What a week!

What a crazy, busy week it's been! Not bad, just busy! We're all adjusting well to my return to work. This past week was our first "full" week of me working.

Last weekend, we went to Portland, where Kai was able to spend time with all his grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and he even met Gr-Grandpa Howie, Gr-Grandma Tee, Gr-Uncle Josh and Gr-Aunt Candy for the first time (well, technically he met Grandma Tee at the airport when he came home, but didn't really get to spend any time with her then). We enjoyed brunch at Grandma and Grandpa M's house, and Kai really enjoyed playing the piano there too. Then we went to Gr. Howie and Tee's house for Easter (and Christmas) festivities with my family. Kai had his first Easter egg hunt, and enjoyed playing with his cousins.

We got home late Sunday, then we headed straight into the work week. Wednesday was spent catching up on laundry that didn't get done over the weekend, housework that didn't get done over the weekend, and a few errands. Not to mention my little boy who was worn out and had a wacky napping schedule. 

Today, finally, it's the weekend again. We can breathe!!

Today was also super fun, Aunt Beth came to spend the day with Kai and I. We had fun playing at home, and even managed to go out to lunch after nap time. After lunch we played outside for a few minutes since it was between snow showers (yes, I said SNOW...nothing stuck...).

Oh, Wednesday was also Kai's 3 month anniversary of being home with us. This amazing little boy is still constantly impressing us. I may be biased, but I think he may just be the smartest baby ever! He is learning so many new things every day, and talking (OK- babbling) more every day. This week we've heard him say "HI" (without us saying it first), "bye", and "na-na" (night-night). About two weeks ago we started a new bedtime routine (which doesn't include a bottle, another amazing feat), and during the routine we constantly talk about how it's time for "night-night". Well, tonight as I was bundling him up after his bath (step one of bedtime routine), he said "na-na", totally on his own. Amazing! He's also definitely entering toddler-hood, and all the glories that come along with it...tantrums when he doesn't get his way, testing our limits, voicing his opinion...oh, it's so wonderful!  Did I mention the climbing? Yes, today we had to have our first "toy time-out". He wouldn't stop standing on his snail rocker, so it had to have a time-out.

Today Aunt Beth taught him how to dance a jig, and it's so stinkin' cute! Joe really had him going with it this evening, and I was laughing so hard my abs hurt! 

Well, if you've made it this far, you deserve pictures!

Playing the piano on Easter

First day home with Daddy while Mommy's at work

More box sitting, this time it's Willie's toy box, notice how he's sitting on his doggie.

Our little comedian

Our little guy thought he was quite the funny man today. First, he has nearly mastered getting onto his riding toys by himself. Now he thinks any toy with wheels, doesn't matter how many, is rideable. Last weekend we watched him try to "ride" his xylophone and his ball popper, which each have two wheels. Well today, he decided to try to ride his VeggieTale school bus. That might sound alright...until you see the size of this thing.

Of course, by the time I got my camera ready to go, the riding session was over, but from this picture you can probably get a good idea of how it looked.

Later, we were playing in the living room, and I watched him accomplish this feat:

He did this totally on his own, the basket was even pushed under the table! I could not get him to turn around to look at the camera, so when I moved to see the front side and asked him to smile, this is what I got:

Is he proud of himself or what?? 

Kai and I also had our first giggle war today. He's been giggling so much lately, it's usually at Daddy doing something silly. This afternoon, he was standing in front of me (I was on the floor with him), and he made a funny face. I started laughing...he started laughing...I laughed harder...he laughed harder...need I go on?? We probably had a good 30-40 seconds of pure laughter before he dropped his toys and hugged me. 

It was a good day. :-)

Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's back to work I go!

Yesterday was my first day back to work. Everything seemed to go very well. I wasn't a complete mess, and in fact, most people were pretty surprised at how well I was "handling" it. It felt really strange being there, knowing I would go home to my baby. When I first walked in the building, I felt like I'd entered a foreign country. A foreign country where I lived long ago, but haven't visited or spoken the language for a long time. By the end of the day, the sights, sounds, smells, and lay of the land started coming back to me, and it didn't seem so foreign anymore. I expect it'll take a week or so for me to start feeling "into" it again. I kept pretty quiet about my return yesterday, but next week I'll start being more vocal and letting people know I'm back. 

I know the one thing that made yesterday go so smoothly was knowing Kai was in good hands. He did wonderfully during his first full-day of daycare (he went last week for a couple half days, and did great then, too).  He had fun playing with the other kids, ate well, and even took a 3 hour nap! Melinda was amazed at how well he put himself to sleep for his nap. So far, it hasn't seemed to stir up any feelings of grieving for him. I know that he'll be well cared for at his daycare, but my biggest concern was if our separation would cause any attachment issues. It's probably too early to say, after only one day, but so far he seems to be doing very well with it.

This may sound strange, but we feel that my returning to work has finally made his arrival feel very real. Since he came home, it's felt so surreal. But now, with me back at work, and our lives pretty close to how they were "pre-baby", we're finally convinced that he's really ours... forever! :-)

Cousins are FUN!!

Yesterday Kai and I took a day trip to visit his cousins! They were so excited when we arrived, they came to the front door to wait for us to get out of the car. Then, Kai was greeted with hugs and kisses by all. :-) These kiddos waited with us for so long, they kept asking when our baby was coming home; it's so fun to finally get them all together! This was only the second or third time they've had to really play together, and they all seemed to have a lot of fun! Since the older cousins are...well...older, they've forgotten what it's like to have a toddler around (ie, someone who doesn't look where they're walking and likes to knock things over), but once we convinced them that Kai was not really trying to sabotage their games, they seemed OK with his clumsiness. We also reminded them that their little sister will be doing the same things soon, and in about a year, Kai will probably be getting upset when she knocks his lego towers over!

 :-) 

Kai is so lucky to have such wonderful cousins (and aunt and uncle!), and I think we're all looking forward to watching these guys grow up together!

As you can imagine, it was quite hard to get them all in the same place for a photo op, but the one above is from a while ago when we met for Dan's birthday (I think Hayleigh was busy being snuggled by her mom).

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!

Date Night!

Yesterday Grandma & Grandpa C. came to town to babysit so Joe and I could go for a date! We had a great time, and didn't have to worry (too much) about our little guy since we knew he was in great hands! This was our first night (err...afternoon) out since Kai has been home; we went to see "Juno", then out to dinner. As for what happened at our house while we were out...they all seemed to have a great time! In fact, Kai didn't even udder a peep when Joe and I left, but when Grandma & Grandpa left he cried! 

Thanks again, Mom and Dad!!

get out your kleenex

You're going to laugh to tears!! While I was filming this, I was trying REALLY hard not to laugh on camera...didn't work...sounds like I'm crying. Our little Kai is such a music lover and dancer, his moves are getting more extensive everyday! We always loose composure when he starts hitting his belly! Of course, this video is so much cuter just because he doesn't have any clothes on. He is so adorable in only his diapey! (In case you're wondering, no...he wasn't just running around in his diaper. I was getting him dressed, in his room across the hall. He heard the music and ran to the computer...where it was coming from, luckily the camera was right there on the desk!)

On a side note, I am so excited that through the power of the internet, I have been reconnected with one of my best friends from high school! We lost contact almost 10 years ago, and have been searching for each other ever since. To make it even more exciting, she is also newly a mother, her son is now 8 months old! Congrats again, Christy...I'm so glad we found each other!!

Just for fun

Hello, Mr. Frog

Where does this go?

 Imagine his surprise when he turned the corner and found Willie in the dog run!

See the plane?

Wind chime...how fun!

exploring new territory

After weeks of standing at the patio door and looking out longingly, we finally let Kai out to explore the backyard! We had such a beautiful weekend here. Yesterday afternoon our car was registering 70 degrees! And it was so sunny! It's still nice today, but the clouds are moving in and the rain is on the way. Saturday we took Kai for his first trip to a "real" park. (We do have a lovely little park across the street from our house, but the only thing he can do there is the swing, the other play structures are for "big kids".) We were out running errands, and decided to stop at a nice city park that has lots of play area for "little kids". Unfortunately, since it was somewhat spontaneous, we didn't have our camera (what kind of parents are we, anyways?). But, he did have a blast going down the slide (with Daddy holding onto him, of course). As with all new things, at first he wasn't sure, but after a few trips down he would just starting smiling and giggling when Joe set him up at the top of the slide. After the park we took him for his first treat at Cold Stone Creamery. He had a couple tastes from each of our ice cream creations, but then his busy afternoon caught up with him. So, Joe and I took turns holding him and finishing off our treats and we were headed home very quickly. 

I'll have to post the backyard pictures later, blogger won't let me do it right now :-(

Bunny Taken Hostage

Come any closer and the bunny's history...

The bunny's owner attempts retrieval, to no avail.

Negotiations begin...

The bunny's captor loses composure 

as the sun sends him into a drunken stupor...

Happy Ending!

Bunny returned to rightful owner, the house is at peace.

Disclaimer: the only role I played in this was taking the pictures; the baby, dog and bunny were otherwise the only participants.

100!!!

WOW! This is post # 100! I don't really have anything earth-shattering to discuss (do I ever?), but I can't believe I've posted 100 times! Really, it seems like there are better things for me to do with my time...and if you're wondering, no, I didn't go through and count them all, blogspot does that for me :-) So, to make this a little more interesting, I will post a few videos and pics that I've been holding onto, waiting for the perfect time to share them! 

This one I call: "More proof our son's a genius".

This one is just plain cute:

And here's a something only Daddy would think to do 

(and only Mommy would think to grab the camera):

Happy Wednesday, thanks for looking!

squeaky shoes

OK, I must preface this post by warning (or reminding) you how easily entertained we are here at our house!

A few days ago Kai got a pair of squeaky shoes from our friends Holly and Wayne (parents to Sam and Emma). They are so cute and just make us laugh! At first when I put them on Kai, he was scared to move. Then he just started laughing and running all over the house. Oh, it was so funny, we could not stop laughing! I managed to get the camera into video mode and  film a little of the fun. Now we don't have to worry about loosing our little walker! Thanks again H,W,S&E!