Poppies and Daddies

I'm sorry it's been a while since I posted an entry. We've been a little too busy enjoying our visitors and the summer (summer solstice was last week!) It's been really nice this past week. So, here are a bunch of different pictures and videos to quench your thirst for the Kai.

poppies and daddies

• We have a bunch of beautiful poppy plants against our fence (I finally stopped thinking they were weeds and let them bloom this year!). And Kai was fascinated with the big, bright orange flowers. I couldn't resist taking pictures of him among them. It seemed like something from a postcard.
  
• He found a box waiting to go downstairs and decided to crawl inside. He wasn't scared to close the flaps in after him.
  
• The OREOs looked good in the store, so I brought some home for him. He liked them, too. But I guess he wanted to save some for later, so he could just lick his lips. It made him look like he had black lipstick on!
• He's started to really understand hugs. And any favorite toy (his car) will do!
• Kai's favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba has a short segment on doing funny faces. So, whenever it comes on the tv, he shoves his fingers in his mouth and attempts to stick out his tongue (we're still working on tongue movement).
• One of his favorite past times is "reading." He'll sit for 30-45 minutes in his room just looking at all his books. One day I heard him reading outloud. It cracked me up how he was really "reading" to his chair and turning pages.
  
• And when Grandpa Adolph was in town, he taught him Hairtsy, Hairtsy, Chop. A silly game we learned from my grandpa where you're supposed to gently rub someone's face during the "hairtsy" and then slap them during the "chop." I sort of like that Kai's learned to do it on himself. That way, he doesn't need me to stand in as his model!
• During one of the heat waves in the beginning of June, we spent a late morning at our neighbor's house, enjoying their kiddie pool and doing our best to stay hydrated.
• Kai has found his tongue enough to blow raspberries. And of course his favorite time to do that is when he's in his high chair, full of food. What fun!
• I had big buckets in the back yard where I had planted last year's very small garden. This year, I didn't even try, but Kai found the buckets before I could empty them. His favorite game is taking dirt from the big bucket and putting it in the smaller one (because I ask him to, so he doesn't just throw it on the ground). Then, he takes the small bucket to another part of the yard and systematically empties it. He's one task-oriented little kid.
• The last video and picture are when he was just "kicking back" and hanging with us. If you can figure out what he's doing, let me know! :) But too cute not to post.