Birthday Present for Daddy

Mommy made Daddy some lasagna and homemade bread for his birthday (he's really old...32!!). And since I can't do that yet (and I don't have any money coming in from an allowance to buy him a gift), I had to figure out something else to give Daddy.

So, I gave him the gift of hearing my first word. And it's the best word there is. It's all over my books and it makes sounds, there are three of them in the house next door (who I adore) and one here in my own house who makes me laugh when I try to get him to play with me. Mine's name is Cosmo. Yup, you guessed it, I said "DOG!" Isn't that a great first word? And what's better is that Daddy got home early enough from work and I was still thrilled enough with myself to say it to him when he prompted me (and he wanted to hear it alot!). So, all-in-all, it was a good birthday present. I think it might have even been better than Mommy's lasagna!

(Editor's Note: Due to the extremely finicky nature of Kai and how he sometimes says "dog" all the time and then as soon as the camera's in the same room and turned on, he won't say it at all, there is no live video of him saying "dog." We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you'll stay tuned to next week's entry to see if maybe by then his mother or father will get their act together enough to get him on video saying "dog.")

You want me to do WHAT?

The coolest thing in the world is having Kai understand what you say to him.

"Do you want to help Mommy put Cosmo outside?"
"Come over here and we'll get your jacket on to go outside."
"Do you want to read a book? Come and sit on my lap."
"Clap, clap for Mommy!"

Do WHAT

These are just some of the examples of things Kai will do when instructed. Some more consistently than others for example. For instance, signing (we're trying to get Kai to communicate more readily with us by teaching him some sign language) isn't something he likes to do. I caught him in a rare moment signing "clean up" (the sign's something I made up, so I don't think it's ASL). Usually he just whines.

He also really likes to dance when music is playing (or about to play). Kai's cousins Jacob and Nathan (thanks, guys!) gave Kai a Fisher Price magnet farm that sings when you match the correct magnets in the barn door. Kai's learned you don't have to put anything together to get music, if you just push the "Farmer Tad" button on the top. So, some of the videos are him pushing the button and starting to dance in anticipation of the music coming. The first time I saw him do it, I didn't know what he was doing, until I heard the music start to play!

And lastly, Kai really loves the "open" floor plan of our house and has learned he can RUN (no need to walk anymore) from kitchen to living room, to dining room, to kitchen, to living room....And it's even more fun when Cosmo or Mommy joins in! This usually is about 15 minutes of our post-breakfast #1 routine! :)

Oh, and thanks for your votes about Kai's haircut. Looks like we've got a little bit of time before his hair will be ready to cut....we'll keep you posted.

An Early Easter

Aunt Vickie and uncle Dave came to visit me last weekend. And that means I got an Easter present! They brought a big box filled with these little things that made NOISE. So of course I shook them. How cool is that? Aunt Vickie tried to smuggle cookies into the eggs, but don't worry, I wasn't fooled and I didn't eat any of them. I just used them to make sound.

Easter Comes Early

And then to top it all off, the eggs were nestled all comfy and cozy in this green fake grass (and yellow pom-poms). It was VERY fun to take it all out and spread around the house. Mommy kept finding bits of it much later, even after she had thought she had cleaned it all up. What fun! (Editor's note: The pom-poms had to be moved downstairs because he'd find them and rip off more pieces to carry around the house!)

Then uncle Dave let me walk around in his shoes. I just wanted to crawl into them and go to sleep...they looked as big as my crib! I bet the next time they come to visit, I won't even be able to fit into uncle Dave's shoes, that's how big I'll be!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

We got lots of it...and since we just happened to have sitting in Kai's bedroom a snowsuit that was just his size (12 months - thank you to Kai's good buddy Matthew!), we decided to put it to good use. We got about 6-8 inches of snow the weekend before my birthday (late Feb), so while RJ was at school, we got all bundled up and headed to the great outdoors! Besides looking like the little brother, Randy, from "A Christmas Story," Kai LOVED being outside in the snow. The only problem was: if he fell down he couldn't get back up! So, he got very frustrated and screamed a lot when down on all fours, as he attempted to use his brutal strength to get back up. Poor guy. And Cosmo was so upset that we were having fun in the front yard without him, that he barked until I got so sick of it and put him inside. Kai threw a temper tantrum when we finally did go inside, he loved being outside that much (he throws a temper tantrum when we get him out of the bathtub, too!) And even though you think it might have been too cold for him to be outside, when I did get him in and out of the snow garb, he was toasty roasty warm...even his fingers and toes! That snowsuit really is amazing.

Snow Angel

The crazy thing is that now, less than two weeks later, ALL the snow has melted and it's back to a dull brown/green in our yard. I think Kai, Cosmo and I would rather have the snow around. We hear it's been snowing like crazy in Cleveland. We just got rain. :(

We just found out that my uncle had surgery last night and has a staph infection! So our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family today. We're praying for you, Darwin!