18 Months~

Where has the time gone?!!

Kai is 18 months old now...WOW. Everyday he learns something new, or gets into something new. He is my little buddy, my best friend. We do everything together. I cannot begin to express how much he has blessed my life and how grateful I am to be his mother. I did not know I could love someone as much as I love him.

Maybe it is because we are getting ready to have another kiddo, but I just feel like Kai is growing up so quickly now.
I took Kai to the Dr. for his 18 month check-up and here are some of his stats...
~Height- 32 1/4" (50%)
~Weight- 22 lbs (15%) He has always been a light weight
~6 teeth on top
~5 teeth on bottom
~Definitely a "Mama's boy"
~Doesn't talk in English so much yet... He has his own language. He can say a few words though.
-"uh oh"
-"no no"
-"wow" (usually comes out "ow" though)
~The only sign language he has learned is "please". He rubs his chest for everything now. I am finding it harder and harder to say no to him b/c he is asking/telling "nicely".
~Prefers to feed himself with his left hand when using a fork or spoon.
~Loves to wrestle. (I have turned into a human jungle gym recently)
~Loves to help me clean. I can hand him a wipe or a dust rag and he will wipe the entire house down for about an hour straight. (I guess he thinks the house needs it?)
~Wants to be involved in everything I am doing. If I am cooking, I have to put the apron on him and let him see what I am mixing.
~Has the cutest laugh...when he wants to play or is really happy it is just a squeal. To anyone else it is a horribly annoying sound, but to me it is beautiful.
~Kisses are given out freely and he is getting better about keeping his mouth closed while kissing.
~Has really struggled with eczema this winter. It has been really frustrating b/c I tried everything to get rid of it. At his Dr appointment I was given a steroid cream to rub on and it seemed to take the eczema away overnight.
~His best friends are our two dogs. He loves to give them "loves" and cuddle with them (when he can catch them). He is learning to be soft and loves to chase them around the house and give them treats.
~Kai loves chips. LOVES THEM. Even the chips I wouldn't think he would like...like salt and vinegar or jalapeno, LOVES THEM.
~He is still a really picky eater, but his menu is getting broader.
~Kai is extremely shy when he first meets people, but loves to watch other kids and will always play nice.
~No more pacifier! We completely got rid of it when he was about 14 months old. He wanted to keep it for car rides but once it was no longer an option he stopped looking for it. YAY!
~Our little dancer. He is always dancing (rocking) around the house when I have music on.
~Sleeps in a big boy bed (since he was 17 months old)
~Started nursery (in church) on Sunday and did very well. Didn't even cry when Ben left.

And my favorite thing....
~Kai is such a cuddle bug. He loves to be held and rest his head on your shoulder. He has always been very affectionate.

Even though it breaks my heart that he is growing up so quickly, life with Makai just gets better and better. He has such a sweet and funny personality. I am so glad he is a part of our family.

snOw dAys~

We had an awesome winter (in my opinion) b/c it hardly snowed at all.
Now that it is Spring and I am so excited for warm weather...what happens?
SNOW!!!
We got dumped on yesterday. It was crazy. Ben was let off work early b/c it was a blizzard and Kai and I just stayed at home trying to find things to do to keep Kai entertained indoors.
This morning we woke up and Ben went out to dig us out. Kai and I had breakfast and then I quickly dressed Kai to go outside and play with Daddy before work. He really enjoyed the snow and didn't want to come in when Ben and I had had enough.



The Fitches gave us this truck before they moved and Kai is obsessed with it!
Thanks guys!!!
If you look close enough at this picture, you will see just how quickly I dressed Kai. ...yup put the shoes on the wrong feet. Kai didn't seem to mind though...


The last real snow we had was in January and it wasn't even very much...
I never made time to post these pictures from a sledding trip we took Kai on.
It was bitter cold out that night but we still managed to smile for the pictures. (Well, Ben and I did.)





Ohh, the happy faces of Kai....

Why Man Invented the Bib...

Happy First Day of Spring!!!

YAY! I am so excited for things to start coming back to life around here. Everything has been dead for so long.
I have the itch to start planting things, but am doing my best to wait til Mother's Day weekend when it is safe to plant in Colorado.
Spring and Summer are my favorite. I am so happy that it is officially here!


My bulbs are coming up!!!

nAp tImE~

Kai really has done well in a big boy bed. The only time we really have a problem is during nap time. He struggles b/c he wants to keep playing. I have taken all the toys out of his room to help him settle down but his drawers have turned into the toy and everyday his drawers are emptied and clothes are thrown all over the room.

What Kai's floor looks like before I put him down for a nap~

What Kai's room looks like after a nap time~

I went in to check on Kai today and this is what I found....
He loves to try and dress himself lately. He is obsessed with onesies. For some reason he thinks they are pants and always tries to put them on his legs.

Here are some closer pictures of Kai with the onesie on his legs.
...yes he still sleeps "Indian style" right on his legs.

30 Weeks and Counting...

10 weeks left! This pregnancy is totally flying by. Pretty soon we will be a family of four...holy cow! Can't wait to meet this little missy.

nO mOrE rOOm...

Ok, so I just have to say that this is not a picture of me.

I found this picture on the Internet while surfing around and thought it was incredible. I am pretty sure that it has been tampered with b/c how could they possibly get this shot??? ...but, I thought it was still amazing none the less....
This picture shows how I feel...exactly.
I am 30 weeks along and feeling....LARGE!!! I am having an extremely easy pregnancy, don't get me wrong. I am not complaining, but....I know that babies grow so much at the end and I can't imagine her getting any bigger inside me. I already feel like she is crammed in there. Ben and I sit on the couch in the evenings and just watch my belly move. I get these feet (not so defined like in the picture above) sticking out as if she is trying to stretch.
Last night, Ben and I were having some of my leftover birthday cake and ice cream (while watching The Biggest Loser. I felt so guilty eating junk while watching that show...but the guilt didn't stop me from eating it). Anyway, I sat the bowl on my belly (my portable table at the moment) and watched as our little girl tried to move this cold bowl off of her. It was so crazy.
I am truly amazed at how the body works. I can't wait to meet our little girl...even if she does get bigger and bigger with each passing week.
I will have Ben take another pregnancy picture of me and I will post it soon.

...Where a Kid Can Be a Kid...

We took a quick trip to Utah recently for my niece, Aspen's baptism. I haven't been to a baptism in quite some time and it was wonderful. I loved feeling the undeniable spirit that was there. My parents were there for the event so we got to see a lot of family. We had such a great time but were so relieved to come home. It was just one of those trips where we were, "go, go, go" the entire time. It was exhausting. Kai wasn't able to nap throughout the trip b/c we were too active....poor guy. He had a couple of meltdowns, but survived. It was so fun to see him interact with cousins and friends he hadn't seen in a long time.
It is so strange going back to Utah. I just feel like I am still a college student. I guess I felt like time stood still since we moved. I was quickly reminded that things are different just by looking down at my growing baby bump.
Here are some pictures from the trip...
Kai with Grandma and Grandpa Lundeen just after Aspen's baptism.~

I have two brothers that live in Utah. We all went to Chucky Cheese after the baptism and let the kiddos run wild. This isn't the best picture of the family, but what can you expect after several hours in Chucky Cheese?~

The following pictures show just how happy Kai was to be at Chucky Cheese.
...Poor guy really needed a nap!~







Kai playing games with Daddy.~

We didn't have a lot of free time since it was such a quick trip. There are so many people that we wanted to see and weren't able to. However, Ben did get to squeeze in a game of golf and I got to hit up IKEA. After we had our fun, we met up with some friends for a quick dinner. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces and friends we love so much. We miss you guys more than we can express.
The Hendry's~

The Cole's (minus Alexa)~

The Young's.~
Our little family~

Kai waiting patiently for his dinner~

Kai playing with his friends that he misses so so much!!!

Kristal and Jena. Gosh I miss you guys. Move Back!!!~

Ben and two of his best golfing buddies. Not sure what he is going to do this summer without them around anymore.~

Kai and Lily playing~

ReaDY oR NoT.....

So, we moved the wall mobile and letters this weekend, bought a little microfiber covered ottoman that Kai can use to climb up on to help him reach his bed, and put up a bed rail...
Saturday night Kai said goodbye to his crib!
Ben and I were...terrified! Kai actually did quite well though. I only had to put him back in his bed once on Saturday night and last night he just stayed in bed.
Nap time...now that is a totally different story. I am afraid it is the end of the three hour nap. We'll see though. It is a work in progress.

..."THe FiRST CuT iS THe DeePeST..."

Kai is 17 months old and has never had or needed a haircut (in my opinion). Ben has been trying and trying to talk me into giving him one, and when we got back from our trip to Utah, I gave in. I think I was putting it off b/c he really doesn't have that much hair. It has taken him so long to get any really, so I was nervous about cutting it at all.
Here is the before picture. He has a few long grandpa pieces in the back behind his ears. The only real long hair he had was on the very top of his head.


Making the first cut....I was so sad. I kept a little lock for his baby book though.

This was taken right after the first cut. No more long spike....

Then Daddy took over for the rest of the haircut...
Kai was perfectly content the entire time and played with his new bubble toy from Grandma and Grandpa Lundeen.


After~
...A New Man...


Ok, ok, so he did need a haircut...I will admit it does look better. Good job, Benny!!!