Nerdy boys

I'm not sure whether John and Matt believed that I would post this one... this is what the Wii does to you - makes you a total geek. I think the goofiness of 'air guitar' has been replaced by 'air boxing'. Oh, so good to have him home!

Six Months!!

I'm blown away and it feels like I have been saying little man is a little newborn forever, but I have to face the fact that he is a big boy now. ;-) Kyan turned six months old yesterday and had his six month checkup this morning. He tips the scale at 20.5 pounds (90th percentile), he is 27 1/2 inches long (75th percentile), and his head is 17.25" around (50th percentile).

His doctor thinks he is a cutie (does she say that to all the babies?) and did note two things:
1. His little right eye is a wee bit smaller than the left, and is sending him to an opthamologist to be checked out. She said asymmetry is totally normal but she wants to be 100% sure there isn't a structural problem hiding out somewhere.
2: She said that he is easily the size of a one-year-old, and while my plan was to not feed him any food until at least nine months (although Alex knows my struggles with that idea as of late), the ped said that he really needs food now - cereal and veggies and fruits - 2x each per day! I would think that his size would prove that he's not exactly malnourished but ah well.

We went for puree'd carrots this afternoon, and as you can see, he seems to like them! This evening, while I had Rosie at the emergency vet (it's always something, huh?) and he was home with the fellas, he got hungry. John made brown rice cereal for him, and when he didn't act too interested in the 'soup' form, he put it in a bottle and watched the kid guzzle it down, and chase it with a bottle of mama's milk. I think he'll be the hulk next Halloween!! He'll be sooo ready!

Here are a couple of videos of his very first encounters with 'real' food this afternoon... (not including smudging a little banana or sweet potato on his lips a few weeks back). Glad to have you sharing the experience.






And here are a couple of shots from his evening carrot meal. The first time around (above), the dogs were outside. I should have planned better for round 2. Let's just say he had help with his little meal and his face stayed cleaner the 2nd time around...

Matt is home!!

After a lot of hard work and a disappointing delay over the Thanksgiving holiday, Matt flew into town this past Monday and will be here until the morning of the 24th. He is here to bring his 'home contract' to life and see what works and what needs some tweaking. Some tweaks have already happened and we are all very optimistic about his permanent return. Matt may be eligible to go up for "graduate" level next Thursday (January 7, I believe) and then two weeks after that (if he succeeds) he mayyyyy be back for his 14 day visit. Then, it could be as few as two more weeks before he comes home. Admittedly, that is kind of the rigorous schedule so we aren't marking our calendars just yet, but we are just really proud of how far Matt has come since May! The future won't be without its bumps but we are glad to have our boy home. :-)

Here he is, in Alexa's room. He's thrilled to be back in his own clothes... (I think I like DRA's uniform a little better!)

Here Comes Santa Claus!

I wasn't going to post this picture this week, as it will be flying around in the form of a Christmas card, but John betrayed me and posted it to Facebook. So I guess the 'Kyan is out of the bag'.

And here is another, slightly more demure, version.

Merry Christmas, in advance!

Just a few pics... :-)

Here are just a couple of photos from the past couple of days. I have five minutes to spare at the moment so I thought I'd get them up before madness sets in and I get behind again!

And in other news, Matt is coming home tomorrow for ten days! Long story short, it was planned rather last-minute. But he has earned it and I am counting down to 1:40pm PST on Monday 12/14! He'll be here til the 23rd. Too excited to even discuss it - my mind is whirling!

Enjoy the pics... xo

My darling little Cameron (well, techinically Chrissy's darling little Cameron) with Kyan yesterday...


Yay for cold weather!

On the move...

Hmm, it has been an interesting week. I have said before that it blows my mind how much they change practically daily, nevermind weekly. And this past week... well, Kyan is on the move. He is doing a half-scoot, half-crawl thing, which sent me to Babies R Us for baby-proofing necessities. (Bummer shopping trip - it was a small fortune and there was not one book, toy, or outfit in the cart!)

The tackiest of all is our lovely fireplace foam cover (and you'll hear and see plenty of it, complete with banjo sound effects), but as much as I whine about it, it will protect his face from otherwise certain scarring like the one on my own lip from when I was a wee babe. Otherwise, it's all about outlets, cord covers, and the like.

Here is the one place he actually LIKES to stay put - the bath tub. No idea why this one came out blue, but I think it's kinda cool. He was having a fun time in the bath with his toys. Check out the moobs (aka man-boobs)! ;-)

Since catching him in action and sharing with is beloved fans means video, I haven't taken many stills of him on the crawl. Will work on it and just get other cutie little stills of him when he is not busy cleaning the floor with his knees and buddha belly.

Another side effect of Kyan being more mobile - the war of the toys. Every time you turn around, Kyan is eating Elvis' toys (we drew the line at K shoving E's cow hoof towards his mouth) and Elvis is eating Kyan's toys.

Sorry this is SO dark - must remember that dim evening lighting doesn't translate well to film.

He loves the foam-covered fireplace... too much! Especially since it's often burning a fire now. What to do... (There are actually a few of these dark fireplace videos since it's where he tries to hang out. But I will spare you.)

Elvis, getting even. Boys will be boys!

Here are a few unrelated, non-mobile shots that bring a smile to my face...

Oh, gone are the days of detesting the car seat. AMEN!



Hello, everyone! Remember this outfit when he got it and the little hat fell in his eyes? Now it's more like a 'do-rag. Add this outfit to K's too-small closet (yes, a whole closet).



Don't you wish you know what they are thinking with faces like this?


Loving the early wake-up smile


I wish I felt this kind of joy in the morning!

Happy Turkey Day!

I'm still blown away by the fact that it is late November, but here we are... and while I know that not everything has to do with having a darling new little family member, he keeps us amazed at how quickly time is flying by, and (appropriate for the day) how blessed and how thankful we really are.

Matt didn't make it home for Thanksgiving after all, so I am really sorry that I don't have any fun Matt-stories or a new family shot to share. But here are a few new milestone pics and videos of the littlest turkey in the house.

Holding his bottle on his own for the first time. (His other 'bottle' was slaving over the stove all day so Grammy got to feed him instead.)

Here are a couple of videos of Kyan, climbing and wiggling around - and dragging himself across the table. (Ignore that I just said he was on the table. And don't tell authorities, please.) :-)

teeny teeth

Well, it's hard to get a photo of teeny bottom teeth when the little man thinks it's a game and quickly covers them up with his tongue! On November 9, Kyan's first tooth popped through on the bottom right, and then a few days later, on November 12, the bottom left joined its brother-tooth. It took two of us (thanks Chrissy!) holding him down and prying his mouth open to get this cruddy shot. Sorry - it's all you're getting!


OH -- and TODAY, Kyan's Social Security card arrived in the mail!! It only took 5 months! (phew) Now the kid can get a job and start earning his keep around here.

New Toy

Time is working against me this morning, so narratives will be super brief... but certain beloved family members are eager for pics and video, so enjoy!

Santa came early this year - Kyan is a Jeep-man, apparently!

Visit with Matt

The first weekend in November, John, Kyan, and I packed up yet again and hit the road to Utah. Matt earned his first 48 hour off-site visit, so we spent uninterrupted time together in St. George from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Not a huge bunch to report, because it was just really nice, and really drama-free. We spent time eating, renting and watching movies, playing basketball at the local rec center, the boys played guitar, and we just hung out. Matt got to experience Kyan's middle-of-the-night wake-ups, but handled it like a champ and we had a wonderful time.

The week after we had that visit, Matt earned Director Level. He has also become a Mentor on campus, which he really enjoys and you can tell it makes him feel good to be there to help other kids who need some extra support. He is flying through the program and we are so proud of him. He comes home on the 25th of this month for a 10 day visit. We never thought we would have him home for Thanksgiving but this is all his doing - he has been working so hard. The rest of his visit will be spent catching up on late appointments (doctor, dentist and three trips to the orthodontist - time to get his braces off!) and just enjoying quality time together, planning for his permanent return home -- which may be as soon as February.

We didn't pull out the camera much, but here are a few shots during basketball... (oh, he made DRA's basketball team, too.) :-)

Happy Halloween!

Hard to believe that it's already November! Halloween has already come and gone?! Ours was very mild and mellow. Our own neighborhood isn't very festive, so we headed down to San Diego to spend the evening with Grammy. Her doorbell didn't stop ringing and we gave out more candy than I could believe.

As for Kyan, he spend the earlier part of the day as a zebra and then moved into his fluffier, warmer Glow Worm get-up. Kyan did his first official trick-or-treating across the street from Grammy's at Adeline's house, and scored big-time -- with a big bottle of bubbles!

Auntie Cheyenne, this one is for you.

(Yes, he has a wee tail.)

Thanks to certain bodily functions, here is a modified version of his glow worm outfit. The 'real' deal didn't include orange/black striped arms - he was more coordinated in solid orange... lesson for next time: take the pics as soon as he is dressed, not after he has blasted through his clothes and requires improvising!!

All in all, Kyan enjoyed his first Halloween!

Fun weekend!

This past weekend, John and I headed up to Utah for a two-day seminar at DRA. Day 1 (Friday) was the parent workshop piece at the hotel's conference room. Day 2 (Saturday) was a half-day on the ranch with Matt. We did various activities, two of which were some of the activities that the kids go through when they go through the "homeless" phase of the program. It was so nice to see him and do these activities together, but four hours flew by! It looks like we get to see him the weekend of the 6th (November) for his 48 hour off-ranch visit. Can't wait!! He may be eligible for his 10-day home visit in early December!

Kyan was rather entertained in the hotel on Thursday night, after we checked in and had a few hours of R&R. (He loves to be naked.)



When we left DRA, we drove the two hours to Vegas to meet up with friends Kelly and Lee (and six of their family members), all on holiday from Manchester, UK. We have never had such fun in Vegas. I guess it's all about who you're with. :-) We just wish they didn't live so far away.

Saturday night, at a little cafe in Caesar's Palace. Kyan was really laughing it up, and as you can see on John's face, laughter is contagious.


Kelly, Pauline (Kely's mom, in case you can't see that they're identical!), me, and a sleeping boy - at the Wynn.


John, Lawrence, and Lee - at the Wynn. Lots of laughing this weekend!...

About eight years ago, Pauline and Lawrence got married here, on a whim while on holiday. Coincidentally, John and I renewed our vows here in the middle of the night a few years back. Britney Spears started a 40-hour marriage here, and Michael Jordan (now divorced) married here, too... I hope those aren't indicative of anything! Anyway, we thought we'd saunter down memory lane and returned to this classy establishment for a few brief moments. (aaaaawwww) [And Kyan was stillllll sleeping. This town wore him out!]

In case anyone is interested in a drive-thru wedding some day... oh, and Elvis was in the house when we were there! So much for working at Burger King. He hangs out at the Little White Chapel in Vegas.

A few new videos... and four months old

Here are some random videos from the past couple of weeks.

For the record, Kyan turned four months old on the 15th of October. His four-month doctors' visit was Friday, October 16th. He weighs 17 pounds, 6 ounces, and is in the 90th percentile for chub... err, I mean weight. He is 25 1/2" long, and is in the 75th percentile. The noggin is 16 1/2" inches around, which is normal. Hair status: Still bald as a billiard ball.

Smiley boy, glistening with slobber. Niiice.

Cute, nakie baby. No, he is NOT wearing leggings.

His best pal - the two of them are up to no good.

Talky, mumbly baby. He coos himself to sleep now, just like this. Makes me want to curl up and go to sleep with him and shut the rest of the world out. Sweet, lovey boy.

Down with the paparazzi!

Matt Update

It has been a LONG time since I have posted an update on Matt. To be honest, the reason is two-fold, with neither being a particularly good reason. First, I have just been exhausted and busy. (Lame, I know.) And second, Kelly and Alexa visited him the week after we did way back when, and let's just say that the visit wasn't such a good one and I was so livid that I didn't have ANYTHING nice to say. Since it seems that the internet is eternal, I decided to live by the old adage: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. So I haven't. 'Nuf said.

We have continued to talk with Matt every other Wednesday for 1/2 hour, along with this therapist. He has been doing really well and has reached the Manager level. Other than the week after the lovely visit (see? the sarcasm creeps in - can't help it), he has had 100% "successful" weeks, meaning he has earned a very small number of cites, he has done all that he has been asked to do, and he has met all of his school goals. With this level, he has been able to get a 'job' on campus -he is a photographer now. The photos I have posted before (not including the ones of us with him, but the ones of him on-campus either by himself or with other kids) have been taken by school photographers. This job is especially important to the parents waiting every single week to see photos of their kid -- trust me on this one!! He has also earned added priveleges and is definitely learning to appreciate the little things.

We were able to visit with Matt on the 9th and 10th - so we enjoyed his 14th birthday with him. FOURTEEN! Personally, I am thinking back more than ever to when I met him at age two. Oh, what a pistol!! What a ride these years have been, but he looks fantastic and we were so grateful to have this time with him. Given that he couldn't receive gifts for his birthday, we just hung out and visited, the boys fished, and he opened birthday cards that he received.

We can't help but whistle the Andy Griffith theme song to this picture... hello, Opie!

Pretty, huh?

Matt has also taken up guitar, which he is pretty jazzed about.

Matt took this shot. :-) I wish I could nap out in the grass, under beautiful trees!

This coming week, we're packing up again and will be heading back to Utah! There is a two-day parent seminar that John, Kyan and I are attending. Day one (Friday) is just for parents. Day two (Saturday) involves the kids from 8am - noon. Even for four hours, we'll take any time with him we can get. And we are excited to learn whatever it is that they have to offer.

Little Man -- just more pics :-)

As I have been so delinquent on picture-posting, here are a few random ones. I am running on SO LITTLE sleep these days, so forgive the absence of witty banter. But enjoy the cutie pie.

Enjoying his little bouncy toy.


Umm, hello little Gramps!



This kid is becoming such a flirt! Translating his shrieks: Hello Ladies! Check me out in my little Halloween Jams! And check out my double chin! Oh, yeah!!

This is just a sweet picture. He is big on chewing arms and shoulders now. He digs his football days with Daddy and has the shoes to prove it.

It was actually cold enough for a beanie - for one day.

John and I took Kyan with us on a double-date with Jen and Scott. How nice of us, huh? Well, Jen didn't mind!! :-) We hit the Padres game after dinner. I'd love to share a picture of Kyan all decked out in his Padres shirt, Padres hat, Padres blanket, and baseball shoes - but once we got there, the noise scared Kyan so badly that we LITERALLY made it through ONE PITCH. I guess he's just not ready to date yet.

Ok, so you probably know that John and I attended a 10-week Bradley Method birthing class (and for those of you who know me so well, we made it to six of the classes out of ten) to prepare for Kyan's birth. This picture is from our 'reunion', which was a couple of weeks ago. Kyan was the last of the group to be born, by far. The first was born in February (the baby on the far left). The FATTY FAT baby in red and gray was next-to-last, born in April. Fatty baby was 20 pounds at his two month check-up! (To have a point of reference, if I remember correctly, I think Kyan was ~13.8 at that point and was in the 75th% percentile.) Anyway, this picture cracks me up. And the behind-the-scenes shot of twelve parents hooting, hollering and whistling, while hoping th babies didn't take a tumble off the couch, was friggin' hilarious.

Kyan visiting with cousin Ryan. He thought he was really something up so high!

Just a sweet photo. :-)