Week Fifty-Two

Well, this is it!  Tomorrow Kai will be 1.  We've officially made it to week fifty-two, safe and sound, happy and healthy, with laughter and tears.  What a journey this first year has been.  I can honestly say that actually being a mom has far exceeded any expectations I may have had. 

So, here's my last weekly tribute to my little munchkin who's not so little anymore.

(But, stay posted for some awesome pictures from his 1-year photo shoot!)

I was trying to get Kai's attention for a picture, so I took away the weed that he was very focused on pulling out of the ground and this is the look he gave me!  This child does not hide his emotions in the least!

The kitchen cabinets have been conquered.

This was our trial run with Kai's Halloween costume, but due to obvious problems (which resulted in a few too many runs into the wall!) we ended up getting him a different costume. 

Grandpa and Grandma Gamache sent another package for Kai's b-day, complete with a replacement blanket for the one we lost while jogging.

And, more packages kept arriving for Mr. Birthday Boy.

A sippy cup from Uncle Dale, Aunt Jenni and Andrew.

A package from Aunty LaLa - an awesome fleece, just in time for winter.

On Saturday we visited Green Bluff - an area near Spokane where there are several farms.

This was Kai's first time to ride in a wagon, and in true Kai-style, he insisted on standing up the whole time.  Well, let me rephrase that.  He insisted on standing up until he fell out of the wagon at which time he cried loudly enough for the whole pumpkin patch to hear and then proceeded to sit down in the wagon (at least for a few moments anyways!)

Week Fifty-One

I can't believe it's only one more week until my baby is 1!  Bryon and I were talking the other day about how traditionally first birthdays were a big deal because it was somewhat rare for a baby to live that long.  However, I think that our celebration for Kai's first birthday will be a celebration of both child and parents surviving the first year :)

It's been a really fun week, complete with our first family vacation.  For the long weekend we drove 3 hours north to Kaslo, BC where we stayed in a cute little cabin on Lake Kootenay.  We all loved it and had a wonderful and relaxing weekend there, rowing, swimming in the hotsprings, eating yummy food, exploring, and best of all napping!  See, when Kai was a baby I never took the "sleep when your baby sleeps" advice to heart, but this weekend I fully took advantage of it and let me tell you, it was wonderful!

New things in the life of Kai include: 

- Standing without the aid of another object or person.

- Becoming more and more of a little problem solver.  For example, when I pulled the plug on his bath the other night, he looked around, found a small bath toy and quickly stuck it in the drain before all of the water was gone.  And, it actually worked!

- Becoming more of a mimic, whether with sounds or actions.  Whenever we hear a dog barking, he gets a very serious look on his face and says "ruff ruff".  And, when I was cleaning up a spill on the floor the other day, he got down beside me on his hands and knees and started eagerly wiping the floor with his hands.

- Now knows where his nose and our noses are!  I've never worked with him on body parts before, but the other night I pointed to his nose a few times and said "this is your nose".  Then I asked him "where is your nose?" and he immediately pointed to it!  Then we moved on to learn "mommy's nose" and he caught on quickly to that one too. 

It's funny how the little things are such a big deal, but they really are.  I loved each new thing he learns, well, most of them anyways!

Here are the pictures, and they're completely out of order but it's late and I'm tired so here they are anyways.

Enjoying a dip at Ainsworth Hotsprings.  Kai loved it, and entertained all the other swimmers for a good half hour.

Out for a morning row with daddy.

Waiting to take the ferry across Lake Kootenay.

Enjoying the swing and beautiful view despite the cloudy weather.

"Our" beach.  We've already decided to return in the summer so that we can take full advantage of it!

Oh Canada!

Learning to rock climb.

I asked Kai for a kiss and he kissed this rock instead!

Cabin sweet cabin.

Out for an evening row.

Kai thought he might like to go for a swim.

But, quickly decided that wasn't such a good idea!

We stopped in beautiful Nelson for lunch on our way home.

Enjoying his favorite breakfast - blueberry pancakes!



Week Fifty

When I was pregnant with Kai, a friend gave me a book entitled Secrets of the Baby Whisperer.  In it, the author claims that every baby is one of, or a combination of, five types of baby - Angel baby, Textbook baby, Spirited baby, Grumpy baby and Touchy baby.  After reading the descriptions of each baby, our little Kai almost exactly fits the description of a "Spirited baby".  This has been one of those weeks when his spiritedness has been front and center in our lives.  I think the only things that are getting me through this week are prayer, my wonderful and patient husband, and good friends who have provided us with lots of fun play dates. 

I love my baby dearly, and I love his spirited nature.  I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it's lucky he has the cutest smile and laugh, lots of slobbery kisses and hugs to balance out those other moments :)
In other news, Kai has started to stand on his own this week.  It was so exciting to be playing with him, and then just see him suddenly stand up in the middle of the room.  He looked so happy and proud of himself, and I was so happy and proud too.  I'm not holding my breath to see him walking anytime soon though.  He seems awfully content to motor around with his monkey-style crawl.  And, the older kids at church love to crawl around monkey-style with him too.  It's like his crazy exuberance inspires them to try it too.  So cute!

Here's the munchkin.  He's developed quite the overhead pass.

Awww, how can I resist this face?!

 

Father-son hike up the Mickinnick trail on Sunday afternoon. 

(Side note:  Proof that we live in a small town - while I was running errands today with Kai, a lady said to me, "Oh, isn't that Kai?  Wasn't he hiking the Mickinnick trail with his dad on Sunday?".  It turns out she's the woman who took the picture below!)

Is it just me, or does it look like he could just topple over the edge?!

On the way back down - slightly wet and tired by this point but they were both troopers.

Battle wounds from the big hike.

This is what Bryon refers to as "the family quiver".