* F I V E *

Last month, Kyalo turned five.  Time for an update!

It is really hard to believe he's so grown up, on the brink of kindergarten, growing in independence (and defiance!), a lover of baseball {still}, books, ice cream, his sister, his cousins and life in general. He loves school, is super social, is eager to be a part of everything.  He is thoughtful and caring -- I hurt my back badly a few weeks ago and could barely move, one night he had woken up and asked me to tuck him back into bed.  As I hobbled in to help him, he said, "how's your back feeling, mama?"  He generally plays well with Malaikah, though as she has become more independent sharing has become harder for both of them.

This has been a good year for him.  He started a different school in the fall and it has been really wonderful, nurturing place for him.  They focus on play, on art, on books.  He regularly comes home with art projects -- so many that we covered the play room wall with them.

Two minutes after I took this picture, he took everything down 'to make room for new work'.  So, we're working on filling it back up before the end of the year.

He has grown so much this year.  At his well visit appointment I learned he'd grown 3 inches!  He's really lost his baby face and just looks all boy.  A good example of this is the photo below.  Both pictures were taken March 20th.  The one on the left in 2015, the right, 2016.  We started T-Ball again this month and one of the moms said, 'I feel like Kyalo has doubled in size!' That's a good way of putting it.

For his birthday, we had a handful of gifts (mostly art-related) for him, and a couple bags of his favorite pistachios.

Safe to say, he was pleased.

At his request, I made vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting.  

A random assortment of pics from the past few months:

 about to eat a mini dosa at an AMAZING Indian restaurant we discovered earlier this year.  Sadly, it is all the way in Portland so we don't get there too much.  He loved it.

In March we were in CA visiting my brother & his family.  This picture of Jack & Kyalo is one of my favorites.

As usual, we were in Essex for Easter....

 twins!

next Easter, there will be five!

In April we took a little farm class at a near by town -- Kyalo and some friends bottle fed baby goats, fed chickens, gathered eggs, planted seeds, brushed horses and mucked their stalls, and did some little science experiments each week (do YOU know how tell tell if an egg is fertilized or not? I didn't).  It was such a sweet time, watching the kids get fully engaged and engrossed in it.  And also, I bought a dozen eggs from this farm -- eggs Kyalo helped to gather -- and they may have been the best eggs I've had.

 first time riding a horse!  loved it.

Shallots!

One of his gifts was a little superhero set that he had to put together.  He wore it around a lot...

even needed it for feeding the goats!

and who better to use the second set he got than trusty Lion?

The first T-Ball game of the summer is this weekend (if it isn't rained out), and then the week after his final game Baby comes!  And then life will simultaneously come to a standstill and speed up. Other than T-Ball we don't have too many plans for him yet...but I do hope we have a fun summer ahead.

This was a good year, and the year ahead will only be better and more eventful. 

Kyalo at the doctor

On Monday, Kyalo had his first pediatrician visit since moving to Maine.  In some ways, it seems the first real pediatrician visit he has had, ever.  As you may remember, the visits to the doctor in NJ were always frustrating/disappointing for me.

No more!  I love the pediatrician office we go to.  The doctor takes such good time with both kids.  For Kyalo's appointment she - and the nurse, and the receptionist - took time to talk to, and listen to Kyalo and alllll his stories.  Gold star right there, in my book.  But it is the care they took about everything....listening to him, asking him interesting questions, making him as comfortable as possible, and assuring me that all is well.

He passed his hearing test with flying colors - doing better than some five year olds, the nurse said.  And here he is, wearing his eye test glasses.  He looks cute, and passed that, as well.  It was also the first time in over a year that he's been weighed and measured.  I have no memory of what he was at three, but now he is:

 35 pounds 5 ounces

3 feet 2 3/4 inches  -- 16th percentile

He's doing well - the doctor was pleased with his development, his health, etc etc.  He was nervous about getting shots (and, he had to get extras since some of the ones he got in Kenya were too early. Lucky kid) but he handled that very well, too.  

Oh, and the other cool thing about going to the doctor in Maine?  At every well-child visit from birth until age five every child in the entire state gets a book.  What a wonderful way to encourage and promote reading - especially in poorer communities where books are not easy to purchase.  I wasn't sure Kyalo would qualify since he wasn't born in Maine, but he does!  What a blessing!

Also while we were there, I snuck Malaikah in for a quick weigh-in, since we don't go back to the doctor for her until June.  This isn't 100% accurate because she still had clothes and a diaper on, but still, our hummus loving girl is now:

18 pounds 7 ounces*

And that is a gain of more than a pound in less than a month! 

Feeling richly blessed by two such healthy and happy kids.

* with clothes

Kyalo: four

I don't know what is more amazing...the fact that I woke up to a new dusting of snow on the ground today, or that Kyalo turned four on Friday.  I CAN tell you which one of those things I like better.  I'm done with winter.

Anyway...

April 3, 2015

(Kenya shirts for life!)

Kyalo's now a big man of four.  He's fun and energetic and full of life, loves his sister, is smart and engaged, caring and helpful, and all the other proud-mama adjectives there are.  This year has been hard. I would say we were in a 'terrible threes' year for sure.  He is strong willed, sometimes defiant, and so on.  So, I guess he's a typical 3 or 4 year old. (Right? this is typical???) It was not without a LOT of transition of course - a big move, a new job (and schedule) for Dexter, a new baby - in a very short time frame, so really, the 'terribleness' was to be expected somewhat.  As we settled into our new life as a family of four, and into routines, things did get better.

One big change that came at some point this year, maybe after Malaikah was born? is that he gave up napping.  It was not without my every effort to keep it going.  Now, though, he is in his room most days from 2-4 for 'quiet time' (which, sometimes, is not very quiet at all).  Some days are better than others, but for the most part, he stays in his room and plays.  Books on CD help.  New toys do too.  Those of you who are parents - any other ideas?

he wasn't exactly cooperating for these pictures.  this is four, I guess.

Kyalo's been in school two mornings a week at a nearby Montessori school.  Some days, I'm never really sure what they do, and others, he comes home full of facts and information about the planets or continents, or about the books they've read. So, he's learning something! Even though some mornings it is hard to get him out of bed and out the door, I think he likes it.  I definitely have a foretaste of what high school will be like though!

Ask him his favorite color and he'll say, "Red and orange and pink."  I guess it is too hard to decide!  He still loves all things artsy -- cutting seems to be his favorite activity.  Give the boy a pair of scissors and no paper is safe.  Neither is our house as it is quickly covered in confetti.  Here he is painting at his friend Lucas' a few weeks ago...

Picasso in the making!  If only we'd get him one of these easels. . .

He still loves loves loves baseball. And as the days have gotten *slightly* warmer (and longer) it is coming back into our daily conversation.  I signed him up for T-Ball (which will start "when the snow is off the field") and when I came home and told him, he said, 'I don't want to play T-Ball! I want to play baseball!'  He also talks about us going to Fenway Park to watch him pitch.  Should I call up some scouts and tell them to keep an eye out for and up-and-coming player?

here he is with his new Red Sox hat and Shirt.  Why wouldn't the Red Sox want him?

For Kyalo's birthday on Friday morning we had bacon and waffles, and he opened the presents that other people were kind enough to send him.

Then that night we drove to MA to be there for the Easter weekend.  He and my dad sort of-kind of share a birthday.  Kyalo was born just after midnight April 3 in Kenya - it was still April 2 here in the US, so my dad likes to claim they share.

Here are the birthday buddies:

We celebrated with a baseball cupcake!

Oh - while we were MA (civilization! there are TWO Marshall's within 15 minutes, not to mention Old Navy, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond , etc - a real mecca!) Dexter picked up a hair shaver for himself, and gave Kyalo his first ever real hair cut. No more snip snip snip as he runs past me.  It is pretty short right now, but it makes him look old and wise, and it will grow back to its wild and crazy stage pretty quick!

 do you think he's happy?

make a wish!

I wish I'd thought to get a picture of him and I together.  Next year, maybe!

It is exciting to think about all that is ahead of Kyalo - the new adventures, the learning and exploring and fun.  It is going so fast...most of the time...

Here are a few other pictures from the last few months:

A beautiful new outfit from Grandma. He wore it one day and then managed to dump an ENTIRE bottle of moroccan hair oil (I was very pleased by this, naturally) down the shirt and pants.  Thankfully, several washes later and the oil is gone!

Last week for an Easter activity I had some friends over to dye Easter eggs and decorate cookies.  He'd never dyed eggs before, so it was a fun activity!  Made better with friends.

Lastly, a couple of photos of Kyalo when I picked him up from school today.  Spring is called 'mud season' here.  I'm beginning to see the point. . .

 mud freckles

muddy!

You can believe he went right home and into a bath!  I envision a lot of loads of laundry in my future.  Maybe I need to get one of those outside shower hook ups?  Or just a lot of old worn out clothes...

So that's a wrap up of our newly minted four year old.  We love him so much.  

36 months

I have had some veteran moms tell me that three is more 'terrible' than the terrible twos.  We're a week and a half into Kyalo's being three, and I think I'm already seeing the signs that three is going to be harder than two was.

That being said, there's still a lot of great things going on with Kyalo.  He continues to bring joy and amusement to our days, and cliche though it is, can't imagine life without him.  All in all, the one word I would use to describe him is happy.  He is so easy going (most of the time - more so when we're out of the house, thankfully), smiley, and calm.  In general, I'd say he's even-tempered, but lately I've been seeing his anger come out.  He doesn't really throw the typical tantrum, but he does grind his teeth and make a lot of noise. Kind of hard to explain, I should try for a video one of these days!

So, some things of note from this month.  I guess I'm going to have to start writing these things down in a journal now that I'm ending (I think) these monthly updates.

He ALWAYS wants to know, 'what time it is?'  as in, he'll ask, I'll tell him, '4:02' and then he'll ask again, so I'll tell him, '4:03'.  I was telling Dexter we should decorate his room in clocks so he can always tell what time it is.  When do kids start to learn to tell time? Because I'm ready for him to be able to read a clock!

He's big into asking 'why?'  This is a question that can really put me over the edge, because there are only so many answers I can come up with.  Plus, he'll ask what time it is, then I'll tell him, and he'll ask 'why?'  Um, cuz it is, kid. Because it is.  Also lately he's taken to asking why twice in the same sentence.  For example, he got a second birthday card in the mail last week and he asked, 'Why did I get another card? Why?'

Every morning he asks Dexter to make him a 'peanut butter and jewwy sammich' (PB&J, in case you can't speak toddler) as a sort of pre-breakfast.  I can't understand it myself, but I bet he has it five days of the week.

He still can't really count - not even to five, let alone 10 or higher.  The other day we were in the car and he was counting something like this:  ' 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, SEVEN!'  Dexter asked me how homeschooling was going. Ha. Ha.  And even the other day, we were counting, 'One, Two. . .' and I asked him what comes after two and he said, 'Four!'  Sigh. I feel like we do a lot of counting in life between books and counting things like stairs or items or whatever we can, but for whatever reason it just isn't clicking yet.  Soon, I guess.

He's pretty excited about being a big brother.  Kyalo had to come with me to my first OB appointment where I got my first ultrasound (about 8 weeks), I showed him the picture and said, do you want a brother or sister.  He immediately said, 'Sister!' which surprised me.  And he has continually asked for a sister since then.  Which is funny because I want him to have a brother.  Oh well, not much we can do about it now.  Sometimes he'll even come up to me randomly and say, 'I want a sister, not a brudder.'  So, there you go.

Kyalo still loves to be outside, and I think his favorite thing is probably a stick.  Most boys his age like cars or trains or something like that. He does like those things but doesn't seem super attached to them.  But he'll have a melt down if a stick he left in the sidewalk isn't there when we return from a walk.  I'm thinking Maine is going to be a great place for him!

And thus ends three years of monthly updates!  I can't believe I stuck with it for all three years...but I'm so glad I did.  I think some day, he will be too.

three!

Last week Kyalo's much-anticipated, much-talked-about birthday arrived!  Unfortunately, I was sick all weekend and week, so a few of the small things I had planned had to be pushed to this week.  Still, I rallied enough to try to make the day a bit special...and I'll hold out that turning 4 will be the blow out he's looking for.

In addition to my being sick and on the couch, the start of our eagerly-awaited Music Together class didn't happen because the teacher thought it starts this coming week.  Poor kid, foiled at every turn.  Thankfully my friend Gina is coming to MT and took us out for some awesome pizza.  Since I wasn't cooking or baking anything, we took Kyalo out for ice cream, after presents, after he kept asking, 'can we go to my birsday now?'

In the morning, before Music Together, we headed out to feed the birds some scraps of bread.

This face has been so kissable and smoosh-able since day one!  It just keeps getting better.

Thanks to Grandma, he had a few presents to open.  We also gave him a couple of books.  Since we're moving to Maine in just a couple of months (!!!) I wanted some Maine-themed stories.  I got the classic, Blueberries for Sal, and got it as a book on CD.  He's loved that, and as of yet, I haven't had to read this book to him.  He doesn't quite get the concept of turning the pages when the little bell chimes, but he seems to enjoy it, and it keeps him entertained for 20 minutes!

always happy, but opening a few presents really brings out the smiles

This was the other book we got him, I Met a Moose in Maine One Day, and he insisted that I read it right away.  I love both his cute little grin in that top photo, and the hand on his cheeks and the intensity with which he's listening.  I'm pleased with our purchases.  :)  I think he's ready for Maine, though he may be disappointed to realize he'll never have a moose in his bathroom!

I felt bad that we didn't have anything to put a candle in on Thursday, so on Friday, I whipped up a batch of yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting.  We forgot to actually sing to him, but at least we had him blow out some candles.

I tell you, party planning is hard work!

Looking at the pictures of the cupcake they look kind of pathetic.  But, as you can see, they certainly did the trick for Kyalo!  We'll have more cupcakes this week, I think, so he still has plenty of time to 'go to his birsday'

Since this is more of a birthday recap, I think I'll push some of the monthly updates to another post.  I think I'm going to have to start a 'chats with Kyalo' topic because he's really saying the cutest things right now.

Happy Birthday to our little man! We love you so much!