Happy Birthday Happy Hour

This Sunday we celebrated two beautiful ladies' birthdays. Melissa and Nicole's birthdays were both on Sunday so they, Caitlin and I headed up to Portland for a ladies day/night out. We shopped for hours and then went to happy hour at Portland City Grill. Portland City Grill has an awesome happy hour with amazing food and yummy drinks. We had delicious food and drinks and then topped it all off with their special fresh baked cookies and ice cream...so good. It was a super fun time with wonderful friends. Thanks ladies, for the night out and Happy Birthday again to Melissa & Nicole!

Camping!

We went camping last weekend as a family and had a ton of fun together. We packed up Saturday morning and went over to Cape Lookout on the coast. After careful review of all the open campsites we decided on what Tyson claimed to be "the best campsite in the whole place". I think he may have been right...well, at least it was the best one for us. It had grass and a hedge of bushes around it so that Kai was pretty well contained (which is always a plus!). We set up camp and then headed over to the beach. We hung out there all afternoon and were blessed with yet another beautiful day on the Pacific Northwest coast. We had lots of fun playing in the water and digging in the sand--and do I mean digging. Tyson decided we should dig a hole to China so we could see The Cube. I agreed that it was a grand idea and Kai joined us because, well, it involved digging in the sand. Although we did not make it to China or The Cube, we did dig a good size whole that we then watched fill up with water...oh the glorious entertainment! Here are a few pics of our fun on the beach:

After a while we headed back to camp to make dinner which was delicious...but isn't all food when you are camping? We took a walk around the campground to try to get the remainder of the energy out of Kai. And what do you know it worked. When it was time for bed we bundled Kai up, gave him kisses, put him in the sleeping bag, zipped up the tent and --- tada! not a sound, not a movement. The crazy kid went right to sleep. I literally pictured having to zip up the tent and let him run around like a wild animal in there until he fell asleep...but no, not a peep. Too good to be true right? Right.

We went to bed a little while later and snuggled into the tent with Kai (we had zipped our bags together). After getting hit in the face by Kai 4 times in the first two minutes I finally found a comfortable position. Just as I was about to doze off...or perhaps I had for 5 minutes or so I am awakened by crying from our boy. We reassure him he is okay but he is in that asleep crying mode and eventually I pick him up and rock him and he is okay...until I put him down again. At that point Ty suggests he is too warm. "How can he be too warm...we are camping", is what I was thinking in my head. But eventually I decided to take off his super thick sleeper and extra socks and that does the trick. It was a classic case of overdressing--guilty as charged!

This might be the end of my story but no. Kai is now happy as a clam but also quite awake having gotten just enough sleep to feel refreshed. He did lay still but he began to go through his entire vocabulary:

"beesh" (beach)
"wawa" (water)
"bee" (any type of bug he sees)
"babble babble babble" (I have no idea)
"bu duc" (big truck...said in a low "manly" voice)
"mama"
"dada"
"woo, woo" (fire siren noise...the worst and loudest!)
(and plenty of others I can't remember because--I was trying to sleep)
Me: "Kai you have to go to sleep...shh"
Kai: "shh" (over and over and over again until we would look at him...then a laugh)


It went on like this for what seemed like hours but it was really probably only an hour or so until he finally fell back asleep. I was then unable to sleep because it started to rain and my baby is stripped down to his diap, but he seemed fine and I was warm so he was probably okay too. Then I kept waking up from either a hit in the face or because he had creeped up out of the bag, and again, diap only...so I would pull him back down. We woke up bright and early to Kai trying to be quiet because he sees us sleeping...so in his not so quiet voice we hear "shh, shh", until he got our attention--clever kid:)

It was a long night but oh so funny and way worth it for the memories! However, we did pass on the hike we were going to go on and headed home for some actual rest. It was a fun weekend hanging together as a family celebrating our first official "Daddy doesn't work Saturdays anymore" Saturday!

Here are a few pics from around camp:


Thanks to my boys for the fun memories!

Dee!!

Again with the amazing. This morning there was a deer outside in our yard and I took Kai out and showed him and told him it was a deer to which he repeated "dee". This is the second time he has ever seen a deer and the last one time was a while ago. Anyway, just now I am in the office on the computer and Kai is drinking his milk and has wandered over and is looking out the sliding glass door. He starts shouting "dee, dee" very excited like. It takes me a while to realize he is trying to tell me something (seeing that "dee" is not technically a word) but I eventually figure it out and look out the window. Sure enough there is a deer in our neighbors yard. Again, I know this is silly to some but I was amazed at how he put it together so quickly. Deer are not one of the animals we talk about and point at in books...he just learned their name this morning. But a) he remembered, b) he told me and c) he actually saw the darn thing. He continued to say "dee" until about a minute ago when he began to say "bye bye" as the deer moved on. I am impressed every day and apparently every hour by this kid.

Yesterday was one of those days...

No, not one of those days. I mean one of those days when you can't stop kissing your child because for some reason, well, you can't. And everything they do melts your heart and you keep thinking to yourself, "was this amazing child really entrusted to me?" Yes, yesterday was one of those days. I literally kissed Kai a thousand times and kept hugging and squeezing him. And he let me, well, most of the time he did:) He was just a little cuter than normal or maybe I was just a little more aware of it than normal. He is talking so much now. He says lots and lots of words on his own now which always amazes me. This week we walked out of the church and there was a bike sitting outside and he pointed and said "bise"...which is he word for bike. Wow, really, no prompting needed, all on your own huh? This may not be amazing to some but to me it is. Everyday he learns something new...and then retains it and I am amazed. I'm not saying he is more amazing than other kids (although....:)) It is just that I am a first time mom and I have never seen the step by step, minute by minute process of their development and it just amazes me. And, his little personality is so full of life. Sometimes if he catches me looking at him he just gives me this cheesy smile that he is now doing (Kristen--it is the crocodile smile) and it cracks me up.

To top it all (and by all there are lots of details I am leaving out) it was cold yesterday. And what does that mean you might ask? It means that it was cool enough for footy pajamas which are my favorite. Footy pajamas after a bath...yummy...that calls for more kisses and hugs!
Yes, yesterday was one of those days...when your heart wants to burst with the love you feel for your child...but thankfully the Lord designed us with this in mind:)

More...

This is what I hear over and over anytime I finish reading a book with Kai. "More", he clearly says and reaches for the next one. He loves reading and it is such a joy to sit down and read with him and have him point out things and tell me the things he sees. And although it does make the bedtime process long, I absolutely love that fact that no matter how many books we read he always asks for more. A month ago we used a gift card I had been saving since he was born to buy him a couple brand new books. We choose Where The Wild Things Are and Green Eggs and Ham. I still have some of that card left and thought I would ask some of you book lovers what some of your (or your kids') favorite books are...you know, those classics I am overlooking. Thanks for your help!

Play me a tune....

Kai's first instrument is the harmonica. He actually does really well--I mean, not recognizable songs or anything obviously, but he does well just the same. I say first instrument because I sure there will be many more in the future, the kid's got rhythm and I believe he will take after his daddy in this area...thank goodness!

Beach

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the beach this Sunday as a family. I can't remember the last time I was on the beach for so long. Usually it is so cold and windy I don't want to be out very long. This time it was perfect weather and we enjoyed splashing in the waves, playing in the sand and sitting on the blanket in the sunshine watching Kai run around and have a ball. His word of the day was "beach".

Preschool

Kai started preschool last week. He is attending the preschool at the church two days a week while I work. It is ideal as far as daycare goes...he is right there in the church and I can check on him whenever I want, I know the people working and know the standards of the preschool are high and I get a discount so it is affordable. All that to say it is ideal as far as daycare goes...but it is still hard. It is hard to hand off my little boy to others to care for for the entire day, it is hard to give up control on things I'm used to having a say in, it is hard to go a whole day without playing with my baby. It is hard, but is is good. He seems to love it and I have to force him to kiss me goodbye, when I come to pick him up he is excited to see me but doesn't jump into my arms, he would rather jibber jabber and point to things like he is telling me all about it. It is good. In case it is not obvious I am still convincing myself of that. This is a way better situation then before. Up to this point I have been taking him to work with me some days and working from home in between caring for him. This is better because I have two full days at the office plus another 1/2 day that my friend watches him. Then I work from home one 1/2 day (and switch and watch my friend's little one). This allows me to have one weekday totally off from work. That will free Kai and I up to go on some adventures and have more quality time together. The best part of all of this is that Tyson will change his work schedule so that he has Saturdays off and we have the whole weekend as a family. He has been watching Kai on Mondays and working Saturdays since Kai was born. Although both Kai and Tyson will miss "Daddy's Day" we are excited to have Saturdays as a family. This is good, it is all very good but I am still mourning the loss of my "ideal". Ideally I would be home all the time with him and not have to juggle work. But this is the place God has us in and He provided a wonderful job for me. A job that has been so flexible, has allowed me to bring Kai to work with me and people there who have loved Kai and are special so us. I could not ask for a better situation at this point. So, like I said, it is all good. But the mommy in me is sad to hand over the care giving to others and the control freak in me is, well, sad to give up control, but is good for all of us and we are blessed. Above is the obligatory "first day of school" picture... taken quickly as we were walking out of the house with the bright morning sun in his eyes, what a sport:)

Retro Rocket Cleared For Landing

Kai got this little Retro Rocket from Gramma & Pa last Christmas. It was fun in the house for a while but it is really fun now that he is riding it in the driveway. It is his new favorite thing. I swear this kid has no fear. He will push himself to the edge of the slope and just lift his feet and go! It gets quite a bit of speed too (which is why I added the helmet). Then he pushes it back up the driveway to do it again. The other night I was unloading groceries and he jumped on and headed down the driveway backwards with feet in the air. Luckily I got behind him in time...we have to at the bottom to stop him from hauling into the street. I am pretty sure there will be some sort of accident soon but for now he loves it and we love watching him be a boy!

Taryn, T-spoon, "TT" (Auntie T)

As I mentioned before, we had to say goodbye to Taryn over Labor Day as she is heading off to Spain in a couple weeks. She will be teaching in southern Spain for the next 9 months. We are so excited for her and know that the Lord has many adventures planned for her. She is an amazing youth woman and we are proud to call her our sister! At the same time we are selfishly sad to see her go. Holidays and visits home will not be the same without her and it is crazy to think that Kai won't see her again until he is 2. We will be telling Kai lots of stories and showing him lots of pictures so won't forget his Crazy Aunt T! We love you Taryn!

The Rodeo

Labor Day Weekend

We headed home to Ellensburg to spend Labor Day weekend with the fam. This has become a tradition for us. We have been to Ellensburg for Labor Day every year since we started dating. There is a rodeo and fair and it is a crazy busy weekend but fun as well. Some years we have brought friends with us, three years ago Tyson asked me to marry him on a hike that weekend and last year we spent precious time with Troy and Kari. This year we knew it would be the last time we would see Taryn before she heads off to Spain for 9 months. Here are a few highlights:

Playing on the grass with Tess

Gardening with Gramma

Seeing the animals at the fair

(Kai actually did like this...the pig just startled him when it stood up...before this he was petting all the pigs that were laying down:)

Celebrating baby girl Greer at Alison's baby shower!