Thankful

I consider myself very blessed indeed, with family, friends, good health, and happiness.  But this is my Number One Reason to be Thankful This Thanksgiving.

Have a wonderful, safe, and peaceful Thanksgiving and safe travels to wherever you and yours may be spending the holiday.  

Back next week with more Kibi adventures!

Little Sweet Things

I'm sure that you parents out there have little things that you've grown to cherish about your child.  They could be the way he or she looks at you when you come into a room, a favorite time of day together, or little terms of endearment you may share.  One of my newest, most cherished Kibi things has become part of our bedtime ritual, in the form of "'byes" and "pets".

One night a few weeks ago, when I was putting K. to bed, he said, forcefully, "'byes! 'byes!"  And I was at a loss for what in the world he meant.  Bye-bye?  Nooooo.  Turns out, he was asking me to sing him a lullaby song (something I usually do pre-bedtime, when we are rocking in our rocking chair)!  I melted.  

Complimenting the lullabying is something I've done for a long time, which he recently picked up on: stroking his hair as he falls asleep, or as we call it, head "pets".  So precious...

So now, whether it's naptime or nighty-nighttime, as I put K. in his bed, he commands: "Byes!" followed quickly by "Pets!"  

It's always one of my favorite parts of the day, although I'll admit that there's a trick in getting him settled down enough so that he doesn't constantly repeat the command the minute I stop. (As of late, he's often started protest-crying the minute I stop the lullabying and petting and get ready to leave the room)  He also wakes up occasionally at night (I think this is residual from the vacation and time change adjustment) and calls out in the night, "Mommy? Byes!"  And I sleepily stumble in and start the routine.  

I don't mind it though, at all.  Just like we all do, I know how fleeting these days are - the "days of constant contact", as I recently read in a parenting magazine - and this is a welcome part of my day, no matter what time it is.  It forces me to slow down, too, and count all of my blessings.  Something we should all be doing at this time of year!

Reliving His Youth

So we were hanging out the in basement the other day - it includes our laundry room, where I have rather inartfully stacked a bunch of stuff that I need to put away in storage ... namely baby stuff that K. has outgrown like his baby swing.  

Well, he was doing some exploring and came across the baby papasan swing that brought us many hours of relief as frazzled new parents.  

He completely freaked out, excitedly yelling, "Up, up, up!" until we put him in the swing so he could relive the memories of his youth. 

Here's a photo.  Dontcha love how his feet are hanging over the edge?  He stayed in for a good 3 minutes and then wanted out.  It was pretty amusing, nonetheless...

Who Doesn't Love Comfort Food?

I'd like to post an off-topic message today to help out my dear friend Sweet Pea Chef in Columbus, Ohio.  

She's a finalist in the MarxFood.com Comfort Food Contest and we are all so very proud of her. Her entry is the delicious-sounding "Golden Chili with Carmelized Onions and Sausage."

Now it's time for you to do your part - as a favor to moi?  Prettyprettyplease? - and vote for Jessica in the contest.

Here's where you can vote.  Her entry is listed as Jessica #85 - "Golden Chili".  Click on that bullet and then be sure to hit "Vote" at the bottom of the page.  

As of 12:45 PM EST, it looks like Jess has a decent shot of winning so please help us out.  Votes must be cast by November 23rd.

Thank you in advance for your support!  

And GOOD LUCK, Jess!

Higher, Higher... and Lower, Lower

K. has been increasingly interested in stair-climbing.  Although I am reluctant, because it signals the beginning of the end in terms of being able to keep him somewhat contained in the house, I figure it will be best to let him practice on a semi-safe set of steps: the carpeted steps leading down to our basement.

We decided to do some practicing today (well, really, he decided, because that's pretty much what toddlers do - call the shots!) and I snapped some cute shots of him feeling extra pleased with himself.

The practicing consisted of him climbing up the steps (and saying, "higher, higher" in a really cute, concentrating voice) and then turning around and looking at me for guidance regarding what to do next.  

I told him, "Now we'll go LOWER, LOWER ... which means DOWN."  He looked at me quizzically, but did seem to be interested in the experiment.

Most times I successfully encouraged him to "Turn around ... put your belly on the steps ... and stretch out your legs to touch the step below."  Admittedly it's a complicated set of instructions, but to his credit, K. seemed to be following most, if not all, of it.

The only scare I got was once when he did this turn-around procedure and instead of resting his stomach on the step, he proceeded to crouch there, with minimal space behind him.  Before we knew it, he was actually FALLING BACKWARD ... and if I wouldn't have been exactly 10 inches away from him he quite literally would've fallen, doing backwards somersalts ALL THE WAY DOWN THE STAIRS.  It makes me shudder just to think of it.

But so it goes, I suppose.  Just reminds me to never, ever be too complacent when letting him try new things...

Anyway, here are some pics of our excursion, pre-almost falling episode, for your enjoyment.  (BTW, sorry the pictures are somewhat misaligned - with apologies to my host, Blogger does not seem to have a very user-friendly picture posting system... ugh.)

Aloha!

We've returned from paradise.  It was wonderful to spend a whole week in Maui - the weather was truly therapeutic: mid-80's with a mild breeze almost every day.  

K. absolutely loved it.  As you'll see, most of my photos are of him checking out the landscape, usually with one of his cars or airplanes.  Seems he can find a spot for driving his little vehicles around virtually anywhere.  He is 100% boy, I'll tell you.

Our place has three swimming pools, which include two kiddie pools which are tons of fun for both the tots and the parents.  K. spent hours every single day exploring them.  

I'm still recovering from jetlag, so today I'll just post a couple of highlight pictures from our adventure.

I Know I Promised...

OK, I know I promised no more politics-related posts on Kibi's decidedly NON-partisan blog, but ... oh, well I couldn't resist this one.  We felt the need to do our part in the battleground state of Virginia, so this was taken of us on Election Day, canvassing in southern Arlington.  And we were excited that our efforts paid off!

On to other topics.  Sorry I've been MIA the last few days... lots going on, from the election ... to both me AND now Kibi being sick (a nasty cold that works its way through your system slowly and annoyingly).  And then our biggest news... we're going to MAUI on Saturday!

Yep, through a strange set of coincidences this year was The Year Of Travel for the Kibi Clan ... starting with Florida in February, Florida again in June (to visit different sets of family members), North Carolina in July, Ohio in August, Oregon in August, and now... Hawaii!  

It's a long story, but... well, we bought a timeshare there.  Yep, before the economy tanked, we decided to invest in oceanfront property through a resort chain that allows you to exchange stays for visits at other resorts throughout the world and/or continental U.S.  Time will tell if we made a mammoth mistake (ha!) but we are actually very pleased with the arrangement.  

We did it mostly to ensure we make a commitment to a family vacation every year, emphasizing the FAMILY part, since my husband's and my extended families are rather large.  We took the plunge over a year ago, and this will be the first time we're testing out the new place.  

We're bringing 6 other family members with us this first time, and very excited about a week of R&R ... that is, after we make it past the 12 hour flight!  I'm not thrilled at the prospect of taking an 18 month old with a cold on a cross-continental flight.  Oh well, I took him to the doctor today and she gave him the all clear, along with the tip that Benadryl should help with his runny nose AND help him to sleep - hooray.  And besides, I fully realize the ridiculous-ness of complaining about a flight to... Hawaii!

So, I'll likely not be posting for a while... at least until we get back (Nov. 16th).  So, hope everyone out there is doing well, enjoying political ad-free days and nights, and savoring these last few quiet weeks before the frenetic holiday season is upon us!

Take care.

Words, Words, Words... and Their Many Uses

We seem to be experiencing another Kibi developmental growth spurt, mostly having to do with his vocabulary.  For example, I'm excited to report that Kibi has started using 2-word phrases.  They're not exactly the phrases I would've imagined would have been his first, but they're interesting nonetheless.  

The first time he said a multi-word phrase (he hasn't done it since) was about three or four weeks ago.  I was changing his diaper and he said, randomly, "Mama .... please .... yogurt!"  My husband and I both heard that one and were amused and pleased that he finally was using "his words" to communicate his wants.  We haven't heard that particular grouping since he uttered it, but in the meantime he's developed a small handful of favorite 2-worders.  They are:

"Go away!"  (part of a game his dad taught him in which he throws an inanimate object - stuffed animal, leaf on the ground, food on his high chair, etc. - as far away as he can)

"Eat it!" (this sounds vulgar, but it's intended to encourage his dining partner to partake in his meal when he is finished with his portion)

"Read it?" (this is my favorite, although I'm sure I'll soon come to regret saying that... he pleads with whomever is sitting closest to him to read a book he has just picked up)

The other words he has really, really taken to saying lately are our names - "Mommy" and "Daddy" - as often as humanly possible.  I think it's his way of making sure we are a) present and b) paying attention to him.  We'll be sitting around the table eating a meal when K. will look at me and say, proudly, "Mommy!" and then look over at my husband and say, "Daddy!" happily.  Of course, this always gives me warm fuzzies.  

The other way he will use our names is by saying our name in perfect rhythm, OVER AND OVER, until we guess what it is he is trying to tell us.  For example: 

"Mommymommymommymommymommymommy..." 

"Yes, Kibi?" 

"Mommymommymommymommymommy..." 

(Silence while Mommy tries to guess) "Do you want some crackers?" 

"Yeah."  Mystery solved!

And guess what he's taken to doing while I am talking on the phone or otherwise engaged in conversation.  Yup, you guessed it -  but about 10 decibels louder.  Fun, fun!  

Sometimes the constant demands for my attention are exhausting... but at the end of every day, once I have some quiet time to unwind and think about things, I remind myself that without a doubt, these "Mommy" and "Daddy"-centric days are days to cherish, because the time will come one day when we will only WISH that he would still believe that we are the center of his universe.  Don't you parents out there agree?  

Sniff, sniff...

Trick or Treating Fun

Here are some highlights from our Trick or Treating excursion last night.  We made it to about 8 houses before K. started getting restless, which was fine for us, too.  Turns out, I DO have a nasty cold (my voice is almost completely gone), so I was in bed by 9:30 last night.  

K.'s dad let me sleep a little this morning while he and K. played downstairs, so that helped, and now I am feeling a little better, thankfully.  

We're headed out of town on vacation next Saturday, so I'm hoping that IF K. gets what I have, he gets it well before we get on the plane.... we'll see.

Anyway, enjoy!