Team Grandpa

Kai loves his Team Grandpa outfit almost as much as he loves his
grandpas.

Showered with Love

Yesterday my three closest girlfriends threw a baby shower for Kai and I. It was fun because unlike most baby showers Kai was able to be there. He got lots of love from all the ladies and I felt overwhelmed by all the happiness and blessings. There were fun craft projects where people were able to make personalized shirts and onesies for Kai, there was also a time capsule where the guests filled out a list of questions saying what they thought Kai's favorite things 5 years from now would be, and then in 2015 we will open it up and see who got the most answers right. There was beautiful decorations and wonderful treats to eat. It was all out an amazing day. It's been a long road for me to becoming a mom and this event was such a wonderful celebration of Kai's arrival. I couldn't have asked for better friends or a more beautiful day. Over the years I can't count how many baby showers I have attended wondering if I would ever have one of my own. As I was driving up to my friend Lisa's house and spotted the blue balloons I got teary eyed realizing, this time it was for me. What a wonderful gift Kai is in our lives, he brings so much joy to everyone we know and I couldn't be happier. He enjoyed the day too, being held by everyone and soaking up all the cuddles. I'll post some pictures soon. My friend who is a photographer (also named Lisa) took a bunch of photos that I'm sure will be amazing, so I can't wait to see them and share them with you.

Thanks to Lisa, Jen and Siobhan for creating the most beautiful and perfect day I could have ever imagined. I'm still basking in the glow of all the love and goodness. You guys are the best and I am such a lucky girl to have you in my life. Not to mention how lucky Kai is to have such wonderful and loving aunties. You rock!

Mr. Wiggles

One of Kai's many nick names is Mr. Wiggles. Especially in the morning he loves to wiggle around, wiggle his legs, wiggle his arms, wiggle his head. Just all around wiggle :) Here are a few pics from the other day... all shot within about 30 seconds.

Kai and his new best friend

His thumb! (aka Sasquatch)

Bliss

Sasquatch sighting!

Nap time today...he's still getting the hang of it, but there is definite thumb sucking action going on! He slept until 4am this morning without waking up! Up until Sasquatch appeared he would wake up at least four times a night...ah sweet slumber. I love you Sasquatch.

Big development

Last night Kai started sucking his thumb! This is very exciting news because having something to suck on is very soothing to him, often he will fall asleep with a pacifier and when it falls out as he starts to drift off, all h*ll breaks loose. Well, last night we put him to bed and when he woke up he cried for a minute and then I heard these sucking noises. I was able to sneak into his room and peek in to see if it was indeed his thumb in his mouth, he's also been known to suck on his arm, or the back of his hand, but he had finally figured out how to extend his little thumb and suck just on that. He's still getting the hang of it because he went between sucking ferociously to crying when his thumb popped out, but he's diligent in his efforts...it is after all hard work controlling those little arms. The even more exciting news is he slept the entire night last night! From around 10pm to 6am! Related? I think so :) We'll see what happens tonight but we are very proud of our little thumb sucker. I've got my eye on him this morning, but so far the thumb hasn't made it into his mouth today...who knows maybe it's just a bed time thing? Or maybe his arm is tired from the work out last night! Time will tell. I'll continue my investigation and try to snap a photo when "bigthumb" appears, maybe we should knick name his thumb sasquatch, at least until there is an official sighting?

I took this video last night, you can't see anything, but if you turn it up, you can hear the sucking, then cry, suckling then cry. This went on for several minutes, so funny. Such a hard worker.

Also, here's a couple bonus pics of Mr. Cute with his legs out after a walk on a warm day this weekend

Kai's first real Waterfall

Kai, Mark, Grandpa Hales and I went on a little hike today to a local waterfall. It was Kai's first real waterfall...you may remember his first "waterfall" here

He loved it. It's a pretty short hike but it was just the right length of time for all of us to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. In the spring we will go out there again when the waterfall is really rushing. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place. Kai spent the entire way in looking around at everything and the entire way back passed out :) I often think about how strange it must be to be a baby. Everything is new. I mean can you imagine never having seen a tree or a stream or a waterfall before? It's so fun to be able to experience all these things for the first time with Kai. He's our little adventurer.

Kai's face on the way up to the waterfall was one of amazement at the beauty around him.

Daddy and Kai at the waterfall

 Jenna and Grandpa Hales at the waterfall

Playtime with the cousins

Last night Jenna, Kai & I went down to San Anselmo for a little playtime with the cousins! A few pics from the festivities.

Auntie Kristen managing the crazy threesome!

Lena loves to sit next to Kai and make sure he has a blanket, etc. He's her little baby :)

Nello loves to share his books & toys with Kai, he's an awesome older cousin :)

Bonus Pic: From last week, more of Nello's Book Picks for Kai :) I think Grandpa Hales read 20 books that night to these two...

Photobooth!

I just got this new ap for my iPhone that lets you take pictures like in a photobooth! It counts down and everything! So cool. You can take new shots or use existing ones in your photo library. I'm addicted already :) (It's called Mobile Photobooth)

Here's a couple cute ones:

Cute

Kai was a little fussy today, but boy is he cute or what? Those cheeks are off the charts!

Kai has a story to tell you

Point Reyes & the Ocean

Jenna, Kai, Marley, Ruby & I drove out to Limantour beach yesterday. We'd been waiting for a sunny day to take Kai to the beach and yesterday was perfect.  You could tell that Kai loved the ocean, the sand, the breeze, the sounds. We had a wonderful & rejuvenating time. Here are a few pics from our trip...

((((((love overload)))))) 

a pit stop on the way home :)

 

Jenna found this baby sand dollar for Kai on the beach

Bonus slice of life pics...

 Kai watching Jenna paint this afternoon.

Kai on his way to bed :) He is asleep now.

Pictures of the traveling feet

Mark and I started this funny tradition when we were first together where we would randomly take pictures of our feet. Sometimes it was just for fun, sometimes to commemorate something important to us. Today we went out to the beach and got a new shot to add to the collection. I thought for posterity I'd post all the pictures of the traveling feet. Teaser alert! - check back tomorrow for more pictures from our trip to the beach, it was a beautiful day out there and as usual Kai enjoyed taking in all the new sights and sounds, we got some really great pictures.

OK, without further adieu:
Where it all started, this is from mine and Mark's first camping trip together, it's just my feet, but seems appropriate somehow since we were just dating at the time :)

This one is from our engagementmoon as we came to call it...our trip to Europe right after we got engaged. This is on a street in Rome, Italy

Same trip on the Seine in Paris

From our first trip to Catalina

Our wedding day

Hanging at Mark's grandma's beach houses in Southern California

At our old house in the backyard

Our fourth anniversary trip to the River's End in Jenner, where the river meets the ocean

Our last trip to the beach before Mark's kidney transplant

Our first trip back to the beach after Mark's kidney transplant

Camping!

Hiking in Point Reyes

Kauai

Glass beach in Mendocino (such an amazing place, the entire beach is sea glass)

In Catalina, the weekend we were contacted by Kai's birthmom (these feet had no idea how much their lives were about to change! - for the better :))

Kai's first visit to the beach and the start of a whole new series of feet :) - I recommend you click on this one and take a good look at his adorable toes, he's totally stretching them out to feel the sand - so cute!