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!!

National Night Out

Every year, our block has a great big party for National Night Out! We have 10 kids on the block, all under the age of 5! We had a bike parade, a puppet show, and yummy food!

More from the cabin...

Lounging on the deck...

Doing some hard labor....

Playing with his Momo...

More July Cabin Photos

Kai loves the cabin. Here he is doing his favorite things.
Watering some plants...

Driving the boat....

Swimming in the freezing water...

Playing.... in what has been voted as the "Most Beautiful Sandbox View"

Happiness

Ok, seriously, I know this photo can be seen as some as symbolic of his umm...life to come-- but, get your heads out of the gutter, people!

1st Hair Cut

Oh...he didn't like it at first.

But, then, well, he decided it was maybe sort've fun.

Then, by the end, he was loving the blow dryer and razor. But, wondering about those lovely curls-- where did they all go?

July 4th

Memories from the summer-- here we are at Elm Creek Preserve. This is where I went swimming with my brother as a kid...

Then, we headed to downtown Minneapolis for the July 4th festivities. Kai loved the bridge.

The original Nonny

We spread my grandma, Nonny's, ashes this weekend in Roberts, WI. It was her wish to be spread over her mother's grave, so she could be close to her mother. Her mother died when my mom was only 8 months and she missed her so....

My Uncle Bill, Aunt Leslie, and cousins Kyle (plus girlfriend, Maryanne) and Andrew came for the weekend. We had a nice ceremony and then spread Nonny's ashes. We still miss her so much. I miss watching her love and tend to Kai. Kai took his turn and spread her ashes with the help of his Uncle Joey. After visiting the graveyard, we toured Roberts and saw my great-grandparents home, my Nonny's home, and various other relatives. It was such a meaningful day.

Do you hear that?

Kai's favorite new thing is to point to his ear when he hears a noise-- a garbage truck, an airplane, the tractors at the cabin next to our cabin in Ely putting in a new septic system. We feel glad to know that Kai can hear-- I guess we don't need to worry about a hearing test.

Cabin

We were up at the cabin again-- this time with Nonny (the new one, my mom!) and Momo (Molly Cooney). We had such a great time-- Kai is madly in love with Nonny (nahnah) and Momo. In fact, for some reason, he kept pointing to his elbow and saying, "bo" when he wanted his momo. He also loved Molly's dog-- Tundra. Both Molly and my Mom took such great care of Kai- it was truly a vacation for me. It has been almost a week now since we've been home and Kai still says, "Momo" and "Nahnah" several times a day. I'm pretty sure if he could say more than 10 words, he would mention that he is getting bored with me....

Rabbits and Motorcycles

Kai has two favorite things: motorcycles and rabbits.

If you want to make this boy happy (and hear him squeal in delight), show him a motorcycle. If you want to become his most favorite person, chase down a motorcycle and help him touch the shiny parts. If you want to become his queen or king for the day, after looking at motorcycles, help him find a bunny rabbit to chase.

Yes, that's all he needs-- for pure happiness. It's a good reminder to me that life isn't always about the big things to make us happy.

Happy Family