what he's been doing

the other day we were all sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch when a fed ex truck drove up and delivered this:


(we didn't mean to be matchy matchy with the helmet and bike. it's just the color of the bike kai wanted.)

kai's first "bike." a glider (or balance) bike. meaning it has no peddles. just two tires. he's in love. the first day we rode all around the neighborhood and to the park. all day. except for sleeping hours. poor zaiah, stuck in her stroller. but .... kai has really picked up on riding this bike. you get speed by walking your feet along the ground, and then pick up your feet to glide and ride.

he's also discovered watching diggers, backhoes, monster trucks, etc. on youtube. another love affair.

you'll see in the first picture, another thing he's been doing. wearing mismatched shoes. rarely will you see him now with two of the same color on. i love these little things as he struggles with dependency vs. independency. oh the 3's, they are a challenge.

blueberry picking

me and the kids went blueberry picking the other day. i was hoping to get enough to have around for a bit and to make a blueberry pie or tart. but the hot weather diminished the enthusiasm for picking after about 20 minutes. so we didn't last long out in the heat. hoping to go back on a cooler day with kai.

chuggin along

not much happening here. but we are here. playing outside. a lot. in this heat, we try to find shade where ever we can.

inside i've been working on the kids rooms a bit. trying to make them a little more cozy, and personal. here are a few things i've done.

a corner of kai's room that's a bit of andy from his childhood. love the framed bee picture andy drew. carol guessed he was about 5 years:


a little tulip/fairy embroidery project i've been working on for zaiah's room (i don't claim to be a photographer. tricky to photograph a light wall):

lobsters

for weeks kai has been requesting lobster for dinner. it goes along with the seafood/shellfish, a thingy with claws and head theme. i guess we've resisted because of the obvious: they're pricey! i'm glad we waited because it made this weekend a bit more special. our first lobster fest. we went to cincinnati to visit some friends and every july 4th they have a lobster fest.


lobster 101: handling a lobster and body parts:


and little kids and big kids taking a wet break from the heat:


hope you had a joyful weekend and 4th!

look alike?

don't you think? it looks like their scalps are melting together to become one person. their hair color is so similar.

we're hanging out today on this gloomy, rainy louisville day. kai and i were supposed to go on a 5K stroller walk/race this morning with some friends. but instead we're stuck inside. hoping to get out today for some part of the 4th of july celebration.

we're heading to cincinnati tomorrow to see some very special friends in town from hawaii. we'll be back here in a few days.

happy 4th of july!

junie and jakie

there are two new family members who will be making an appearance, occasionally, here. well, not literally appearing. because, you see, they are fictional. last year we stumbled upon the book, rattletrap car, at the library. and i think i'm correct in saying that this is probably kai's favorite book. he now owns a copy. although he has not been reading this book much for months, the two main characters, junie and jakie, are in his thoughts. often.

out of this book, a ritual was born. before falling asleep, he asks andy or me to tell him a junie and jakie story. when this bedtime ritual started kai would ask: "tell me a junie and jakie story." then andy or i would create in our foggy, over-tired, parent brain a brief story. trying not to fall asleep ourselves. soon, kai started to add on to his request and ask something like: "tell me a story when junie and jakie ride a train." so we would tell a story with this theme.

now, kai asks something along this magnitude: "tell me a story when junie and jakie ride on train #8888 to grandpa's house. they get off and see a lion, and jakie's leg gets bitten. and the lion gets picked up by a backhoe." ohh, okay. well you pretty much just told this (very interesting) story. but, we tell the story back to him, adding on some (interesting) stuff.

it's so adorable because he tells us to tell a story after he has created the story himself. of course, without realizing he has already made up a story.

the other day i asked how old junie and jakie are. he said 4. so they're twins i asked?? no, he replied. interesting since they are brother and sister.

okay. so what i'm telling you is that junie and jakie will be here occasionally. whether just mentioning them, or re-telling a story that has been told in this household.

tie dye

we had some friends over today for tie dying. and this photo was the only one i got. post tie dying. the kids surprisingly were very into the process. i'll post the kids tie dye clothing in a couple days.

then, andy got some good news today. he made it through the second phase of the early enrollment process for med school. i would try to explain, but apparently i don't really know what i'm talking about. every time i explain it to someone, andy, so sweetly, tells me so. i do know that the enrollment process seems a little quacky, and a bit confusing. to simplify, i think of it as a big layered weeding out process. all i really need to know is that today was good news. now he has to write more essays and gather his recommendations to submit this month. yea andy! so we celebrated with this tonight: