New driveway.

We had a new driveway apron poured last week. Kai napped through most of the process, but woke in time to see the cement truck come to pour.

Father's Day tractor ride.

We spent Father's Day at Jake's grandparents' home. Kai was climbing all over the tractor again and this time Grandma Judy started it up and gave Kai a little ride. He looked kind of unsure but he was pretty chatty about it so I am sure he enjoyed the trip.

While there, Kai also mastered saying "grandpa." He was pretty solid with grandma the last couple of trips out and then last time he was saying "grandma-pa." This time about halfway through the visit, the word figured out how to come out of his mouth. I will miss the old way.

Speaking of Grandpa, Kai is really, really interested in him. Kai wants him to follow him around the house and yard and shares things with him. He had brought a bunch of rocks into the house which Aunt Cindy turned into a fun game involving a stuffed sheep and a basket. Suddenly, I realized that the giant "airplane*" rock was missing and after a little looking, I found it. Grandpa had it cradled in one of his sleepy hands.

Jake and Grandpa watch Kai "drive" the tractor.

This is one of Kai's favorite thing on the whole farm.
He loves to watch the water come out and yells for the bubbles to float down.
Oh...he is a cute one.

*airplane rocks: any large rock remotely triangular in shape

Zoo in pictures.

Trip to the zoo 2.

Kai and I went on a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo with several friends. All counted, there were six two year old boys and their mamas (and one infant!). Surprisingly, this trip went quite well. There was only one boy confined to a stroller for the afternoon for a lunchtime escape attempt. Other than that, it was surprisingly tantrum, tear and other crazy episodes free.

There were three high points:

1) Train ride.
This needs no explanation I am sure. It was a train ride for crying in the night.

2) Gorilla.
The gorillas were outside and from the indoor viewing area there was one giant gorilla sitting
right next to the window. This gorilla got tired of the elementary school students staring him
down and pounded on the glass while walking from side to side. Twice. Weeks later, and Kai
will still tell me that the gorilla drums on the window.

3) Lion.

The lion was indoors and the big cat house was basically empty except for Kai and me and our
friends Dade and Esme. The lion alternated between laying on his giant rock and staring out
the window and pacing back and forth in front of his window. This was disconcerting because
the boys were able to be right up by the window and the lion would be right up by his side of
the window. It was difficult to see my baby (whose entire body is smaller than a lion head)
basically rubbing up against a giant carnivorous cat with golden eyes. Plus, I was on edge
waiting for him to roar. He made one little low sound and it sent shivers through me. I knew
that if he let loose with a roar it was going to scare me and more than likely also Kai. Seriously,
I may have cried.

Kai had a fantastic time. He and Dade did really well on the car ride there and home. At the zoo, Kai kept telling me that he would like to see otters. When we finally found the otters, they were closed for repairs. Well, probably more the habitat and less the otters on the repair front. I felt disappointed for him that out of everything he could request to see, his wish was so simple and unfufillable. He handled it well though.

On the way home Kai was holding his monkey Mold-a-rama (which on a side note has not changed one bit since I was a kid, but the price has quarupled!) and handed it to me telling me that it was broken. Sure enough, there was a little hole in his ear. Although Kai denied biting it, I was pretty sure that was how the injury was sustained. Later, Kai fell asleep with the monkeys in his hand and woke up and said to me, "Monkey broke. I bite the ear." So darn cute in his sleepy confession.

Kai's mama is....

Officially a La Leche League leader! What does this mean? It means that I am now able to provide mother to mother support, lead meetings and participating in community outreach in keeping with the La Leche League Philosophy:

• Mothering through breastfeeding is the most natural and effective way of understanding and satisfying the needs of the baby.
• Mother and baby need to be together early and often to establish a satisfying relationship and an adequate milk supply.
• In the early years, the baby has an intense need to be with his mother which is as basic as his need for food.
• Breast milk is the superior infant food.
• For the healthy, full-term baby, breast milk is the only food necessary until baby shows signs of needing solids, about the middle of the first year after birth.
• Ideally, the breastfeeding relationship will continue until the baby outgrows the need.
• Alert and active participation by the mother in childbirth is a help in getting breastfeeding off to a good start.
• Breastfeeding is enhanced and the nursing couple sustained by the loving support, help, and companionship of the baby’s father. A father’s unique relationship with his baby is an important element in the child’s development from early infancy.
• Good nutrition means eating a well-balanced and varied diet of foods in as close to their natural state as possible.
• From infancy on, children need loving guidance which reflects acceptance of their capabilities and sensitivity to their feelings.

I am very excited to be finished and am ready to get to the business of leading. The other leaders in the area are fantastic women and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them.

What we have been up to....

We have been so busy enjoying the summer like weather! Some of the things that we have been doing:

trip to the zoo :: haircuts :: playing at the park :: enjoying new patio furniture :: tee ball :: dinners outside :: bike rides :: painting :: playing with friends :: were gifted a wagon :: met our neighbors :: mama baking and knitting :: salads from the garden :: risotto with beets from the garden :: lasagna with pasta made by mama and Kai with swiss chard from the garden :: summer reading program at the library :: mama getting leadership accreditation with La Leche League :: daddy home every weekend :: new summer jammies :: sandbox :: water table in the backyard :: daddy and Kai time while mama goes to knitting group on Thursdays :: breakfasts on Sundays with Yaya :: new driveway :: new front door :: roses and peonies in the garden :: peas growing :: spending time with cousins :: visiting with Steve on leave from Iraq :: looking forward to a visit from Nana :: reading lots of books :: learning to "sew" :: lots of baths to wash off the dirt of days spent outside

More pictures and detail to follow next week...

I was just thinking.

Kai was just talking to me and something occurred to me just after we were done. When he was a baby I felt like I had such a long wait just to find out what his speaking voice would sound like. Now, having just finished an actual back and forth conversation with the sweetest voice I have ever heard I can't believe that it got here so fast. Now I am left struggling to remember what his babbles and the even earlier gurgles and coos sounded like. I am going to have to look back at some video...

Drill hat.

When Kai has this hat on, he must have Jake's mini cordless drill. Must. He is taking a break from drilling to enjoy some spreadable cheese on pretzel rods. Delicious.

Our second Memorial Day at the cabin.

We loaded into the car and drove the four long hours to our family cabin for Memorial Day again this year. The ride was much smoother thanks to Toy Story and other movies and shows for Kai to watch. We had a relaxing weekend canoeing and spending time together and with family and friends. We are looking forward to heading up again later this summer.