Bedtime.

Recently, bedtime became an issue. For days in a row it was crazy night after crazy night. We would do all of the normal bedtime stuff for us. Which is to go upstairs, put on a diaper and jammies and spend some time in bed the three of us with a story and then Jake tells Kai good night and they have kisses, Jake turns off the light and shuts the door. The end. No fancy routine. Kai usually bathes in the morning with one of us, so we don't have bathtime at night and sometimes we skipped stories if Kai was too keyed up. I discovered then that we had a combination of too late to bed and too much activity prior to bed. So, we changed up our routine. We go up stairs after dinner and spend time playing quietly. I try to encourage Kai to have some independent play time while I put away clothes or read a book to help him to wind down a little. Then we do jammies and diaper. Then it is time to snuggle into bed with books. The reading time has grown from one or two short stories to 20-30 minutes of reading. Then, after Jake leaves, Kai is asleep after 15-20ish minutes of nursing. (Yes. Kai still nurses to sleep. This is not an issue for our family. At all.) This is a huge improvement from the crazy nights that we had of 30-50 minutes of nursing followed by Kai being nearly asleep and then woken by what apparently was himself losing his mind. Jake would spend time with him and invariably I would end up back up in his room nursing him again or laying with him until he fell asleep. Ugh. I feel so much less stressed about bedtime and I think that Kai does also. Actually, I look forward to the quiet time together again. I also am enjoying the earlier bedtime and subsequent later wake time. Why it works this way I don't know, but it is lovely.

Some of Kai's favorite stories right now are: Horton Hears a Who, Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, Hedgie Blasts Off!, Go!Go!Go! and any Little Critter book.

Trip to the lake.

Kai and I took a trip to the cabin, leaving last Wednesday and returning Sunday. Many others were supposed to accompany us on the trip. My sister and her kids. Our good friends, Nick and Genelle. Daddy. Yaya and Dan. Not one of them made it for all different reasons. I was pretty determined to go and our family friends Bruce, Linda, Sarah and Andy were going to be there for sure, so I knew we wouldn't be alone. The weather was pretty chilly and fall like in nature. Thank goodness I packed a couple of sweaters and a hat for Kai. I was wishing though that I had packed more long sleeve shirts and coats for both of us. I am telling you, it was c.o.l.d. In the 50's, maybe 60's everyday but Sunday. The day we were packing to leave it was sunny and gloriously warm. Nearly hot.

In addition to being shocked by the cold weather, we also spent time taking walks, throwing rocks, looking at the water, built outside train tracks and played in the sand. We actually had a pretty great time. Kai loves Bruce, Linda, Sarah and Andy. Especially Sarah and Andy. So, he spent some time engaging them in rocking throwing, soccer ball kicking, tree climbing and other playful activities. Linda, Sarah and I did some collaborative work on a rug project that I will post pictures of when I have it finished up.

We also went to the Honor the Earth Pow Wow. We didn't stay super long, but Kai was pretty intrigued by the drumming and signing. Less by the dancers, which was surprising. I forgot to take the camera with when we were there. Kai enjoyed a giant piece of fry bread and then we watched a Grand Entry when every dancer comes in following color gaurd and eagle staffs. Although I could not get it together to bring a camera some one else remembered and posted a video of a Grand Entry on YouTube. From the sunshine, I would guess that it was from Sunday.

Next year I hope that we can make it as family and that Nick and Genelle are able to join us.

And now for pictures from the trip:

On Sunday, Kai took a ride with Bruce on this giant four wheeler.
Now that I typed four wheeler...is that what they are called?!

Canoeing with Andy and Sarah on sunny Sunday.

I thought this knot looks like a cartoon monkey or frog.
See it?

I forgot to say that on the ride up to the lake/cabin Kai hit a new linguistic phase. WHY?
"Why drive to the lake, Mama, why?"
"So that we can have a fun time and play in the water."
"Why wanna play in the water?"
"It is fun to play in the cool water, we can look for rocks."
"Why you wanna throw rocks, Mama?"
There were various conversations like this one. There was the one about drinking coffe. The one about why we were driving Auntie's car (several times). The one about stop signs. The one about stopping for gas. Then throughout the weekend there were more and more. This shows no signs of stopping.

Kai and Daddy at the park.

Yesterday while I was at a La Leche League meeting, Jake took Kai to a park nearby to play. They climbed trees and shot a cannon. You know, the usual sort of activities that a two year old and his father enjoy.

Kai saw this picture of himself in the tree and told me,
"Kai's scared in the tree."

Notice the placement of his knee...Jake said Kai deemed this necessary
to safely shoot the cannon.

And...it is July and cool enough for sweaters in the morning.
Maybe Wisconsin weather isn't all bad.

PS...this is the sweater that I knit for Kai!!!
Which he loves.

Close encounters with firetrucks.

So far this summer Kai has had three opportunities to check out firetrucks up close. The first was at an event in a local park called something like Touch a Truck. I forgot the camera, but Kai "drove" an ambulance, a firetruck, a race car and other awesome vehicles that I cannot remember. The second was caught on Jake's phone camera after the Flag Day parade. The firetrucks were parked near the park where the UW marching band played after the parade. My mom's fiance, Dan, knew the truck guys from Pierce, so we had an in for Kai and his cousins to climb all over the truck. Then two weeks ago after we finished up at the market we sat near a parked firetruck so that Jake could enjoy a breakfast burrito and Kai could be entertained. Before we left, the firemen returned and gave Kai a sticker badge and let him sit in the truck. It was pretty cute. Kai was pretty pumped and talked to them about saving kittens with their ladder. Then when they left they got a, "Bye, Firemen! Save the kitten from the tree!" I would suspect that our firetruck luck is up, but we will wait and see...

Third Fourth of July

Although we saw fireworks two nights in a row, I only managed to get this one picture and it is not great.

The two prior years, Kai has slept through most or all of the fireworks displays that we attended. This year, he said such things as: "Awesome!" "That was big!" "Do it again, Momma!" He was clapping and having a fantastic time. It was really a lot of fun to watch him. Prior to the fireworks starting yesterday there was a boat parade where all of the boats were decorated with twinkle lights. Kai was really into this and at the end the sailing school students came by in little boats pulled by a bigger boat. Kai said, "Little boats...I want a baby boat!" Cute, cute, cute.