Melting Our Hearts ... Over and Over!

The past couple of days have brought a whole new meaning of "parenthood" to Dan and me. Our baby turned 11 months on Friday - how did that happen? It doesn't seem possible. After all, it was just yesterday that I was pregnant with the little peanut! Now here we are, 11 months later and now he's not only a crawling fool, but this past week he started to stand up on his own without support. Seems to me that walking is probably just around the corner. Needless to say, as he continues to grow leaps and bounds, and our love for him also compounds daily.

Another big event in Kailer's little life was swim lessons yesterday morning. I was leery of how Kailer would react to spending time in the water, but he did great! I'm looking forward to the next four weekends when we'll do it again.

He's also been extra snuggly this week, which has been nice for us. Twice he's taken a nap with me and one night he fell asleep in Dan's arms while they were rocking and singing songs. These events may seem "normal" to many parents, but if you know our busy little guy, it means a lot that he actually settled down and snuggled with his parents.

Dan and I are in the process of getting our house "put together" so that we can put it for sale within he next month or so (Hence, the lack of blogging on my end). Wow, what a process it has been!! I'm exhausted even thinking about what we've done and there's still a lot more to do. But hopefully it will pay off and we'll get our house sold so that we can have some much needed extra room.

So last night, after dinner, the three of us settled into the living room (which is a complete disaster right now) and had some family time. This week also brought a reprieve from Dan's not so family-friendly schedule as he had a training and worked Monday-Friday 8-5ish. It was nice to feel "normal" ... if there is such a feeling?! Back to night shift we go, for at least 6 more months, but we are very thankful for the fact that he has a job.

Kailer trying out some itty-bitty pieces of ice cube.

Lounging.

Yep, he already thinks he's in charge of the remote!

Blue Nose

Just having some fun with the blue circle .... makes for a cute nose!!

CamelBak

For months now I have been working on transitioning Kailer into a sippy cup - which has proven to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I started out buying the Nuk cups with handles...he wasn't fond of those and I found that the nipple would invert and leak, not good. Next I tried one of the 1st Years cups. Kailer did fairly well with it, but not great. So one night I was reading a Parents magazine and in it sippy cups were rated and one of the top rated ones was the Tommee Tippee cups. The only place in the United States that they can be purchased is Babies R Us, so I got online and ordered two (because they come in sets of 2). Again these worked, but he didn't seem to use it very much.
Well one day last week Dan left his CamelBak on the kitchen counter and Kailer found the mouth piece hanging down and started sucking on it. I didn't think too much about it. Dan and I have CamelBak water bottles with the same mouth piece design as the backpack system and one day Kailer tried to drink out of it. Success! He was able to get water. So while Grandpa was here, we were talking about it and last night after dinner we went to Wholesale Sports and Grandpa bought Kailer his very OWN CamelBak water bottle - lucky kid! :)
He's only had it for 24 hours, but he's definitely been drinking more water out of it than any of his sippy cups! Geez, had I only known, I could have said myself probably $40 in cups. Now the challenge is to get him to drink milk from it. For some reason he fights that more than anything. With time, I suppose.....

Just found daddy's CamelBak.

Trying it out.

Yep, it works well!!

Kailer's very own dinosaur water bottle -
Thanks, Grandpa!

She Did It ...

Yeah right, I think it's kind of hard to blame something on Mesa when she's on the other side of the screen door!! Kailer has enjoyed us leaving the door open so he can look outside ... and taunt his puppy dog! :)

Teddy Eeyore

The 'traditional' best friend of a child is a teddy bear, but in this household tradition is broken with Mr. Eeyore. This little blue stuffed donkey has recently become Kailer's favorite stuffed animal. In the mornings we'll find him in his crib chewing on his tail (Yikes, hope it doesn't pop off!!) and as you can see, he's fallen asleep with Eeyore's tail in his hand. He was even so generous this evening to bring Mr. Eeyore out of his crib so that Mesa could sniff him.
As a side note Eeyore's name is a representation of the onomatopoeic phrase "hee-haw," which refers to the braying sound made by a normal donkey, written in the Cockney dialect.
There - now you learned something new today!!

How Big Is Kailer?

SOOO BIG!!

Kailer also has a "terrible" (fake) cough that he displays in the video. I'm not sure if you'll be able to hear it or not, but it's quite comical. Dan and I always tell him that it's a "bad cough" and we better take him to the doctor. :)

Smooth As A Baby's Butt!

As my little guy continues to explore the world around him, I look at him and think, "Please don't grow up too quickly!" It's inevitable, I know, but those words still ring in my ears from my parents when I was a little girl. How true!! All of those adult "things" that I just couldn't wait to do ... well, looking back now, I definitely wouldn't have minded to wait a little longer to grow up.

So Mr. Kailer found himself with all smiles when Daddy shared his electric razor with him and "shaved" his already perfectly smooth face. Kailer, of course, thought it was pretty cool that he got to use Daddy's razor. I on the other hand, just stood back and smiled - knowing that in due time he will be standing in front of the mirror with his own razor shaving, and probably complaining about having to shave! ;) Oh,the irony in life.

"Perfect! Thanks Dad, now I'm smooth as a baby's butt!!"

T-R-E-A-T!

Dear Mr. Stork:
Okay, so for my New Year's Resolution, I decided to give this Kailer kid a chance to prove himself around here. AFTER ALL, I have been the alpha-child and then he showed up last May. You may recall that I wrote to you in January,telling you that I believe you had made a mistake by dropping off this little boy. Well, after spending 4 1/2 more months with him, I've had a change of heart and I've changed my mind.
You see this little tyke was turned out to be "okay!" We were outside enjoying a beautiful Spring day on the lawn and you know what that kid did ?? He gave me a TREAT!!! Yep, my absolute favorite thing in the whole wide world (Well, except for walks, getting the mail, playing catch ... oops, did I get side-tracked?)!!! In fact, I love them so much that sometimes I'll stare at the jar on top of the fridge, just hoping that one of these humans will get me one. They must think I don't know how to spell either, because often times they'll say "T-R-E-A-T"...Yeah, as if I don't know what that means!!
So Mr. Stork, I kindly take back those words that I said in January, he's a pretty good kid after all. I mean, sure, he still likes to bonk me on the head with his toys and pull my hair (and Oh, Gosh, what's going to happen when he learns to walk and then run??), but he's found the way to my heart ... through my mouth (and "no" not by pulling my tongue, though I'm sure that's yet to come too)!
Thank you for this precious treat dispenser and I'll keep you posted. You never know, I may still need to send him back C.O.D.
Sincerely,
Mesa

Giving Mesa her treat - he thinks this is the greatest things since bananas!

There does seem to be a little bit of a power struggle as Kailer has a hard time letting go!

Yep, she got it and she's ever-so gentle with him!

He's proud of himself for making his puppy happy!

Big Shoes To Fill

It isn't very often that Kailer isn't "right at my feet" during the day - he's very much a mommy's boy. So when he's not right by my side, curiosity and possibly a little fear (after all, he's a little boy!!) enter my mind .... what could the little munchkin be getting into now?
So the other day as I was picking up the living room, I heard Kailer in the laundry room chatting away. I grabbed the camera and snuck around the door to see what he was up to! I was able to snap one picture before he spotted me and then here he came!
Looks to me that he has big shoes to fill ... hope Daddy doesn't mind drool drenched shoelaces!

Sleeping Superman

It's become a bit of a routine around here to go in and check on Kailer after he falls asleep for the evening; we just never know how he's going to "pass out!" Which in truth, is what we truly think he does - we'll hear him playing away and then all of a sudden, silence! We think he literally plays until he passes out...which sometimes lands him in some pretty interesting poses.
On this particular night, this is how I found my little man and there was just something about the way his blanket was caped around his neck, trailing down his back, that reminded me of Superman. I'm not sure, but I think he may have 'saved' his glow-worm - hence why he's holding on to him! :)

I don't think that there's anything more peaceful than to see your baby sleeping!

Sweet Dreams!

Swinging

During one of our FEW nice Spring days, I took Kailer to the park in our neighborhood for his first time in a swing! He seemed to enjoy his time going back and forth and I look forward to nicer weather when we can stay longer - on this particular day the wind was a bit too nippy to stay out too long. C'mon summer!!!

BEEP!

Sanguine

Kailer has had an on-going obsession with sweatshirt strings and on this particular day, he was treating them like reins and really giving his 'ol daddy the 1 -- 2! These two always find something goofy to do, I can only imagine what it will be like when he grows up (Umm, that's when Kailer grows up, not Dan!) :)

Daddy makes face.

Kailer makes a face.

Giving daddy a hard time .. and then looking for trouble?!

Learning Table

Kailer's newest toy is a Fisher Price Learning Table. This particular table is food-based. So in the center there's a bowl that spins and sings the alphabet song, there's a slice of pizza with different shapes on it, some fruit in the corner, a cup that after you push on it is either "full" or "empty" along with two cookies create a counting song. The Learning Table has been a lot of fun for Kailer and has helped to keep him from pulling himself up on the coffee table and t.v. stand ... though he still does on occassion.

Last night, sometime after 1:30 but before 3:00 a.m., I woke up and Dan sensed that I was awake (as he couldn't sleep) and he said to me, "I can't get that counting song out of my head"! So it looks like the learning table as had an impact on all of us. Ha! :)

Working his way around the table.

Holding that spoon that's used to stir the alphabet soup!

Enjoying some play (goofy) time with Daddy!!

(I think I see where he learned to make silly faces!)

"Cause he's a BIG boy!"

If any of you have seen the Chevy commercial where the little girl exclaims,"'Cause I'm a BIG girl!" then you will appreciate the title of this post. We finally graduated Kailer from his infant carrier to a "big boy" car seat. He seems to like it more, which is a good thing, because strapping a child into a car seat that he doesn't like can be quite challenging. It's hard to believe that this will be the last car seat we buy for him.

In comparison, this is Kailer in his infant carrier the day I brought him home.

One Year Ago....

One year ago today, I stood in our driveway teary-eyed, 30 weeks pregnant, Mesa by my side and waved to my husband as he pulled away to leave for the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena, MT for 12 weeks. The fears of being alone for the last 10 weeks of my pregnancy mounted as he drove off that day. We were, however, very blessed with the fact that Helena is approximately 1.5 hours away, so when Dan was released from is classes on Friday evenings, he would head home and spend the weekend with me; typically leaving after dinner on Sundays. Watching him leave each week eventually got easier .... UNTIL ... the weekend that Kailer was born. Every weekend had been the same, up until that point. We would have a nice dinner together on Sunday, hang out for a bit and then he'd leave. But on that Monday evening, when Dan left the hospital, well that was by far the hardest - for both of us! There I was with a cherub of a baby in my arms and his daddy had to leave to head back to the academy. I held Kailer extra tight as we walked Dan down the hallway, as far as we were allowed to go, and said our "good-bye's".... as the tears started to flow.

Dan returned on Friday evening and we repeated the good-bye routine for 3 more weeks and at last it was time for us to go to Helena for his graduation. Looking back, I often wonder how single mothers do it for more than a few weeks. Having a baby and taking care of it by yourself is a lot of hard work and it's exhausting!

We are all so very proud of Dan and the person he has become and the career path he has chosen. He continues to amaze me each morning when he comes home and shares the previous night's events - how does he do it, how does he deal with all of the crime, violence and stupidity that exists? Thankfully those 12 weeks gave him the foundation to build upon - this is what he was trained to do!

So in honor of Dan and his career, I thought today I'd share a few photos from his time in the academy. I also ask you to keep our law enforcement officers in your prayers. I think they are easily over-looked, yet they go out day in and day out to serve and protect you and your community. Tell them Thank-you and pray for their safety every day. We love you, Dan!!

My "Special" Husband!

He will probably kill me for posting this picture - but it's nice to know that some fun was had by the men and women of M.L.E.A. Basic Class 138. Maybe this was some sort of training? Not sure! :)Time to hit the books.
Giving a speech at a reception held the night before graduation. I should also mention that Dan was chosen as the Class Representative, which meant that he was the only student to give a speech at graduation.

M.L.E.A. Basic #138.

Kai-bug's 1st Easter!

After an early morning feeding (5:45 a.m.), Kailer went back to sleep this morning until 8:00 a.m., which was just about the time his Daddy was getting home from work. So we all settled into the big bed (our bed) and had a little Easter fun. Kailer opened his package from Grandma McGinty and checked out his Dad's Easter basket.

New Wyoming hat and bunny rabbit.

"Oooh, what's in here?"


"Yep, I think I'll try this one!"

Camo eggs...of course, only for my boys!

After Church with his bunny, Easter egg (from Church), his new Duck that quacks and apparently the Easter Bunny took his shoe and sock in exchange for his goodies!

Happy Easter!

Kailer's first visit to see the Easter Bunny was a success!! I was a little nervous as I stood in line for 20 minutes and right as Mr. E. Bunny was arriving, Kailer was starting to get impatient. Somehow, though, I managed to keep him entertained for another 10 minutes as the children in front of us got their pictures taken. My heart broke as I watched a little girl, probably around 1 1/2 years old, sit on he bunny's lap and start to cry hysterically!! Not only did I feel terribly bad for her, but I thought to myself, "Oh gosh, I hope Kailer doesn't react that way!" At last it was our turn and the lady taking the picture instructed me to hold Kailer facing me, walk up to the bunny and set Kailer on his lap (in hopes that he wont get scared, since he wont see him as we were approaching). So I followed her directions, sat him down and he instantly looked up at the Easter Bunny and gave him a great big smile. Phew, my child wasn't going to be one to have a break-down! I told Dan about our adventure when I got home and his response was, "I don't think he's going to be afraid of much of anything." He's probably right!

Happy Easter!!

1st Word?

Well,there has been some controversy amongst Dan and I about Kailer's first word He started saying the the /b/ sound in early January, followed by /ma-ma-ma/ in early February and around the middle of February he started using the /d/ sound. So depending on the day and who he is around, he may or may not say "words" like ma-ma or da-da. According to definition a child's first word is used with meaning. Neither Dan nor I are fully convinced that he's used these words with meaning, but we do feel that he knows which one belongs to whom. Regardless, I caught this on video and I'm pretty sure you'll agree that his first word, with meaning, is "ma-ma"... Oh and disregard that little /d/ sound that you hear at the end! He, he. :)

Wolfgang Puck

In the evenings while I'm getting dinner ready, Kailer joins me for his own kitchen fun. He has a few cupboards that are "Kailer safe" and he is free to open the and play away. Sometimes I'll even put a little water in a pot and let him go at it for awhile. A friend of mine said that once he's a little older a 1/2 cup of dog food and some water will buy me an extra 45 minutes .... we'll definitely be waiting a while before we try that out!! Though tonight he seemed to enjoy the fact that he got to the dog bowl and dumped the whole thing before I could stop him! :)
So as Kailer plays away with my pots and pans, preparing to be the next Wolfgang Puck or Iron Chef, I continue my busy work of preparing food while all the while stepping around him and trying not to trip on his "culinary creations!"
As a side note, did you know that some vegetables will actually spark in the microwave? Seriously! Tonight I was reheating some veggies that I had steamed last night and "crack, snapple, pop," and it wasn't Rice Krispies baby ... it was my carrots!! They actually were sparking. Upon doing a little research I learned that some dense vegetables (i.e. carrots, green beans, and green peppers) have higher amounts of minerals. These minerals act like tiny pieces of metal and can create arcing effects in a microwave. Hmm, who knew? Needless to say, I decided at that point that it would be best if Kailer NOT eat them; though studies say the arcing doesn't harm the veggies.

Just getting started into the cupboard.
Alright, now we're talking ... pot and pans are out!!


Trying out the handle - I guess it's edible?

Telling me about his cooking experience. Every time I watch this I wrinkle my nose each time he does. He is a true show-off!!