the year of discovery

As I reflect back on 2007, it occurs to me that the undercurrent of the year was discovery. There are several time periods in a man's life that sculpt his entire life: becoming a teenager; learning to drive; moving out of parents house. This past 12-15 months as a new father in a young family was another one of those defining eras. Trying to raise a healthy, confident toddler while guiding the development of a talented, intelligent, and stubborn teenage boy is no easy task. Not to say that's it's difficult, but it does require constant effort.

Learning to be a husband in that same time frame has had its challenges, and it's another endeavor that requires constant attention and effort. Erin and I are building the foundation of a new life every single day. It's amazing to think about. But her and I really do complement each other very well, and we are a beautiful and loving team.

What else have we discovered this year? Kai found his mobility, his speech, and is becoming a little man more and more each day. He's been on his first: cross-country vacation; road trips; plane ride; and bike ride. His latest words? Emma and soup. He LOVES butternut squash soup. Aunt Kelly, please make more. Speaking of more, that is one of his new signs, as his increased dexterity has allowed him to communicate more words through sign language. He signs for milk, drink, more, and swing.

Isaac is really becoming himself. Despite his attempts to conceal, he really does wear his heart on his shoulder. As a sophomore on the top-ranked Winter Park High School Varsity basketball team, he has established himself a top reserve guard. His grades are pretty good. I've learned so much from raising him.

Erin continues to impress me. I could write entire novels about what she has done for herself and this family. Let's just say she has discovered her power and strength and is the CEO of our little family.

I'm excited about what wonders lie ahead for us. For this blog, look for more frequent posts this year, with a larger variety of topics. Stay tuned for more!

post-christmas

Thankfully, Christmas has come and gone, and we managed to get through it fairly unscathed.

Our Christmas Eve was lovely, as Grandma Marty came over with Kelly & Eric for brunch, with Bloody Mary's and Erin's lovely frittatas and potato pancakes. Christmas Day was at our home this year, and Grandpa Bill and Grandma Janet came over to spend the day. We devoured another delicious ribeye roast, Erin's amazing collard greens and Kelly's awesome creamed peas. Kai ate like a king, and often.

Kai did receive an entire wave of new toys this year, and our house is beginning to look like one of those disheveled toy stores in the mall...

And as if that wasn't enough, we're off to Vero Beach for two nights. Isaac has a basketball tournament down there this weekend, and Erin, Kai, and I are going to go stay with my dear friend Ashley (a frequent commenter on this blog) who just had her second daughter about two weeks ago. And her first daughter, Caedyn, is turning the big ONE today, so we're going to meet her family. I'm really excited, as I haven't seen Ashley in years, and we have both grown exponentially since the last time we hung out. We're both all grown up now, aren't we? Or aren't we?

Also, my laptop is experiencing another challenge - it does not want to charge right now. This may or may not be related to the infamous coffee incident from eight months ago. Hopefully it won't be too expensive to fix, or I may have to get a second job to buy a replacement.

cold(ish)

The weather here finally dipped below 70, and was downright cold tonight. It's so funny here in Florida, all of us waiting for the thermometer to dip so we can bust out the warm clothes we get to wear for a total of 14 days per year. We're no exception.

As you can see, Erin bundled Kai up today and tried to take him for a walk this morning. Unfortunately, he is a Florida boy through and through, and was not happy with the cold. She ended up cutting their walk very short today due to Mr. Fussy-Face.

Today was the holiday party at the Restaurant. Kai was a hit at the party. He really just enjoyed running around the restaurant and exploring, with me in tow, of course. The food was amazingly mediocre and boring, although I did win a nice bottle of Amarone.

Anywho, I'm personally enjoying this brisk weather. It may not even get into the 60's tomorrow. I can't wait to see the socialites at the bar pimping their fur coats in our imitation winter. Any excuse to bust out the winter clothes that are only wearable for two weeks a year.

bah humbug

Probably setting the stage for years to come, Kai has readily voiced his opposition to posing for photos. Most of the great photos we have of him have been candid shots, with little to no intervention on the photographer's part. But as you can see here, trying to get him to sit with a Santa hat on his head is a challenge that he ultimately wins, simply because you cannot use reason and logic with a toddler...

osprey

Found this photo on Flickr and thought I really had to share it with you all. Wow.

words

So we've crossed the sixteen-month threshold, and Kai is quite the talker. He seems to be learning new words all of the time, and he definitely understands what we are saying, even if he cannot say the words himself. I thought it would be a neat idea to compile a list of the words that he has said, intelligibly or not, up until today.

The words:

daddy, mama, papa, isaac, shoe, ball, milk, meat, neat, beet, hat, ewe, sheep, bah, moo, diaper, nose, teeth, school, belly, chicken, bird, turtle, baby, mimi, jamie, nana, bubble, bath.

There may be more, but I can't remember them now... The other day Kai did place his first phone call on my phone... to my sister. I did manage to get to the phone so she didn't think I was prank calling her. Do people even prank call anymore, in the age of caller id?

progressions

It was time to do something. The other night, as I shampooed Kai's hair and combed it out, I noticed that his bangs nearly reached his chin. Erin grabbed the scissors, and armed with fresh hair-cutting advice from an expert stylist, she snipped his bangs to a much more manageable length. Kai barely blinked. The hair on the back of his head is equally long, as well, but thankfully it is curly back there so it doesn't lay there like a mullet. So for the first time in his life, at nearly 16 months old, Kai got his first hairs cut.

Coincidentally, he also has his first chest cold. It does seem quite minor, and his cute little coughs in the morning are productive, so we are not too worried. His spirits have not even been dampened. In fact, he has been in a better mood than ever lately, and learning at a quick clip. Perhaps it's because his lower molars have finally broken skin and started to come in.

The other day, I taught Kai the "How big are you?/So big!" game in just one day. That is good progress. He has also learned some new words and games with us. He never ceases to impress me. It also seems that Kai has a girlfriend at the YMCA. One of the little girls around his age has been flirting with him for the past month or so, holding his hand and kissing him and crying when we take him away. The other day he began to notice her and say her name. He even cried when Gigi's mom picked them up. That's my boy...

Today, we are going to Turkey Lake Park for a play-date with my friend Brent's daughter, who is about one month older than Kai. The last time Kai and Mimi were together, she slept almost the entire time and neither of them could walk or talk. So this should be fun. Photos to come...