I tried to get a couple pictures but...

I can't get his attention away from, you guessed it, the train!

"Really Mom, you are interrupting my engineering for a picture?"

"Fine! I'll just give you a cheesy smile and get this over with!

I guess I'll take what I can get...

A Few Kai Funnies...

Kai's teacher told me this week that Kai is pretty insistent the the kids "use their words". Apparently he was going up to them saying "words, words". I guess it helped...she said the other kid began to use his words since "his friend, Kai" told him to. I am going to call that leadership and not bossiness:)

Today in the post office I heard a lady talking to Kai while I was at the counter. I heard him say "Yes" and she said "oh, that is really neat". I asked her what he has said and she said she had asked him if his daddy flew jets (he was playing with his airplane)...to which he answered a very confident "yes". I laughed in my head and told her he worked with airplanes but was not a pilot. It was just funny how confident he answered her although he really didn't understand what she was saying. Funny boy...

Kai is 22 months old!

Kai will only be 22 months old on Monday, but I feel like he has hit his "twos" a little early. I refuse to call them the "terrible" twos...but perhaps the "terrific twos", the "trying twos", the "temperamental twos", "talkative twos", "tearful twos"--okay, you get the picture. Many words could describe this stage, but I refuse to let one of them be "terrible"!
Today I am just reflecting a bit on my growing, changing son and realized it has been a while since I have recorded all his growing and changing...so, this will probably be a long one:)
Kai can say just about anything at this point which amazes me. Not only can he repeat what you say...he is constantly pointing out things around him and most of it you can actually understand. He has begun to clearly pronounce certain words. Water for instance used to be "wawa". Now it is wa-ter...almost with a little accent. I guess you can't actually hear what is in my head so that was a bad example...all that to say that he is improving quite a bit!
"Patience" is a word he can now say...it is one I apparently say a lot to him. So, he can say it clearly but I am not sure that he clearly understands what it means. This child is persistent! He will repeat something over and over and over and over until he gets a response..no, correction, until he gets the response he is looking for. Yes, "have patience" is a phrase he hears quite a bit.
One of the things we are working on patience about is the train mentioned in a previous post. The child is obsessed with it! As soon as I walk in to get him in the morning or after a nap I hear "train, train". As soon as we walk in the door, or are even in the car headed for home, "train, train". It's getting pretty old to be honest. Actually, I should say that today the train saved me. He has figured out how to put the track together himself and entertained himself for a good hour while I was trying to deal with Peru stuff this morning--today, I was thankful for the train instead of despising it:)
Songs! The other thing Kai has been pretty persistent about lately is singing. He has always loved music but now insists on songs at bedtime and in the car. I sang "the wheels on the bus" for a solid 45 minutes the other day...and let me tell you , I'm not that creative (and don't have the best voice) but he didn't seem to notice. In fact, he can join in really well on most songs. My favorite song he sings is "Jesus loves me". He will just sing "Jesus, Bible, sooooo". It is super cute. We have also been reading bible verses to him and he has caught on. His favorite is "Yes, be bold and strong...for remember, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9. If I start it he can do the main words--bold, strong, Lord, God, go! I'm impressed anyway and I love seeing him learn God's Word!
Well, that is a little update on Kai and a little bit of what he has been up to. All in all he is a super sweet boy---but incredibly tough and strong and all boy! I am so blessed to be his mommy...something to remember during the terri...I mean, trying parts of this stage!

No Capes!

I love this shot of Kai watching The Incredibles with his little cape on. I especially loved it when the part in the movie came on about "no capes!" Apparently they are dangerous for super heroes but my little super hero seems to be doing just fine...

Chase the Age Concert

Free Concert

This Wednesday, 7pm

Union Block Coffee

Tyson & Daniel (Chase the Age) have been playing music together for a year and a half and have been blessed with the opportunity to make a cd. Many of you know we are headed to Peru, but what is really cool is that Daniel and his wife, Abby are going as well. They have completed the recording of their cd and it will be out in the next couple weeks. All sales from CDs will go directly to supporting both of our families in our missions in Peru! Presales of their CD will be available at the concert or email chasetheage@gmail.com to reserve your copy. You can listen to their music at: http://www.myspace.com/chasetheage or www.chasetheage.com. Hope to see you there!

Check out our peru blog to see pics of our Faux Prom night!

Thomas the choo choo

We were given a Thomas the Train set by a friend to sell or to use however we wanted. (We had a garage sale and people were donating). We decided to get it out and see if Kai was interested or if we should sell it. Boy, was he interested...he LOVED it! He danced around the track as Tyson put it together, wanting to touch it but being so patient. It was so cute to see him so into it, and of course, dad had a blast too! I love the picture at the bottom because he would literally get as close as he could to it all night:) Perhaps we should keep this one around for a while...

Three Years!

Three years ago today I married the love of my life. I am blessed with an amazing husband who loves the Lord, loves me and is a wonderful father. Thank you Tys, for an amazing three years, I look forward to what the rest of our lives hold! I can't imagine a better man to serve the Lord along side!

I love these pics because they so capture the absolute pure joy I was feeling that day!

And these pictures capture the fun we had celebrating our new life together with friends and family!

Tonight Tyson is surprising me with night out...so I had better go get ready:)

Faux Prom Fundraiser!

We have some super great friends who decided to do a sweet fundraiser for the Durans and us. It will be a little thing we like to call the Faux Prom...here are the details...hope to see you there!

You (all ages and generations) are invited to join us for an evening of reliving your high school days! So, dust off your fancy digs, from then or today, or hit up goodwill for some flashback styles!

Saturday, January 10th
8:00 - 11:30 p.m.

Ben VanDyke Farms
15221 NW Westside Rd.
Yamhill, OR 97148

Tickets available at the door:
$25.00 per person / $40.00 per couple
*All profits from the evening will go to support the Durans & Smiths in their mission to Peru.

The evening will include:
•Voting and coronation of Prom Queen & King

• Selection of “Best Dressed”, etc.
• Prom photos by Creative Photography By Dale
• And much more!

For more information please comment on my blog and I will get you the info:)

Krochet Kids

This Christmas Tyson and I received hats from Krochet Kids from Taryn and our parents. Taryn has friends involved in this organization that is creating jobs for women in Uganda...check them out at: http://www.krochetkids.org/

The hats were for Tyson and I, but Kai took an immediate liking to Tyson's and loves to wear it. The other day I put mine on to go out and he brought Tyson's to me and said "hat", so I put it on him. Anytime it came off in the car he would make sure I put it on him before he got out. So, take it from him people, they are great hats...you should all get one and support this organization!

Happy New Year!

We had a fun time bringing in the New Year with friends! We enjoyed yummy food and drinks, a funny game of bag-o-nouns and friends:)

Here is the group trying to guess a noun...everyone is so focused!

And Tyson acting out....you guessed it: Q-tip! He has the best facial expressions:)

Tyson throwing up the sign for '09...Happy New Year!