Happy Ki Day!

It is completely unbelievable to me that one year ago today we met the most wonderful little boy ever! I can not believe how he has changed and how we have grown as a family. I was looking at pictures today of our trip to Ethiopia and just to see how sad, lost and confused he appeared makes my heart break. I can not imagine my life without him.

J.R. and I wanted to do something special today to celebrate one year as a family that we can do year after year. We thought of a million things that Ki would like: ethiopian restaurant, zoo, park, bouncer town, riding a bike...or a million other things. But, will he still like the zoo when he is 13??? Probably not. So, we took him to a yummy breakfast place (his favorite meal of the day!) and we had a family picture taken. It was simple, but we spent the whole day together as a family!

Family Day!

One Sunday a month is "Family Day" with my side of the family. At the beginning of the year everyone drew from a hat which month they were responsible for. It is that person's choice of what we do or go for the day. June was my month. I chose to go to Traders Point Creamery. It is working farm that raises their dairy cows and chickens on "pure" standards. They are grass fed, no chemicals are used and is as organic as possible. They make and sell yogurt, cheese, milk and cottage cheese, as well as grass fed beef. We had a wonderful brunch in their little restaurant/dairy bar followed by fun exploring the farm. Marin and Ki enjoyed feeding the baby cows as well as watching the chickens peck around the farm. We also took the time to celebrate an early Father's Day with my dad! Happy Father's Day! We Love you!! Needless to say we had a VERY enjoyable and fun day on "the farm". Here are just a few pictures from our last couple of family days. May was Ric's turn and he chose to have a pool party!! It was amazing!!!

I also threw in a potty training picture!!! Ki will appreciate it one day!!!

The first picture is of Tyson! I can't believe he showed up on our doorstep 2 years ago this week! He is the most patient, kind and loving dog ever! Ki torments him and he just loves right back!!! Thanks TyTy!

Conversations...

So...Ki and I are starting to actually have conversations! It is amazing how his vocabulary seems to double every day. I can't think of anything that he does not know the word for, or won't recall if he is told once. Not only does he know the words, but he seems to use them in the appropriate context. He is also repeating EVERYTHING...BE CAREFUL, BABA! His favorite expression these days is "oh, man!" Yesterday he and I were out running around and he said, "Mama, hungry." I said, "alright, what sounds good to eat?" I was really not expecting an answer, but I was in for a surprise. He paused and said, "uh, hamburger!" Much to my shock, I dropped what I was doing and we headed straight to get a hamburger. When the server appeared to greet us he said, "hamburger, please." She understood perfectly what he said, and asked him if he wanted applesauce or french fries and he replied, "french fries, please." He ate two burgers and a few fries!

For Memorial Day weekend we decided to do a little camping and boating. We had not taken our boat out since we lived in Florida, and we went to Lake Monroe. We had such an amazing time and Ki loved the water. You would have thought that he had experienced boating before...he stood on the back of the boat and said, "1, 2, 3 JUMP!" and jumped right in...over and over!!! We also had no hot water, so we had to heat water on the fire and give him a bath in a bucket. He and Baba argued the whole weekend...Ki's boat, Baba's boat. He seems to think everything is "ki's." His other favorite expression...MINE. He is not selfish at all, but thinks everything is his!

Ki and Mama also took a little trip to the zoo. That was such a great time, as well. His favorite animals were the meerkats, elephants and the dolphins. He really is just so happy anywhere we go. He is very independent, so the only time he is unhappy is when he is not allowed to do things himself, i.e. getting dressed or eating.

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was an incredible day! I was able to spend the day with 2 of the 3 women who have had an unbelievable impact on my life. My mom is the most amazing, honest, loving, admirable woman I know. She is such an example of love. J.R.'s mom has provided me with the most perfect husband. She is such a giving, caring, compassionate, realistic, and intelligent person. Thank you both for being such an important part of my life. Although I did not spend the day with Ki's birth mom, she was able to complete my day. I can not thank her enough. I will never know her, nor her story, but I do thank her for making my Mother's Day special!!!

J.R. had an amazing day planned for us moms! J.R.'s family and my family spent the day outside having a barbeque. J.R. has spent the last few days preparing. He even grocery shopped and made all of the food from scratch! He coooked, yes! I said cooked! It was amusing watching him cut celery with a bread knife, on a paper plate!!! But, I thank you papi for making my 1st Mother's Day wonderful!

1st Indy track experience!

Seeing as how we live in Indy and it is the month of May, Ki and I had to take a trip to the track. We are not racing afficionados like my brother, but I have to say that I truly enjoyed being there. Seeing Danica Patrick was the ultimate. She is on the cover of my Shape Magazine this month and I love her!!! Anyway, Ki really liked seeing the drivers and we hung out at Pit Row, so we were up close and personal. It was really neat. He thinks pumping gas and putting air in tires is the epitome of cool, so it was his element. Everytime they put in gas, he said "ten dollars please!" We had cheap fun!!!

If it has wheels...

If it has wheels, Mamaw and Papaw have purchased it! I have never seen a child be able to drive as well as he can. He surely does not get that from his Daddy!!! His 2 favorites are his John Deere tractor and his new motorcycle. He drives up and down the driveway as if he were on the Autobahn!!! He puts it in reverse when necessary and honks the horn if anything is in his way. He also REFUSES to go inside. It is truly obvious that he spent the 1st year of his life OUTSIDE. We have even resorted to napping and eating lunch outside. He can multi-task by talking on the phone, raking leaves and riding his roller coaster while playing. It really makes him happy. However, I think I have started to develop allergies as a result. We walked on the downtown canal today for about 2 hours after gymnastics, ran some errands and then played outside the rest of the day! It should be against the law for parents to have to work until their children are 18!!!

NOTICE THE SUMMER HAIRCUT!!!!!!

Beautful spring day!

J.R. and I have always wanted to go mushroom hunting. Don't ask why. If you are not from the midwest you probably won't get it!!! Anyway, we were psyched and ready yesterday, we had our special camoflauge clothes and boots and our walking sticks! We drove down to southern Indiana, where J.R.'s grandpa lives, because we thought it would be the perfect location! After Ki got to ride every tractor that exists and run around the farm for a while, J.R. and I left to hunt!!! In the woods we found bones and carcasses from several animals, but only one lonely mushroom! Talk about anti-climactic! Anyway, it was fun and the weather was beautiful! We went back to grandpa's and played for a little while, then headed back home. My cousin, Scott, had a CD release party for his band, MARDELAY,(mardelay.com) and we met the family for dinner beforehand. The show was great and we finally crashed in bed at about 2 this morning...way past my bedtime!!! It's good to spend a day with family!!!