Family Visit

During the second week of July, we made a trip to Wichita to visit family. Ben's sister and her family were in town, so we wanted to get up there while they were there. We stayed a few days and had such a good time! It is so fun to watch all the kids (who span 5 years) play together.

We started one evening by splashing in the pool in the backyard.

But then we moved on to baseball... or rather trying to hit tennis balls with a plastic bat. Lila was more interested in gathering all the balls.

After watching the process for awhile, Wyatt thought he had it figured out. "Who needs a pitcher? I'll just hold the ball up myself."

"Hmm... or maybe I'll hold the ball down."

We celebrated Lila's 4th birthday while we were there. As a special treat, we took all the girls to Build-a-Bear and let them create a special friend. They each started by picking out the animal they wanted.

The next step was to add the stuffing. Here Lila is pushing the pedal that makes the "fluff" go into her bunny.

After your animal is stuffed, you can give it an air bath. Kaelyn thought this was fun.

And then you can pick out an outfit! Lila named her bunny "Butterfly."

Another thing we did while we were there was visit a splash park. It was really neat because we had the park practically to ourselves. Lila loved it!

Wyatt wasn't so sure at first...

But it didn't take long before he was soaking wet and smiling big!

Of course, I think they all stopped at one point and took a drink (at least my two kids did)!

Some more backyard fun.

Listening to Grandma sing and play the piano.

David and Wyatt also played together some. Here they are working on the same puzzle. My sister-in-law is expecting a baby any day now, so the next time we get together, we will probably have 2 more kids who can play together - well, ok, so they won't be playing together for a little bit :) - but they will someday!

Swimming Lessons

We signed the kids up for swimming lessons at the natatorium for the first two weeks in June. Lila's class was Monday through Thursday morning, and Wyatt's was Tuesday/Thursday evenings.

Wyatt LOVED being in the water. In fact, he often says "get down?" when you are holding him in the water (uh, sorry buddy, but you aren't THAT good of a swimmer yet!).

The instructor had some watering cans to pour water on the kid's heads to get them used to getting water in their face. Of course, Wyatt had his face wet one minute after getting in! He just thought it was a great toy!

Swim... drink... it's all the same to him! (He's the same way in the bathtub; we are constantly saying "don't drink the water!")

Lila's class was for 3-5 year olds (no parents). She is a little more timid than Wyatt when it comes to getting her face wet. During her class, they primarily stayed in the shallow end where they could stand. They worked on kicking, "scooping" with their arms, blowing bubbles and floating on their backs. But the 2nd or 3rd day, they took them to the deeper end to get them used to going under.

The instructor held onto them the whole time, but still, it was a big accomplishment.

After she went under, she waited for the next child to have a turn.

Here she is supposed to be floating on her back. He kept trying to get her to put her arms out to her sides, but that one little arm kept wanting to hang on!

Floating on her tummy using the foam barbell and kicking her legs.

This was taken the last day. Wyatt did a pretty good job of being content while we watched Lila during her lesson, although he did say "water!" at least once every day. (Lila stayed home with me when Ben took Wyatt to his class.) I could tell that at the end of two weeks, Lila had definitely gotten more comfortable in the water. And, now whenever we pass the natatorium, she says, "Look, Mommy! My swimming class!"

My 4 Year Old

Last week Lila turned four years old. Four!! Where has the time gone? Yesterday I took her to her very first day of Vacation Bible School. She cried when I left (it was a bit chaotic with all the kids). I admit my eyes watered and my heart hurt when I saw her crying. I wanted to run back and say "ok, I'll stay a little longer", but I knew it would only make it harder when I had to leave again. And I knew she would have a fun time, I did. (At this point, I also knew that come September when I drop her off for her first day of preschool, I'd better bring kleenex! I think a lot of it is the pregnancy hormones causing me to be more emotional.) A very kind VBS worker pulled Lila into her lap, and she stopped crying. When I picked her up a couple hours later, she was all smiles, and there were no tears this morning. I couldn't help but think of our loving Father in heaven though... does He hurt when we are hurting and feeling alone? I hope that I can be aware of those around me who need friendship and comforting; I was so thankful to the VBS worker for noticing my girl.

Anyway, didn't mean to get so heavy, but that is what we have going on this week. I am so thankful that I enjoy Lila so much – not that there aren't moments when I'd gladly send her to school – but for the most part, I really enjoy my time with her. (Also, on the way home today after dropping her off, Wyatt must have said "Lila?" every couple of minutes! I don't know if he will know what to do on days she is at school.)

So in honor of her turning four, I thought I would share a little bit of who she is at this age:

1. She doesn't like me to "do" her hair. If I say let's put a ponytail in your hair, she says, "No, Mom, I want it to be just hair today."

2. She loves to do anything craft-like... coloring, painting, stickers, cutting, glue, etc.

3. She loves, loves, loves to look at books and have you read books to her.

4. She is working on sounding out short words. She doesn't have a strong desire to read for herself yet, but she can do it when I ask her to.

5. She likes to tell Wyatt what to do or what to say. For the most part, he is agreeable.

6. She plays by herself very well, taking care of all her stuffed animals and putting them to bed or playing doctor with them, etc.

7. She likes to say the mealtime prayer. Ben asked her recently if she wanted to pray, and she didn't respond so he started praying. Well, she started crying so we said "ok, you can have a turn." This was her prayer: "Dear God, we bless you for this food. Please let Mommy and Daddy let me say the prayer everyday."

8. In general, she is not a picky eater. However, she does not like potatoes, unless they are french fries. Not even mashed potatoes. Quirk: she likes to eat her cupcake from the top down (frosting first).

9. She asks some big questions sometimes. Like "where does the water go when it goes down the sink?" or "Is God in the sky?"

10. She is practical. My sister-in-law asked her recently if she would rather have a baby brother or a baby sister. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I think I'll just wait and see what it is." :)

I'll try to get some birthday pictures posted soon.

Road Trip: ISU

On the way home, we made our last stop in Ames, Iowa (ISU Cyclone country for those who don't know). There we ate lunch with 2 good college friends and toured around the campus a bit, prompting Lila to ask "Where are we going?"... she didn't understand that the journey was the destination! We took a group picture standing in front of the Memorial Union, with the ISU Campanile in the background. Yes, it is a beautiful campus.

Then that evening we got to visit with Ben's college roommate and his family. We had not seen them in about 7-8 years. They have a boy and girl very close in age to ours, so it was fun. We played at a park for a little bit and then went to dinner. It was sprinkling on us a little bit, so I didn't have my camera out (no pics). We stayed in a hotel that night, swam in the pool and then drove the next day to Wichita. Then the following day we drove home. After that many hours in the car, we were all glad to be home!

Road Trip: Great Grandma

The next leg of our trip was stopping to see my Grandma. This picture was taken in my uncle's backyard (he & his wife live in the same town as my Grandma). However, it kind of reminds me of my Grandma's farm - which she lived on most of her life before moving to town - what with the clothesline and windmill in the background. Anyway, I just like this picture because of that. My Grandma is 85 this month. She has 4 children, 12 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren (I think!).

We stayed at my aunt & uncle's house; my parents stayed at my Grandma's house. There was a sandbox where we stayed, so the kids were happy!

The 2nd day of our visit, we went out to my cousin's house/farm to see some of the extended family. Wyatt was enamored with this outdoor cat. He didn't seem to mind the attention.

My cousin Amber is one year younger than me, and she had a little boy, Logan, six weeks after I had Wyatt.

My Grandma with her youngest great-grandchildren (all who were in attendance that day too). I love the little half-smile on Wyatt's face. I see that expression a lot around here; he is my little mischievous guy.

I sat him in the tree to take a picture, and he thought that was great fun! Notice the scratch on his nose? He takes after his mommy that way - I always had some kind of scratch on my face at that age too!

We ate lunch and got out of the sun a bit in the garage. My aunt and cousin had thought of everything - including crayons and coloring books! Here Lila is showing Logan how to color. It was fun to see so much family. The kids will probably be a few years older (at least) before we see everyone again.

Road Trip: Great Grandpa

Our next stop was Sibley, Iowa... where my Grandpa lives. A few years ago he moved into an assisted living place, so we decided to spend a little time before dinner playing at the town park (a little more room to run around). I used to play at this same park when I was little. Some of the equipment has changed over the years, but this VERY TALL slide is still there. I was very impressed that Lila was willing to go down it!

To give you an idea of how tall it is, you can see Ben standing on the ladder toward the top.

The first time she went down with Daddy.

Then she decided she would be brave enough to go by herself... although not brave enough to open her eyes!

But she went down a couple more times and by the end, she was a pro. I took her up the ladder once, but then came back down (it is high up there!!) Way to be fearless, Lila!

Wyatt probably would have been willing to try the big slide, but we kept him on this one.

Here's a broader picture of the park. It is a really nice park and takes up a whole city block.

Back at my Grandpa's place we had some fun too... riding on Great Grandpa's walker.

Talking on Great Grandpa's phone.

And taking pictures of course!

Here are the "Edwards"... (L-R) Edward Henry Brandt, Duane Edward Brandt, and Wyatt Edward Amey.

Road Trip: Omaha Zoo

Our next stop was visiting my brother and his family who live in Iowa, about 30-40 minutes from Omaha, NE. My sister-in-law had a great idea to go to the Omaha Zoo one day. I had never been there before, and now I can say I definitely recommend going if you are in the area! It was very neat... and we didn't even make it through all the exhibits!

We stopped on the way to eat lunch and by the time we got to the zoo, Wyatt had fallen asleep. Fortunately we were able to move him from the car to the stroller, and he stayed asleep! I propped his head up with our little diaper bag. He slept for about 45 minutes - but a short nap is better than no nap!

The first exhibit we went in was a rainforest exhibit (almost all the exhibits were indoors - very nice on a hot day!). Here Lila, Jim and Heath are crossing a little rope bridge. There were lots of neat paths, alcoves and other things to explore.

Here Lila is laughing about something, but I can't remember what.

This was a vine that kids could swing on.

Jim points out something in the water to Lila.

Lila and Grandpa Brandt

(We also met up with my parents at my brother's place... they would continue to travel with us when we visited my grandparents... up next!)

Here's a pic of my Mom & Dad with all their grandchildren.

The next exhibit we went to was a desert dome. The paths were smoother here, so Wyatt could get down and run around a little bit.

I thought this shot turned out neat - don't even know what he was looking at!

After the desert exhibit, Janina joined us (she flew into Omaha that day).

There was also a neat aquarium exhibit. Pictured here are my nephew Heath, with his parents and then Grandpa holding Wyatt. By this time it was getting to be dinner time and we were all ready to sit down somewhere. Plus the zoo was closing soon. Maybe sometime in the future we will get to go back and see the exhibits we missed. (If you were wondering about the tables, they were setting up for some kind of dinner that was that night... kind of a cool place to have a dinner!)