A Fond Farewell

We just heard that President Hinckley passed away this evening. My gut reaction is to cry and cry and cry, but when I think of how happy he is this evening, how can I be so selfish?? Our beloved prophet has joined his wife and can continue his ministry without the physical limitations of being 97 years old. He led such an exemplary life and was truly the first prophet that I felt connected to. As the prophet during my late teenage years and my college days, I had so many occasions to hear his counsel and the words of the Lord through him. I am so grateful for his life-long dedicated service to the Lord. His service has made a profound impact on my life and will continue to do so in the many years to come. Thank you President Hinckley.

Little Stinker

When we first introduced "solid" foods to Kai, we thought he was going to be like his daddy--willing to eat anything. At least he downed the rice "cereal"--milk--like it was the tastiest thing ever. But since getting his first taste of fruits, his like of vegetables has slowly waned. And now we're experiencing an even larger dilemna, since his first taste of finger foods, Kai does not want to eat out of a spoon anymore. We have to try all kinds of tricks to distract him. Normally giving him a bowl or a spoon or a baby food lid will help for a bit, but that's not always the case. In my most desperate moments I'll hold a cheerio in front of him and then give him his food when he opens his mouth for the cheerio. Cruel, I know, but he has to eat something, and he's not adept enough at eating the cheerios yet for them to actually fill him up.



So, dinner tonight went something like this: the first few bites of sweet potatoes and apples and chicken were accepted rather easily, then I began using the lid distraction technique, when that began to fail I started making really funny faces and noises (he really liked them and was laughing a good deal--I got a few bites in during the laughter but felt guilty about really pushing it), then we used the cheerio distraction technique. Now, unfortunately, Kai is getting pretty smart about the cheerio tease and is quite quick to close his mouth. Finally, I called in reinforcements. Reid came and tried his best with silly noises and faces and we managed yet a few more bites. I was just about to toss in the towel when Reid pulled the honeydew from the refrigerator. Kai was super-excited about that and began eating that. Then we tried some avocado. He was eating, but like I said, he's not adept yet at the feeding himself thing and by this point he'd been in the high chair for an hour!!! I finally just abandoned ship and we moved on to his bath.

Now fast-forward to after his bath, he's dressed for bed and nursing. He finishes and so I go to settle him in and the crying begins. This isn't the "I don't want to go to bed" crying, but rather the crying where he says "Me, Me" which I think is his attempt to say milk, indicating that he's still hungry. So we troop back to the kitchen and pull out his original dinner--lo and behold, he eats it. So I place Kai in Reid's lap and begin to feed him. Would you believe he downed his food and ate about 6 ounces (a jar and a half!). Like I said, he's a little stinker!!

Christmas Pictures-Hurray!

It's the moment you've all been waiting for. I have pictures!! Lots and lots of pictures!! I know you all want to see Christmas pictures, but I have a couple of favorites to get in before then, so just indulge me.



This is Kai at 6 months old and his first taste of applesauce. He was so sad when it was all gone. Unfortunately, he has turned into quite the picky eater, replacing his earlier love of squash with all things sweet--in particular sweet potatoes and applesauce.



Bath time also at 6 months old. Since we were staying in corporate housing at the time, Kai learned to take baths in the big boy bath tub. He absolutely loved "swimming" and he became really good friends with his rubber ducky. In fact, during bath time he still loves his ducky!



Kai's very first Christmas present! This was the first of 3 days of Christmas. We opened a present on the 23rd simply because I couldn't wait to see his reaction and then had our big gift opening on the 24th. Of course, Santa came on the 25th and so he had even more presents to open then!



On the first day of Christmas Great-Grandma gave to me.....a singing frog!



On the second day of Christmas my aunt and uncle gave to me.....a bow!!



Oh wait, it's a present--Yippee!!



I like my crocodile.



Oh, it's my very own piano...come here piano!



Mommy get that scary thing away from me!! (Go figure the ball I bought was probably his least favorite gift.)



Finally, Christmas day. What better way to spend a wonderful holiday than with family--and mommy close by! And yes, Kai did get a hippopotamus for Christmas!!

Finally--A Picture!!

So, I've been embarrassed to post anymore without at least a somewhat recent picture. Finally, I have one I can share. We seem to have misplaced our digital camera cable so I have been unable to retrieve any of our pictures, but luckily Reid's sister sent us this picture taken over Christmas. Isn't Kai a cutie??!!

Anyway, these last 3 weeks have been busy with little errands--mostly doctors' appointments. Kai started acting sick over the Christmas break and the cold continued into the New Year. By the night of January 10th, I think he finally hit his breaking point. He screamed every time I laid him down and even when I tried to feed him. I thought he just wasn't feeling good, but it turns out he had an ear infection in each ear. Of course, this all had to happen at the beginning of the year as we were switching insurance companies and waiting for cards, so I spent a lot of time on the phone with HR reps and insurance people making sure that we had all of our i's dotted and t's crossed so that Kai could even see a doctor. But I am happy to report that he has survived his first ear infection--and I have learned a great deal about how he reacts to being sick. Next time I'll know more of what to look for.

We've also been working on getting out to purchase a car, but between Kai's ear infections and the weather we just haven't made it. Last weekend we got about 6 inches of snow and Reid still had to go on the Boy Scout hike. (He's been called to serve as the assistant Scoutmaster to the 11 year-old Scouts.) From his report, it sounded like an interesting adventure to say the least, complete with wandering off the trail and over a ravine and even some slipping and sliding on the roads. We decided after that to stay in for the day. So, keeping my fingers crossed, we'll hopefully be out car hunting this weekend.

Other than that, we're just trying to get settled into life and the ward here. I've been called to serve as the 14 year-old Sunday School teacher and have enjoyed my class a great deal. It's a large group--11 of them!--but they are well behaved and good "students". I'm hoping that they will learn to enjoy Sunday School and the Book of Mormon, but I have to be honest and confess that Sunday School has been my least favorite of our 3-hour block and so I can't blame them if they don't. However, having the blessing of teaching the Book of Mormon this year is fantastic!! I love reading and preparing for the lesson and I hope that is reflected in our lessons.

Finally, what would a post today be without thinking back on the last year and how blessed I have been. I love my family and am so grateful for the many, many blessings that we have received. I anticipate that my 29th year will be filled with more of the same. So, happy birthday to me!

Happy New Year!

What an incredible Christmas!! Our time in Chicago flew by and we enjoyed every second of it. Kai was once again a good traveler--not even getting grumpy after skipping all naps from noon until after 8pm. While in Chicago he continued sleeping like a champ....until sometime around Saturday night when he started waking up screaming. And then I found the culprit during sacrament on Sunday--his first tooth!! Needless to say, it's been an adventure-filled holiday season.

As I look back over the last year, it has been full of surprises, highs, and the occasional low (I can't think what they would be yet, but I'm sure there were some). We started out the year as a family of two living in the northern Virginia area and have finished the year as a family of three living in Colorado. I'm excited to see what this coming year brings. I know you all are anxiously awaiting Christmas pictures and I promise that just as soon as Reid gets them off of our camera I'll be back with pictures and stories of all of our holiday delight. Until then, Happy New Year!!