one more

Now that I've got this video thing figured out (Adam, hope you'll be able to watch them, too!), I think I'll be a video-maniac.  I'm fairly sure Grandma demands it! I'll try not to bombard you all too much.  But this video of Kyalo in his Johnny Jump Up is a must to be shared.

Yesterday he had a great afternoon nap (horaay) and woke up in a fabulously happy mood, and was very content in the jumper for a long time.  Seizing the moment, I grabbed this little video.

Ok, so this video won't win any academy awards (well, maybe for cuteness?) but you can see how happy Kyalo is when he's jumping away.  As I think I've mentioned he is so active and this is a nice way to corral him a bit, when I need to get something done and don't want to be chasing him around, keeping him from eating every speck of dirt on the floor, or going for the various power cords around.  (Someone please explain to me why it is that he passes by all his bright, colorful toys and goes for the black cords?)

trying again

Well, I think it could be that I did upload the videos in an earlier post correctly.  It is just that my internet is so slow I wasn't optimistic about it. So, I have some new (shorter!) videos that I'll try to upload...just for you...and we'll hope they turn out.

To start your morning out right, I give you, The Screech.  Just be glad that it is only a few seconds long, and not all.day.long. as it is here in real life.

Kyalo still isn't really crawling yet, but this slithering thing he's got going on is getting him where he wants to be (usually where Mama does not want him to be), so it is good enough for now.  Crawling will just mean he can get places even faster, and then I'll really be in trouble.

I've started calling this his army crawl.  He's ready to be all he can be!

I have another video of him in his Johnny jump up, but want to get a better one.  Besides, two videos seems like a good amount to start off with.

Can you let me know if these actually work??

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

soaking up the sun

Kyalo loves to be outside.  Every day we go for an afternoon walk around Kijabe. It doesn't matter how fussy or hard to please he had been during the day, the minute we're outside he's calm and happy, chewing on one of the toys I keep in his stroller, his little legs happily kicking away.

Yesterday was one of those days where he was fussy all afternoon, even after we'd done our walk and other things as well.  I was going to the garden to pick some rosemary for tea, and plopped him down in the grass for a sec. . .which turned out to be 15-20 minutes because he was so calm and happy.  It helped that the afternoon was beautiful (instead of torrential rain which is what a lot of afternoons have been), and so I seized the moment, and ran to grab the camera.

He really enjoyed being out there, having the sun on his face, the grass beneath his feet.  And yes, he did sample the grass a bit.  Oh well, boys will be boys. 

I wanted to get some different perspectives of his time out in the yard. Our yard is actually pretty big; if we were staying longer I would be looking for ways to section it off for him to have a play area.  Alas, it isn't to be.  Chances are good that when we move to NJ we won't have a yard this fab, but we'll have pictures to remind us!

{mmm}

Can you see how long the grass is?  Daniel just cut it last week; with all the rain it is growing so fast.  I think Kenya looks so pretty right now, all green and lush and inviting.  I think the drought in this part of the country is officially over.

(there's Daniel in the corner working on the garden)

And my two favorites from the day:

We're so grateful for this little house that we've had. We'll miss it!

new tricks

We're in that period where it seems like every day a new developmental milestone is reached.  It really amazes me, and is so fun to watch.  Kyalo is doing so well in so many different things.

We're continuing to move slowly with food. He'll put stuff in his mouth, but I don't think he's really swallowing too much just yet.  But, he's only 7 months, so I'm okay with that.  It is nice to just expose him to different flavors and textures.  So far, it seems he really likes everything.  This week, he had orange for the first time:

He's happy with a bit of food.  Loves apples and bananas, especially, just like mama and papa. I hope he'll be a good (non-picky) eater as he gets older.

Crawling should be the next milestone, and we're so close.  He hasn't quite figured out how to get the legs under him, and usually when he gets on his knees they just slide out from under him (think of a deer on ice or something).  But, that doesn't stop him from getting around!

(Pretend there is a video of Kyalo doing his own interpretation of the crawl. I tried all morning to upload it, and thought I did it, but it just said 0.00/0.00 (for the time). Blogger is not my friend.)

This is not crawling so much as slithering, but it gets him where he wants to go, so I guess that's good enough for now.  This also means baby proofing the house has begun -- blocking his way to the things down low, and following him around the house. It is amazing what he can pick up and put in his mouth. Guess I'm going to have to be better about cleaning. {Sigh}.

His other fun trick is screaming. A lot.  When he's happy.  I can't quite figure it out, really. He'll be sitting surrounded by his toys and then will just start screeching, at the top of his lungs.  I am not a fan of this new stage, and hope it will pass quickly, though other mothers tell me that it lasts indefinitely. Awesome.

(And, pretend -- if you want -- there's a video here of his screaming)

On Sunday, when we were sitting in the car during church (remember the screaming? Yeah, that's not so good for church) he stood up for the first time. It was fun to watch him really work on it, and to see his look of satisfaction as he stood for a few seconds on shaky legs.  The other day, he also stood in the crib, so I guess it is time to lower the mattress

Yesterday I tried to capture him standing in the crib, but he didn't feel like putting on a show (sorry, G-ma) but I still got this amazing photo of him.  Love those cheeks!

Today, though, he was ready to show off, and the camera wasn't so far away, so I managed to snap these pics.

{proud}

That's what's happening here, in a nutshell. As for Dexter and me, we spend most of our time watching him be amazing, and when we're not doing that, we're filling out FAFSA forms.  Joy.

family get together

On Saturday, the entire Mulandi clan got together for the first time since Kyalo was born, seven months ago.  I'd say it was high time for a reunion, of sorts.  In addition to just seeing each other and catching up, there was lots to celebrate!  Dexter's acceptance into school, Robert's birthday on the 8th, my birthday on the 9th, Kyalo turning seven months, and Andrew being almost 9 months.  And so much more, really!  We met at a restaurant for lunch...and lingered there for several hours. It was a beautiful day, the place wasn't crowded, we were outside, etc. It was hard to leave, so we relocated Robert and Helen's for chai and cake (which was a surprise for Robert).

 Kyalo & Auntie Helen in serious talks

eating banana is messy business

 Dexter's dad

Dexter, enjoy quality family time

Dexter's mom

Jackie & Andrew {almost} 9 months

Robert was a little surprised to discover that the cake and the singing was for him.  I made a carrot cake and those chocolate-coconut cupcakes I'd made for Dexter a little while ago. Everything was a hit!  And we all had a great time.

There's just one problem with going to Robert & Helen's place. . . 

{Aidan & Mufasa}

Do NOT let the smile and the calm pose fool you...this guy is a beast.  At one point, he was barking and jumping around and I was sure he was going to tear the chain right out of the tree. Plus, he was definitely eying me hungrily.  I'm not really a fan of dogs, and this one puts me on total edge. But, as you can see, 12-year-old Aidan loves him.  Ack.

And there we all are! I was thinking to myself, "I hope it isn't another seven months before we're all together again," and then I realized...that in seven months a) Kyalo will already be a year and b) we'll be living in the United States!!! {Cry}. I'm really thrilled that Dexter has this opportunity to go to school, but leaving Kenya (again) is hard to do. Kenya truly feels like home...but more on that in a later post.  Fortunately, Christmas is next month, so we're likely to be all together again - doing what we do best: eating! :)  I love this family and feel blessed to be a part of it.

seven months

Wow. Seven months already. Each month seems like it comes and goes in a flash.  Kyalo continues to bring us so much joy and brighten our days.  It is really hard to imagine life without him -- I'm not sure what I'd do with myself. He has been a great companion for many things - walks around Kijabe, dinner prep, baking, and just generally keeping me company.

With seven months we graduate into a bigger sized "Kenya" t-shirt!  I decided to go for a different color & animal, just to keep things interesting...

                                               8 kgs                                                      17.63 pounds

It is getting harder to get these monthly photos because he's so squirmy and so easily distracted {why, hello socks!}.

This month we even managed to get photos with the parents!

Getting a picture of our little house seemed like a good idea since we'll be leaving it soon, and not likely to have anything this nice for quite some time.  I'll miss that yard (even though we're hardly in it).

Kyalo seems like he's going to crawl at any minute...he just can't quite figure out how to get both his legs underneath him.  Of course, I thought he was teething about two months ago, and I was very wrong on that front, so I could be way off on the crawling thing, too.

overalls

I happen to love little boys in overalls. Any kind, really, but there's something timelessly classic about jean overalls.  A friend works at the Gap and gets an amazing discount (lucky her) and bought Kyalo some overalls while we were home this summer. He's finally big enough to wear them! I wanted to capture the first time he was in them, but the lighting was poor and he wouldn't.stop.moving so they aren't the greatest...but it is about the memory more than anything.

For some reason, I envision him toddling around with a little puppy while he wears these. Why is that?  A boy must have a dog, I guess.

 {big boy!}

now, don't get any ideas my guy: we want crawling first. walking can come (much) later!

 here we can see both how happy he is, and how much movement he has (note the hands)

my guys

just the three of us

It is hard to get a family photo of all three of us, considering it is typical for me or Dexter to have the camera. On Sunday, we were all dressed up and looking good for church, and since Jenny was coming by I seized the moment and had her snap a few pictures of the three of us.  I think the last family photo was in August, so it was time!

It was a bright and sunny morning (thankfully! it has been non-stop rain around here lately) so we're all a bit squinty, but we got a couple of good ones.

 {squinty}

{October 30, 2011}

And look how (unintentionally) color-coordinated we are!  And our wedding colors to boot.  Score.