Dylan and I took our first trip to the swimming pool for the summer! We went several times last year and he always loved it! I wanted to take him before his lessons started on Monday! Here we are getting ready to head out!

As you can see, he didn't mind getting wet! He had his entire body wet, and it didn't phase him one bit!
He loves the fountains right outside the pool! I really like this pool because it is zero entry and he can reach!! A few times I will carry him out to the deep end which he also enjoys. For the most part we stay in the shallow end and play!
There is also an alligator slide he went down for the first time. He came down pretty fast, but I was always there to catch him. It is a very small slide, so not to scary for him (or me!).
I think Dylan is saying to himself, come on mom, I want to go back in! So, I put the camera away and went back in with him!

Dylan's Masterpiece!

Do you like Dylan's latest piece of art?? When we are upstairs Dylan likes to write on paper with a pen. Well, we took his table outside and we don't have another one in his playroom yet, so he has a hard time writing. Today I gave him his pen and paper and then looked down and saw he had his shirt up! When I pulled his shirt all the way up I realized it was all over his belly! I have to say, I would rather it be on his belly then on my walls!! He had a bath right away and his belly is now nice and clean!

Coloring, a very dangerous job, you better wear a hard hat!! Dylan really enjoys coloring. Yesterday he found some coloring pages and went right for the crayons, I didn't even know he knew were I hid the crayons!! Luckily he draws on the paper right now, but check back later to see his newest masterpiece!!

Waiting for daddy! Dylan and I were out front yesterday waiting for Seth to get home from work. We decided to look at the flowers and Dylan picked one for himself!
Peonies smell soooooo good!!

Enjoying the nice outdoors, and the neighbor's yard!

Dylan loves his Toby! This was a couple weeks ago, Dylan was trying to give Toby (and Jake, Ashley and Brad's dog) a drink of water! Finally Ashley just picked him up and Dylan poured the water on the dogs!

An old one... Dylan was 6-7 months old here! He is wearing a shirt his Aunt Ashley gave him! It says, if you think I'm sute you should see my Aunt!! She is such a proud Aunt and loves Dylan to pieces! He likes hanging out with Aunt Ashley and Uncle Brad!!
One of Dylan's funnier photos!! I love this pictures, it looks like he ate too much and has a tummy ache!! I can't believe how chubby he was, now is a little guy-maybe it is because he NEVER stops moving!!
This one also makes me laugh!! This was during American Idol tryouts and we were watching it, maybe Dylan is trying to outsing the contestants?? This was also when he was around 7 months old!

An Oldie but a Goodie!

Another favorite! This one is from when Dylan was about 3-4 months old! We were reading in his room! Being home with Dylan for the summer reminds me of how fast he is growing up! Last summer he was just starting to walk, and now he is running everywhere! It is amazing how much more he communicates with us and how many skills he picks up daily! Last Friday he started saying Dylan when asked what his name was, and I am teaching him to tell people he is 2! I know he is only 1, but in a month he will be 2, so this way he will be ready! He also says, What's Up Dude! It is too cute! We start swimming lessons Monday, so keep checking for an update to see how that goes!!

Old Picture Time!!

I love this picture of my dad and Dylan! This was about a week after we brought Dylan home! I can remember exactly what we were doing! It was a Saturday afternoon and my old secretary and her husband came over to bring us homemade pizzas and my sister and Brad came over with Grovers BBQ! My dad drove up from KC just to hang out with his 1st grandson!! This picture captures the way my dad has felt about Dylan from day 1!! He has been more in love with him than I could ever have ever imagined (along with everyone else in my family!). I think my dad could have sat for hours and just watched him sleep when he was a baby! That love has only grown now that Dylan can do more things! My dad can finally do silly things and go on adventures in the creek without my mom getting mad at him! He says he can finally act his age and not get in trouble!! I can remember all the things I used to do with my dad, and now I get to watch him do all those things with Dylan!! He was the best dad and now he is the best grandpa (and the best dad still!!).

Something New!

Since I am going to be home this summer and I will have more time at home, I am going to try to do something new (possibly daily, if Dylan allows me!!). I am going to post old pictures of Dylan that haven't been on the blog! I am going to post favorites, ones that bring back a special memory, or any that I feel like sharing. As I looked at old photos I realized I may need to do this hourly, there are just so many that I love and I want to share. I wish I would have started this blog thing earlier!!! First one...Grandma Shaver's FAVORITE!! This is one from his first month! He is in his swing and has his lips ready for a kiss! We used to call this his, "Kissy Face"! I had cards made that said, Kiss Me You Fool!! Looking at this it is hard to believe that my baby is going to be 2 in a month! Where has time gone! I remember my mom always saying, don't wish this time away, and now I understand why! I can remember going out to eat and wishing I could give him real food because a bottle was a pain, and now I am thinking, I wish I could just give him a bottle, this real food thing can be a pain!! Really, I LOVE being a mommy! It is hard at times, and it always has been, but the rewards are SO much greater, and they make the tough times go away! A lot like teaching I guess!! I just look at this picture and it makes me tear up, now instead of calling him "kissy face" we say give me a kiss, or blow someone a kiss, and he knows what it means and does it without thinking twice! OK, now I am rambling so I will stop!! Kind of like my brother-in-law Brad says, I TALK A LOT, and with this blog I guess I TYPE A LOT at times, and it would remind Brad of my talking and ridiculous stories!! Good Night for now, talk to you all later (or type to you all later)!!!!!

I know it is blurry, but I thought it was just too cute!! This isn't our driveway, and those are not our trashcans! You may ask, why are Seth and Dylan putting them away then?? We have 2 elderly ladies that live next door (that we love!) and Seth helps them out quite a bit. On most trash days he will pick up their trashcans for them and take them to their garage. Dylan helped this week, I hope Dylan is as kind and helpful as his daddy when he gets older!!

Tuesday was my last day with kids and I had to go back today to clean up and pack! I got Dylan at lunch and took him back to school with me. He feel asleep in the car, and as you can see he didn't wake up! Luckily I had his blankie, and he just slept there in the middle of my classroom for about an hour! Only if he knew how many ladies watched him sleep!!

This is going to be another long post! Friday night Dylan spent the night with my parents in KC. He LOVES staying with them and cries when he has to come back home!! Saturday they went to a place in Overland Park called Deanna Rose. It is a farm/park area. As you can see, he got to pet animals and feed them. I am proud of the great pictures my mom took, next time I will have to let my dad post them on the blog though!!

As you can see, Dylan loves his Grandpa!! They look like twins in their blue and brown shirts!



I think this is the real reason Dylan loves going to Grandma and grandpa's house, there are NO rules and he can do whatever he wants!! I think my dad leaves the powder out on purpose because he knows how much Dylan likes to play with it and get it everywhere! I would just like to know who cleans up, grandma or grandpa???

When Dylan got home Saturday we spent the entire evening outside. He rode his tricycle, played on his swing set, and just ran around outside! Daddy even built a fire in his new outdoor fireplace, Seth is just a little obsessed with it!!
Monday we went to my school for the 5th grade promotion. The group that is "graduating" I had when I was pregnant with Dylan. They were a tough group, but we made it. I am most proud of 2 of the boys that I had, one was nominated class clown and one was nominated funniest kid in class. I guess if nothing else, I taught them to be funny! After the promotion there was a dance. Dylan enjoyed the music and got out on the dance floor and showed everyone his moves! We went to a pond to feed ducks afterwards, Dylan loved it! He just isn't scared of anything!





Sunday afternoon we went to the zoo and to the park to ride the train. It is our favorite thing to do on the weekend!

Ok, I know I have been posting a lot lately, I guess it is because I am avoiding things I should be doing! But hey, Dylan is in bed, Seth is watching the Spurs and I should be making a snack for work...that is one thing my fellow Quincy teachers say they will miss, my treats on snack day!! On with a story, we went to Target tonight and I realized that this could be a long and quiet summer for Dylan if he doesn't learn how to act in a store! Once we were 10 feet from balls Dylan could not stop yelling, BALL!!!!! That boy is obsessed! He has a million at home, and trust me, he doesn't need another one. Seth and I didn't give in, we just had the embarrassing child yelling BALL through Target!! He didn't stop until we got home. Maybe I need to start carrying around one in my purse-that way we always have one on hand!! I am sure if Grandpa was with us Dylan would have had every ball in the store, and that is OK dad, you are the grandpa, that is what you are supposed to do I guess!!

Look at the beautiful green grass (oh, the kid is pretty cute too!!). No, that is not our yard, I only wish, that is at the lawn at the Urgent Care Medical place we spent a couple of hours at on Mother's Day! Seth had an awful tooth ache all weekend, and finally Sunday we went to a doctor. Dylan and I were bored so we went out to play!

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!! These bugs I can handle, they are bright colors and they don't crawl around!! Dylan thought it would be fun to play with them in the flowers!

A New Chapter

Quincy Elementary

Has many of you know, I will be leaving Quincy next year and continue my teaching at Randolph! I told my students today that I would be leaving Quincy and teaching at a different school. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I got a little teary eyed and shaky...a few students began to cry as well. It is nice to know that I have made a difference in their lives...that is the reason I do what I do. I will miss Quincy but I am ready for something new. Quincy will always be very special to me and I will never forget my times here. However, I am ready to start at a new school and am excited that Randolph will be my new "second home"!

Randolph Elementary

I'm So Proud!!

This time I am not a proud momma, I am a proud cousin!! Last Saturday night we had some friends and family over to celebrate Seth's birthday and Mother's Day! Dylan was laying down in our bed (which he rarely does!!) when three girls decided to jump in bed with him!! He was supposed to be calming down, and this didn't help, but we didn't mind! Anyways, in the picture, Courtney, Whitney, and Allison. Courtney and Whitney are my cousins, and Allison is a friend of theirs! On with the story, and why I am proud...Courtney (in the jean capris) is a freshman at

K-State and just found out that she will be a Business Ambassador next year at KSU-so she will get to teach a freshman orientation class and give tours... And Whitney (the blonde) who is a junior (almost Senior) at Washburn Rural High School was just offered a scholarship to play soccer at Washburn University (in Topeka) when she graduates!! And not to leave their brother Brady out, I am proud of him too (he is in 7th grade!!).

I don't take any credit for how well these girls turned out, but I do have to say, I was their 1st teacher!! I used to babysit them all the time and we would play in their basement and I would be their teacher (and mom, principal, school nurse, school bus driver...)! They have also helped a lot in my classroom over the past 5 years!! They are great helps and the students always love them!! Previous students ask about them and get excited when they see them in the room!! I think a few 3rd grade boys have even had a little crush on them!!

Warning--this is a LONG one!!

What a fun filled weekend we had at the Packard Household! Saturday my parents came into town and we had a lot on our list of things to do! Most importantly the guys had to set up Dylan's swing set! The girls (and Dylan) stayed at Ashley's house and planted flowers. Dylan was a big help, but I wasn't! I didn't feel like getting dirty, so I supervised!! I did help plant flowers at my house though!!

When we got to our house Dylan was a very big help with the swing set! He had his own tool belt and tools, but he liked using the real ones!!

Here he is giving daddy a kiss-I guess it is his way of saying Thank You!!

Uncle Brad needed some help from Dylan here, he was always willing to lend a hand, and take the tools!!
Grandpa and Dylan were doing something, I am just not sure what they were doing!
Dylan wanted to make sure the rocks on his rock climbing wall were tightened properly!
I guess Bob The Builder tools just don't compare to the real thing!
After about 15 total hours it is...almost done! Seth and Brad are putting down 5 more bags of rubber mulch and the wood border tonight! Dylan has already enjoyed it though!

Checking out the ladder and rock climbing wall.
Swinging away on his new swing set!
Going down the slide the right way...
And going down the wrong way!!