Some things you should know about Kai

Mr. Personality will officially be 16-months-old tomorrow. I cannot believe how big he is getting and how fast he is changing. So I wanted to make sure to capture some of his funny Kai-isms at this oh-so-fun age. Here are 16 things you should know about Kai:

1. His vocabulary includes: bath, binky, banana, baby, bumpy, bus, ball, bottle, cat, car, cracker, dog, done, dump truck, fan, gone, Kai, la la la, mama, papa, plane, prayer, star, tent, vroom, and water.

2. No matter how inconvenient it is for Mommy, Kai insists on feeding himself these days. He especially loves trying to use a spoon or a fork. So meals take a lot of concentration on his part and a lot of patience on mine. Most meals end with Kai in the bath and Mommy mopping the floor. The mess is annoying, but I still love that Kai is so independent and determined.

3. When the ground is cold Kai walks on his tip-toes. (Just like his Mommy does.)

4. He sleeps with one binky in his mouth and another in each hand.

5. Recently he's learned how to shake his head "no" and does so in response to almost any question you ask him (even if he really means "yes"). Sometimes he gets to shaking his head so emphatically that he knocks himself off balance and falls over in the process.

6. He loves to sing and dance. He knows all of the hand motions to The Wheels on the Bus, Row Your Boat, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and 5 Little Monkeys.

Showing off some of his sweet moves

7. When he is trying to be extra sweet, he will put his head on your shoulder and pat you on the back.

8. Kai took his first steps when he was 11.5 months old, but he still hasn't figured out how to run. Instead he goes up onto his tip toes on his right foot and walks flat-footed on his left. The effect is hilarious. We call it his gangsta swagger.

9. His favorite books of the moment are: My First Truck Board Book and My First 100 Animals

10. It took a long time for Kai to grow a head of hair. To this day he hasn't had a haircut. I keep thinking that I should at least trim the hair around his ears which is a good inch longer than the rest of his hair, but haven't been able to bring myself to do it so far. Kai's hair is baby find and curls in the funniest ways. Usually the ends just flip up in the back of his head, but sometimes (like today) he gets a crazy wave on the top of his head.

 11. He likes to lecture Papa and I by wagging his finger at us and saying "Doh Doh!"

12. He is obsessed with cars, motorcycles, trucks, bikes, trains, anything with wheels.

13. My dad thought I was the most ticklish kid ever when I was little, but I think I've met my match in Kai. He is ticklish every where, especially on the underside of his arm.

14. As it turns out Kai takes after me in other ways, he seems to share my affinity for housekeeping and can often be found sweeping our floors with the Swifter.

15. He likes to wave at every single person that he sees and will keep waving (sometimes inches from your face) until you acknowledge him and wave back.

16. His favorite method of transportation is his sweet new car (that we have on loan from some of our friends...thank you Kaari. Just when I swore I would never take him shopping with me again because he would scream like a hyena anytime I strapped him into the seat of a shopping cart, we discovered that Kai will happily go anywhere in this:

Home sweet home

I have secretly been delaying doing this post because I was hoping to entice all of you blog readers to come and visit us so you could see our new house for yourselves. (Thank you, by the way, to all of you wonderful friends who have made the (not so) long drive to see us.)

For the rest of you, hopefully these pictures will entice you to come enjoy our awesome home for yourself. Note, we do have a very comfy guestroom just waiting to be broken in by our first overnight guests.

So, without further ado, this is our home:

Here is the exterior of our cute home. What this picture only hints at is the massiveness of our tree. It is literally twice the height of our house and almost twice as wide. While I'm not loving the excessive shade it provides this time of year, I know come summer I'll be singing a different tune.

Here is our living room. And this is my new sectional couch. I have to admit, I kind of feel like having a sectional means that I have finally arrived. It is huge and so comfortable and can seat at least 8.

 Here's another view of the same room which shows off the canvas prints we just had made of my favorite pictures from last fall's family photos. I love the way that they turned out.

This is Kai's awesome playroom. We used to think that Kai didn't like toys because he never seemed to play with him. Seems like the real problem was that he didn't like his lack of play space in the old house because now he plays with his toys all of the time. At first Yo was a little resistant to the idea of using such a big room just for Kai's toys, but we honestly have used this room more than any other in the house. And finally I have a house that my friends want to bring their kids to which is the best blessing of all.

                                                                                        

 

This is our family room. I have to admit we don't use it a lot, but I love the layout of this part of the house. There is a wall that separates the living room from this area which gives privacy and creates a great buffer if my kitchen is a mess. I also love how the kitchen opens up to the family room and the dining area.  

This cozy little dining area has already inspired many a dinner party. We have had friends over for Sunday dinner almost every weekend since we moved in. I'm pretty proud of how well my decorating turned out. Now if only I could learn how to cook. 

These are pictures of Kai's room. He is loving his new pint-sized table and chairs.  Of all the pictures that Jen took for us, my favorite is the one of me and Kai that is hanging above his crib. Jen caught us in a moment when I didn't know she was looking. Thanks to her, Kai now has his Mommy always watching over him when he sleeps.

The Guest Bathroom

The Office

The Guest Bedroom

 The office is pretty tiny, but actually has it's own bathroom and a big ol' closet. This is great news for potential guests who will no longer have to share their bathroom with me and their closet space with Yo. It is also good news for me and Yo since this means that if we decide to expand our family some day, we won't outgrow our home in the process. That's what I call a win-win.



While the whole house is great, I have to say that my favorite room in the house is our master bedroom. I love how it has a sliding glass door that opens to the back yard. I love that it is big and spacious. And I love how it just feels like a little retreat. It doesn't hurt that we have space to house one of our big TVs in the room either. Let's just say that our bedtime keeps getting earlier and earlier.

So there you go, that is the virtual tour of our new home (minus a couple of bathrooms that you'll have to come see for yourselves). We love it and are looking forward to entertaining many of you here. So please come visit soon!

Meet Eugene

There is so much that we love about our new neighborhood. Our neighbors are friendly. It's safe. The streets are flat. We don't get much traffic. It is kid-friendly. We live on a cul-de-sac. And we're near a park. What's not to like? But the best thing about our new neighborhood has to be the neighborhood cat.

Her name is Eugene and she is the friendliest cat we have ever met. She has taken a liking to me and Kai has taken a liking to her. As soon as she hears my voice, she comes running and brushes against my ankles until I give her a good scratch or until Kai gets his hands on her, whichever comes first.

Luckily Eugene is pretty patient with our toddler and luckily Kai is starting to respond to my constant reminders to be gentle. When Eugene has had enough loving from Kai she usually scampers off and Kai goes chasing after her until she clears the fence. Pure entertainment.

 And, yes, that is grass that you see. We have grass! And it's green! We're in heaven.

 

Eugene seems less than thrilled to be on the receiving end of Kai's abundant affection. But Kai will not be deterred. Yesterday he found a more effective way to win Eugene over...

  

Here is Kai enticing Eugene with a cracker.

 

And here is Eugene going in for the bait. (I wish you could see Kai's face...so pleased!)

And here is Kai eating that same cracker seconds later. (What can I say? I was too busy taking pictures to stop him.)

At this rate, I have no doubt that Eugene and Kai are going to be fast friends in no time.

Dapper Baby

This picture was too cute to keep to myself. And yes, that is a tie that he's wearing.

Norway in Review

(The Reader's Digest version.) I know this entry is long overdue, but, as can be surmised from my last entry, I've been a wee bit preoccupied.

We finally made it to Norway on the 26th of December. Just in time to celebrate Yo's birthday on the 27th with Hilde's side of the family. Sadly, it took me hours into the day to even register that it was Yo's birthday. Not only was my internal clock totally thrown off by my jet lag, we'd already celebrated Yo's birthday on the 17th so it kind of felt like his birthday had come and went by the time the real day rolled around. Even Yo didn't feel like it was his birthday. Which, come to think of it, isn't a horrible way to turn 30.

 (Apparently Ida and I didn't get the memo that a picture was being taken...oh well!)

After much discussion, we decided that we would have fake Christmas (#2) on the morning of December 28th. Because our Norwegian relatives usually open presents at night, they kept referring to it as "an American Christmas" which I thought was amusing. Especially when a very un-American Santa Claus made an appearance.

Stein gave an Oscar-worthy performance, but no matter how funny and charismatic he was (and he was both!) this was the reaction he got from the grandkids...

I was actually impressed by Kai's and Sebastian's stoicism. Neither boy cried, but both just stared intently at Julenissen (the Norwegian "Santa") with very serious looks on their faces. Just look at Kai:

Rachel, who is 3, was old enough and smart enough to realize that a man who brings you a bag full of toys can't be all that scary no matter how he looks. I'm sure that Sebastian and Kai will have this figured out in a year or so, too. 

Another highlight of the trip was getting to go out to eat with Yo's extended family courtesy of Yo's grandma (Bestamor), Anna. Eating out in Norway is a rare treat because of the expense. 

While we all enjoyed the delicious food, wonderful ambiance, and great company, I have to say that meals like this were much more relaxing before trying to keep a 1-year-old on his best behavior. Let's just say that Yo and I don't get out to many nice restaurants these days. And by nice I mean those with table cloths and real cutlery. So while the majority of our company enjoyed a nice leisurely meal, Maria and I spent our meal like this...

You are probably thinking that I have no right to complain because Maria had to tend to 2 children, whereas I only have one. But it is no secret that Maria is twice the woman that I am in many ways. In fact, Maria was so apt at tending to her own children, that her huband's hands were freed up to tend to my child when I needed a break. Isn't it nice having family around? 

Believe me, halfway through the meal, Kai was not smiling like this and acting so cordial for me. But he is always welling to put on a happy face for a new audience.

Later in the week, we finally got to go on the much-anticipated horse-drawn sleigh ride. How much more Christmas(y) can you get?

Kai was amused by the horses for about 2 minutes, but seemed completely unamused by the cold (as you can probably tell from his expression in the above pictures). So when the rest of the family was out huddled around a bonfire eating hot dogs and sipping hot beverages, Kai and I were huddled inside of a heated car. I felt a little disappointed to be missing out on the fun (especially when the sledding began), but found comfort in the fact that I might finally be able to stake a claim in Kai that Yo can't. We both don't like the cold. Kai might be the spitting image of his father, but a snow-loving Viking he is not. Bring on the beach vacations!

On our way home I reflected on our trip and thought about how different visits are now that we have a child to tend to. In the past we went to Norway and got to feel like the kids, totally free from responsibility and in full-on vacation hang-out mode. Now we spend most of our day attending to the needs of our own kid. Whether it was 4 in the afternoon or 4 in the morning, he came first. And with jet lag and a stomach bug to contend with, Kai was more demanding than usual. Still, getting to see our son interact with his extended family was so fun and rewarding, I think it made this our most memorable trip to Norway yet.

We are so grateful for our wonderful family there who always makes us feel so at home when we visit. In an ideal world we wouldn't live so far away, but we are already counting down the days until we get to see you again. (And we just learned that Yo's parents are coming out for Easter, so it won't be all that long!)

Is it 2012 yet?

We got back from Norway on January 4th and started moving our belongings down to the new house one carload at a time on January 5th. Over the years I have become a pretty efficient mover. But I've also never had the experience of preparing to move with a one-year-old constantly clipping at my heels. It seemed like every time I managed to put something into a box, he had managed to pull two things out. Needless to say, I felt like I had to do double the work and it took me triple the time. But I am nothing if not determined, so we met our goal of being ready for the movers on Jan 15th and were pretty much fully-settled into the new house by the 23rd.

So what did I do with the 8 unaccounted for days at the end of the month? I spent them finding a daycare for Kai and easing him into the routines there before I start work on Monday. Yo and I spent a whole day touring centers. We found a few that we hated, a few that were tolerable, and two that we really liked. Of those two we opted for the one that is closest to my work place (just over a mile away).

It is a really cute center with a huge play area outside for the kids. Kai is in the toddler class with 6-7 other little ones (depending on the day). The teachers are so warm and caring and I took a liking to the school's director right away.

Kai is such a social kid, he threw himself right into the mix of things with the other kids from our very first visit to the center. But I still wanted to ease him into daycare since he will be going from spending all day every day with me to spending 4 full-days a week in daycare. So I have been taking Kai over to the daycare for a few hours each day all of last week.

When we arrive at the center Kai marches right into his classroom without so much as a look over his shoulder to make sure that I am still there. Every once in a while he will look up, realize that I'm there, smile at me, and then get back to what he was doing. If ever there was a kid suited for daycare, it is this kid.

I, on the other hand, seem to be suffering from some separation anxiety. Big surprise! Today I dropped Kai off at the center to spend a few hours there by himself for the first time. A few tears were shed...not Kai's. But I sucked it up like the big girl that I am and spent the first hour doing some therapeutic shopping and the next two hours sitting in my car in front of the school counting down the minutes on the clock until I could rush inside and reunite. I think I handled it quite well, really.

When I did go in to get Kai (only 15 minutes before the time I was supposed to), I was told that he was an absolute angel while I was away. He played, ate snacks, went on the playground, and was a happy baby. No surprises there.

Thursday we go back and Kai will get to experience nap time at the center for the first time. I'm a little curious about how this will go since Kai has never been a good napper. But whether he sleeps or not, I know that he will be fine. And on Friday, Kai will spend a full 8 hour day there as a trial run for how things will go the following Monday when I am back at work and daycare is no longer optional.

Knowing Kai, he will take the changes in stride. Knowing me, I'll be fine so long as work keeps me busy enough to preoccupy my mind. Luckily with the short distance between my work and his school, I foresee a lot of lunch dates in our future. 

Here is a picture of my big boy on his first day at day care without Mommy. And no, he isn't smiling, he is showing me his teeth!

We have been having a fantastic time visiting Yo's family in Norway. Once we get home I will upload pictures and share some of the highlights of our trip, but for now, I wanted to share a video that Yo's talented brother, Christoffer, made of the sleigh ride that Bestafar and Bestamor took the whole family on. Enjoy!


Andersen Family's Christmas 2010 from Christoffer Andersen on Vimeo.
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