Kai's painted room and new bed.

Two trips to Ikea and a super fun box.

On Thursday night we decided that we would for sure be making a trip to Illinois to Shedd Aquarium and to Ikea. The aquarium because we wanted Kai to have some sort of happiness at the end of a 3+ hour drive and Ikea because we needed some furniture with quality laminates and other various items for the house. We received a very nice gift card for Ikea from my moms' group in Pennsylvania when they threw us an awesome surprise going away party. (Which was officially the only surprise party I have ever been 100% surprised by.) So, we were set. We had a plan. We got up in the morning and Jake asked me why I hadn't set the alarm, that he wanted to leave by 7. It was just about 8. By the time we got out of the house it was around 9. My sister had dropped off her car DVD player the night before to help Kai (possibly the only child ever to not fall into a coma on car trips) make it through the trip in a somewhat happy manner. Right before we were leaving, Jake noticed that the power cord was broken. We decided that we would stop somewhere down the road when Kai needed a change of pace from books and toys. Kai needed his change of pace two cities and 20 minutes down the road. So, we stopped at four stores to not find the cord. At the last, Jake decided that we would just buy a player of our own to make it through this trip and any other future trips lasting more than 20 minutes. So, back on the road an hour and a half later, Kai was watching Dora and was a happy passenger. We made it to Chicago without any problems and then drove past the aquarium twice trying to figure out how to get anywhere near it. Then, due to construction on the museum campus, it was incredibly confusing figuring out where to park. Finally, we get to the aquarium to find a long line to wait in. The place was out of control busy. Additionally, the dolphins, whales and penguins were all "on vacation" during construction. These are the marine animals that Kai would have been the most excited about seeing. After about an hour and half of dealing with the crowds, we had enough and decided to hit the road to Ikea.

When we arrived at Ikea we noted that the parking lot was huge. We made a joke about needing a shuttle for the further out spots. We went inside and decided to eat before shopping. As I tucked into my Swedish meatballs, I had a terrible moment. The realization that I had not put the gift card into my wallet hit me and I immediately blurted this out to Jake. After being so mad that he wasn't passed, we decided this was not all bad. We would get a bed for Kai that we didn't think would fit into the car shipped to the house. I checked with a helpful employee who told me I could definitely order it on the website and have it shipped. So, we did our shopping and got a bunch of great things, light fixtures, storage for the kitchen, a knife strip (that still isn't hung...grrr), a chair and shelves for Kai's playroom and other fantastic stuff. In the morning, I went online to order Kai's bed. It was there, available for purchase. I put it in the shopping cart along with a couple more shelves and went to check out. Shipping costs: $320! Almost twice the cost of the items to be shipped! Obviously, it would be more cost effective to get in the car and go back. I did some measuring and found that the bed would fit in the car if Kai sat to a side and we put half of the back seats down.

So, Sunday we woke up and got ready to go. I had prepared the night before by packing snacks and filling water bottles and PUTTING THE DAMN GIFT CARD IN MY WALLET. We had an entirely uneventful trip down and had gotten on the road just after seven. We arrived to Ikea just after it had opened and it was crazy busy. The parking spots that we thought deserved shuttling? That was where we had to park. After battling the crowds, we picked up a couple of things that we had kicked ourselves for not getting, including that island for our kitchen and Jake wedged it all into the car. The ride home went fairly smoothly until Kai headed into no nap, no good play melt down territory. Not even Buzz Lightyear was reigning him back into happiness. After pulling over to nurse, Jake made Kai a tent with a blanket stretched over the front seats to behind his. This combination worked. He happily watched Toy Story until he (finally) fell asleep about a hour from home.

Jake got the bed and island put together before we went to bed and I am now listening to the monitor as Kai sleeps in his own room, in his own bed, for the second time in his little baby life.

Photos and video of how much fun a bed box can be:





You can hear the notes of panic in my reactions as Kai nearly slams his head into various wood things in the area of crazy box play:

Follow up.

Last night after I finished the entry about Kai sleeping in his room, I settled in to watch last week's Grey's Anatomy. About half way through, Kai woke up and yelled for me. I went up and he nursed and I fell asleep in his bed with him. I woke up and it was 5. By the time I went down stairs to turn off the tv, etc, Kai was up and yelling for me again. So, I snuggled back into his bed. I am glad that we gave him a comfortable mattress! I am also kind of glad that I didn't have to do the part where I went into our bed all by myself. That was the part I was feeling sad about.

Mommy confession.

Tonight Kai is sleeping in his room as I write this. It is the first time ever that he has been in his own room at night. When he was a wee baby he slept in a Snuggle Nest in our bed. Then he slept in his crib in our room. Somewhere around six months he started spending part of the night with us in bed and then slowly he transitioned to being there all of the time. Bed sharing is not for everyone, but it has really worked well for us as a family. His presence in our bed developed as a by-product of night feedings. I was getting up with him and then would fall asleep in the chair while nursing. I would wake up just before he would be getting ready to nurse again and then I would start all over again. Uncomfortable and unsafe. So, we got a bed rail and I started to bring him into bed after he woke for the first time after I went to bed. I have never had a problem sleeping through nursing sessions, so it was a perfect solution for me to get more rest at night. Jake, who has never picked up a Dr. Sears book except maybe to move it from the table, said something along the lines of that it made sense for us to be together as a family at night, since we don't stop being a family when we go to bed. I didn't intend for Kai to sleep in his bed tonight. We were going to just do naps in his bed for awhile and then start having him start out the night in his room in a little while. Then, tonight he told me that he wanted to nurse and I said that we should go to bed then. He said, "Yeah, bed." He took off out of the playroom and ran into his room, turned on the fan and crawled into his bed. I am sure that he will still wake up and that he will probably come to bed with me at some point tonight. Right now, it is feeling like a major change is occurring. I know that there are a lot of people who think that it is foolish to sleep with one's children, some of the people reading this agree with those people. Having Kai in our bed has meant that we all get to have a restful night close to one another. And, really, I cannot even find words that describe how fantastic it is to wake up with our son, smiling, happy to see us and ready to start a new day. I don't think that our co-sleeping days are entirely over yet, but when they are, I know that there will be a part of me that mourns the change.

New cousin!

Kai, Jake and I would like to welcome Kai's new cousin, Alyssa to the world!
Happy birthday, little one!
We can't wait to meet you!

Spring?

Kai doing his part to rid the neighborhood of dirty snow.

I am not sure if it is spring yet in Wisconsin. There have been some really nice days. Then it snows. Today it was cold and rainy. I am ready for it to just go ahead and be nice and sunny. There is one person I know for sure is ready for this even more than I am. Mr. Kai. As soon as we started to be able to get out for regular walks and outside play he became an addict for fresh air and the freedom that lies beyond the screen door. It is so hard to explain to him that we cannot go out on days like today. He will get excited like he just had a fantastic idea and tell me to put on my shoes or he will run and put on his boots. It is pretty sad actually. I am really looking forward to this week of rain and more snow to be over and give way to some more 40-50 degree sunny days.

We were able to get out and around town on our bikes this weekend in between trips to Illinois to Ikea. (Tales of which are being with held for a future post.) Kai was really excited to get into the trailer and get on the road. I am so thankful that he enjoys hanging out in the trailer. The stroller, too, actually. I was worried that with being so active and into walking and running around that he wouldn't have the patience for walks or bike rides this year. So far it seems like he is still into both. We have gone on hour or more walks and he is content to have a snack and check out what is going on. I think that it helps that part of the walks are usually on busier streets and he gets to check out all sorts of cars, trucks and buses. I am hopeful that he will continue to enjoy his stroller and trailer.

Also, I have a new theory on people who love to live here in Wisconsin. It is the high that one gets on a nice day in the early spring. I think there are a bunch of first-nice-day junkies walking around. That is the reasonable explanation that I came up with. Just when the winter was chasing every upbeat molecule out of my body, a nice day came. It all made sense then. I had no idea how appreciative I could be of 40 and sunny. Well, until it was 60 and sunny.

Pictures of Kai in his boots, ready to get outside...despite his lack of trousers:

Kai cooks.

Kai does his own cooking on this wooden stove top. Most of the time his ingredients are cheddar bunnies and raisins. Sometimes he throws in some blueberries. He is a skilled chef.

We got an island this weekend to replace this very sad cabinet where the stove is sitting. I am pretty excited about it for several reasons. It is much taller than the sad cabinet which means I will have additional useful workspace. I really like the idea of having somewhere to sit in the kitchen. I can make a pie crust or rolled cookies now (I wasn't sure how this was going to work on the tile counter, so I have been avoiding both.) Oh, and it looks sooo much nicer. Something about fading antiqued paint looks dirty. Eww.

Picture of the new island:

Kai talks in his diaper.

There will be a fantastic little video in which Kai says such gems as: mountain, quiche, people and Thomas. It will not load right now.

Here are some pictures in the mean time:



I have lots of back blogging to do, so check back often this week!

Daddy turns 30.

Jake's birthday was last month. It has taken some time for me to get the pictures off the camera and into the computer. I haven't taken any new pictures of Kai since then, over two weeks ago. That is an issue that must be resolved. My mom's side is all getting together to do a little anniversary gift plotting for my grandparent's 50th this weekend, (No hints here, Grandma!) so I am sure we will be taking plenty of pictures then. In the meantime I am going to restart the conversation with Jake about getting a smaller camera that I can easily keep in my diaper bag.

But...this was about Jake getting older, not my lack of pictures in the past few weeks!

For Jake's birthday he did not want a big fuss. This is really kind of hard for me to understand because on my birthday I want nothing more, and when it is the birthday of someone I love, I want to give the same to them. I am a person who throws myself birthday parties. I really do. I am not ashamed of this. Again, with the rambling!

So, because Jake did not want fussing over, I talked to his grandma and aunt about having a dinner for him at his grandparents house. It seemed sufficiently low key and still a little special. It was really a lovely time. Jake's Grandma Judy made a fantastic dinner and his Aunt Cindy made a delicious cake. Kai helped Jake to blow out his candles. The whole thing felt exactly like the reasons that we chose to move back to Wisconsin.

Now Jake joins me in our 30's. I can say with certainty that they will be an adventure with Kai around growing more fun and curious every day. We will come out of it just in time for his teenage years. It is hard to imagine that Kai will be five someday, let alone any age that begins with a one!

Quiche.

We eat quiche for dinner fairly frequently. It is super easy to make, I can throw whatever is available into it and everyone likes it. Last night while I was making it I was calling it broccoli pie when talking to Kai about it since he looooves broccoli. This morning, he opened the refrigerator door, pulled out the covered pie plate and said, "quiche" to Jake. Then he brought it in to me and said it again. I am guessing that he must have heard Jake and I referring to broccoli pie as quiche. It is really pretty adorable coming out of his mouth.

Another name breakthrough.

Kai has called my sister "mom" since they have been back and he has been calling people things. On Friday we took the kids swimming at the local YMCA. They all had a pretty fantastic time. While we were in the pool, Kai and I were hanging out in the shallow end while Katherine was in the deep end with her little fish. Kai started yelling "auntie, auntie" down the pool to her. So, another person has a name.

Other things that suddenly have names are the refrigerator, Cricket, kitchen and Thomas the Tank Engine. He is also saying a ton of other words. I really have started to lose track, which is kind of awesome. He said muffin this week for the first time, as well as broccoli, bread, puppy and fire (he drops the truck for some reason and just calls them fire). The cutest things that he is saying right now are "hurry, hurry" and "I need." Yesterday when he woke up from his nap, I asked him if he would like to go to YaYa's to play with Riley and Sami and he sat up quick and said, "I need coat." and patted his chest with both hands. He also needs snacks, yogurt covered raisins, trucks and countless other things through out the day. My favorite today was "I need nurse sides." We have to "hurry, hurry" pretty much anytime he wants us to change activity. It is super fun to be able to communicate with him and to know for certain what he wants.