Bye bye

Last year seemed like it was the Holiday season from hell... anything that could go wrong, did. This year has been much better for the most part. However, I lost my first baby... Paka. He took advantage of the front door being open and made a run for it. He's done this before, but this time he didn't come back in. It's been a week, and it appears he's going to stay right where he is. Everytime we have a paka sighting, we scramble to the door to coax him to come in, and he runs away. He looks like he's happy and in good health; but that doesn't make it any easier to lose him...

So, in memorium of the cat I loved and fed and played with (and yelled at) for the past three and a half years, I give you the finest of paka.

Bye bye.

One last Kaelen fix (at least for today)...

Picture from my grandpa's funeral. Kaelen's socks match his vest... Children's Place is evil...


Hot off the press - last night! (Sorry, the flash went kind of wacky)

Seriously... cutest kid ever. Especially when he's sleeping....

Kaelen the Nun

Kaelen will announce "all done" when he is done with eating. He usually tries to pull off his bib at that point. Sometimes it gets stuck (on accident, of course...), which he usually thinks is hilarious! It's nice to know he would look cute as a nun (even though he's not female and we're not Catholic...)

Soprano

Both videos are pretty much the same... he's just so silly I had to include both!

The headless dragon

It took great work to get him in his costume... apparently he was scared of the head! It's such a cute head though! Luckily I followed the incorrect advice on the website (it said the costume ran small and to get the next size up... the next size up was for a 5 year old!!), so he can wear it again next year! With the head!!

He thought trick or treating at daddy's work was lots of fun, until we took away the candy and ate it ourselves!! We did let him have the raisins and a few m&ms...

Monthly update

I do have a good excuse for not posting anything... my laptop has major issues. I bought it 5 years ago for law school; it is probably time to let it pass on. However, I am too cheap to buy another one!! Not to mention I don't really NEED another one, since we have a desktop. There is just something comforting about a laptop though...

I also have another good excuse. Kennedy and Kaelen both had H1N1. They both had fairly mild cases, but it was not a pretty time to be living in this house! Now that they both have recovered, I have a major sore throat and have lost my voice! Sweet! Of course I used up all my leave at work to take care of the two Ks...

Alright, enough excuses for now. Pictures to follow (unless my laptop crashes)...

Long time ...

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but life has been a little crazy. Kaelen is walking everywhere now, and while I'm thrilled, it's also kind of a pain! After a long day at work all I really want to do is sit and relax, and he usually has other ideas. Of course, he never tries to get dada to walk with him up and down the stairs ad nauseum!! I love the kid, but he does drive me nuts.



Last weekend we had a funeral to attend in Boise, so we made the 7 hour trek. Kaelen did well for a toddler... that may not be saying much though. Luckily once we got to Boise Grandpa was there to attend to his (almost) every need (he doesn't do diapers...). And Grandpa was thrilled to walk up and down the hallway of the hotel with him. Maybe Grandpa should live closer... We all made it back from Boise alive (barely), and now I need a weekend to recover from last weekend. My wonderful husband took today off and did the cleaning and grocery shopping... he's also promised to take Kaelen out tomorrow... maybe I'll go get a facial, or run away!



The rain and the leaves are falling, and while it's very pretty, it's also very messy and cold outside. This makes it less likely that Kaelen gets to go out with dada for his evening walk, which makes mama VERY sad! We tried to watch tv last night while Kaelen was running around, but his idea of fun was bouncing up and down on my abdomen and pretending to fall off the couch. He got sent to bed promptly at 7... but he got the last laugh when he woke up at 5:30 this morning (and then fell asleep an hour later when my alarm went off). I'd send him to bed later, but I need every minute of relaxation time I can get!

Kaelen finally had his 18 month check up a few weeks ago. He's in the 95th percentile for height, and the high 80s for weight and head circumference. The pediatrician was trying to find a tactful way of saying that it's not too disturbing since neither of us are exactly skinny... at least she didn't say I was fat!

So, yeah, life is pretty much the same. Someday I'll get around to taking and posting pictures... hopefully! It all depends on the not-so-little boy.

The binky/blanket monster

I was cleaning up the kitchen this morning when I saw the binky/blanket monster... he's more funny looking than scary, but I'm sure he's ferocious! This monster has two binkies in his mouth (I'm not quite sure how) and two blankies in his hands (one for each) and he was hopping on his knees with the blankies streaming behind him! It was so hilarious! Unfortunately my camera was in the other room, so I didn't quite capture the moment... but I'm hoping he'll reemerge soon!

Walker

Kaelen thinks the dining chairs are his personal walkers. Who needs the fancy toys when you've got 4 of these!

One morning we heard him moving the chair as we were getting ready for work. But we couldn't find where he went... he took the chair all the way from the dining room to our bedroom (navigating some very tight corners)!! I think he was trying to get the chair next to the window so he could get the paka, and the paka was trying to get out the window so he could get away from the Waelen!!

Vroom vrooom

Kaelen has decided he doesn't need power wheels... he'll just drive our vehicles (once his legs get a little longer, that is)!

Fun at IKEA

IKEA was having a sale (kind of) last weekend, so we got Kaelen his own table and chairs. He can't sit down on the chairs by himself, but I'm sure he'll grow into them soon enough. I also got him some paper and washable crayons... he drew a few lines, wadded up the paper, and ate the crayon! That's what he does at daycare too, so I wasn't surprised. The table was originally in a different corner, but I guess he didn't like it, because he moved the whole set next to his crib... I guess he got the redecorating gene from me (and grandma)! And just for grandma and grandpa I took a video (I love my Iphone...)

Don't die of shock

Multiple posts in one week... wow!! Additionally, my backyard is weed-free! While I wish I could take all of the credit for the yard looking so amazing, the only hard work I did was earn the money to pay someone to do it! And it was worth every minute! I really do detest pulling weeds. The guy also pulled up all the ivy (which I kind of liked). But on the flip side, now I have a cool rock garden... The relief of being able to look outside and not feel guilty (along with Kaelen taking a nice long nap) has made me quite efficient this morning, as you will soon see.

incidents

This is a picture of incident reports from Kaelen's school. Anytime there is an accident (or an on-purpose) that leaves a mark, they have to report it to the parent. These incidents are all for bites in the past 3 1/2 months. Unfortunately, my son is the biter and not the bitee.

The reports don't indicate who the bitee was (only that it was a "friend"; I'm not certain whether Kaelen thinks of them as friends though... otherwise why is he biting them!). I fervently hope the reports the other parents get similarly don't indicate who the biter was... otherwise we're going to have to switch to a different daycare (since I haven't been getting evil looks from the other parents, I think I'm safe).

Kennedy thinks it's the same child over and over again and that Kaelen really doesn't like the kid! Kennedy's real problem with the incident reports though, is that they always include a statement like "Kaelen was standing next to a friend...." He wants clarification as to whether he was standing on his knees or his feet!

Any day there isn't an incident we celebrate. But for every day we celebrate, there's a day like today... multiple incidents. Maybe that's why all the kids were enthusiastically waving goodbye as we left...

So, to all the parents out there whose child has been bitten by another child... I am so sorry! If I could stop him, I would. Hopefully it's just a phase that will pass (soon)... otherwise it's looking like he'll have a career with the WWF.

Recent happenings

Kaelen took two steps on his own on Friday (at daycare of course). Yes, he is 18 months old (in a few days), and he still doesn't walk without assistance. I think that has more to do with him being stubborn and it not being his priority or his timeline yet than with him having a physical ailment. Anyway, when I picked him up on Friday afternoon, his teacher hesitated for a moment and then asked if I wanted to know when he walked. I gave her a strange look and said yes, and she informed me of his two steps. And then she said "sorry you didn't get to see it," like I would feel guilty for working or something. That honestly was the least of my worries!! I'm more worried that he's going to be the only kindergartner who walks on his knees instead of his feet! So, yay Kaelen!

Today he was his normal busy body self (very exhausting). I was talking to Kennedy in the living room when I noticed Kaelen walking (on his knees) without any socks on (he'd had socks on a minute before). I asked him where his socks went. He said "syocks" and then shrugged his shoulders and put his arms up (like he was saying "I don't know"). I asked him again (with the same "syocks" reply) and he walked (on his knees) to the bathroom and pointed at the diaper locker. Yes, he stuck his "syocks" in the diaper locker and turned the handle. I had to retrieve them from among the dirty diapers (the smell just about knocked me out.. apparently we need to deodorize that thing). He later tried to stick his binky and a clean diaper in the diaper locker. We've got a toilet lock to keep him from flushing things down the toilet, so I guess we're going to have to get a diaper locker lock... maybe I should rethink being happy about his walking progress...

Bye!

I didn't realize that all of our pictures and videos were in the high chair... easy target.

Brushing teeth

He likes to use orange juice for his toothpaste. But, that would explain why he loves brushing his teeth so much!

Breakfast

Apparently the pears weren't quite what he was expecting

Fun with balloons

We blew up a bunch of balloons for Ella's birthday, and he decided they were all his. Luckily she was in a sharing mood, because he certainly wasn't!

My favorite is the drama near the end where he gets Liam!! That and Nandi's comment that since they're now in a video they're famous...

Busy body

Even though he can't walk (on his feet at least), he's still very mobile and surprisingly fast. Like most toddlers, he's fascinated with the kitchen...

Piano lessons

Two things Kaelen does well

Eating and making a mess. And, of course, his absolute top marks include making a mess WHILE eating!!

Somebody told him strawberry yogurt was girl repellant...

Whoever said m&ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands was clearly childless (and unmarried...)

"Please, no more paparazzi..."

Two heads are better than one

Jake was fascinated with the wagon and with Kaelen...

Kaelen didn't really share the fascination...

However, he soon figured out that Jake had some good ideas...

"I didn't do it... It was Jake!!"

Kaelen's sole living great grandparent

Kaelen wasn't sure what to think...

(My cousin Jared and his son Jake)

Remote

(Look at those HUGE paws...)

Yes, he loves all things electronic. He also loves to have big hair!! It's kind of too bad he won't be a teenager in the 70s, because I think he'd be the best thing ever... (maybe the fro will still be around then)

Kenya family

Kennedy went home for a quick visit last month. Since I couldn't go, he tried to take pictures of everyone and everything... So, here is some of his family (mostly cousins from his mom's side). I'll post pictures of the landscape later (assuming I finish sorting through it all... don't hold your breath)

Kennedy's brother, Dan, and his wife and child (Njeri and Kasaya - Kasaya was born while we were there in 2007)

Apparently she's afraid of the camera (so am I)

Kennedy's mum and dad (Florence and Solomon), and Lynette's daughter (Tumaini)

Njeri and Kasaya

More Tumi (yum... samosas)

(my favorite - Orange Fanta)

Lynette and Tumi

Kennedy's cousin Carole, and her daughers Kimberly (sitting next to her, age 7) and Karen (standing behind her, age 2 or so)

Kennedy's cousin Hillary (the profile shot) and Lynette's significant other, Patrick (the guy in the red shirt - he cooked the samosas (from scratch of course) ... lucky girl)

Kennedy's cousin-in-law Sylvia and her 4 month old son (I think her husband George is sitting next to her, but I can't tell)

Kimberly and Dylan (Sylvia's son... it's possible he has the sweetest face ever) (side note: Kimberly used to live in Seattle with her parents, and Nandi was a bit afraid of her... Liam, on the other hand, got along with her just fine!)

Kennedy's cousin Diana (she has a twin who lives in Delaware)

Lynette, Patrick and Tumi

Kennedy's play time with Tumi

I LOVE Tumi's hair!! I also love the cheeks... It's a good thing for Kaelen that I married Kennedy - his family has some pretty good genes!!