Mr. Smiles

Kai has been smiling almost since his birth, but he's gotten more and more smiley as the days go by. I finally got a decent picture today so I thought I'd share my happy boy with all of you.

Kai Comes Home

I nearly forgot to post my last prego shot. This is Kai and I at 39 weeks, hours before delivery.

The morning of Kai's birth was exciting and the whole family was giddy.

Four days later, Kai came home! It was great to have all 3 kiddos together finally. The big kids had gotten gifts for Kai and "Kai" had gotten gifts for each of them.

Andrew chose to give Kai a little Squirt sea turtle that he's had for most of his life. He picked it out from him animals months ago and has had it set aside for Kai since then. Keira chose a carseat toy so she can play with it with him in the car.

Kai gave Keira a Baby Minnie doll, which she loves. It incorporates Minnie Mouse, pink, polka dots, hearts, and babies. How could this gift fail?

Andrew got 2 swords, which he has been wanting for a long time now. He can be a "real" knight now.

After the gift opening was done, the big brother and sister just stared at Kai, waiting for him to wake up.

Final Hospital Pics

These are just some random pictures from the hospital that I liked.

Gabe and Kai watching football together. Gabe (almost) never gets to watch Sunday morning football so you can imagine how excited he was not only to be able to watch it, but to watch it with his new son, opening weekend, AND the Seahawks WON!!! It was a great day for football.

Kai Gets Visitors

On Sunday, our third day in the hospital, we got tons of visitors after church. It was great! Only a few were brave enough to hold Kai, including Derek. He's a natural!

Stephanie with the little one.

Lydia looking shocked... I don't remember why.

Happy Renita with the brave crew.

Sam, James, Bryant, and Daniel- all off at college now. (So are Stephanie and Lydia.) This was our last time seeing them before they left.

Joel, Elaine, Sabrina, and Josh. They're all away at college now too!

Aunt Amy with a new friend for Tyler.

Auntie Lin after she worked her magic with Kai.

Auntie Lin, Uncle Marco, and Norman (Hannah was over by me) before Auntie Lin worked her magic.

Kai Meets His Family

The two big kids came with Leila a few hours after Kai was born to meet their new brother and grandson.

Keira awaiting her baby brother.

Keira was pretty unsure of her new brother. I don't think he's what she expected him to be.

Andrew, on the other hand, knew just what to expect and caught right on. He was delighted to have a new baby in the family.

It was a very special day!

Kai's funny baby toes were the highlight of the visit for Andrew.

Leila got some good snuggles too.

My mom and Len came and got to see Kai when he was just a couple of hours old.

Keira at 2 1/2

Keira's speech is so cute these days. I thought I'd write some of it down so that I don't forget her 2 1/2 year old cuteness. The following are some of Keira's pronunciations of common words.
Mammies: jammies
Mink: pink
Hello meow: hello kitty
beep: sleep
beeps: trees
bop: soap
duck: look
nanas: banana
rear-ra: Keira
mump: jump
mincess: princess

My Mom got Keira a Hello Kitty activity book which she absolutely loves, but a good portion of it is designed for pre-teens. We had Keira fill out one of the pages. Here are some of her answers to the "quiz."

My full name is: "Andrew and me"

My lucky number is: "E"

My best quality is: "O"

A movie I could watch over and over again is: "Monkey"

The best book I've ever read is: "Hello Kitty"

A word I like to say a lot is: "What? What? What?"

My favorite meal is: "Cheese and eggs"

The class I enjoy the most is: "Pink one"

The coolest place I've ever been to is: "Pink house"

My favorite piece of clothing is: "Pink jammies"

A sport I love to play is: "Running"

The song that is #1 on my playlist is: "Row row row your boat"

The first thing I do in the morning is: "Wake up"

A motto I always live by is: "E"

The animal I am most like is: "Meow meow"

Kai Alexander is Born!!!

KAI!!!

Friday, September 10th, Gabe and I sat in the waiting room, waiting to have our baby. I felt like I had already waited 9 months and then 6 hours that morning at home. I wanted to meet my baby!!! We were both giddy, though, so we still had fun.

Gabe always takes a picture of the weather outside on our kids' birthdays. Just like the other two, it was beautiful!... a great day to have a baby!

It's funny to think how much will change. Nothing will ever be the same. I will always be a different person with Kai in my life.

Gabe, of course, will remain the same cool guy that he is.

It was just a matter of minutes after that picture that...

Kai entering the world! I loved hearing his cry when he was born. What a precious sound!

8 lbs 13 oz and 20.5 inches

Minutes after his birth.

I remember thinking how very warm and soft he felt during those first few minutes of his life. Nothing can compare to that.

Proud daddy.