Reid

The first photo is from December 2008 and the second photo is from January 2008-- almost a full year has gone by. Look at how these boys grew...

















So, Kai loves his buddy Reid. Reid lives across the street from us with his older brother Henry. Most mornings, Kai gets up and says, "Reid, Reid, Reid!" Then, he asks if he can go outside to get Reid to play. The boys are very sweet together. And, luckily, since it only takes about a minute to go find him, we get to play with him often!

Kai's Montessori Teacher told me that Kai is one of the most social and sensitive boys she has ever had in class. He is constantly kissing and hugging the other kids. She says when he comes in the classroom in the morning he goes over and greets each child with a hug and a smile. I notice the same thing with other kids in our playgroups or around the neighborhood. He is a happy boy when around others! (I wonder who that sounds like :)-- hee hee)

Giddy-Up Santa!

Grand Avenue

Each December, our big city turns into a small little town with the "Grand Avenue Meander" in St. Paul. Kai enjoyed riding on the fire truck, seeing the reindeer, and meeting Santa. Although, from the Santa picture, you never would have guessed how excited he was to sit in Santa's lap while waiting in the line. Once we were up there, well, as you can see, that was another story!

Thanksgiving

'Tis the season to be grateful!

On top of Kai's list would be:

A. Deer: he loves looking for deers-- (he calls them "babies") and he even knows the difference between bucks and does. Here is one we saw yesterday on Thanksgiving at my mom's house. Kai was in heaven!
Here is the happy family searching for the "babies"-

We even have pretend "babies" at home!

B. Nonny, Pops, Nana Kit, and Grandma and Grandpa Z.
Nonny on her birthday

Nana Kit at Halloween

Pops showing Kai how to fight for social justice (just like he did for me when I was that age) at the RNC Protest

Grandma Z. back in Summer 2007

Watch for: A new photo of Grandma and Grandpa Z. coming soon when they visit in January 2009

C. Uncle Joey

D. Osa (Uncle Joey's dog)

E. Dolls


F. Snuggling with his Mama and Papi


G. Meat (the boy can eat meat!)

Halloween

So, at first, Kai didn't want to have anything to do with Halloween. He would not put on the cute dragon costume we bought, and he didn't want to even put on the pumpkin hat. But, once he got into the swing of things, with his other neighbor buddies, he was running from house to house and greeting our neighbors with a sweet and enthusiastic, "TREEEEETTT." Of course, he didn't eat any of the candy. Joe and I did--and now I'll be trying to detox all winter from the ridiculous amount of candy I've inhaled. But, it did taste oh so good.

Myramar

Kai's first sentence went like this:

For weeks, he has been saying, "Myramar,"over and over again. I couldn't figure out what he was trying to say.

Finally, I realized he was trying to say, "Me want more." Smart little boy. Not so smart mama.

Foxtail Farm

We are members in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Farm and receive an organic share of veggies each week. We headed out to the farm in WI to visit and celebrate the Fall. Kai loved seeing the animals, riding the wagon, picking out pumpkins, and hanging out with his pals, Soren and Sarah Healy.

Miles

Kai still loves his dolls....here is Miles.

Ely in Oct.

We made it up to Ely to see the beautiful Fall colors-- it was the first time Kai was at the cabin with Uncle Joey. As you can see, we laughed most of the time!







We have a great hike right behind our cabin that goes along the back bay. Kai was incredible-- walking the trail, going over logs, and under branches. Kai loves to do anything physical. His new talent is galloping!

MN State Fair

This year, we decided to head to the fair with Uncle Joey and Nonny-- We had a blast! Kai loved his Uncle Joey, the animals, and the tractors.

Randrea Cabin

We were lucky to spend a lazy weekend at Andrea and Randy's cabin-- here is the crew in the canoes. We are thinking Kai may be ready for a Boundary Waters trip next summer...we'll see. It depends on how good his J-stroke is!

Last Days of Summer Fun

Bare Bum and Rain Boots on a Sunny Day!


Here we are at Minnehaha Falls with Lucas and Georgia (Julie and Nate's kids)-- celebrating summer with a picnic.

March against the RNC

We went to the big anti-war rally today -- I'm proud to say it was not Kai's first peace protest, but it certainly was the largest. They say over 40,000 folks joined us in hoping for change.

Kisses

We get so many kisses from Kai. Tonight, while we were snuggling, I swear he kissed me over 50 times. I can't get enough of my little pumpkin. He is so sweet.

He has this great "kiss me" face and he even goes up to strangers and makes it. Stop by someday, he'll give you a smooch!

We also saw a homeopath today for some relief of Kai's teething issues. I'll keep you updated. Homeopathic medicine is brand new to me. But, it seems promising!

We also asked her about his food sensitivities. Kai hasn't really had dairy ever (ever since the first drink, he has had problems) and now it looks like tomatoes are doing bad things too. Tonight, after eating 10 grape tomatoes from our farm share, Kai's face looked like a fiery red rash mess.

Any ideas?

Kai's First Day of School

It was Kai's first day of Montessori School today. He is going to a funky, beautiful school about 15 minutes away. We are so excited. You should see this place: clean, organized, filled with inspiring material (mini-toilets, mini-sinks, mini-chairs, mini-tables, mini-everything!), 3 wonderful "guides" (with only 8 kids!), and a whole lot of pizazz that makes you want to be 2 again!

It's only for kids 16 months to 3 years old. It's Kai's tribe and he loves it!

Today, while picking him up, I peered through the window to see how he was doing. He was sitting in his mini-chair, with 2 other kids next to him, listening to the "guide" read a book. I saw him keep scootching over to the cute girl next to him. Finally, he got close enough and gave her a flirty smile. Then, he scootched his chair up to the teacher and made the sign for "more"when she finished reading (he is a complete book phase-- I kid you not that we read over 50 books a day).

We then left together and when he realized we were leaving school he said, "No." Then, he repeated "no" over 20 times as we walked to the car. Then, he would NOT get in the car seat and kept signing "more" over and over again and pointing to school.

So, I'd say school is a success! I also say that I think Mr. Kai is getting a bit bored with Ms. Mama.

Zoo

My Aunt Annette (only 9 years older than me) and Cousin Christian (only 5 years old) came to visit. We went with Nonny to the MN Zoo. Kai and Christian became fast friends-- in fact, Kai had so much fun that he took a 4 + hour nap!!