walker

As evidenced here in this video shot today, Friday September 28th, Kai is one of the newest members of the walking population. It's so strange because where I used to be able to hear him crawling on our hardwood floors, now that he's walking he makes very little noise and he constantly sneaks up on me and surprises me. On into the next growth phase we go...

back to life

We've returned home from a whirlwind five days in Seattle. Believe it or not, the weather in Seattle was absolutely beautiful while we were there, with no rain, and plenty of sunshine. We went to Pike Place Market, the aquarium, the zoo, Chinatown, and experienced a ton of other stuff. My sister even got married while we were there!

This was Kai's first plane ride, and he was a champ overall. On the first leg of our return red-eye flight home, he did toss and turn like an out-of-control gymnast, but for the most part he was great. And somehow, he managed to keep his internal clock on Eastern time the entire trip, so he was waking up at 4 in the morning and getting sleepy at 7pm, Pacific time.

My sister's wedding was beautiful. The ceremony was held at Parson's Garden, one of Seattle's many public parks, atop Queen Anne hill and was stunning. The sun was shining and the weather was cool and crisp. It couldn't have been more perfect. And, the day after the wedding, I actually got to spend some time and have a conversation with Lanna's new husband. I've never really gotten the chance to meet him, or perhaps never really given him a chance. But I thoroughly enjoyed being with Brendan, and was very impressed with him. And his parents were equally great. I look forward to getting to know his family.

On another note, Kai is full-on walker now. He can stand up easily on his own and walk wherever he wants in our home. It's scary how quickly that happened. If I ask him where my belly is, he will put his finger directly on my belly button now. He is also learning to put his cup down gently instead of just throwing it on the floor. And, if I ask him to read a book with me, he will crawl or walk right between my legs, turn around and plop down against me so that we can read together. It really is amazing.

Be sure to see Kai's latest photo gallery for the Seattle photos, and to link to Lanna's wedding photos. More after the break...

the meaning of life

I found this book excerpt via Ryan's blog written by Alan Alda that I found fascinating and beautiful. Just thought I'd share it with you. Click this link to read about Alda's meaning of life.

headlong

I think it's safe to say that we've officially crossed into walking territory. While crawling is still Kai's main mode of transportation, he is definitely taking more risks and walking short distances. And he loves running to one of us and diving headfirst into me or Erin or Isaac.

He mimics new words intermittently now, he may say turtle nonstop for a day, and then he won't say it again for a few days. And of course, he does have his own language which he tries to communicate to us in. While he can mimic our words, he doesn't know what they mean yet, which makes for cute moments. Like every time he throws his milk cup down on the floor he says "nono." He thinks "nono" means throwing your cup down.

We are all set for our first cross-country trip next week. My sister is getting married in Seattle! We are all flying out there to celebrate Lanna's special day and to enjoy our first family vacation. I had no idea how much having a baby would change the travel plans. Did you know that rental car companies offer baby seats? I never even considered such a thing until this trip. Planning for this trip is a real eye-opener — how do we plan our day's excursions around Kai's nap schedule? What about flying? Will the depressurization hurt his ears? Erin's always hurt. How do we pack enough activities for the plane ride alone? It's a far cry from my days of travel as a single guy — throw three shirts and some boxers in the suitcase and let's go.

So on we go, headlong into the unknowns of parenthood.

driving lessons

I have Isaac his first driving lesson today. It went very well, and I feel like he will be a fine driver. It's just hard to believe that here I am, teaching Isaac how to drive, when sometimes it feels like it wasn't that long ago that I was learning how to drive from my dad.

The first lesson went very well. Neither of us lost our cool, and he is picking it up pretty well.

Kai continues to take walking steps, although he still does not stand on his own without pulling up on something. It seems like it could be any day before he really starts walking. It seems like one day I'll blink and it will be him that I'm teaching to drive.

On another note: football season starts tonight! I didn't really get to watch much football last year, as I was fully entrenched in fatherhood. This year I think I'll be able to enjoy football again. Unfortunately, I'm a Dolphins fan. Let's hope they give us something to be excited about.