22 Months

In some ways, I can't believe that Kai is almost 2. In other ways, such as the way he has been acting the past 2 days, it sure makes sense! I hope this sounds like a nice blog entry but i do have to admit that today he has been testing me to the max! Usually he gets about one time out per day, this morning, he had 4. He is trying to do whatever he can to get a reaction out of me. This morning he hit my face, attempted to pull out my earrings, and threw his chilli all over the ground AND into my face. What made it so aggravating, is that he did this all with a smug smile. I may have yelled at him today (after the chilli landed on my face) and he just laughed. He is old enough to know much, much better. Grrrrrrr....

Above is a picture of Kai watching `Fifi and the Flowertots'. We got this dvd with my Today's Parent magazine. He gets to watch it 2X a day (it's 10 minutes long) and he LOVES it!!! It's his first dvd and I have to say, I love those 10 minutes while he's watching it!

This is the scene when I got to get Kai in the morning. He usually wakes up around 6:30am and then brings all his books and teddy bears into bed with him and just sits there. Then when we get him at 7am, we just clean it all up. One night I went to check on him and he was curled up in the corner with all the stuff in his bed, what a monkey.

Kai is still very much interested in the garden and the plants. The peas and beans have started sprouting so it's been fun checking it out each day. Did you know we put 2 years worth of compost into the garden? Wow, that is some nutrient packed soil!

Kai was given some diggers and trucks from his cousins and he has enjoyed playing with them in the backyard. He sort of plays by himself in the backyard which is nice, although I pretty much watch him 100% of the time through the window. Obviously he wants me out there with him but I think its good for him to play by himself too.

He is still a crazy chatterbox. Today when we were going to go outside, he had to say bye bye to everything in the room. `Bye bye balls, bye bye letter D (on his blocks, he always can pick out `D' for daddy), bye bye tv, bye bye chair...etc'. I love that he can let me know what he's feeling all the time. When we go for a walk to `Extra Poods' (as he calls it), he likes to know which items we are going for and will repeat it several times on the walk there and in the store. It's nice to have an audio shopping list:)

I used to think preschool's were silly (before I had kids) just because I never had one and I was very prepared for school and well socialized etc. However, I think Kai really needs that kind of structure, new experiences, and he loves interacting with other kids, particulary older ones. I can't wait til he's old enough to go. I think he will absolutely love it.

Gary and Kai have a lot of fun together and def. interact way more now that Kai is older. I love their conversations and seeing them work together on dinner or the yard. Gary is an excellent father. I think its hard when they are younger because there is only so much a dad can do when all a baby needs is food from mommy. But now, Gary can provide all his needs and a lot of fun so it is good for all of us! I have to say that Kai is still a momma's boy and would rather cuddle with me but he loves being with daddy too.

I love that we have so much family around. Kai loves all his uncles, aunts, cousins, opi, grandma (Mama) and grandpa (Papa). We are so fortunate to have family nearby. I especially appreciate Gary's parents who have taken Kai for the day or even overnight. He loves it there and I don't worry about him at all. Having Ani (his cousin) near in age has provided tons of fun for Kai too. They usually get together once a week and get along for the most part.

Pretty soon I'll have to start thinking about what to do for his second birthday. I don't like a lot of gifts and stuff and I'd rather he had some sort of experience instead. However, I'm def. excited to make a basketball cake:)