Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving up at the cabin in Ely this year. We had a great time--Kai loved exploring the new place and enjoyed hikes in the backpack. The lakes have just frozen over in Ely and there was even a little snow. It really felt like the holidays.

We got a taste of what a MN winter is like with a baby who can move! Kai was in his snowsuit much of the time and when I set him down on the ground, he grunted as he tried to crawl around (he could barely move) and looked at me as if to say--"Hey, I can't move. What's up with this?"

Kai is just on the verge of walking. He stands up on his own (not pulling up on things anymore) and takes one or two steps before he very slowly sits back down. But, when he does take a few steps, he gets the biggest smile. This boy likes to move.

Smiles

My Dad just sent me these photos of Kai-- they were taken in October and November. I love them! Thanks Grandpa!

"Hi" & "Bye"

Kai waves hello and good-bye. We love it! Yesterday, Joe was leaving to coach and he said, "Kai, say bye." To our surprise, Kai said "Bye" and smiled.

Well, what a genius! (Ok, so he hasn't done it since, but still....)

Giggles

We have so much fun with Kai. He has a really sweet and playful personality. Last week, at a bookstore's story time, he went up to child after child trying to say hello. Then, he decided to go up to the storyteller and grab her hand. As he held her hand, he just smiled out to the crowd (of about 50 moms and their babies). The real funny part is that no other mom was chasing after their baby like I was. For some reason, all of the babies were just sitting in their laps. Not our Kai....no sir, he was cruising around the room trying to make friends!

Just one of the things that make us love this little guy.

Happy Birthday Grammy!

We had my mom's birthday party on Saturday night. Here are some of the highlights!

Kai and his Papa

10 months

At 10 months, Kai is...

• crawling around really fast
• standing up on his own
• walking with help
• learning how to use a spoon
• getting into everything (this boy is ACTIVE!)
• waving hello and good-bye
• crawling up and down the stairs
  
• saying his first word, "HI!"
• thrilled when he sees new people
  
• smiling and laughing tons!

I was laughing so hard yesterday. I turned on the TV to tape a show. Since Kai is never around the TV, he stopped and watched the TV while I was turning on the VCR. He was fascinated. An ad for diapers came on with babies. Kai got so excited seeing the crawling babies. He started to wave to them and said "HI" over and over again. Then, he crawled as fast as he could over to the TV, stood up, and gave the TV a big kiss. Yep, this boy LOVES to be social! (even with the TV!) I wonder where he gets that from? :)

Unfortunately, Kai has had a double ear infection for a couple of weeks. But, it really has not stopped him or kept him from being busy. He still crawls around and gets into everything. But, now, he just lays down and rests for a few seconds and then bounces back up and he is off!! His favorite thing to chase, of course, is Maxie, our cat. Poor Maxie-- she is chased around the entire house.

Here are some photos of him tonight. He doesn't want to eat anything but finger foods, unless he gets to control the spoon. So, here is tonight's meal, all over his face and hair!

More Todd Photos....

Todd

Way back in June, our friend, Todd Smith, came to visit. I think we posted some photos of his trip back then. But, what we didn't post were the incredible photos he took of Kai. Wow-- yes, he is a professional photographer, as you can guess. Click here for his website.

Here are the photos-- we have had them for ages, but it just hit me tonight that I never posted them. So, sit back and take a stroll down memory lane, when Kai was 'just' 6 months old.