3/4 of a year!

well, i must say these last 9 months have flown by compared to the 9 months before... maybe it had something to do with the big ole baby in my belly!

things are good in the land of kai... not much to report... she's still cruising and letting go every once in a while... she can drink out of a straw... and has learned the art of clapping. it really is a joy to see her learning and growing and changing... and to think her birthday (and mine - don't forget!) is just around the corner is a tad bit crazy! 

she still loves the fish tank...

(look at the older posts to see her at 3 months enjoying the view from her bumbo)

eating cheerios... and feeding lucy a snack as well 

yes those are zebra print parachute pants (thanks DD!)

i forgot to mention the fine art of climbing! she put herself on top of her favorite cardboard box for this one!

we went to the zoo last week (half price wednesdays!)

napping with noli on the way

checking out the chimps

mommy and kai and an old man gorilla

pig... but noli's more interesting over there

riding the train with our bff's

just can't stay awake

to see this beautiful, sad lion

also, last week, we went to a memorial service for one of shawn's former coworkers so we stopped by to visit grandma candy's grave

the weekend brought cousin AJ's 5th birthday party... cosmic bowling!

kai also got to see cousin brian... a rare treat... 

check out that score... i don't know if you can read it or not, but the 99 goes with Suzy and the 36 with Shawn... not that i'm boasting or anything....

that's all for now! happy thanksgiving! 

a chessire cat, a monumental election day and falafel

For Halloween this year, we threw around some ideas... Popeye, Olive Oil and Sweet Pea.... Fred, Wilma and Pebbles... but finally settled on Alice, the Mad Hatter and the Chessire Cat. Grandma J/Amba/who knows what we'll actually call her made Kai's tail and ears (thanks!) and Shawn put together his ensemble with one trip to the thrift store (complete with size 8 women's pants - i'm just a tad bitter)... I spent all week looking for mine and still people were like, and you are...??? Guesses included Ma and Pa Kettle (what?!) and someone Irish - thanks to Shawn's green hat I suppose. Anywhoo...we had a great night. We stopped by my parents house to show off the costumes and my grandparents and then headed to some friends' house where they were having a block party. Kai was so good! She enjoyed watching the older kids hit the pinata and ride their big wheels round and round. When the older kids went trick or treating, we got the bounce house all to ourselves and Kai's godfather, Rob, took her for a ride in a wagon!

enjoy some pics!

the whole gang:


Kai with grandma j:


Kai and daddy:


Shawn enjoying his own private tea party


Riding around with The Godfather:


So tired!


Mommy and Kai:



Saturday night we went down to Shawn's dad's for the annual halloween party... we didn't get any pics, unfortunately, but a good time was had by all!

Tuesday brought election day as we all know! My friend Katie (that I've known since 1st grade!) was in town helping her dad out, so we stopped by her post and kept her company for a couple of hours. It was also her birthday so we took her a special treat! What dedication to spend your entire day at the polls! Don won... so it was worth it! Go Don!

Kai and Katie:


Future pollster??? (she stood up all by herself for this one!)

And finally, tonight we went to dinner with our friends, the Andersons. If you've been reading my blog since the beginning, you know that Kai is a week younger than their sweet pea, Noli. I can't believe how much they've changed in this nine months! It's so fun watching them start to interact with each other!

Besties forever - if only we could look at the camera at the same time!

And... this picture pretty much sums up why i love Annie so much.

Obamadios (totally stolen from someone much more funny than I) for now!