Our holiday weekend started right away on Wednesday with guests arriving from Nevada and Colorado. Three of the guys that Tyson grew up with and their significant others were joining us for Thanksgiving this year!
Tyson headed down to Des Moines on Wednesday morning to pick up the gang. By the time I was out of school, picked up Ava, Ella, and Kai at daycare, they were already in Cedar Falls. This was the first time that any of them had met Kai. My parents brought a Mexican feast down for supper and we spent the night catching up. The last time Tyson and I saw everyone was at our wedding over two years ago!!
On Thursday we had a lazy morning at home and then headed to my parents around mid-morning. We spent the day cooking, drinking, and relaxing while the guys were outside practicing at the "Pecha Shooting Range" (aka my parents' yard). We ate around 3:30pm and then continued with the drinking and relaxing. Most of the men dozed off at one point or another. We decided to head back to Cedar Falls around 7:00pm, as we had an early morning ahead of us!
At 4:15am on Friday morning, our alarm clock was ringing! Time to get up and head to Iowa City! My parents drove down to our house in the wee hours of the morning so they could spend the day with Kai (aren't they great?!). I'm not quite ready to leave him overnight yet, especially because he's not sleeping through the night. We left for IC around 5:00am and the tailgating began soon after we arrived. However, it didn't last long before everyone was so cold that we decided to pack it up and head over to The Vine, a local sports bar.
***I should mention that on the way to IC, I realized that I had left my battery pack for my pump at home and I didn't have the wall plug either. In a mad rush to figure out what I was going to do all day, I became the proud owner of a manual pump! ***
The guys went to the game while myself, Jen, and Caleb hit up the movie theater! After (another) loss, we headed back to Cedar Falls to relieve my parents from babysitting.
Saturday morning was our first morning to sleep in!! Even Kai got the memo and slept until 7:30am. We had a really lazy morning and afternoon. Everyone except myself and Kai went to Beck's around 2:00pm to watch some of the games that were on. Kai and I did go and visit them after he woke up from his nap though. They got home around 10:00 and Kai was already fast asleep.
Our last day with everyone was today. Kai and I stayed home while everyone else went to Perkins for breakfast (it was Kai's nap time). The rest of the of the morning/early afternoon was spent with everyone packing up, cleaning the van & garage, watching football, and getting some last minute snuggles in with Kai. They left for Des Moines at 1:30 to catch their flight home.
It was so great to see everyone again! When these guys get together, it's usually a loud and crazy time, but it only happens once a year or every other year.
I can't find our camera cord to upload pictures, so I'll have to add some later!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
One Sick Baby
Last weekend we had noticed that Kai had a pretty runny nose and was starting to cough. We thought nothing of it until Sunday afternoon/night when his cough started getting worse. He wasn't running a fever, but his breathing was really raspy and labored when he was sleeping. We picked up some baby chest rub from Walgreen's, hoping that would help a little. By later on Sunday evening, his cough was sounding really bad. I was pretty sure he had croup. We let daycare know that he was going to the doctor in the morning and probably wouldn't be coming.
When we woke up Monday morning, his cough sounded painful! Tyson was able to get him in to see Dr. Smith right after they opened at 9:00am. It wasn't croup, but just a really bad cold. Ugh. That means nothing but time was going to cure this.
Tyson and Kai spent the rest of the day at home. We used the humidifier constantly, applied baby chest rub at every diaper change, propped up his crib mattress, and offered more water than usual.
I decided on Monday night that I wanted Kai to stay home another day, just to relax and get in some good naps before heading back to daycare. Tyson couldn't take another day off and we have an extreme shortage of substitute teachers right now, so I asked my dad to come and spend the day with Kai. Of course Papa was willing to come!
Now, a week later, Kai still has a little bit of a cough and a stuffy and/or runny nose, but he is definitely sounding better than he was a week ago!
When we woke up Monday morning, his cough sounded painful! Tyson was able to get him in to see Dr. Smith right after they opened at 9:00am. It wasn't croup, but just a really bad cold. Ugh. That means nothing but time was going to cure this.
Tyson and Kai spent the rest of the day at home. We used the humidifier constantly, applied baby chest rub at every diaper change, propped up his crib mattress, and offered more water than usual.
I decided on Monday night that I wanted Kai to stay home another day, just to relax and get in some good naps before heading back to daycare. Tyson couldn't take another day off and we have an extreme shortage of substitute teachers right now, so I asked my dad to come and spend the day with Kai. Of course Papa was willing to come!
Now, a week later, Kai still has a little bit of a cough and a stuffy and/or runny nose, but he is definitely sounding better than he was a week ago!
Friday, November 16, 2012
A Shopping Weekend
Last weekend, we packed up the van and headed to Des Moines for a weekend of shopping! The Malcolm's and my parents also came along. We left on Friday right after school. We spent Friday night just hanging out in our hotel rooms. Ava showed my mom and I how to play Sequence for Kids and she let me win! Kai and Ella played together on the bed until Kai let out one of his famous screams and scared Ella. We all headed to bed pretty early.
On Saturday morning, Kai woke Tyson and I up at his usual 6:00am. He obviously didn't get the memo about sleeping in on the weekends, especially in hotels! The women set off for shopping and pedicures around 9:30am. We shopped at TJ Maxx and then went to the Aveda Institute for pedicures. After that, we headed for Jordan Creek. The men, babies, and Ava stayed back at the hotel. It sounds like they swam for awhile in the morning, then watched football and took naps in the afternoon.
We went to P.F. Changs for dinner on Saturday night. Ava wanted to sit between me and Kai. She was totally in love with him all weekend!! She loved his little scream and kept making him smile at the restaurant. Every time he banged on the table, she did it back, which only got him going even more! It was so cute to watch them play together. The best part of the whole meal was when our desserts were delivered (mini desserts in big shot glasses) and Ava was sitting on my lap. She grabbed a spoon and said, "Is this mine?!" and started eating away! I think I only got a couple bites!
We got back late from dinner and I fell asleep when I was trying to get Kai to sleep around 8:30pm! It sounds like everyone else went to bed early too.
On Sunday, we all ate breakfast and then went swimming one last time. Kai and Ava loved the cold water, while my mom, sister, and I preferred the hot tub. It was too hot for Ella and the pool was too cold so she only got in long enough to take a picture.
Even though we went Christmas shopping, I still feel like I have a lot to buy yet! I think Ava is the only one who is just about done.
On Saturday morning, Kai woke Tyson and I up at his usual 6:00am. He obviously didn't get the memo about sleeping in on the weekends, especially in hotels! The women set off for shopping and pedicures around 9:30am. We shopped at TJ Maxx and then went to the Aveda Institute for pedicures. After that, we headed for Jordan Creek. The men, babies, and Ava stayed back at the hotel. It sounds like they swam for awhile in the morning, then watched football and took naps in the afternoon.
We went to P.F. Changs for dinner on Saturday night. Ava wanted to sit between me and Kai. She was totally in love with him all weekend!! She loved his little scream and kept making him smile at the restaurant. Every time he banged on the table, she did it back, which only got him going even more! It was so cute to watch them play together. The best part of the whole meal was when our desserts were delivered (mini desserts in big shot glasses) and Ava was sitting on my lap. She grabbed a spoon and said, "Is this mine?!" and started eating away! I think I only got a couple bites!
We got back late from dinner and I fell asleep when I was trying to get Kai to sleep around 8:30pm! It sounds like everyone else went to bed early too.
On Sunday, we all ate breakfast and then went swimming one last time. Kai and Ava loved the cold water, while my mom, sister, and I preferred the hot tub. It was too hot for Ella and the pool was too cold so she only got in long enough to take a picture.
Even though we went Christmas shopping, I still feel like I have a lot to buy yet! I think Ava is the only one who is just about done.
Kai's Latest "Tricks"
Seriously, this boy is growing faster than I can even keep track of these days! I spent Tuesday (11/13) night trying to get Kai to say 'mama'. I kept saying "mama, mama, mamamamama." I was pretty sure that between all of the other babbling that he's doing, I heard "mama" in there once or twice. Of course Tyson didn't believe me. However, on Wednesday (11/14) morning after I left for school I got a text message from Tyson. It said "Kai just looked at my coffee and said mama."
I only think it's fair that Kai's first word was 'mama'. I mean really, I carried him for 41 weeks. :)
Yesterday (11/15) I picked Kai up from daycare and when we got home I sat him down on the floor. The next thing I knew, he was clapping!! He wasn't even attempting to clap on Wednesday. How did that just happen?! I have been doing a lot of pat-a-cake with him lately and he obviously caught on!!
Ok Kai, talking and clapping are great, but please stay some-what stationary for awhile. I'm not ready for a crawler!!
I only think it's fair that Kai's first word was 'mama'. I mean really, I carried him for 41 weeks. :)
Yesterday (11/15) I picked Kai up from daycare and when we got home I sat him down on the floor. The next thing I knew, he was clapping!! He wasn't even attempting to clap on Wednesday. How did that just happen?! I have been doing a lot of pat-a-cake with him lately and he obviously caught on!!
Ok Kai, talking and clapping are great, but please stay some-what stationary for awhile. I'm not ready for a crawler!!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Seven Months
I wish this little guy of ours would slow down. We are officially closer to one year than to birth. Boo! I weighed Kai on our scale at home before daycare on Friday morning. He came in at 18lbs 3oz and roughly 27 inches long. (Sorry for the delayed post; we spent the weekend in Des Moines.)
At seven months Kai is:
-wearing size 3 diapers
-wearing 6-9 or 9 month clothes
-eating 6oz every 4 hours
-eating oatmeal for breakfast at 8:30am
-eating a vegetable for supper around 6:30pm
-getting from butt to tummy occasionally (not sure if it's on purpose or accident though)
-reaching for us to pick him up!!! (It happened for the first time on my birthday 10/13 - but he reached for Daddy...dang it!)
-practicing with a sippy cup but hasn't quite gotten the hang of it
-still waking up at night
-going to bed at 8:00pm and waking up for the day between 6:00-7:00 (I wish I would have included this every month)
-usually taking 3 naps (morning, afternoon, and after daycare)
-holding his own bottle if given the opportunity
-rolling over from back to tummy (mostly when he's sleeping)
Other things about Kai at seven months:
-screams this high-pitched scream when he is excited...or just at random times :)
-still putting everything in his mouth, but we're seeing a lot less drool. I guess he wasn't teething after all
-loves to stand, but can't pull himself up on anything yet or really even stand up by holding onto anything - he can "pull" himself up using our hands, but that's all
-still loves to be snuggled when he's sleepy, but otherwise he wants to be playing
We often get asked, "Is he really this happy all of the time?!" Actually, yes, he usually is a happy baby! Of course he has his moments, but we've been very blessed!
At seven months Kai is:
-wearing size 3 diapers
-wearing 6-9 or 9 month clothes
-eating 6oz every 4 hours
-eating oatmeal for breakfast at 8:30am
-eating a vegetable for supper around 6:30pm
-getting from butt to tummy occasionally (not sure if it's on purpose or accident though)
-reaching for us to pick him up!!! (It happened for the first time on my birthday 10/13 - but he reached for Daddy...dang it!)
-practicing with a sippy cup but hasn't quite gotten the hang of it
-still waking up at night
-going to bed at 8:00pm and waking up for the day between 6:00-7:00 (I wish I would have included this every month)
-usually taking 3 naps (morning, afternoon, and after daycare)
-holding his own bottle if given the opportunity
-rolling over from back to tummy (mostly when he's sleeping)
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| Naked baby at 7 months! |
Other things about Kai at seven months:
-screams this high-pitched scream when he is excited...or just at random times :)
-still putting everything in his mouth, but we're seeing a lot less drool. I guess he wasn't teething after all
-loves to stand, but can't pull himself up on anything yet or really even stand up by holding onto anything - he can "pull" himself up using our hands, but that's all
-still loves to be snuggled when he's sleepy, but otherwise he wants to be playing
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| "I'm outta here!" (but not really...no crawling in this house yet. Thank goodness!!) |
Monday, November 5, 2012
Adventures in Food
I've been meaning to post about Kai's new-found love of food for awhile now, but every time I sit down to post, I realize that either a) Kai just woke up or b) I haven't uploaded the pictures to the computer yet!
We started cereal on September 1st. I know I've posted about this before, but it really did take a few weeks before Kai started loving his cereal. I waited until Kai was almost 6 months before introducing any solid food per the doctor's suggestion.
10/7 - Introduction of the sippy cup. Kai wasn't sure what to do with it. He chewed on it but didn't realize there was anything inside of it (about an ounce of water).
10/8 - Kai's first taste of sweet potatoes. He wasn't a huge fan. I think he was a little caught off guard that what he was eating wasn't cereal. It was almost my first try at making/pureeing anything and I don't think I got it smooth or thin enough. We tried 3 days of sweet potatoes and moved on.
10/12 - Kai's first taste of green beans. He loved them from the first bite!! These also weren't extremely smooth because of the skin on the beans, but obviously smooth enough for Kai! He ate green beans for 6 days.
10/19 - Wendy and I spent all day peeling, slicing, chopping, baking, boiling, pureeing, and freezing baby food. We now have a stocked freezer of squash, green beans, peas, apples, pears, and avocado. Kai had his first taste of squash and loved it!! We've stuck with squash for a few weeks now.
10/20 - Kai started eating cereal for breakfast around 8:30am and eats a vegetable for supper around 6:30pm.
11/5 - Kai's first taste of avocado. YUM!! It's a little thicker than the other purees, so I mixed a lot more breast milk in with it. He was giving us some funny faces, but kept coming back for more!
I haven't introduced any fruits yet. Within the next couple of weeks, I will probably move on to fruits. I'm thinking by the end of November/beginning of December, Kai will be eating cereal for breakfast, fruit for lunch, and vegetable for supper. He has also taken a huge interest in our food these days...
We started cereal on September 1st. I know I've posted about this before, but it really did take a few weeks before Kai started loving his cereal. I waited until Kai was almost 6 months before introducing any solid food per the doctor's suggestion.
10/7 - Introduction of the sippy cup. Kai wasn't sure what to do with it. He chewed on it but didn't realize there was anything inside of it (about an ounce of water).
10/8 - Kai's first taste of sweet potatoes. He wasn't a huge fan. I think he was a little caught off guard that what he was eating wasn't cereal. It was almost my first try at making/pureeing anything and I don't think I got it smooth or thin enough. We tried 3 days of sweet potatoes and moved on.
10/12 - Kai's first taste of green beans. He loved them from the first bite!! These also weren't extremely smooth because of the skin on the beans, but obviously smooth enough for Kai! He ate green beans for 6 days.
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| Daddy always adds sound effects which makes eating more fun too! |
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| Hmm...not too bad. |
10/20 - Kai started eating cereal for breakfast around 8:30am and eats a vegetable for supper around 6:30pm.
11/5 - Kai's first taste of avocado. YUM!! It's a little thicker than the other purees, so I mixed a lot more breast milk in with it. He was giving us some funny faces, but kept coming back for more!
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| I think I like it... |
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| Yep! I do!! |
Kai's First Halloween/Nevada Day
Last year, Halloween got away from us! We didn't go to a pumpkin farm or carve pumpkins. In fact, we didn't even BUY pumpkins from anywhere! We're lucky we even remembered candy for trick-or-treaters (well, being pregnant I wasn't going to forget a chance to stock up on candy!!).
This year, we went all out! A couple of weeks before Halloween we met the Malcolm's and my mom at a pumpkin farm just north of Waverly. It is perfect for kids!! I think Kai will really love it next year when he can really enjoy all that this farm has to offer. I did take him for a ride in their little "train." We also picked out pumpkins to carve and went on a hayride, twice.
The night before Halloween, Tyson and I got busy carving our pumpkins after Kai went to bed (we still waited until the last minute to do this). We've made this a tradition since the first Halloween that we were together (minus last year). I'm excited to see how Kai likes playing in the pumpkin goop next year!
On Halloween day, Kai wore his lion costume to daycare all day! He was
the cutest lion I've ever seen!! After daycare, we met Wendy and the
girls (Princess Ava & Baby Chick Ella) downtown to take Ava
trick-or-treating. After hitting up all of the stores, Tyson and I took
Kai to a friends' house and then home to greet our trick-or-treaters.
(By the way, we had such a low number of kids this year so we were left
with a ton of candy.)
This year, we went all out! A couple of weeks before Halloween we met the Malcolm's and my mom at a pumpkin farm just north of Waverly. It is perfect for kids!! I think Kai will really love it next year when he can really enjoy all that this farm has to offer. I did take him for a ride in their little "train." We also picked out pumpkins to carve and went on a hayride, twice.
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| Kai was holding on for dear life! |
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| Nana and the babies! |
Kai and Ella have aunties who LOVE candy!
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| Kai and the Great Pumpkin! |
The night before Halloween, Tyson and I got busy carving our pumpkins after Kai went to bed (we still waited until the last minute to do this). We've made this a tradition since the first Halloween that we were together (minus last year). I'm excited to see how Kai likes playing in the pumpkin goop next year!
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| A little tired on Halloween morning. |
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| Baby Chick Ella |
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| Princess Ava |
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| Lion Kai |
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| Happy Halloween! |
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