San Francisco Zoo

Kyle and I had our first trip to the zoo yesterday, unfortunately without Dad, as it was a weekday and we were meeting up with a couple of my college friends and their little ones. It was a very exciting experience for Kyle, with watching the big gorillas eat lunch or climb into a tub, turtles swimming under the water, and monkeys scaling fences. The most exciting part was the petting zoo, where he pulled on some goats horns, and finally rode on a little toy tractor, which I had to drag him off of, with promises that we will come again. Shown with Kyle is Maddie (age 3, her baby sister Julia is missing from the photo) and Ava (just a few weeks younger than Kyle).

We had a quick trip to the doctor's office today, for a weight check and some blood work. Kyle weighed in at 22 pounds, so he has gained a pound in the past 5 weeks, not bad! He was also a very brave boy during the blood draw and didn't even flinch. I was so proud of him!

Summer Vacation

We're back from "The Lake" (Lake Almanor, for those who aren't in the know) and our week away went far too quickly. Kyle had a blast playing in the sand, but wasn't too interested in getting wet, following us in the water to get his feet wet only a couple of times. He was even less thrilled with boat rides, mainly because he had to wear his life vest, which was uncomfortable as it pushed up under his chin.

He did surprisingly well on the 5+ hour drive there and back, with two naps each way, and with me sitting in the back seat with him to give him snacks and keep him amused with toys or a narrative of our drive. Nap time for him was a great relief from the non-stop action of each day, with 4 other kids running around. Kyle loved having some big kids to look up to, and I'm sure he will enjoy interacting with them a bit more once he is a little older and he can keep up.

We saw lots of wildlife up there, mostly deer and a couple of osprey, and unfortunately not many fish. Dave didn't have a chance to go fishing this year, as he was around as much as possible to spend time with Kyle. Kyle was enthralled with the fishing poles, so maybe next year he'll be up for catching a fish! I'll post some more photos of our trip as soon as I have a chance to go through some more of them.

Our muscle man

We can't believe that Kyle has been walking for over two months now, but at the same time, he is so good at it, that it is hard to remember a time when he wasn't walking! One of his favorite past times is walking (or trying to run) around and around the dining room table, but other times, he loves just picking up and carrying whatever he can find. This can lead to some frustration when whatever he wants to carry is too awkward/heavy for him to lift. This week's photo is of Kyle helping out by emptying the bathroom trash can (luckily it was nothing in it when he started carrying it!)

We are off next week for Kyle's first family vacation to Lake Almanor, so hopefully we will return with lots of great photos of him playing at the lake. Dave and I are looking forward to some time away from work, as well as time away from the house, although we both know that there will be plenty to do waiting for us on our return. Most importantly though, it will just be fantastic to have a full uninterrupted week with Kyle. Kyle, meanwhile, is just looking forward to eating more and more and growing into a big boy - this week, he wasn't satisfied with just a piece of bread, he wanted the entire loaf! And it is a constant battle these days to have him drink out of his sippy cup, he'd rather drink out of a glass or bottle like a big boy, unfortunately, that usually results in a spill.

Kyle's 11th tooth (lower right molar) broke through on Sunday! It's getting dangerous to get fingers too close to his mouth now, as he thinks it is a game and giggles while trying to bite them! Instead, the best inspection technique is to flip him upside down to get him to laugh with his mouth wide open.

July update

It has been quite the eventful month for us. Kyle had his 12-month check up (and unfortunately shots) last week. All is well, although he has definitely slowed down on his weight gain, and is 21 pounds now. His doctor wasn't too concerned, she said that he maybe have just had a lot of fat when he was born, and that he is just leveling out now to where he should be. But just to make sure that he is still healthily gaining weight (and not plummeting) we will return next month for a weight check.

Kyle and I are still trying to make it to weekly swim class, my work schedule permitting. Today Kyle went under the water for the first time, and really didn't seem to mind a bit, so we were able to do it a couple more times as well.

We're experimenting more and more with grown-up food now, as he is tired of having everything cut up into little pieces. He hasn't been too keen on meat at dinner time, so I have tried fish sticks and chicken pieces, which he seems happy with (luckily they are baked and not fried) In addition to that, he loves trying to open his mouth VERY wide to get a bite of the deli sandwich that I was eating for lunch.

I was brave enough to poke a finger into his mouth yesterday, and I manage to feel that his 10th tooth has now broken through (molar on his top left). So, it is no wonder he loves having so much to munch on now!

The above photo was taken this morning, of Kyle and his garden gnome playing in the water table. The photo below was taken shortly after, of Kyle peeking between two of the patio chairs. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to capture one of Kyle's characteristic grins, so you aren't able to see all of those teeth in there!

Happy 4th of July!

Kyle has discovered that there is more than one use for his much beloved lawnmower, and loves to get rides around the back yard! Luckily, he doesn't slide off too often, and if he does, the grass is soft. (Note: Kyle isn't turning moldy, he just has some guacamole on his chin)

For the 4th of July, we had a last-minute BBQ with Kyle's friend Turner and his parents (Marily and Kyle) The boys had a great time running around the back yard, cooling off with the sprinkler, or digging through the ice and drinks in the cooler. They are starting to get to the age now where they interact a little bit more, and they were both talking up a storm to each other!
Turner has been learning how to "play soccer" so we are wondering if Kyle will start trying to kick a ball around soon, learning from the "older" boy (three weeks his senior, Turner was the other big baby from our birth preparation class, weighing in one ounce bigger than Kyle, at 10 pounds 3 ounces birth weight).

Other news of note over the past couple of days? I was trying to amuse Kyle and to keep him laying still for a few minutes while changing his diaper - so he was laughing. I was able to peer into his mouth and thought "Hm, it looks like you have a tooth about to break through in there?" then I felt the other side, and sure enough there was a molar fully broken through which had obviously been out for quite a while! Now that we are on to those back teeth, it won't be as easy to keep track of them appearing.

Our Little Gardener

We are very thankful that the weather has been so nice lately (not too hot or too cold) because it is very difficult to keep Kyle inside. He just loves to be outside, and even more so to be either dirty or wet, or both! He had a busy day on Saturday, "helping out" while Dad mowed the lawn and fertilized the plants, but Sunday was his chance to play. We were planning on having a little birthday celebration with some of his friends today, but due to illness throughout the family, we decided to cancel it. Luckily, this is the one year that we can safely get away with something like that!

Kyle's favorite "toy" this weekend? An advertisement that he pulled out of the Sunday paper for lawnmowers. He can also point out the hoses on the page!

The other exciting news today, which I wasn't ready to capture on camera, was a family of ducks walking through our front garden! There was a mother with three little ducklings following behind. They took shelter under the abelia on the corner, and we aren't sure when and where there plans were taking them next.

Happy 1st Birthday Kyle!

It is hard to believe that one year has gone by since our momentous day in the hospital. It has been such a whirlwind, the first months we constantly thought "What the heck are we supposed to be doing?" as we dealt with dangerous diaper changes and an over-stimulated baby. And then suddenly, before we knew it, we were upon the last few months which have been filled with "Where the heck do you think you are going?" as we chase after our little toddler! It is truly amazing to look back over all of the pictures that we have taken over the past year, and it is hard to believe that the "little" baby we brought home from the hospital is the same little boy that we have running around our house today.

Kyle was very spoilt, with lots of presents from his Maemo and Granpa, Noni and Papa, and his aunts and uncles. We took him shopping at Toys-R-Us to help pick out some of his presents, but the lawnmower we saved for a surprise turned out to be his favorite. Now he has yet another reason to be excited about going outside. Good thing the weather has been so nice lately, because it is difficult to keep him indoors! He also has a new gardening set, with watering can, bucket, shovel and fork, which will keep him very busy with tidying up and caring for all of the plants in the garden.

Thank you from our family of three to all of our family and friends, who have been with us in body and spirit over the past year, for all of your warm wishes and guidance as we have survived the first year of parenthood! We're looking forward to sharing even more good times with you in the future.