Mama, Up!

Kai is actively engaged in learning to talk now. Thank goodness! Yesteray he was doing a real good job of repeating some of our words. In the morning while playing with a stuffed animal he kept poking it's eyes out and repeating Reid saying "eyes". Later we went outside to play in the grass. He loves to play in the grass and pull out handfuls of green stuff. I would say "grass" and, well, he couldn't say the "gr" part but the last three letters were very clear. I was laughing my head off. We also saw the neighbors dog out and he tried to say dog but it came out more "daw". So cute.

Yesterday afternoon, Kai went over to the neighbors to "play"/be "babysat" by their 10 year-old daughter (and the help of grandma) while I cleaned the house a bit. It was the first time that I have ever paid for babysitting! And the first time I've left him awake with anyone other than family. He ran into the house, started playing, and didn't even notice when I left. But when I went to get him, they told me that he was trying to talk. For example, he said "mama" once and he asked Sarah for her "nooo" or noddles. When I brought him home I could tell that he was realizing that people other than mommy talk too, and it might be good to learn. He was trying hard. And it resulted in his first phrase! After only 10 minutes of trying to eat his dinner he wanted out. He slouched back in his highchair, like he was pouting, and then he said "mama......UP!" I had to reward him for talking and so I picked him up and boy was he so excited.

You gotta love him!

Swimming

Despite my best intentions, Kai has never been swimming. So this weekend we bought him a pool. Of course it's Kai-sized! He had a good time with Reid on Sunday blowing it up and then yesterday I filled it up and planned on an afternoon swim. But wouldn't you know that it started to rain in the afternoon and the temperatures dropped a bit. During a sunny moment I slipped Kai into his bathing suit, only to get outside and find that the sun had disappeared again. But he had fun splashing and playing anyway. He didn't want to get in--I don't blame him! But by the end he was splashing around with one foot in. Hopefully he'll get the full "swimming" experience soon.He was a lot more animated when the camera was off, unfortunately. He always seems to get just a bit distracted by the funny gadget that mom is holding!

Kai's New shoes

Kai's shoes were starting to get tight, so we went back to Stride Rite to get him measured again on Friday. He came in at a 4 extra wide. Now, I have a conspiracy theory about the whole extra wide thing. Wouldn't it be advantageous for the store to tell you that your child has extra wide feet when they are the only store that sells extra wide shoes?? I think that I could probably find some other shoes to fit Kai but I just don't trust myself at all to pick out the right size. I really don't want him in shoes that are too tight or too big. So, we end up paying a little more for my piece of mind I guess. Anyway, these are the shoes that we picked out for him this time.
And then of course he needed some sandals. More because it's easier on me to slip on sandals than having to worry about socks and tying his shoes. He's a little stud muffin now!

Molar Pain

Last Monday I noticed a sharp little point in the back of Kai's mouth and spent the next several days trying to decide if he was cutting a cuspid or a molar. By Wednesday his mouth was really looking irritated and he was not sleeping well (and I finally decided it had to be a molar). After two not so great nights in a row, we finally decided that a dose of Ibuprofen was necessary before bed. We seem to have found the trick for the nighttime, but his molar has still seemed especially troublesome. As I've kept a close eye on it, I think I almost feel the pain more than he does. And I was not prepared to see bloody drool running down his face today during sacrament. I think I wanted to cry more than him. He's a trooper, though. You'd never know that the back of his mouth is bloody and irritated. We've definitely got a gem of a boy!

The Red Balloon

I owed Kai a balloon. See, a couple of days before his birthday a nice lady at the grocery store gave Kai a free balloon. The minute I put the balloon in the car, though, it got a hole and was gone. About a month later, a lady at the hair cut place offered Kai a free balloon, I was determined to get this balloon home in one piece and secured it under the back of Kai's car seat before going to put the stroller in the back of the car. I didn't notice the wind tunnel I had created in the car until Kai pointed up into the sky and let out a little squeak. Away went balloon number 2! I felt so bad about the balloons that I promised Kai a new balloon. Last week at the grocery store I went to the balloon counter and told the lady I wanted to purchase a balloon. She gave us a free grocery store balloon again instead. This balloon was guarded with my life and finally made it home safely. Kai was thrilled! Beyond thrilled actually. The balloon was the highlight of his day (that's about how long it lasted).





Kai's favorite balloon game--letting go!

4th of July Weekend

It's always fun to have a 3-day weekend and to spend our time together as a family. For the 4th of July we had planned to check out the festivities in our small little town. I was actually told that they are the largest in the state! But at the last minute, we decided on a trip to the zoo instead. It was a good choice and we had a great time. Kai has been getting more and more comfortable with animals and so the timing was great for his first outing to the zoo.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is known for two things really--the giraffe exhibit where you can pet and feed them, and beautiful views of Colorado Springs. The zoo lives up to its name as it is on the side of a mountain and each exhibit takes you higher and higher. The paths take you up about 120 feet (or 10 stories!). It's good excerise, especially pushing a stroller.

Kai really liked the giraffes, although we chose
not to feed them. We thought that'd be a better
activity for when he gets a bit older.

He was scared to touch them, though.

Here's Kai and Daddy hanging with the monkeys.

It was hot! Here's a much deserved lunch and Icee break!

At the petting zoo we got to meet a bunny.
Once again, Kai didn't really want to touch her.

Kai LOVES fish! He would have been happy
watching the fish swim all day.

And of course, we had to see the penguins.

The last stop of the day was the primate house.
We enjoyed watching the gorillas, but what really
surprised us was something Kai said. After about
2 minutes watching the mommy and baby gorilla
Kai burst out with the word "babies!"


After making it all the way to the very top exhibit
(grizzlies and bald eagles) you have to take a picture.
Here's a beautiful view of Colorado Springs.

After such a fun day at the zoo, Kai was really wound up. Even after trying to put him to bed early, he didn't pass out until about 8pm--barely missing the fireworks. We were able to see 4 different fireworks shows from our back porch. They lasted from about 9-10 pm. It was a great ending to the day.

Oh, and don't worry--we did enjoy a BBQ. We just did it on the 5th of July instead!!

New Teeth, New Tricks, New Toys

Well, just days after Kai's first top tooth arrived, the second top tooth appeared. He now has four teeth! I'm surprised how quickly these two teeth seem to be emerging--for some reason they seem to be coming out much more quickly than the bottom two teeth did. But I guess they do have gravity on their side.

Also in the last week, Kai has learned how to stand up without using anything to pull himself up. It's really cute as he's still learning and so he often ends up standing up past vertical and falling right on his bum. He's such a cutie. Also yesterday, he started pushing the buttons on some of his toys and "singing" along with them. We didn't get a great video of it, but the point is that once the music starts he starts to talk. When the music stops, so does he. He's getting too smart for his own good!



Finally, Kai has been wanting one of the "big" balls that we often see at Wal-Mart. Reid and I haven't really felt that he needed one. We were worried that they were so large they'd knock him over, and they're so hard that it would be a tough fall. But going through a spare bedroom closet the other week, Kai discovered we already had "big" balls--excerise balls! He LOVES them! They're softer than the normal toy balls and so they don't knock him over or anything. He particularly enjoys when we make them bounce for him. He finds it so fun he squeals and runs around and just has a good time with his big ball!

Isn't it a bit early to be getting ready for Primary??