Happy 3 Years Dylan !!

Hello again, Dad here,

I am having a hard time understanding where the time has gone in the year that has just passed - since my post celebrating Dylan's 2 Years...

Although it seems like time has evaporated, we've had much to remember and celebrate.  Our family has made tons of new memories, and Dylan continues to grow and thrive.

Most recently, Dylan just "graduated" from Pre-School at Goddard School along with many of his friends.  He's had a lot of fun and regaled us with many stories of the goings on at school.  It will be a bit sad I'm afraid when Dylan starts Kindergarten at Goddard and Kyle will be starting in 1st Grade at Oak Ridge Elementary, our local school in the neighborhood. I'm certain he will do well on his own, if the last few years give us any clue.

Here are a few graduation photos...

There has been a lot of things to recall, and wandering through our photo albums seems like the best way to remember.

We enjoyed a family Vacation in Cancun, Mexico in March...

Cocktails in the sand...

The Three Amigos!

Yes, that's our Dylan 30 feet off the ground, on a real circus trapeze, for 4 days in a row!!
I don't know that I've ever seen him so proud of himself and happy to be doing something.  It was fun for Lisa and me to see too.

Dylan and Kyle have also been spending time at the Little Gym, doing Gymnastics.  Their strength, balance, body awareness have been really improving!

A Day at the Zoo..

Dorney Park with the Family...

Listening to the sounds of the forest at the Morris Arboretum...

Dorney Park...

And Dutch Wonderland, too!

I'm leaving a lot of the little details of day-to-day life, also.
Dylan enjoys helping in the Kitchen (Pancakes/Eggs/Brownies)...
He enjoys reading (as best he can) books - mostly superheroes!
There not a DS game that Dylan can't master, either.
He loves to share stories of his adventures at school and now at Summer Camp.

Again this year, Dylan, Kyle and now Ashley are all just wrapping up their first week at UMLY Summer Camp - and it's as much fun as last year!!
(Dad's Note: "I love the quite rides home - all three are usually so exhausted that they sleep all the way home in the afternoon.")

We are so happy and thankful that Dylan's part of our family and a bigger part of our life every day.
You're a wonderful son, and a loving, caring and empathtic big (and little) brother.

Here's to you on your THREE YEAR anniversary of joining Team Lockhead.

Love, Mom & Dad, Kyle and Ashley


Keep up with our Family's goings on at Facebook...

Happy 6th Birthday, Dylan!!

Here we are again, visiting on another very special occasion - Today is Dylan's 6th Birthday.

It's been a few months since our last visit, and Dylan continues to grow and thrive.

He really enjoys Goddard School and speaks very fondly of his friends.  We've had the chance to enjoy a few birthday parties (at BounceU and PumpItUp) over the past few weeks.

Time seems to be accelerating as we head into the Spring (wishful thinking after the VERY MILD winter that we've had).  We had a great fall and Christmas saeson and got a chance to travel back to Grand Rapids, Michigan to visit with Grandma, Poppa, Uncle Mark, Aunt Avery, Paityn, Logan and Luke.
Its was fun - but we missed the snow! It was the first time in about 20 years of making the trip  that we didn't see any snow!!

Anyway, Dylan really enjoyed his 6th Birthday.  We had a family party at Grandmom & Pop-Pop's house (in Philadelphia) last weekend.  And Dylan brought cupcakes (THANKS Mom!) and gift bags for his friends to school today.  He had a really good day and enjoyed opening his birthday gifts after dinner.

Below are some photos from Dylan's Birthday over the past few days.

Happy Birthday, Dylan, from Mom, Dad, Kyle and Ashley!!
We love you very much.

Two Wonderful Years...

Hi Again, Dad here.

It has been quite a while since I last visited.

But as this is a record of our Dylan's story, I though it appropriate to stop by and leave a few thoughts.

Today marks TWO YEARS since we were blessed with Dylan and he joined our family.

(The original post in this story that chronicles his "Gotcha Day" is dated Sunday June 21 - but remember we were writing from China and the date was really Monday June 22.)

So, in fact, TODAY marks TWO Years.

In some ways, it seems like last week and in others it truly feels like two years.

Here is Dylan today - or at least as he looked on our recent vacation in Florida.

(In case you're not completely plugged in...Yes, that's a little girl in the picture... and yes, she's part of our family...   Learn more at - http://lovelaughterandladybugs.blogspot.com/)

Dylan has made such a tremendous impact on all of us and has made remarkable progress in every way.

Since we last posted here, so much has happened...

Kyle and Dylan are the best of friends and share their lives and well as their toys.  This summer, Dylan and Kyle are sharing the summer at "Y" camp.  They are in the same camp group so they can look out for each other.  His time at Goddard School since he joined our family has been very rewarding to watch and he's had a great experience all around.

He has gotten to be very proficient in his English and is able to communicate very clearly.  He is a very caring and sharing individual.  He is very fond of his little sister, Ashley.

We hope that after the summer is over, he'll join Kyle back at Goddard School and they'll spend their last school year together.  And then next fall, they'll blast into first grade together!

Dylan loves the beach, and is learning to swim.  He's almost mastered riding his bike on 2 wheels.  He enjoys playing with "Transformers" toys and action figures, along with Iron Man.  Actually he enjoys all of the superheros (Spiderman is one of his favorites).  He's excellent at his Nintendo DS and he and Kyle are always sharing their tips and tricks on their different games to get to the next level.

Both Dylan and Kyle made the trip (our third) to China last fall (Oct/Nov - 20101) to welcome Ashley to our family.  Dylan did very well with the traveling and his behavior was excellent.  He was a very good influence on Ashley and looked after her in many ways.

We recently visited Grandma, Poppa, Uncle Mark, Aunt Avery and their family in Michigan.

Here are some photos from that trip...

As you can see, he's really been thriving in our family.

We are lucky to have been blessed with such a wonderful little boy.

Happy Two Years, Dylan.  Thank you for being you and letting us in to share your life.

Love Mom & Dad

Merry Christmas to All...

Hi from East Grand Rapids MI, C here.

It's late & I can't sleep, so I thought I'd post a few thoughts.

The run up to Christamas Eve was a complete blur. We were a little hampered by the snowstorm last week so we couldn't get out at all on Saturday, so we hunkered down. They boys and I WERE able to sneak in a few snow tubing runs on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

We had a very nice early Christmas celebration at Grandmom & Pop-Pop's (Lockhead's) in the city. It was rough driving in the neighborhood but the rest of the ride was fine. We got to see everyone (except Aunt Meg, UC, Justin & Malissa, who decided not to make the flight in from Guam!!! - We missed you guys!!!)

The big hit of the day was the Buzz Lightyear Star Command Wings that the boys got - they were hytsterical as the walked around the (very narrow) house with all of the people, decorations, chairs, tables, etc... They literally could harldy take 3 steps witout knocking something over

You can see why!

The rest of the week we prepared for our annual journey to visit "the Grandmom & Poppa that live far away" as Kyle likes to say!!

The trip was no problem, we made great time on Wed. night and the boys (peacefully!) shared one of the beds in the hotel room. Very exciting for them.

We drove the rest of the way on Christmas Eve and we got in around mid-afternoon. Just in time for Dad (yes, me) to take a short nap. Later in the afternoon we had a wonderful visit to Uncle Mark & Aunt Avery's to visit the boy's cousins: Paityn, Logan and Luke. Dinner was really good and we had a very nice time catching up. The boys passed out quickly and were ready for Santa!!

Christmas morning was really fun for both Kyle and Dylan. They got lots of really cool toys and games from Santa, Grandmom, Poppa, Mom & Dad. They have become really attached to their Leapster 2's. Kyle got a Batman Game which Dylan is just getting to know how to work his Diego Game. Santa also brought a "Big Piano" (just like in the movie)!

We think Dylan "got it", but we're not completely sure about the connection with Santa. We'll work on this for next year!

Today we went sledding with UM and the crew at a local sledding hill. Mom (Lisa) had been acting as the official photographer, until we were able to talk her into making a few runs down the hill. We all had a lot of fun and the hill was just the right size for our gang. Thanks to Paityn, Logan & Luke for sharing their snow stuff with us. It was really an enjoyable afternoon!

The Snow Gang...

Uncle Mark about to make a run with K&D...

Luke & Kyle on the move...



What goes Down, must come Up!

All in all a great trip so far - and we just got here!!

Dylan is continuing to progress extremely well, and he's move adventurous with his English every day. He is stringing together sentences and he is able to make himself more clearly understood. It's really rewarding to watch him and to watch Kyle progress as well as the big brother. Dylan has really bonded with all of his grandparents, and his cousins - it's sometimes hard to believe that it's only been SIX MONTHS!!!

Speaking of Kyle, Christmas Eve was his "Gotcha Day." Lisa and I were just remembering our first China trip to meet Kyle and all of the memorable times and "firsts" we had a as a family with him. He was our Christmas miracle that year - we never thought that day would come. I sometime re-read his story so I can keep these memories fresh in my mind.

Anyway, we are amazed at how quickly THREE YEARS has passed. I have a hard time remembering life BK - when we were not tripping over toys, not stepping on matchbox cars in the middle of the night on our way to the bathroom, and not running out to the car at bedtime to get Panda because we forgot him in the back seat and he was NEEDED for Bedtime. Kyle has been everything we have ever dreamed he would be as a little boy. And we can see him, before our eyes, quickly becoming the little person that he will be as he finds his way through life.

We have every confidence that he will be the big brother that little Dylan deserves.

Time to head off to bed as I'm feeling better now, and I'm certain that I will be able to sleep soundly now, with Lisa at my side and the boys on the floor. (They actually like it down there!!)

'nite all.

C

A Trip to the Mall to Visit Santa...

Hi all, C here (been a while)...

On Thursday, we arranged an early evening trip to the Mall to see Santa and have the boys' pictures taken. Dylan adn Kyle both did really well! Kyle "gets it" while Dylan seems to understand some of what Christmas is about.

Here is the picture - it looks much better in person - good smiles from both...
that's tough to do.



Funny story on the way to the Mall:

The boys often watch videos in the car on the way to/from school and on long trips. Usually it's something like Mickey's Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, or Handy Manny. So far so good...

When you're in the front seat, it's hard to change the video or the story (if it's a multi-episode DVD.) Kyle tries to help out by asking for the remote and pushing buttons until he says that the video is all right. Last night, he asked for the remote, we handed it to him, he pushed his buttons and he handed the remote back up to us. We figured all was well...

A while later the boys seemed like they were really enjoying the story. Lisa looked at me and asked what DVD was in the player. "To be honest, I'm not sure - let's see", I replied. (On the console we have an audio feed from the DVD - with just the push of one button.)

So I pushed the DVD button to hear what was so funny - after about 5 seconds Lisa looks at me and I right back at her & we break down laughing. Really good - hurts in the gut - laughing. It took all 5 seconds for us to realize that Kyle (in his zest to make the video play all by himself) had inadvertently set the language selection to SPANISH!!!

So here we are, motoring along with two little chinese boys in the back (one who's just really feeling his oats with English!) listening to videos in Spanish. And neither one said A WORD for the 20 minutes that they watched! Very funny.

Lisa and agreed that we should probably check the DVD audio feed a little more often!!!

Gotta get to bed - Hershey Park tomorrow and the drive-through Light Show tomorrow night.
The boys are really pumped - they dragged their little backpacks (fully loaded for their one-night stay!) all over the upstairs before heading off to sleep.

More soon.
C

It's October Already!

We are long overdue for an updated blog posting - it's been a very busy few months.

The boys have been back in full swing at school since Labor Day. As Kyle progressed to the Roaring Rockets room, Dylan settled in to the Thunderbolts handling the transition quite well. He seems excited to be with all of his new friends (he is already a "ladies man" as all of the little girls follow him around to just give him hugs!) He loves to play on the computer and to play with all of the dress-up toys, especially around Halloween when he can dress as a witch and stir the witch brew during pretend play. Despite the language barrier, he seems to communicate with all of other children very well.

Kyle is also doing very well as a new Thunderbolt and is very intently practicing how to write his numbers and his letters already. He is also getting more and more computer work. His language skills have really also taken off as he asks lots and lots (and lots) of questions and has detailed discussions with Charlie and me each day. He is very interested in learning about everything that he sees or hears.

Both boys cannot wait until the big Goddard Halloween party on Friday. Kyle will be dressed as an astronaut and Dylan is going to be a very petite fireman! I am not sure who is bigger, Dylan or the costume!!

Believe it or not, Dylan has already grown an inch since he has been home from China. He still is maintaining his extremely lean and mean figure, though. He is a very active child, who also has very picky eating habits (most of his habits being affected by the time that he spends entertaining, dreaming and making faces vs. actually eating food during mealtime.) We may hit Guiness Book of World Records one of these days for the "world's longest dinner hour!"

Dylan has just started speaking in some full sentences within the last few weeks. His most favorite question is "what you doing (Momma, Kyle or Baba?). He listens to Kyle intently and tries to repeat many of his sentences, too. He is spending alot of time with his favorite books in trying to "read" them to us, by explaining what is going on in the pictures. It's quite amazing how much he has picked up in such a short time. His comprehension is excellent, although he does think that "time out" is a game and one day when I was counting as a discipline measure and said "one......," he immediately piped up and said "two, three!" I was laughing so hard, that I couldn't discipline any further.

Dylan had his first corrective surgery at CHOP in September. It was a long week post the surgery, as he had to move back into diapers and pull-ups during the recovery phase, but then after about 8 days of healing, he was back to normal. We spent that week at home vs. school, so by the end of the week, he thought that it would be good to permanently "stay home with Momma." However, after a short discussion, we did go back to our normal school/work routine. Due to the severity of his urological issues, CHOP has decided that they'll do his repairs in stages, so we have at least one more if not two more surgeries to look forward to during the next two years. Our urologist was excellent and the repair has been amazing to date.

We have spent the late summer and Fall doing lots and lots of fun activities from the shore to amusement parks to Thomas the Train and even had several social engagements on the birthday party circuit.

A few weeks ago, Gramma and Poppa Wedder were in visiting so they got to attend Kyle's 4th Birthday party at Pump It Up and the Chestnut Fall Festival with us. Then, we all went to NYC to see the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island and of course, FAO Schwartz! It was quite interesting to have the boys at Ellis Island with all of the historical immigration displays. We tried to take their pictures in the Great Corridor, but they were more interested in racing around vs. posing for their special picture.

Here are some pictures from some of our August & September activities. We hope that you enjoy them!

Kyle at Dorney Park in the Splash Zone area (one of his favorite places even though the water was freezing!!)

Dylan at the Splash Zone and FREEZING...

The boys with their pal, Snoopy

Dylan being buried by his cousin, Alyx, at the Cape May Beach

Dylan's first Thomas the Train event (Kyle's third!)


Instead of "Hammer Time," it's "Jammie Time."