around town

"I LOVE scrambled eggs. Whenever anybody asks me, 'Do you like scrambled eggs?' I'm going to say "Yes!" all the time."
Kai rode his bike all the way to McKinley Park today, Nina in the stroller. 70 degrees on Thanksgiving sunday, just gorgeous. We returned from WI to the peak of autumn color here.
Today Kai wanted to hang around the house in his pullups all day (another bout of constipation) and "We'll do science projects ALL DAY!"
We got back from the park and Rachel and Kai played in a huge leafpile for awhile. Rachel with her long, fuzzy, golden locks and her tie die shirt, overalls, and green rainboots. That child has a great spirit, a bit like Kai.
And Nina. My little rash-mouthed (pineapple smoothie), red-cheeked (fell off the carseat and banged her face on the wall), tired redhead. She loves to try to connect clips on carseats and booster chairs, stand on the stool and brush her teeth for a loooooooong time, and run around the house with different hats on. She loves the gingerbread cookies that Kai and Nana made. She threw a head-banging tantrum a few times today when I wouldn't "nuth" (nurse) her.
Missing y'all.

Nina dancing, Kai making gingerbread men with Nana and Dup. Had a great Thanksgiving week with our visitors; a Santa parade, a trip to the foothills, a few bike rides, some delicious meals, and several beautiful autumnal days. We're back to 2 on 2 this week. Yikes. It's been awhile.

And more Kai-isms

"Who farts a lot?" Kai just asked. Hard to suppress a laugh. We don't use that word around here.
This morning Kai and Nate had a getting-ready-to-get-out-the-door battle. Kai said, "I'm EXASPERATED with daddy!"

More Kai-isms

Posted at school:
What do you do when you want to let somebody know that you love them?
Kai's response: "I hug them and kiss them...and then I make a silly face!"

Stephanie expressed yesterday her disappointment that she won't be able to work with Kai for an additional year because we'll be moving. She said she loves working with Kai because he's a challenge. She said not only is his reading "amazing" but he can do math too - and when Kai's exuberance turns off the other kids she emphasizes these skills to the others. ("Well, children, Kai may be spinning around you instead of playing with you but boy, can he read!" I wonder if that works.)
She cautioned me about future problems in school. When I told Nate all of this, and said I think Kai is probably MORE than he was at the same age, Nate said, "They had to put me in a box!"
I love this school and think it's perfect for Kai. He's eating "organic fuel beans", he loves pesto pasta, he talks about feelings and emotions, and has still never said that he doesn't want to go to school in the morning.
That said, I don't like the whining that he picks up from other kids. Ugh. And I was upset the other day when he said, "Ansel and Jackson wouldn't let me play soccer with them." I wanted to say, "Well Ansel and Jackson are dumb jerks." But I didn't. And I was upset when he said yesterday, "Ansel said I'm a quitter." Again, gut reaction = "Ansel is a dolt." (I can imagine Kai's difficulty with the task at hand, which according to Kai was picking up rocks for some purpose I couldn't understand.)
The heartbreak is starting! With increased self-awareness comes confusion and hurt feelings and my heart aches just thinking about it. And it's just the beginning.
There was a posting at school with the kids' responses to the question, "How did you feel on Halloween?" For most kids it was, "I was scared." "I was a witch so I was grumpy." "I had fun." Kai's was, "I was really, really, really, really, really happy!" That about sums him up...I don't have to worry about his fragile heart yet.

Happy Halloween!

Pictures of the neighborhood posse - Rachel, Georgie, Kai, Collin, Melody in the back; Collin's sister Elyse, AJ, and Nina in the front. We had a great time trick or treating, pulled Nina along in the wagon and she was content to work on opening up a box of jujyfruits the whole time.
Before trick or treating Nate's friend/colleague, Sammy, his wife Mili and their 12-mo-old son, Arjun, came over for pumpkin bread and beer. We all enjoyed the visit immensely. Very, very nice people.
Daylight savings ended today; Nina woke up at 6 which is now 5 - ouch - but she slept through the night without a peep.
Today Kai is obsessed with candy. The candy fairy is coming tomorrow night to swap all of his candy for a toy. Whew.