Dr Seuss Week

In honor of Dr Seuss's birthday, Southern's school had Dr Seuss week a couple of weeks ago. I just love these fun dress-up days!

On Monday, they read The Cat in The Hat and The Cat in The Hat Came Back, so the kids got to wear crazy hats with their normal uniforms. We didn't have any super crazy hats, so Southern just wore his Spurs cap.

On Tuesday, they read Oh The Places You Will Go and Fox in Socks, so it was crazy sock and college t-shirt day. Southern wore a pair of my knee high boot socks and one of my old TLU t-shirts. When I got it out of storage, I figured it would be a little big on him and that we would just tuck it in. BUT IT FIT! Haha! It was one of the shirts I wore in high school that Dustin bought me while he was attending TLU.

On Wednesday, they read One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish and If I Ran The Zoo, so they were told to dress in as many colors as possible. We were a little crazy with our colors, but not as over the top as some of the kids we saw that day.

And Thursday, their favorite day, was dress like your favorite storybook character day. The kids all picked out a character and took the book that their character is in with them to school. Then they had a little parade in the gym. Each class took turns walking around the gym floor, holding their books and waving. It was so fun. Southern picked Ash Ketchum from Pokemon of course. We already had the Ash hat, so I made the Ash jacket to go with it. Southern was sooo excited about this costume and wants to wear it all the time now.

And, last but not least, was Friday, which was Mass Day. So the kids were in their normal uniforms.

Catholic Schools Week

January 25th through January 30th marked Catholic Schools Week this year. This annual national observance focuses on building awareness, celebrating our blessings, and honoring those that make them possible. The theme for 2015 was "Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge, and Service." Many events took place during last week at Southern's school, and it was so fun to be a part of some of them.

Two other moms and I decorated Southern's classroom door for the week. Baylor helped with the glue stick, and those are all Remington's handprints ;)

Each day during the week, the kids were able to wear special clothes to school. Monday was Pajama Day - "Now I lay me down to sleep... We pray even in our jammies." I made Southern new pajamas for the day with the fabric of his choice.

Tuesday was Crazy Tie &/Or Crazy Sock Day - "We are tied together by our faith and by the ability to share that faith with each other." I sewed a "tie" onto a t-shirt for Southern. He picked out the fabric.

Wednesday was Animal Print/Camouflage Day - "We are wild about Catholic Schools Week"

Thursday was Vocation/Saints Day - "Dress as your favorite Saint or the vocation that God may call you to be." I asked Southern what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said he wanted to be a person that went out in the wild and looked at animals, like they do on Wild Kratts. So he dressed as an animal rescuer.

Southern wore "his" binoculars for this photo, but we didn't let him take them to school. They were Poppy's who had given them to Dustin. Dustin lets Southern use them now, and Remington uses our "kid" ones. Since these were irreplaceable though, Southern took the kid ones to school. Everyone loved his outfit! Some of the other kids in his class were dressed as a teacher, a vet, a cop, a detective, a movie star, and a monster ;)

Friday is Mass Day, so the kids were back to their usual uniforms. Also during this week, they had Buddy Lunch (where they were able to eat lunch with their buddies - the 6th graders that sit with them during Mass), a pizza party, and a Book Fair. The younger boys and I went on Tuesday morning and pulled Southern out of class for a few minutes to shop the book fair. He picked out a Pokemon book - surprise, surprise. Remington got Fly Guy. Baylor just wanted to browse - haha.

during the CSW pep rally on Wednesday

18 Months Old

Baylor is 18 months old today!

Baylor is such a happy boy. He is full of smiles, hugs, kisses, laughter, and dancing (and he's got some good moves!). He loves to Facetime, get into anything that his big brothers are doing, color, climb up on the stool to explore the kitchen counters, help Mommy with recycling, laundry, and cleaning up, and of course watch movies/TV with Daddy in his big black chair.

Baylor is not talking too much these days. I think he said more words a few months ago than he does now. You can occasionally get a hi out of him, and sometimes he does mimic a word here or there as we talk to him, read him a book, or show him something. But he's just not a talker. His first word was mama, and he does say that fairly often. He also says dada sometimes. But mostly he just grunts, squeals, and hollers.

Height: 33 in
Weight: 24 lbs, 8 oz 
Sizes: 5 1/2 or 6 shoes (wide), 18mo/24mo/2t pajamas, 18mo/24mo/2t shirts, 18-24 mo bottoms, 4 diapers

Baylor loves playing with balls and sorting toys. He will open dresser drawers and pull clothes out, tossing them over his shoulder, just for fun. He enjoys going to the library for storytime but usually will not sit still or be quiet when it's time to listen. He loves the songs and dancing portions. He makes himself right at home on the computers in the children's room. He will page through books and enjoys them - but not just any book will do. He is picky and will only spend time with ones he likes. Right now "Superhero ABC" and "My Animals" board books are his favorites at home. He also is picky about TV shows. He won't sit down and watch a whole episode of whatever the other boys have picked to watch through just yet (unless it's Yo Gabba Gabba).

Baylor loves Dracky. He gets super excited whenever he sees or hears him. He runs to him with his mouth and arms open, ready for kisses and hugs. Dracky will usually let him get just close enough for a quick pet and then runs when Baylor is that excited. (Baylor has been known to squeeze Dracky's tail and to lay on top of him in a giant bear hug. Luckily we are blessed with an awesome kitty that rolls with it and just runs off if it gets to be too much for him.) When Dracky is laying on our bed with us or on our laps, and when Baylor is more calm, he gets the sweetest little pats/rubs from Baylor, which he enjoys. He has also gotten a couple of kisses, which he did not enjoy as much. Baylor loves Dracky so much that his favorite stuffed toy is a kitty cat that my mom gave him for his birthday, and when I draw a picture of a kitty face, he "meows" and smiles brightly while coloring it in.

Baylor is very adventurous and wants to climb, run, slide, etc with the big boys. He usually hates getting strapped into his car seat (but is fine after the strapping is completed). He loves, loves, loves blueberries and can eat a whole container by himself. Other favorite foods - yogurt, mac and cheese, broccoli, corn on the cob, apples, strawberries, bananas, oranges, popcorn, and beans and rice. As with books and TV, he won't give much time to food that he doesn't want or care for. If he doesn't want something, he will most likely just throw it. And that boy can throw! He's got a great arm which will come in handy later - but for now, when he's launching his fork across the table when he gets full, a toy in the car when he is done playing with it, or an ornament into the Christmas storage box (yes, that did happen.. and he was doing so well helping to put up. Ugh. I guess he got carried away and just as we had the last few ornaments to put up, here Baylor comes pitching a fast one over my shoulder. Thankfully, we only lost one ornament.), it can be interesting to say the least. 

He can be a stinker at times, but when you look at that beautiful smile, your heart can't help but melt.

New Year's Eve 2014

On the last day of the year, Southern, Remington, and I attended a "Noon" Year's Eve party at a friend's house. It was a playdate where we counted down at 12 o'clock noon since the little ones don't stay up until midnight. (Baylor was at home with Dustin since it was during his naptime.) The boys had fun playing with new toys from Christmas and with the kids that were there. I enjoyed having some adult conversation. And we had some yummy snacks.

We spent the rest of the day at home, enjoying family time. After supper, it was bath and bedtime for the little guys. Then Dustin and I got a New Year's Eve date :) I had bought some champagne at HEB with our groceries that week (and boy did I get funny looks when I asked where they had the small bottles - just enough for two glasses), so we each had a glass to enjoy along with some snacks I prepared as we played board games. It was SO fun! I got teary eyed as I opened the Battleship box. Really! It had been so long since we sat down to play a board game without kids. And we used to do board games so often. I miss that. (I know... one day our kids will be old enough for Monolopy, Scrabble, etc., and then I will be missing their baby years.) It had been 2007 since we last recorded a score on the Yahtzee scorepad. Though I don't need to mention that I beat Dustin at both Battleship and Yahtzee, I will anyway ;) Maybe that will motivate him to challenge me to a rematch.

Christmas 2014

Christmas was once again a whirlwind for the Wyatts of New Braunfels. But it was so nice seeing family.

We started off the big world tour with a trip to Yoakum the Saturday before Christmas for the Ehlers Family Christmas party. It was a relaxing afternoon spent visiting, eating, playing with cousin Claire, and opening presents.

Our next two events were both on Christmas Eve. We traveled to Austin for lunch at Terry and Andy's house. We had a nice time. The food and company were great, but we were missing something. It was our first Christmas without DeDe, and she was never far from our thoughts. Terry read the Christmas story from the Bible like the family normally does at the Wyatt Christmas Eve gathering, and he had a nice little talk beforehand where he mentioned that they had been doing that every year since he was 10 years old. What a great tradition.

We then traveled to Yoakum for the Perez Family Christmas which was being held at my mom's house. It was wonderful, and we were all in one big room for eating and for opening gifts together so it worked out better than at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Everything went so well. But it was the first year that I can remember that it wasn't held at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It is just too much work for them now. That, added to the fact that the Wyatt Christmas was missing it's two founding members, plus the thought that the Hahn Christmas was on it's second round of being defunct, brought a touch of sadness to this year's festivities to me. It's the end of an era.

But it's hard to stay sad for long with the kids around. They were so excited, they got to see Santa, and they really loved seeing the family (as did I) and opening gifts. Chinese Christmas is always fun as well. I was lucky number 1 this year. I first got an Academy gift card which didn't last long before it was stolen. Then I opened a very romantic romance novel with an interesting cover - along with a cute Bible book carrier - haha. No one stole that from me, but since I was number one, at the end of the game I got my choice of whatever wasn't frozen (from being stolen twice before). I was between some cute earrings and an infinity scarf, and a nice Vera Wang purse. I was tempted by the scarf and earrings, but I ultimately went with the purse (sorry, Susan!).

We drove three very sleepy boys home that evening. Thank goodness we bathed and dressed them in their pajamas at Grammy's house because they were out when we arrived in New Braunfels. We stuck them in their beds, unloaded the car and went to bed ourselves. We had a lazy morning of sleeping in, eating breakfast, and hanging out. Then it was time to open our gifts at home! 

After lunch and naps, we headed out to the tennis courts. So fun!

Our final Christmas events of the year were both during the weekend after Christmas. We traveled to Victoria on that Saturday for Christmas at Joyce's house with her kids, my dad, and (yay!) my granny. My dad drove to the nursing home in Yoakum to pick her up and drop her off, so we missed out on spending a couple of hours with him, but it was so worth it. I hadn't visited with my granny outside of a nursing home or hospital in years.

Another added bonus was a quick date night. Dustin and I were able to slip out to Red Lobster (yum!) for a quick supper while my dad and Joyce watched the boys. Our food was delicious, and those leftovers came in handy when the boys got hungry that night at the hotel. Oh, and speaking of the hotel - that was part of our Christmas gift from my dad and Joyce. A night's stay at the only hotel in Victoria that has an indoor heated pool. We were so looking forward to that swim, but (just our luck) there had been an accident in the pool the day before and it was closed until they removed all of the glass. Oh well, it was still a nice stay, and breakfast the next morning was good.

After eating the breakfast, packing up our stuff, and visiting with my dad and Joyce once more, we were off to Yoakum again. We had Christmas at my mom's and Josh's house.

It was another fun afternoon with good food, company, and gifts. And the boys got one gift that was larger than the others...

Definitely one of their favorites! They drove it around at my mom's house, at Dustin's granny's house later that day, and they drive it almost daily in our backyard at home. It was a good ending to a nice Christmas season.

Christmas Concert

Southern's school had their Christmas concert on Thursday evening, December 11th. It was so exciting for us, and I teared up while Southern was singing. Our little guy is growing up way too fast!

We are so thankful that several family members traveled from out of town to come see him and hear his class sing. My mom, Allan, Granny Ehlers, my dad, and Joyce all came. We sat together in a pew at the church. Kindergarten was the first class up to sing, and they sang I Saw Three Ships. There were three rows of kids since the two kindergarten classes sang together, and the first row was in charge of singing certain parts of the song with a partner while the whole class joined in to sing the chorus. The back rows had little bells to ring at certain times. And they all wore sheep ears (each class had a different head dressing representing the nativity scene).

Southern was paired with a little boy from the other kindergarten class, and together they sang the part "And all the angels in Heaven shall sing". He did so well! They had practiced during music class for weeks, and they had two rehearsals in the church with the whole school present. They were so adorable, and everyone did a good job.

After Southern sang, he was able to sit with us in the pew (the kids met in their classroom beforehand to walk in and sit together before preforming). Baylor made it through three more songs, and then we needed to leave. It was almost bedtime, and he was through with sitting still. But it worked out well since we were all hungry anyway. We headed over to TJ's Burgers for supper. It was a great ending to the evening.

Here is the video that Dustin got on his camera. I also took footage with our video camera from a different viewpoint. I also got him walking up and walking back along with the welcoming speeches as Dustin took pictures. So if you missed the show, here's a peak :)

DeDe

The past few weeks have been a blur. We are just now starting to get back to our "normal" schedule, and in some ways it still doesn't feel real. But we lost our DeDe this past month. She was 87.

I most admired her outspoken nature. As my dad put it, "she said what she meant, and she meant what she said". When we were first pregnant with Southern, before knowing he was a boy, we had the name Julia on the top of our list for girls' names. We are very fortunate to have had so much time with her, and I love that our boys loved her so much. Southern has often said, just out of the blue these past couple of weeks, "I miss DeDe". She will be greatly missed.

We normally visit Yoakum and family often, but since Southern has started school, we have been so busy that we haven't gone as often as we'd like. We now have school 5 days a week and church 1 day a week, so that only leaves 1 day free, and most of the time we'll have a birthday party to attend that day or some other thing going on that causes us to stay in New Braunfels. The last time we visited with DeDe in Yoakum, we went with her to Manetta's house for lunch. We visited with her at her house after the lunch, and I remember sitting with her in the living room and talking as the boys ran in and out of the room with various toys. Southern told her about school, and we just made small talk. As we were leaving, she made sure to pass out a box of animal crackers to each boy. (She always had some on hand to give them when we visited) That was in mid-Sept.

Since then, we talked on the phone quite often. (Dustin would call her almost every day on his way home from school to chat, and he had gone into Yoakum to mow her yard and share supper with her more recently). We would also send little drawings that the kids had made and/or pictures to her in the mail. The boys got Halloween cards from her with a $1 bill in each. But we didn't see her in person again until the day we got a text from Dustin's dad saying DeDe had been life-flighted to the heart hospital in Austin.

I picked Southern up from school as usual, and on the way home I told him what had happened to DeDe and that we were going to go visit her. Her surgery had gone well, and things were looking up. We were at home just long enough for the boys to make pictures for her. Southern drew a picture of DeDe laying on a bed with a doctor wearing a mask holding scissors standing nearby since I had explained what the word surgery meant. He also drew hearts around it and colorful squiggly lines. He added his and DeDe's names to the top. Remington said that he thought DeDe would want a RescueBots picture, so he found one in his coloring book and colored that for her. It was a picture of Blades and Boulder. He wrote his name on it.

When we made it to the hospital that evening, we found out that no one under 12 could visit DeDe in the area that she was in, so the boys were very disappointed to be left in the waiting room. Allan was still there at that point, so they were kept busy playing with him. But Southern was so heartbroken not to be able to see DeDe. Dustin and I delivered their pictures and visited with DeDe. She looked weak but was very mentally sharp and was making jokes/being sarcastic like her usual self. We were all smiles during our short chat. She made it a point to thank Dustin and to thank me for coming to see her, and she was tickled to hear that the boys were in the waiting room. She named them each and told their ages to her nurse. It was a great visit.

We then went back to the waiting room after having been told that they were moving DeDe to her own room soon and that we could visit with her again after the move. It took a couple hours until Dustin was able to see her again. Allan had already gone home, so I was in the waiting room with the boys. They were tired, hungry, and grouchy, but I am so glad that we did that. Dustin said his visit with her then was even better than the first one. And we were able to FaceTime with Dustin's phone and mine so that the boys could see and talk to DeDe. Southern and Remington told her hi, that they hoped she got well soon, they loved her, and bye. Baylor squealed, smiled, and waved a lot. She had an oxygen mask on, so Southern said she looked super cool - just like Darth Vader. It was a late night, the boys fell asleep on the way home, and we left feeling upbeat.

Sadly, things went downhill rather quickly after that, and DeDe passed away a few days later. On the morning of the day that she passed, Southern, quite ironically, had a Jump for Heart event at his school. The kids jumped rope to raise awareness and funds for the American Heart Association, and Southern jumped in DeDe's honor. I was there during the event, and he was so proud to jump for DeDe. When I picked him up from school that afternoon and told him of DeDe's passing, I said that we were all really sad and that we would miss her alot, but that at least she was with Poppy now. He had been in Heaven waiting for her, so they were probably really happy again. Southern thought about it for a bit, and then he said, "One day, when I die and go to heaven, DeDe will be waiting for me".

DeDe holding baby Remington. She and Manetta had made a trip over to our house not long after Remington had been born to see him and grab a few snuggles.

DeDe with three-month-old Southern. I love this picture.

Southern and DeDe having a little chat.

DeDe would always walk us to the door as we were leaving and wave us off from just inside her front door. This picture captures such a great moment.

DeDe with Southern and Remington

Fixing Southern's hair for the photo

A goodbye hug from Southern as DeDe left our house from a visit

A summer beach vacation with our little family, DeDe, and Mikayla

On the ferry

A hello kiss from Southern to DeDe before eating lunch at Los Cucos in Seguin

Snuggles with baby Baylor

Remington didn't want to put his animal crackers down long enough to take a picture ;)

Remington's 3rd birthday party

With DeDe on her 87th birthday. I had made her birthday cake the night before, so we dropped it by her house that day. After happy birthday greetings and a quick chat, we "made the rounds" in Yoakum before heading to Victoria for her birthday dinner with the rest of the Wyatt family at Baytown Seafood Restaurant. We then went back to her house that evening for cake and ended up hanging out with her until 11pm! DeDe was not a night owl at all, and I had never seen her stay up that late, but we were having too much fun to leave. She told Nola the next day that she was tired, but that she had a blast.

Me and DeDe. This photo was taken about a decade ago on Thanksgiving. DeDe was always my ally.. looking at this picture reminds me of the frank chats we always had. Things weren't easy in the beginning with everyone in Dustin's family, but DeDe loved and accepted me from the start. I remember going to lunch at her and Poppy's house with Dustin during high school not long after we started dating. They had asked him to bring me so that they could meet me. They were so welcoming. And when Dustin and I moved in together in college, I overheard her and Poppy telling Dustin to marry me! I had gone to the bathroom and was just walking back when I heard it. They said I was the one for him :) Since Dustin had lived with them for a time after his mom's passing and was always so close to them, they called him #4 Son. After our marriage, DeDe called me #4 Granddaughter.

~Darlene Wyatt~ YOAKUM: Darlene Julia Wyatt was born in Yoakum, Texas on July 26, 1927 to Roston and Lilly Burkett, and passed away on November 25, 2014 at the age of 87. She and her husband Earl Franklin Wyatt were the center of the Wyatt family's universe for almost 70 years. She is survived by 3 sons, Terry Wyatt (and wife Andrea), Allan Wyatt (and wife Dori), and Wayne Wyatt (and wife Cain). She will also be greatly missed by her 6 grandchildren: Matthew Wyatt, Kelly Wyatt, Dustin Wyatt (and wife Lindsey), Carly Park (and husband Robert), Coltin Wyatt, and Mikayla Wyatt. DeDe as she was called by her grandchildren and great-grand children, was the proud matriarch of 4 great-grand children, Southern Wyatt, Remington Wyatt, Baylor Wyatt, and Claire Park. Darlene is also survived by her sister, Manetta Hairell and her sister-in-law, Dr. Georgia Hitchcock. Nola Clay has been invaluable as her assistant, her eyes, her legs, and as an adopted family member for the past 4 years. She chose the name DeDe in 1982, upon Dustin's birth, in attempt to preserve her youthful attitude of being too young to be called "Grandma". And so it was, for the last 32 years. She was always too young to be old! Her feisty and vibrant spirit was a rallying point whenever the Wyatt family had a project, a Boy Scout function, or a deer camp to put together. She was her beloved husband Earl's Second-in-Command, and "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer" until his death in 2010. Darlene was an excellent cook and had a fondness for crystal. No pet or homeless animal was ever turned away from her house. She posted a list of all the family's important dates, of birthdays and anniversaries. Even if the whole world would forget your day, DeDe made a telephone call and had a card in the mail for you. Visitation was 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 30, 2014 at Thiele-Cooper Funeral Home. Funeral service was at 10 a.m. on Monday, December 1, 2014 at First Lutheran Church in Gonzales. Burial was at Yoakum Restland.