Kai is 10 months old/ Day Trip to Astoria

Our baby Kai just turned 10 months old. He can now crawl really fast, and "run" away from you when he thinks you're chasing him or when he's trying to get through the forbidden gate left open! He "talks" non-stop, loves to be upside-down, tickled, being read to, chasing Picabu the cat, eating enormous amounts of food, splashing in the bathtub and being outdoors. We believe he enjoys being in daycare (still 3 days a week), and loves Miss Evelyn, his caretaker there. He can find approximately 10 things if you ask him where they are (Dada, Ima, Picabu, and some more things in Hebrew). He has said 2 words until today ("or"--light, and "Dada"), but added a new one today: "Ets" (means "tree" in Hebrew). We are so proud of him!

On Saturday we took a trip to Astoria, Queens, for some delicious Greek food. Kai and Ima drove with Saba and Savta, and met up with Uncle Eyal. It was a very very hot day, but we didn't let all that sweating drag us down . Kai had his own lunch (hummus sandwich and cucumbers, in the spirit of mediterranean food), and then had MORE of our food of course. He missed his midday nap, but we managed to get him to sleep a little in his stroller at the restaurant. We then stopped at a dessert place, and Kai had his own dessert (fruit salad). It was a yummy day!

Look at those beautiful curls! Just had to take a picture of them!

Kai clapping

We recently realized that Kai has been "clapping" for a while now... It just doesn't exactly look like clapping (and there is no clapping sound)--but he tries! People who don't speak Hebrew have no idea what I'm saying, but I'm telling him to clap with a little song. My little genius!

Trip to The Bronx Zoo

Today we visited the Bronx Zoo. The zoo was huge and it was a little hard for Kai to see many of the animals (it was hot and many of them were sleeping in a far away shade), but he did manage to see some...

The real tigers were a little far, but Kai loved this poster!

Kai navigating the way with the help of the zoo map...

We're not sure exactly how they are keeping the polar bear alive in this crazy heat, but he can't be too happy. I think I saw some sweat beads on his nose...

Watching the giraffes...

Lunch break (hummus sandwich)

Some videos

Kai recently learned how to go up the steps to the second floor--I guess we're really going to be chasing him now!

Some fun in Ima and Daddy's bed in the morning:

Kristina's wedding

Last Saturday we drove to Long Island to attend Kristina and Lou's wedding (Keith works with Kristina). It was a small event, and it was perfect for Kai's first wedding. He was able to just hang out, listen to music, try cookies for the first time, and play with little Ollie and Daemon. If it weren't for TONS of traffic (Long Island, what did we expect??) I would say it was a perfect day.

Visit with Duclos and Kate

Our own "Jon and Kate" visited all the way from Boston for a few days. Here are a few pictures:

Brendan and Kai playing together with the exersaucer:

Meri demonstrating to Kai and me her hula hooping skills:

Kate jumping in the pool with Kai at Aunt Anne's house (the water was too cold--we only dipped his feet):

Jon and Kate (plus beer and pasta):

First the Martini and now the beer! what's next? Jello shots?!

Brendan eating a cucumber (or gumming a cucumber):

July 4th Weekend

We all headed to Riverton for their 4th of July parade. It was a pretty big event for such a small town! On the way we stopped at Grandmom and Michael's house, where Kai had tons of fun with Maggie the dog (see video). He seems to really enjoy animals. The next day we took our seats on Main Street and watched the parade. Kai enjoyed the commotion, and even took a little nap on Daddy's lap. In the evening we watched the boat race on the river, and despite all the people Kai had the best view! Kai ended this long day at Mary's house, enjoying a little swing with Ima. (Daddy and Ima went out to Chris and Debbie's house to watch fireworks after Kai went to sleep--thanks to Pop Pop's babysitting skills!)

9 Months Well Visit

Kai visited Dr. Rosen yesterday for his 9 Months checkup. His slight ear infection is gone, and Dr. Rosen said he looked good! He now measures 30.75 inches long (above 99th percentile), and weighs 20 lbs 13 oz (just slightly above average for his age group). Looks like all of that food he's inhaling is going straight to his height, not too much to his tummy! (wish that was the case for me...). He also got his monthly vaccine and didn't cry too much (the puffs made it all better!).

Here is a video of Kai cracking up. We realize he's not always going to like our kisses as much as he likes them now, so we're taking full advantage!