H. Kihara and O.J. Eigst

Today I am very thankful to these two men b/c in 1948 they worked together to eventually perfect the Seedless Watermelon.

All Eyes on Me

Well, maybe I just have a better attitude about it since posting - thanks for the encouragement Erin, Leah and Lauren, I think I needed to write to let it go.. I felt like I was so serious in trying to get him to look at me that he was avoiding me on purpose, so I just started playing his game & today it works! I tried being very exaggerated in looking away from him, virtually everywhere but on him and then I would look at him really quickly and surprise him. He starts laughing and isn't eating to well b/c he is concentrating on me, but I'll take what I can get :)

Vulnerable

Transitioning to mommy-hood is going great, mostly.. I am sure my struggles are probably typical of all moms & dads, ... We are still having bed time issues - like last night.. I went to a Bikram class (will post on that later) and Ben was on duty solo.. He got Kai into bed at 6:30, which seems really early, but still he was so tired he cried on and off until well past when I got home at 8:30.. Ben was exhausted and in a snippy mood from trying to get Kai to sleep for 2 hours. Sometimes he eats, sometimes he doesn't.. sometimes he poops, sometimes he doesn't.. All in all I would say he is a pretty easy baby, but there is one thing that really bothers me..

He won't look at me..

Well, that is not entirely true, he does look at me sometimes, he just won't look at me when I am giving him a bottle. Sitting in his chair eating, sure. When I call his name, yup. I walk into his room to get him from a nap, definitely. When we are sitting taking a bottle, no way. The sleeping thing I know we will get through, whatever, but this.. this hurts.. I try talking to him, redirecting his head, repositioning, pulling out the nipple to get his attention, nothing works.. It's like he knows what I want and refuses. Which I know isn't true, but it feels that way!

?Suggestions from anyone who has gone through this??

First Haircut

Kai's hair was getting close to being out of control, so we decided to give him a little pep talk today and break out the clippers. He did remarkably well, was not bothered at all by the buzzing sound and was fascinated with the cord, which kept him occupied the entire time.
Here is the pep talk..

and the first swipe..

and the results!

His eyes look larger now and even more magical..
in this photo his hair looks practically non-existent, but it is there, promise.
Dang my boy is cute!

He's a swinger

So I heard this park by our house got new swings for little ones and thought we'd give it a try. Obviously it is still w-a-y to big for little Kai, but he seemed to enjoy it anyway, despite hitting his forehead on every forward movement. We resorted to the big swing with Mommy and that worked just fine, sometimes safety just has to go out the window for the sake of fun.

Word to the Ergo

Why on earth did I wait so long to bring one of these home?

I LOVE IT!
I have been using a Bjorn for the last 3 months, which really came in handy and convinced me that I am a carrying type of mom.. but now that Kai weighs more than 12 lbs (we're up to 17!) it really does a number on my shoulders and back. I can't wear it for longer than 15 minutes without getting all kinked up. So I debated with myself and hemmed and hawed over the high price tag, over the color, should I order online or hunt one down locally.. I was just stalling and finally couldn't delay anymore. I went to a local shop, they gave me a discount and I walked out a very happy customer. My immediate next stop was Whole Foods and I already couldn't wait to try it out.. Slapped it on in a jiffy and 20 minutes of shopping later, Kai was comfy, asleep and I got to enjoy a leisurely hour long shopping trip - HA! It was so worth the $85 just for that!

For the Grandparents

This week Kai made a HUGE stride in mobility, check it out!

Happy Birthday Bud!

When we first got Norman he looked like this:
Now, at 3 years old, he looks something like this:

To those of you who love your dogs, give them a treat for Norman's birthday! Sometime this weekend we'll take him to Bruster's for his free doggy ice cream :)

Kai's Big Day

Kai had a few firsts today that I am sure many want to know about :). First was his dedication at a BBQ with our small group from church, casual and just our style. We feel such a sense of responsibility for this little person and know that we certainly cannot do this alone.. We are so grateful for the many different communities of friends that we have made over the years, and realize that this particular group of people is a special one, we all have the common goal of decreasing ourselves so that God will increase in us. My most difficult task in life.. decreasing the self. And not only do I need help with that, but now in raising our son I hope that we will be surrounded by people who will be able to guide us, laugh & cry with us and give us a loving tap on the shoulder when we are missing something. I am also so grateful for the EtAdoptGA group here in Atl.. We need you all and I miss you very much. Maybe I should plan the next gathering :)

This was his other first.. Do you see it? On his adorable bottom lip? Yup, he bonked his head hard enough to draw blood! He has started to crawl forward (he was stuck in reverse for the last month) but he is still not very confident in his stride.. Apparently he was up on his hands and knees and all of a sudden his arms just gave out and his face went straight down, all 5inches of the distance to the floor.. Oh the cries, my heart just hurts thinking about it.. It was only a drop or two of blood, but the tears and the snot.. I couldn't help myself and grabbed him away from Ben to comfort him.. sorry about that Benny.. you are a good comforter too.. it was me, I just needed to hold our little baby..