what Kyalo loves

This is a continuation of this morning's post.  Departure time for Baltimore has been pushed back due to some unforeseen circumstances. I'm basically ready to go, and Kyalo's asleep, so I'll take the time to relax and with the fan on full blast and a glass of iced coffee.

Kyalo is active. You have probably picked up on this fact. I realize that this is nothing particularly unusual for a 15 month old child, especially a boy.  It does continually amaze me just how busy he can be.  He literally runs circles around the house...which I figure is a good thing because then it wears him out!

In no particular order here are some of his loves...

eating

He loves food. You'll notice, however, that there is an awful lot of food on the tray in the top photo.  He still tends to chew stuff and then spit it out, which is a) gross, b) frustrating because then I don't know how much he's actually eaten.  Lately we've taken to feeding him while he runs around. Not the best habit, I know, but at least then he swallows.  Yesterday, however, he seemed to begin a turn-around and is eating/swallowing more in his high chair. He had a big lunch today and didn't even nurse before his nap.  More progress! (unless it means he wakes up in 20 minutes...).  The second photo is from Monday. We'd spent the morning in a busy government office in Newark, and missed the morning nap.  I wanted to get some solid food in his tummy before naptime, but he was just too tired.  He has also gotten much better using the spoon himself. His aim is usually pretty accurate these days. He's growing up!

talking

Ok, so even though he doesn't say any actual words just yet, he is NON-STOP talking, babbling, whatever.  The boy has a lot on his mind and is working on expressing it.  So far the only thing we've really gotten from him is "tah" for hot, which he says for just about everything. Sometimes he's right, other times, not so much.  Earlier in the week, he was eating in his high chair, and Dexter was making noise in the back.  He got very excited and said, "Dada!!" and since he's done that several more times, I think it is safe to say he's also started to give Dexter a name.  Do we have "mama" for me? Noooooo.

Typical.

bathing/brushing teeth

He still only has two teeth!  I'm guessing they're just going to explode on us one {miserable} day and night.  The boy needs some top teeth. That'd probably help him eat, too.  He loves bath time, and he loves to brush his teeth, and sometimes, he loves to combine the two activities.

reading

Kyalo is surrounded by books.  We read a lot together, and I take him to story hour at the local library once a week.  Lately he's been showing more interest in reading, and sometimes, when he's suspiciously quiet for a while, I will peek at him and find this:

I like this because he's quiet and still and because he's being exposed to books - even he's not reading them properly yet.  A few weeks ago we got our first batch of books from the library which was nice. Until he ripped one in half.  Guess we'll wait a while before getting another batch!

{Those of you with kids, what are your favorite books to read to your child/ren?}

What also amazes me is how alert he is.  When he was new born and for the first several months I consistently read to him three books before bed in the same order.  (The Carrot Seed, The Foolish Tortoise, Goodnight Moon. Totally random, I know).  I haven't done that for a long time, but the other day I started reciting The Carrot Seed to him.  Off he went to the bookshelf to get it!!! Then, he went off and got The Foolish Tortoise and brought it to me, and lastly, he went and got Goodnight Moon!

Am I the only one who finds that amazing?

He also likes reading with us.  Here he is, reading a Swahili book with Papa...

pushing/shutting

He recently discovered how to shut doors, which he's doing all the time. Of course, he hasn't learned how to open them yet (or he's just too short to reach the handle) so that usually results in a total meltdown afterwards!

He also loves to push stuff.  The laundry basket, chairs, boxes, whatever.  In order to do my workout I have to move the coffee table in the living room.  I get him to help me with this every day.  Now when I say, "Kyalo, I need help pushing..." he'll run, all smiles, to the coffee table.

I apologize for the scary pics of me in my workout outfit.  Try to focus on Kyalo.

 is he proud or what?

and yes, he can actually push the table by himself

Ok, I'm turning into one of those types of mothers - you know, the ones who can't stop talking about how amazing their kid is?  I don't want to bore you with all the details.  I'm sure there are other things I wanted to include, but will likely have forgotten. 

I'll be back with a brief post about our rather uneventful 4th of July in the coming days. 

Hope those of you in the US are staying cool. . .