in the bank so don’t go crazy.” She called out as I headed out the door. All I heard was “Go crazy.”

For a Tuesday night, Wal-mart seemed busier than normal. Workers with their train of carts slowly made their way towards the giant store as some cars waited to leave, while others waited to park. Once inside, I made my way towards the back. Past produce, apparel, office supplies, frozen goods, dvds – whoa…how much is Iron Man? Great, I lost time. Focus! I turned the corner to destiny to find just one box of size 5s left on the shelf. I glanced around a bit to see if maybe there was a smaller package…. I only needed one. Two if it was a bad night. Seeing that this box was going to be the winner, I crouched down to retrieve it only to be bumped by another dad with the same agenda. We rose up, each one holding one half of the last box of diapers. My grip was firm…and so was his. It was a stand off.

I glanced to see that he had on an Overland Park t-shirt. This was clearly a turf battle. I was in the right. This was my house. No OP dad was going to muscle in on my hunting grounds. My grip tightened. We danced around the aisle a bit, each one trying to wrestle the box from the other. It was then I heard the rhythmic clicking. I looked up to see other dads circling their three-good-wheel/ one-lame-wheel carts around us. The clicking of the bad carts was almost tribal. My brothers had arrived.

I don’t know if it was my determined glare or the gathering of my entourage that shook the concentration of the outlander dad, but his hands slipped from the box. To the victor go the spoils and I raised the box high above my head in victory. The other dad frowned and turned away. As he slowly made his way down the aisle dragging along his battle worn pride, I called out to him. “Hey Kid!” He turned. I tossed him a few diapers from my new box and he caught them…dropping only one. “Now beat it.” I said. He grabbed up the dropped diaper and stuffed it into his jacket and headed out the door.

I removed my do-rag and fashioned a new one from my bounty. My new colors… my new armor. My brothers left their carts and joined me where we all donned our new badges of honor. We were eight grown men with diapers on our heads victory dancing in the infant and toddler aisle. We were special and everyone knew it. This was our town. This was our turf. And that night the East Side Cribs was born.

Toilet Monkey

2009-06-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Last week Kyan discovered climbing into kitchen chairs and moving them to reach fun things. It's crazy because he's never been a climber at all, and we actually struggled with just keeping him from falling off the bed or down the stairs. I am finally realizing with all my research that Kyan has had very poor 'spatial awareness,' which is knowing where your body is in space. He would just step off the top stair as if he didn't realize the decline, or he would completely freeze up at the park when we'd try to get him to climb the equipment. He couldn't seem to manuever or situate his body to climb and turn to sit in a chair by himself.

So to say that 2 weeks ago he had never thought of climbing onto a kitchen chair, and 2 weeks ago we were super excited that he had just started climbing the park equipment with our help rather than just freezing up; it is truly a miracle that he has turned into this little monkey that is climbing everything. We are shocked that it has happened so suddenly, as if he has instantly regained his spatial awareness. He is going up and down the stairs, climbing the park equipment, getting into chairs, and even climbing onto tables with no help...all by himself and all for the first time ever. It is insane the amount of progress he's made in such a short period of time. So you can imagine how proud I was to walk into the bathroom and find him sitting on the toilet unrolling the paper. I can guarantee that he had never even thought of sitting on the toilet before. I would like to think that he's practicing for potty training. We are excited to see what comes next every day, and we are learning to appreciate the little things.

If you're curious about the sticker on the toilet tank...Matt's a funny guy. All of our toilet tanks proudly display these stickers now; just in case you wonder if it's safe to put a child into the tank. IT IS NOT! Thank goodness for warning stickers. We wouldn't have known otherwise.

Park Pictures

2009-06-07T11:51:00.000-07:00

Kyan has been improving so much on his new GFCF diet. Here is Kyan really looking at the pages of a book with me.
We've been taking him to the park a lot lately with the nice weather. He is doing so much better there. Before the diet he would run back and forth from the mulch to the concrete (over and over again) or he would just take off for the parking lot. He wasn't interested in the equipment so we would just have to make him swing or go down the slides. Now Kyan actually goes to the equipment to play all by himself. He still enjoys the mulch/concrete game on occasion but not near as much. He is like a different kid at the park now.

He even migrates to the bigger kid equipment to go down the really big slides. He looks a little concerned on this one. It is one of the tallest slides.

New Shoes

2009-05-29T13:14:00.001-07:00

I've been planning for almost a week to get some pictures to post but haven't pulled out the camera. So no more waiting...these will do for now. Kyan got his new summer crocs last weekend. He likes this new tradition Aunt Mikey and thank you. Just like his daddy, Kyan prefers only a diaper and shoes.
We figured with the toe walking and heel walking that these sandals might be helpful this summer as well...and they are super cute. I am so jealous. Excuse the bruised up head. Kyan is turning into a two year old boy right before our eyes.

Slacker Blogger

2009-05-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing so well at taking pictures and posting them online lately. Here are some recent updates and pictures. Susan came to visit on and off for the past three weeks so that I could attend an Autism Training course. Thank you sooooo much for taking care of Kyan for us, Susan! It was a fantastic opportunity and will be (already has been) hugely beneficial in helping Ky. I can't tell you how grateful we are that you were able to help with that.
Look at this handsome boy in orange. Thanks for the outfit, Aunt Mikey!

Here is Kyan wearing his cute little beach vacation outfit. He is loving his trike outside now that it's nice, grandma.

Kyan's hair has really gotten out of control lately. If I so much as look at his hair with scissors in my hands he flips. It's like a crooked mullet in back with a comb-over on top. I do sometimes like the whispy sides though.

Speaking of crazy hair. Wow, mom! It must run in the family.

So we actually pulled out Susan's hair clippers the other day and were able to give Ky a real haircut. I couldn't believe he sat there the entire time totally compliant. I thought for sure he'd end up with a half done haircut

Mimi and Kyan before she left this morning. (Sniff sniff)

I think Susan looks a little funny swinging around a toddler who outweighs her.

This morning we went to Deana Rose Farmstead in Overland Park for the first time. Wow. It was so cool...especially considering it is completely free. There are tons of things for kids to do there.

So many cute little kid things to explore and play in.

There is a big playground too. Kyan loved going down the slides.

There are lots of different animals there. Here is Ky in the petting zoo with the goats (aka sheep...baaaa). We didn't get very good shots...too many people and too much action.

He loved the goats a lot.

His new haircut is easy to see in this picture.

Here is Kyan going across a kid-sized bridge. Deana Rose was so much fun. We will be going back there again very soon.

Random April Shots

2009-04-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't updated in awhile (got your message), I thought I'd throw in some random pictures taken in April. Kyan loves his new xylophone that comes apart and goes in the bath tub, although I keep finding the sticks in his trash can.
Sweet and innocent

Kyan likes talking on our home phone. It has been a great alternative to cell phones, which mine is now missing an important button. Hmmm.

Superman! I found these jammies at a consignment sale so they are unfortunately missing the cape but still super cute.

Kyan can't stand it when Isabelle gets put into the bathroom to eat dinner. He has to watch her underneath the door. He gets upset when she goes outside too.

Still loving the boxes. Over and over he stacks them all...

and knocks them down.

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Spider Bite

2009-04-21T17:20:00.001-07:00

Poor Matt got a nasty spider bite...three bites actually. He must be tasty. He went to the doctor today and the doc says it's from a brown recluse. We have seen lots of spiders all around the house lately. Scary. Matt is really sore. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in and help him to feel better soon.
This is the tip they left for dinner...a whole nickel.

Our Easter Weekend

2009-04-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

For Easter weekend my dad came for a visit. We went to his sister's house for an Easter egg hunt on Saturday afternoon. Here are Matt and Kyan at my aunt and uncle's house.
Kyan and Bella are hunting for eggs in the backyard.

The weather was perfect for backyard egg hunting.

Everyone is swinging.
Matt brought the big-o camera and took some cute pictures of all the kids. Here are Kayleigh, Carli, and Mastin.

Cute shot of Bella and Kayleigh.
This is Kyan's startled face when he pushed a button on this toy and the crazy bear started dancing. BTW, Matt took the shot before Kyan pushed the button. He wasn't being a meanie dad.
Kayleigh swinging
Mastin playing
Kyan's first Easter basket. What an adorable basket.

He got a movie from my cousins.
Lots of fun stuff in his basket.
He loves the cookie jar. Thanks for all the fun stuff, Mimi and Papa!
My dad, Kyan and me.

Kyan gazing out the back door. He loves this sparkly, light up thing a lot. The batteries are already ran down from playing with it.

Happy Easter to everyone!

Snow Days

2009-03-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Since it was all snowy and yucky this weekend we decided to pass some time by busting out the big daddy camera and shooting some pictures.
Hip Hip Hooray! (That's what the bus is saying.)

This is what Kyan thinks of bedtime.

He loves to sweep the floor with his 'suzie homemaker' broom. Such a great little helper.

We attempted some family pictures today with the tripod. Most of them turned out with the top of Kyan's head or squinty eyes from the flashing camera light. Next time I will try to remember to comb his hair first. Wow.

Dad and Kyan looking cute.

That is the best of our snowy weekend family pictures.

Janet's Big Day

2009-03-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

My BFF Janet got married Saturday! I'm so happy for her. She finally found "The One" and she more than deserves it. Here are some pictures from the weekend. I was very honored to be her Bridesmaid alongside her big sis Kellie as her Maid of Honor. Saturday we had a full day of celebrity treatment...getting manicures and pedicures, our hair done, and our makeup done. It was my first time for everything and it was awesome. It was really nice just to relax (somewhat) and hang out with Janet because that hardly ever happens anymore. Here we are at the rehearsal Friday night in our shirts.
Here is Janet in her wedding gown. She looked gorgeous!

Kellie, Janet, and I after the wedding ceremony. I didn't get any pictures at the church because Matt had the camera and was busy keeping Kyan quiet during the ceremony.

This is the wedding party with the groom, Kelly, and the groomsmen.

Kyan danced it up at the reception. We couldn't hardly keep him off the dance floor. I'm going to say that he's doing The Robot in this shot.

He really liked the little flower girls....A LOT.

We tried to get a picture at the reception but Kyan would rather be dancing.

Meanwhile in Ponca my granny moved into an assisted living home. It is a really nice place. She got a walker to use that has a seat on it. She's doing real well with it. I'm so glad she's using the walker and settling into her new home nicely.

As you can see, my mom has been hitting the bottle lately...hard.

Granny gave us a tour (and Kyan a ride) of her new place.

I think granny would think her new place was perfect if it weren't for those "stupid old people!"

"Hi"

2009-03-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

If we were sports fans this is what Kyan might look like. He's wearing some hand-me-down Kansas Wildcats (who???) sports outfit. He loves the football (it bounces funny). I'm not sure what I did to make this picture so blurry. Sorry. I had one shot and I blew it. Good thing we're not sports fans.
Twinkies...Matt and Kyan like to dress alike for church sometimes.
I wanted to share his new word. Not that "Hi" is all that exciting to some people; but for us who have been anticipating some more verbal communication it's pretty encouraging. I was trying to get him to do his 'more' sign but he wouldn't for the camera today. He has been doing it daily though and we are very happy about that. Hopefully we'll have more words to come soon.

Sunday Cookout

2009-03-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today we went to my cousin's house for a cookout. We missed Isabella's big birthday party last weekend so we were excited to bring her a new doll for her birthday. Kyan had a great time today.

Here is Uncle Aaron playing with Bella's new doll. He thought it was so funny at Christmas getting a picture of Matt playing with a doll so I was pretty proud of this shot.

Bella thought Matt was funny with these binoculars. Matt is a huge kid magnet. They are always swarming him every time we're all together.

Here is Kyan with Michelle and Carli.

Kayleigh, Kyan, Michelle and Carli

And Wow! Never before have we been able to get a picture of all five of the kids together (while they're all awake anyway). They even all sat together on their own...pretty much.

So here is Bella, Kayleigh, Kyan, Mastin, and Carli with Michelle hiding behind.

February Randoms

2009-03-04T10:31:00.001-08:00

Here's a picture of Kyan and Granny from last weekend. I still didn't get hardly any pictures taken in Ponca. The trip was super quick and over before I knew it. Next time we are staying a little longer. Kyan will be so excited to get to watch Lawrence Welk again in a few weeks.

Here are Matt, Kyan and Bones just sitting on the couch together eating some cheerios before bedtime. Kyan is such a good cuddler.

FYI, Kyan had his ears checked and his hearing tested this morning and everything was good.

Pantsless Dancing

2009-02-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

We got to visit with Halbert over the last couple of days. Here are Papa and Kyan going over the bill from dinner last night. It was so good to see you again!

More dancing...I know. I just can't help but post them anyway. Please excuse my redundancy. He's into dancing when we're out and about. The other day we walked from the grocery store to a mailbox drop off and he danced the entire way....instead of walking.

Chair Surfing

2009-02-23T20:54:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures we took today of Kyan chair surfing, where he makes the recliner rock back and forth with his feet. So far no falls.

We failed to take pictures over the weekend of Grandma and Grandpa's visit. We are slackers. We will make up for it next weekend though. We had a good time and are excited to see them again soon. Thanks for the visit!

Blocks

2009-02-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here are a few recent pictures of Kyan. He has been really into stacking everything lately. His nesting boxes that he got forever ago are now hours of entertainment every day. He is also really loving his Megabloks that he got recently for Christmas. I am feeling so lucky because after he plays with his blocks he will put them all back in their bag. I'm sure it's just a phase, but it is really nice to have him pick up after himself.

He's pretty proud of himself...as he should be.

Mimi's Big Visit

2009-01-31T10:31:00.000-08:00

Susan came for a visit last week and just flew back home today. We were terrible at taking pictures this time. We just snapped a couple today right before she had to leave. Aside from sicknesses and food poisoning (I didn't do it...really) we had a great time just staying inside, hanging out, eating lots of good food (I think I gained 10 pounds during this visit!). Toward the end Kyan started saying Nini (instead of Mimi), which was exciting since he doesn't have many words at all yet. He still mostly baby babbles a lot. Anyway, the visit went by so fast. Thanks for coming here and helping us out. We miss you already.

Little Ham

2009-01-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

Here are just a couple of snapshots we took last night and wanted to share.

Cute Boys

2009-01-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures that I took today of Matt and Kyan. They are so much alike. I thought they were especially cute because they both were wearing white t-shirts, they both refuse to wear their bibs, and they both spilled lunch down the front of their shirts. Kyan wouldn't hold still for a picture so you can't really see his.

We put his new rock and ride trike together awhile back. Here's Kyan sitting on his trike pushing the imaginary horn on top. He does it every time. Thanks grandma and grandpa. Pretty soon he'll be peddling it around the neighborhood.

Christmas...Again

2009-01-02T11:55:00.001-08:00

Last weekend my dad and stepmom came to Kansas City, and we all celebrated our Christmas together at my cousin's house. Every time we go to her house the bouncing and spinning zebra is always a hit. All the kids want to play on it. Everyone is patiently waiting for their turn in this picture.

I think my cousin told me this is one of Mastin's all time favorite toys. He goes crazy on the zebra.
Kyan is getting less patient for his turn. Finally Mastin gives up the zebra and gives Kyan a hug while Bella is sneaking on behind them.

Now Kyan finally gets to ride on the zebra.

Here are the sisters Kayleigh and Bella.

Kyan sitting on my dad's lap.

My dad, Kayleigh, and Bella are all helping Kyan open a present.

Kyan is sitting with his cousin, Carli.

Kyan is looking at his big Dr Seuss book with REAL PAGES. Yipee!

Kayleigh and Bella are checking out their new vanity. They were really excited about it, but Kyan was confused as to why we brought over his vanity.

He couldn't stay away from it. Here is Kyan saying his 'goodbyes' to his vanity. Too bad they don't make blue ones.

Kayleigh and Kyan are playing with Carli's new toy.

That is it for our Christmasesesss. Happy New Year!

18 Months

2008-12-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

We had Kyan's 18 month well check today. He is 28 pounds 4 ounces and 33.5 inches tall now (both in the 75%). His head is still consistently gigantic at over 97%. The doctor says everything is well and Kyan is developing normally. These are just a few photos that I took after we got home from the doctor.

Dancing to the Guitar

2008-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

Here is just a short clip of Kyan dancing to dad's guitar playing...again. He loves it when his dad plays the guitar for him.

Christmas

2008-12-29T10:42:00.000-08:00

Kyan was so excited for Christmas that he did a head stand. We opened presents on Christmas Eve at home. We took lots of pictures so I'm going to email them out individually.

He loves his new dinosaur...especially while wearing his new dinosaur pajamas.

We drove to Ponca Christmas morning. I thought Tony was crazy when he wanted me to help him chew up and spit out carrots outside. Apparently it's a tradition with his kids to have half-eaten carrots on the ground around the house on Christmas morning. He leaves the carrots with Santa's milk and cookies so Santa can feed them to the reindeer. I've never heard of something like that before, but maybe we'll start a new tradition with it too.

Mom and Kyan are just hanging out.

Kyan got a big bag of Mega Bloks!

Here is Kyan opening a fun book with sound buttons.

Kyan was so exhausted after opening all of his presents.

Dad and Kyan napped right there on the floor around all of Kyan's new toys.

Kyan is showing his cousin Barrick his new book.

Barrick and Kyan are looking at all the books together.

Here is my Aunt Janet trying to hold up my 28 pound little boy.

Grandma and Kyan are playing on the floor at my granny's house.

Of course granny and Kyan played the organ together. He loves pushing all of those keys.

Then granny tried to show Matt how to play the organ. Apparently it's a lot different from playing a piano.

Grandpa Tony and Kyan playing with the blinky ball. It's just not a trip to Ponca without bouncing around the blinky ball.

Grandma and Kyan played with the MegaBloks on the floor. Kyan thought she was funny when she dumped bowls of blocks on him.

Now the first thing Kyan grabs in the morning is that book. He carries it all over with him. I think it may become the next 'drum.'

Thanks everyone for everything. We had a great time in Ponca. We'll put the trike together and post pictures soon.

Susan's Christmas Vacation

2008-12-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

Susan came to visit for several days. We ate lots of good food and had fun. We mostly stayed inside the house since it was in the single digits outside...definitely not Houston weather. I think it's been in the 70s there.

Saturday night Kyan got to open one of his Christmas presents from Aunt Shelley and Uncle Jason. Woohoo! Talking Alphabet Magnets like the ones on Aunt Mikey's fridge! He was soooo excited to have some of his very own.
I think he played with them all evening. We wouldn't know because...

we got to go out all by ourselves while Kyan stayed at home with Mimi. Wow! We went to Matt's company Christmas party downtown (and yes, of course we got lost in the Kansas City ghetto at night). We finally made it there and had a good time. It's nice to get out once in awhile, just the two of us. Thanks Susan for watching Kyan so we could go to the Christmas party.

Sunday Susan gave Kyan his first professional hair cut. It looks so great. I love it.

He didn't love getting it cut though.

And super nice Aunt Shelley gave Kyan permission to open one more present on Sunday. It was an Alphabet Animal spinning wheel. He loves it. Matt and I are already singing the catchy little tunes that it sings. Thank you so much for the fun toys!

We took lots of cute pictures of Susan and Kyan. I had a hard time trying to narrow them down.

This is my favorite picture of Kyan and Susan. They both look so happy they could just pee their pants.

Susan took some family pictures of us by our tree. She did a great job not cutting anyone's head off. I think it's about time she goes professional with the photography.

Thanks for coming and visiting us. We had a great time. We hope to see Halbert soon too. Thanks for everything!

Recent Pics of Kyan

2008-12-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

These are just some random pictures I've taken over the past couple of weeks. This picture of Kyan made me stop and think about how fast he's growing. Matt bought this shirt for him while I was pregnant. The smallest size they had was a 2T, and I remember thinking that it'll be FOREVER until he can wear it. The time has gone by so fast. So I added some updates on what he's been doing lately too.

Kyan still loves his baby piano that he's had since he was tiny and kicking it in the crib.

Speaking of crib...now that he's been putting himself to sleep, bedtime and naptime are a breeze. He doesn't cry at all anymore when I lay him down. When he wakes up he's smiley and happy. I can't believe it took us over a year to figure that out.

He loves looking at his books. It is still one of his favorite things to do.

Bath time is getting funner. He LOVES taking a bath. Now he likes dunking his face in the water and thinks it's hilarious. We've also been practicing drinking from his sippy cup without the lid. So now he loves to use the bath cup to drink the bath water. Yuck. But good practice.

His second favorite toy upstairs is our phone and answering machine. We have it hidden (obviously not very well) behind our bedroom door because that's where the phone plug is. We have no table to put it on. I guess we should move it before he calls China and we have a ridiculous phone bill or something.

His most favorite toy upstairs is definitely the toilet paper (and the toilet). He will close himself in the bathroom (he likes his privacy) and unroll all the toilet paper. That's fine because we'll just pick up a piece to use when we go to the bathroom. But now he's into tearing the paper into teeny tiny pieces. He'll spend a good 20 or 30 minutes working on it. He also likes wrapping it around himself and stringing it around the entire upstairs.

He's so proud of himself. He's such a good, happy boy, and we are two really lucky parents.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-12-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

We went to Fayetteville for Thanksgiving and I completely forgot my camera. Thanks to Michael Ann for sharing these pictures with me. Whew! Here are Michael Ann and Kyan.

Carson and Matt are cheesin' for the camera.

Michael Ann and Matt are practicing their 'Carson smile.'

I carved a turkey for the first time ever.

The food was awesome, thanks to Michael Ann.

Callahan and Kyan are about the same size now. Callahan just turned 2 in October.

Here is Kyan playing with a basketball.

The dads and little ones.

Callahan and Carson loved hugging on their cousin. A little too tight around the neck for Kyan though.

This is all we could do to get the boys to sit together for a minute.

Thanks Michael Ann and Wade for a great time. It was way too short though.

Kyan's Riverdance

2008-11-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Kyan's newest form of dancing. All we need is Irish music in the background and Michael Flatley from "Lord of the Dance" will be out of a job. He likes to swing his arms and clap his hands too, but he hasn't figured out how to do it all together with his feet. But at the rate he's going, he'll have it down soon.

Abbey's New Home

2008-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

We've been talking to an Irish Setter rescue organization about helping us to find Abbey a new home. They called last night and had found someone to adopt her. The lady's name is Karen and she lives in Michigan on 13 acres. She has two older Irish Setters for Abbey to play with. So this morning we took Abbey to meet the guy who will be driving her to meet her new owner. She gets to ride in the cab of a semi all the way to Cincinnati, where her new owner will pick her up. I hope she enjoys her adventure and is happier in her new home. We will miss her here, but we are thrilled to have just one dog and one cat now.

New Slide and Kyan's First Hair Cut

2008-11-19T10:54:00.000-08:00

We finally found Kyan the climb and slide we've been looking for, used but in perfect condition. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa. He loves it, as you can tell. We were so excited to bring it home last night. With all the static going down the slide it makes Kyan's hair even crazier than usual. So today I finally did it.

Yeah, that's right. I finally cut his hair for the very first time. I cut it in the bathtub with these terribly dull scissors. I will be investing in some new scissors for next time. It scared me a little after his hair dried and shrunk up. I didn't realize that I had cut it so short. Oops. But it will grow back fast. Even still, it looks so much better. Super cute. I'm proud of my work. I'm sure we'll get some better pictures later when he's in more of a picture-taking mood.

I guess I should specify that the pictures on the slide are before the hair cut. I just put him back in the same outfit after his bath. What a difference.

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

2008-11-17T07:39:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa came to town for a visit over the weekend. Kyan was really excited to see them again. As always the visit seemed so short and the weekend flew by. Thanks for coming to see us. We had a great time.

We are finally ready for the first hair cut. Kyan's hair is CRAZY now! In the bathtub the back of his hair goes down to his shoulder blades.

Alfred got a new home this weekend. He went to live with a guy who has one other ball python and no other pets. It was time to let someone take him who would give him the attention he deserves. He's been a great pet and I'll miss him a lot.

Prince Vanity

2008-11-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

After Kyan gets a bath he normally runs into our bedroom to look at himself in the big mirror. I don't know why he does this; he just knows he looks good. So awhile back I found this princess vanity on craigslist for a really good price. I bought it for a Christmas gift for my cousin's two little girls, who are really into 'princess' stuff right now. It has a little stool and the front opens into three mirrors and lights up and makes 'magical sounds.' It's been sitting in our office and Kyan really enjoyed playing with it after his bath today. I couldn't help but take a couple of pictures of him admiring himself in the vanity.

Trick or Treat

2008-11-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Halloween. Kyan was a bear. We took him to Boo Bash this year, which is held at the county fairgrounds here in Gardner. They had games, a haunted house, door prizes, and tons of candy. Kyan really did not like his costume much at all. We 'bearly' got this picture of him with his bear head on. The head was heavy and full of stuffing and it didn't really fit on top of his head right. It was the absolute most perfect night here though. The weather was awesome for walking around the neighborhoods. Hopefully it'll be like that next year again when Kyan's older and can enjoy it a little more.

I had to add this picture of him in his dinosaur costume from a few months back. He liked wearing this costume much better but we returned it to the store. We can always say this picture was from Halloween too. He made such a cute little dinosaur.

Dance Like No One Is Watching

2008-10-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

This is just a short post to show you this video that was sent to me by a fellow artist. It's one of the coolest things I've seen in quite a while. For 4 minutes, you forget about all the problems in the world. The back story is just as amazing and you can see it at http://www.karmatube.org/videos.php?id=729

REDRUM

2008-10-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

We are ready for Halloween around here. This is a picture of Kyan in his Frankenstein sweat suit. I've been excited for it to get cold enough for him to wear it before Halloween is over. Not the greatest picture but it's all I got.

And this video is my son's disturbing reaction to his first short viewing of "The Shining." Normally his shows consist of Baby Einstein videos and that's it (I promise), but the other day he was napping and I came across The Shining (unedited and commercial free woohoo) and couldn't help myself. He woke up and we came downstairs right when my favorite part was on...when Wendy finally realizes that Jack is totally insane, of course. Kyan thought it was hilarious. Should I be worried?

Trip to Ponca

2008-10-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

Kyan and I went to Ponca City for a visit earlier this week. Here is Granny teaching Kyan how to play the organ. He's really watching her to see how it's done.
Everyone squeezing in for a picture.

Granny is teaching Kyan about farm animals.

Kyan has fun with Tony flying around on his shoulder.

I got to meet up with some of the girls for dinner one night at Enriques...yum...and without Kyan even.
It was nice to see everyone again, even though it went by fast. It always does. Hopefully we'll be able to make another trip soon.

Park and Reading

2008-10-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

This is Kyan's new favorite reading spot. He unfolds his couch and props up his books on the end.

We went to our new fun park last weekend and took a few pictures. I love this picture of Kyan and Matt.

Wow. I'm squatting like Kyan does. I didn't even know I could do it.

He's showing me a leaf he found on the ground that he had to carry with him all over the place.

Matt's Pepper

2008-09-26T11:14:00.001-07:00

While Susan was in town Matt and I got to treat ourselves to a lunch date...just the two of us. We went to Chili's and for a donation to St Judes Childrens Hospital you get to color a pepper. Of course Matt was excited to get to color, and check out his masterpiece. So here is Matt doing his smile he learned from Carson. Seriously, doesn't he look like Carson holding up his drawing last month? He only had four crayons to use and somehow it still came out like this (it was originally just an outline of a pepper). The waitress said it was the best she's ever seen (duh) and said they were going to put it in a frame. The pictures are from my phone so they're not very clear. It was awesome.

Papa Jealous

2008-09-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry Halbert but here is a video we took especially for you. Since we couldn't get a video of Kyan saying "Mimi" this will have to do. You'll have your work cut out for you next time you're here.

Mimi's Visit/Vacation

2008-09-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Susan flew in Thursday to KC. She had it already planned but it ended up being a much needed vacation away from no electricity and a tree in their roof. Saturday we ventured to the edge of Gardner and came across a state of the art baseball field and brand new park we didn't even know existed here. So we stopped and walked around, played and took some pictures. I've never seen such an awesome park with ponds, bridges, picnic areas and every big play toy imaginable. It was pretty cool but hard to tell in the pictures. Here are Susan and Kyan standing in the doorway of a play barn.

Okay, does he not look huge on Susan's lap?

Mimi is getting some snuggles in before she has to leave.

Kyan is reading his new book with real pages to Mimi.

Papa's Visit/Detour

2008-09-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

Papa flew into KCI Friday night since his flight was cancelled going back home to Houston. Poor Mimi and Dylan had to go through Hurricane Ike all by themselves. Scary. They are alright but a tree fell on their house and of course they have no electricity. It was nice to see Papa again even under those circumstances. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.
Kyan, Matt, and Papa hanging out at the hotel.

Like our white shirts? We don't need no stinkin' studio.

We got Kyan this dinosaur Halloween costume awhile back thinking that we didn't want to wait until the last minute and run out of selection. It was sooo cute with a big spikey tail. Anyway, my cousin ended up giving us a costume her son wore that should fit Kyan this year so we took the dinosaur costume back to the store...not before putting it on again and taking some pictures though.

Stroller and Raincoat

2008-09-12T13:45:00.001-07:00

Here is Kyan in his new umbrella stroller. I've been wanting one that has support behind him because in his other one he'd slouch into the stroller. It was fine when he was smaller but now he's so uncomfortable and squashed in it. So he likes this one much better. We went to the doctor yesterday and he seems much happier in it. Thank you grandma and grandpa.

I love this raincoat. I think it is adorable. We bought it at Old Navy when Kyan was 8 months old or so on clearance for $5 I think. I remember Matt wanted to get it so bad and I thought "When in the world is he going to wear that?" I didn't even know if it would fit him during the right season. Glad we did because he's worn it all week. It's great.

Check out all of his new teeth!

Birthday Party

2008-09-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today we went to my cousin's son Mastin's third birthday party. I was excited because I made his cupcakes. I know that sounds crazy to be excited to make cupcakes but I've never made cupcakes before EVER. Mastin requested cupcakes with blue icing so here's a picture of me holding some of my little masterpieces. They were good. You can tell Kyan is proud of me. I know they're in plastic trays but I swear I made them and only put them in those plastic walmart trays to transport. For real.

Kyan is making his "mmm delicious cupcake" face.
Mastin is getting his birthday cake delivered.

They had a really fun playroom with lots to explore. Here are Kyan and Carli hanging out.

Kayleigh really liked snuggling with Kyan. You can tell he's loving it right back.

My goofy little eater

2008-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

Kyan was cracking me up today during snack time so I had to get a video. Can someone tell me why my son refuses to pick up grapes with his hands? He used to eat grapes and bananas with his hands and he now refuses altogether. He will just not eat them if he can't reach them with his mouth. He eats other things using his hands so it's not like he doesn't know how. I think he's been watching the dogs eating their food a little too much. Sorry for the shaking camera; I was laughing.

Grandma and Grandpa's visit

2008-09-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

My mom and Tony came up for a visit over Labor Day weekend. It felt too short but we had a great time. Kyan really enjoyed playing with his grandma and grandpa. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see them again.
Grandma is reading Kyan his favorite dinosaur book.

Grandpa is helping Kyan learn his shapes (or is it the other way around?).

Kyan misses his grandma and grandpa already.

Warning about Colgate Total

2008-08-31T20:37:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to share this strange experience I had recently. I bought a different kind of toothpaste than we normally use for some reason...it was probably on sale I'm sure. After about a week or so of using it my tongue felt like it was burnt. You know when you drink something too hot and it burns your tongue? It felt numb, swollen, irritated, a little tingly. The inside of my cheeks were sore too and my gums around my teeth were white. I've never had this happen before and I didn't really put two and two together for awhile so it just kept getting worse. My mouth was really feeling pretty miserable. I finally went out and bought our regular toothpaste again and immediately started feeling better. Matt was comparing the toothpastes and there is an extra ingredient called Triclosan in the Colgate Total. I looked it up online and read that there have been lots of problems with this chemical. There was one study done where 16 of 19 volunteers had exhibited skin irritation from this particular toothpaste. I've never heard of this and I can't believe that a toothpaste effected me like that. I just wanted to share in case this happens to someone else who may read this because I went on using this toothpaste without knowing that it was causing this problem. Matt used it too and was fine. My tongue is still recovering from it. Just take caution with Colgate Total with the chemical Triclosan.

Kyan's One Year Pictures

2008-08-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

We finally got Kyan's one year pictures taken yesterday just a few days shy of 14 months old. I'm not very smart with the scanner so these aren't very clear. I used really low resolution to scan them so the actual pictures look a lot better. I just wanted to post them so in case anyone has a preference on which ones they want. I was surprised at the turn out because at the studio Kyan just wanted to play and run away from me. Most of the shots were of him getting up and taking off. See those khaki shorts he's wearing? They belong to some other little boy at the studio whos nice mom offered to let Kyan wear them for these pictures. All I had were jeans and I was afraid it would be too much blue.

Okay these scans are terrible. I'll see if Matt will fix them later.

Anniversary

2008-08-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our anniversary. I can't believe it's only been two years since our wedding. It feels like we've been together forever (in a good way). This has definitely been the best two years of my life. Just a few years ago I would have never imagined sharing my life with someone as wonderful as Matt. It's crazy to think that for my first 26 years I lived in about a four block radius in Ponca City. Then I met Matt and we've already lived in Oklahoma City, Springfield MO, Kansas City MO, and now Gardner KS in less than three years. And let's not forget about Kyan. What a change. We don't waste any time, do we? We talked about this yesterday and we both agree that it's time to slow it down a bit.

Reading a Book

2008-08-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

I was getting a bath ready for Kyan today when I realized how quiet he was being (usually that means he's looking at books). So his blinds were raised just enough to where he couldn't destroy them, and he had found a little box of light to sit in to read a book. He looked so peaceful in that little box of light we couldn't resist taking these pictures of him.

Playing Upstairs

2008-08-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

Matt took a few photos the other night with the big camera while we were just playing around upstairs. I thought they were cute and I know some certain someones who would like for us to share them.

Hammin'

2008-08-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

I was watching them play together and then Kyan noticed the camera. You would think he'd be used to it by now but he's so curious with the camera. He loves music. He walks around swinging his arms and clapping his hands when his music is playing.

Jammin again

2008-08-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

When Matt plays his guitar for Kyan he will drag his drums over and play along with his daddy. He always keeps his two drums together now. I caught them playing together when I was coming down the stairs and Kyan couldn't see me. I thought they were super cute together.

Dad's visit

2008-08-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

My dad and his wife came to visit last weekend. Kyan got some time to play with my cousin's kids. Here are a few pictures of Kyan and Carli snacking on some coasters. Carli is one day older than Kyan. She has the most gorgeous head of hair I have ever seen on a little girl. It is so soft and curly -- like little baby super model hair.

BooBoo

2008-08-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last night Kyan had his first meeting with the driveway. I know it's the first of a million to come. Climbing is right around the corner. It was still traumatic for Matt and me...much harder for us than it was for Kyan. Here is his sad "I gotta a hurty on my head" face. He forgot all about it after about 2 minutes though. I guess it was a good, mild, breaking in the parents bump on the head.

Swinging at the Park

2008-08-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

We walked to the park last night with Abbey for the first time in a week or two. It's been too hot outside lately...I should stop saying that since we're probably cooler than anyone else out there looking at this blog (especially Houston). Most of the pictures were blurry of course with the swing swinging so this is all I have to post right now. Kyan was sure happy to get to swing again.

Crocs

2008-08-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

Now that Kyan is walking better he wants to run around outside. He has hated walking in shoes...everytime I put them on he tries to take them off of his feet. He has outgrown his size 4 sandals (that he wouldn't walk in anyway)and his only size 5 shoes are more fall weather shoes. So he got his first pair of crocs on Saturday and loves them. He walks around in them with no problems at all. I tried to get a video of him running around in the driveway last night but it's been so hot here that I waited too late for the sun to go down and he was tired. So I'm sure I'll get some better pictures sometime soon but wanted to show off his new crocs anyway. Thanks so much Mimi and Michael Ann. You are brilliant as always.
Kyan has been the biggest daddy's boy lately. When Matt gets home from work I am chopped liver for the rest of the night.

Sharing

2008-08-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Kyan trying to put his ball in Isabelle's mouth. He's started learning how to share his toys lately. Since we've been letting Isabelle in the living room ocassionally Kyan has really enjoyed getting to experience her without a gate in between them. I've been really surprised in the way that he treats her. He'll run up to her so fast and I just keep waiting for him to throw himself on her like he does with pillows but he never has...yet. He is very gentle and pets her so softly. It's nice having them together and they both really like it, but now that I have the animals seperated I'm too spoiled in my pet hair free environment to let Isabelle in more often.

Swimming and Bubbles

2008-07-30T11:55:00.000-07:00

We set Kyan's pool up in the garage last weekend since it's been so hot outside. Kyan has been running a fever since Sunday morning and it finally went down last night. I think the the water felt pretty good to him. We also played with the bubble gun that Mimi and Papa got him for his birthday. He really liked trying to catch the bubbles. I think he's teething since he's been chewing on everything he can get his hands on.

Jammin

2008-07-24T11:27:00.001-07:00

Matt is playing his guitar while Kyan plays the drums. I think he may be a little drummer like his mom.

Ball Popper & After Church

2008-07-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

Kyan absolutely loves his ball popper. Sometimes he likes to take all the balls out and turn it into a face blower.
Here are a couple of pictures of Kyan running around the house in his cute little church clothes. I thought he looked pretty spiffy. He wouldn't keep on his shoes though.