Dance like nobody's watching!

Today is Grandpa and Lola's 33rd wedding anniversary (Mommy told me to say that). Mommy says she remembers the number of years because Daddy's going to be 32! Happy Anniversary, Lola and Grandpa! Maybe Tita Michelle will throw you a 50th Anniversary party in 17 years! (Mommy told me to say that, too!)

Dance like nobody's watching!

(Editor's note: This album has lots of video. Be ready for some laughs.)

I like dancing while Daddy plays Guitar Hero 3, only they never let me get close enough to the screen, so I can't show them my true dance moves. Instead, I bounce up and down in front of this fence. If only they could see the real dancer just waiting to get out! (Editor's Note: The "fence" is not there to keep the kid out, but to keep the stuff in. Kai's in a "take things out" stage.)

I was dancing for Mommy and she took it to mean I was walking! Whatever! At least I got where I needed to go. And then Daddy and I were having a special moment until Daddy decided to let go and I had to keep dancing by myself. What a Daddy! (Editor's Note: These video clips happened a week apart, and you can see for yourself how much more confident he is in walking. Not too much longer before the days of crawling will be all but forgotten.)

Mommy insists on vacuuming the carpet when I'm in the middle of using it. But it's ok, because I love the vacuum. I sing and coo to it, until it purrs! (Editor's Note: The "purr" in the background is simply the steam heat from the heater behind the vacuum.)

Cosmo's my best friend so far. He lets me play with him sometimes by bringing over his sheep and I get to hold onto one end while he tugs on the other. The only problem is sometimes I don't want to hold just the sheep, I want to hold him and he pushes me over! But, he makes me laugh so much, and I can't fault him for being so much fun, can I? (Editor's Note: No kid or dog was harmed in the shooting of this film.)

And lastly, I started to sing with Mommy during lunch yesterday. She thought it was a big enough deal to bring in the camera, but I just think I was helping her stay in tune! (Editor's Note: The kid is delirious and Mommy has wonderful pitch!)

Mommy's GONE!

Mommy went away for a whole weekend by herself. And I got to hang out with Aunt Vickie (I even dressed like her)! And then Daddy came home from school and I got to hang out with him without Mommy hovering around.

Walkin' and no Mommy

I got some cars for my birthday and I've learned (after watching Mommy and Daddy) how to move them around my room. I especially like putting them (and other things) into my wagon. Do you think I could be a race car driver one day?

And Mommy FINALLY got me on camera walking. It was about time! It's not like she has anything else to do but be right there beside me with the camera at all times! And as you'll be able to see, I sometimes like to combine dancing with my walking! Maybe one day I'll be walking to get places instead of relying on my crawling-scooch I like so much.

Oh, and Daddy says he whole-heartedly agrees with the signs I made for Aunt Vickie while she was here. I mean, I know she was so upset that I took a liking to the Yankees bat and ball, so I wanted to make her feel like she had an ally here in our house. I think she appreciated my efforts. I mean, she was the one who had to take the pictures.

Editor's Note: The boy will probably "waffle" about his choice of favorite teams for a while. Please don't be offended when he comes to like the Toronto Blue Jays! :)

Best Day of the Year Club

Beat this, Max!

Remember these pictures? This was me, cute and cuddly and adorable at 1 month old. That's how old Mommy and Daddy's friends' (Michelle and Scott) new kid is: 1 month old. Today, in fact. And because Max wanted desperately to be born on the best day of the whole year: Dec 11, he's going to have lots to live up to! I mean, just not anybody is allowed to be born on Dec 11. They have to be the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the cutest of the cute, if you know what I mean.

But since Mommy lost her head and didn't take any pictures of my new buddy, I only have pictures of me as proof that the cutest of the cute are born on Dec 11.

Happy 1st month birthday, little buddy, Max. Welcome to the 12-11 club!

An apple? I have to eat an apple a day?

So, we saw the specialist about Kai not gaining much weight. After asking about his eating habits and an exam consisting of the doctor pushing on Kai's belly (and Kai crying as if he had just gotten a shot), the doctor thinks Kai has more of a calorie intake problem than something physically preventing him from absorbing the food. Which is good. It just means we have to work harder to get him interested in food again! So, we're waiting to hear from the nutritionist about things we can do to get more calories into him. But, at least we don't have to do any more blood tests right now!

Steppin' up for Christmas

So it's been two weeks since an update, but last week we were in Cleveland for Christmas (arrived home Thursday night) and I was too tired to update the blog.

But, a very cool thing happened on Christmas: Kai WALKED! Yup, he took about four steps between the couch and the ottoman. He was just walking to get to the remote, but that still counts! Grandma Darlene started yelling and flapping her arms, all excited that he had walked. And even though RJ and I were standing there, we both sort of took it for granted that he could move that way. He's been standing up (without toppling over) for quite some time already.

Kai was totally addicted to the Christmas trimmings, specifically the bows on presents. He loved ripping them off and hording them all for himself. In fact, we took most of them home and he still enjoys pulling them out of the bag and carrying them around his playroom.

Other big milestones that have happened recently

• He now has 7 teeth (four on top, three on bottom). We expect the 8th one any day, since he's been drooling like a fiend again today.
• We've retired the "ducky" bathtub and are giving him baths in the entire bathtub (please ignore the discolored caulking in the photo!). No more "baby" here! He did extremely well and didn't try to stand up once. I think he likes exploring all the new bath toys he got for Christmas.
• He can grunt like a monster and squeak like a dolphin. Not on command or anything, but it's almost eerie how dead-on he gets those sounds! If you listen close to Kai in the "I like the poops" video, you'll hear the monster grunt.
• He can now feed himself almost reliably. I can put pieces of bread or egg or mac-n-cheese on his tray and he'll put them in his mouth! And if I load up the fork with them, he'll even sometimes be able to put that in his mouth. We're really moving forward here.

Xmas

Well, I think that's about all for now. More milestones will be coming soon.