Kevin Speaks!

Well, he's babbled for a long time, and we frequently hear "Mama" and "Dada," but tonight he caught us totally off guard!

I was carrying him off to bed, and stopped to let him say goodnight to Dada and Andrea. We gave them kisses (he leans in for kisses now!), and waved "bye-bye." As I turned to take him to his room, Rod said, "Goodnight, Buddy!"

Kevin replied: "Guh-nigh!"

Rod and I looked at each other in disbelief. "Did you hear that?!" "He just said good-night!"

I laughed and gave him a big hug. He was all grins, and very proud of himself. Just for fun, Rod coaxed him to say it again. It wasn't as clear as the first time, but he did say, "Nigh!" again.

So, Kevin's first real word, (or phrase, I guess) is: "Good night!"

Singing, Clapping, and Giggling

Andrea Singing

This morning we got a pretty nasty thunderstorm, and it knocked our power out for a few minutes. Andrea surprised me by running up to the window, and singing: "Rain, rain, go away/Come again some other day!" I knew she learned this song from a Dora episode where they sing it to a storm cloud to make it disappear, but I've never seen her do this before. The problem was, she truly believed it would make the storm go away! She must have sang it twenty times in a row before she finally gave up. She was also telling me that her Dora was scared, which is something new. Andrea has never seemed nervous around storms, so I don't know why "Dora" was "scary" (which is how Andrea says "scared").

[In trying to lighten the video (why do all my indoor videos turn out so dark?!), I made it appear sunny outside! It was actually quite dark and menacing.]

Kevin Clapping

Kevin has been kind of cranky, due to another cold. At Uncle Tony's birthday party yesterday, he was fussing, so I started to sing "Patty Cake" to him. To my amazement, his little hands started doing the movements! I wasn't even moving my own hands--only singing the words. Then, today, there was a show on TV with up-beat music, and he started clapping! This was the first time I'd seen him clap.

So, this afternoon, I coaxed him to clap (simply by asking him to), and then I sang "Patty Cake," and he tried to do the motions again. The "Patty Cake" actions still need some fine-tuning; especially the "roll it" part, where he kind of wrings his hands. But I am still surprised and exited by his newly-emerging skills.

This version of "Patty Cake" has special meaning for me. Grandpa Rick taught the actions to Andrea when she was 13 months old, and we were visiting him and Grandma Marty in Montana. When they come to visit in July, we can show them that Kevin is learning it, too!

Later, Andrea was watching "Yo Gabba Gabba," and there was a song on asking the kids to clap along. Andrea was in front of the TV, dancing and clapping away. I glanced over at Kevin, in his swing, and he was clapping along, too!

[Of course, by the time I got my camera primed, I missed most of it, and only got his tired attempts at the end of the song.]

Kevin Giggling

You know, Kevin's a pretty quiet baby. But certain things always make him laugh. One of those things is when I stack up his multi-coloured cups into a tower, and he knocks them down! He gets excited, and starts jabbering, when he sees me building up the tower. As soon as it's within his reach--crash! He either kicks or whacks it over, and giggles like crazy. Why do kids loves destruction so much? :))

Father's Day at the Zoo

Daddy had been talking for a while now about taking the kids to the Detroit Zoo. Finally, he decided to go on Father's Day! Brigitte came with us too. We planned to go in the early morning, before it got too hot outside, and also so the kids could have their early afternoon naps when we got home.

Our journey started out a bit late because we had to get in contact with Brigitte's mom to get her birth certificate. Then, I forgot our kids' birth certificates, so we had to go back home and get them (but that was only a minute or two away from home). Finally, when we crossed the Ambassador Bridge, we got hopelessly lost trying to follow the endless construction detours. Daddy had to stop and ask for directions twice. It took us about 2 hours from the time we left the house, until we pulled into the Zoo parking garage. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled when we were able to get out of the car!

Since it was lunch time by the time we arrived, we rented a wagon for Andrea to ride in, then went in search of food. Hot dogs, and shared french fries and cola, fortified us for the Zoo adventures ahead. I captured many pictures, and I'll try and explain/tell stories in between them:

Andrea rode in a rented wagon, but when she couldn't see the animals, Daddy picked her up and put her on his shoulders. Kevin relaxed in his stroller most of the time. He enjoyed looking at all the plants and people more than anything else.

***

We saw a lot of animals, so I didn't get pictures of them all. We saw emus, capybaras, rheas, wild hogs, and anteaters on the first stage of our journey. I got a picture of the anteater. I didn't know they had such plumy tails!

***

On the next stage of our journey, we saw donkeys, wild horses, a stork, a crane, prairie dogs, and bison. The Prairie Dog habitat was neat, because there was an underground tunnel the kids could go into to see it. Then they could peek out above ground, at prairie dog level! I only saw one prairie dog, but the girls saw some underground. You can see Andrea (little pink hat) peeking out of the observation bubble, below. You can also see Andrea and Brigitte peeking at each other in the second picture.

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On our way to the Arctic exhibit, we passed by the bald eagles. They are beautiful, majestic creatures. The picture doesn't do them justice.

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The best attraction at the zoo, by far, was The Arctic Ring of Life. It takes you down a winding path filled with plenty of tundra greenery and occasional samples of Inuit culture. You can also get an outside view of the polar bears and seals (I have a picture of each). But the highlight of the exhibit is definitely the Polar Passage. This is a clear tunnel that takes you right underwater into the polar bears' and seals' marine environment. While I was in there, a polar bear swam right over the top of us. Then, the polar bear came and sat down on top of the tunnel! It stretched out and took a rest right overhead! The seals weren't shy, either. I got a picture of two of them playing together, right near the side of the tunnel.

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When you exit the Polar passage, there's a little house with some polar bear and Arctic explorer artifacts. What's neat about that is that an entire wall of the house is made of glass, providing a view above and below the water, into the polar bear tank. Basically, you can go face to face with a polar bear, with only a bit of glass between you!

***

The next part of journey took us into the Australian and African attractions. We were ultimately headed for Africa Station, to catch a ride on the Tauber Family Railroad, back to the opposite end of the zoo. On the way to the station, we saw: red kangaroos, a hippo, giraffes, flamingos, spoon bills, vultures, zebras, a peacock (just sitting on a fence!), and rhinos.

***

It was on our way to the giraffe exhibit that a police officer began stopping people and saying, "Severe thunderstorms are coming. Gusty winds and hail are expected. If you've got little ones, head for shelter now!" We had already seen the dark clouds and heard a few rumbles in the distance, and we were making our way to the railroad station. When I heard this, we really hurried. We got to the Africa Station, got our tickets, and were waiting in line. Andrea was tired and impatient, and she REALLY wanted that train ride. Well, when the train arrived, they wouldn't let it run because of lightning. Andrea was devastated, and put up a wail like you can't imagine. Then, we tried to make a run for it. But no sooner had we left the train station overhang than the storm struck. So, we had to huddle in the nearby food court with many other disgruntled zoo patrons. Andrea continued to sob, because she wanted her train ride. Brigitte was nervous, but did her best to soothe Andrea. Kevin, unbelievably, was LAUGHING--he thought the storm was very exciting! I, meanwhile, was trying to shield the kids from the wind and rain, and keep Andrea and Brigitte calm. I sent Daddy to get ice cream, to soothe and distract the girls. The storm only lasted about 15 minutes, but it was wild! A lot of leaves and debris were blown off the trees, and the rain pounded down (sometimes sideways!). However, by the time we finished our ice cream treats, the storm had passed, and we were able to continue our adventure.

***

When the storm had passed, the train was running again. Andrea was, in her own words, "SO HAPPY!" She and Brigitte sat together, and Daddy, Kevin and I sat across from them. The girls took in the relaxing ride, enjoying the scenery. Andrea was pumping her arm up and down, and saying, "Choo, choo!"

***

The train took us back near the entrance to the zoo, and we decided to call it a day. We had originally planned to walk up the other side of the zoo, and catch the train back again. But everyone was pretty worn out. We missed seeing the monkeys, lions, tigers, and bears ("oh my!"), and the penguins and reptiles. I guess we'll just have to go back another time! We stopped at the gift store and picked up a few souvenirs before heading home. Andrea got a pretty flamingo hat.

***

The ride home was uneventful, thank goodness. We all went home and had a nap! I looked out the window after my nap, and saw a double rainbow in the dark sky. I felt it was symbolic of our day: there were some stormy moments, but overall, it was a good adventure.

Lisa and Bryan's Wedding

We went to my cousin Lisa's wedding on Saturday afternoon. Andrea and Kevin came to the Church with us. Andrea was so funny. She heard the instrumental music before and during the ceremony, and wanted to "sing" along with it--a high-pitched, off-tune little "do-do-do, do, do!" that carried well across the Church! Then, she spotted my cousin Patricia two rows behind us, and Patricia was making faces at her. So, Andrea decided to copy everything she saw Patricia doing! Andrea also liked the parts when we got to clap and congratulate the couple. Kevin, on the other hand, was all eyes and ears. He kept leaning forward to grab at my cousin Steve's blue shirt, so Steve and his wife Sharon would turn around and talk to him. Kevin liked them; they got lots of grins, and the dimples were out in force! Otherwise, he was pretty quiet, and liked staring at the ceiling fans.


Here's some pictures from the ceremony:

None of my pictures of my kids at the Church turned out, but I got some of Andrea in her special dress when we got home. She got the dress from Grama Marty for her birthday last year, and we were waiting for a special occasion for her to wear it!

Andrea and Kevin had fun with Grandma and Grandpa G. while Mommy and Daddy were at the wedding reception that night.

(If you want to see the reception pictures, they're in an album on my facebook account.)

Kevin's Back Yard Experience

Kevin's been out in the back yard with us before, but usually I'm holding him, or he goes right into the swing. Today, I had an opportunity to get Kevin outside to explore our back yard by himself (Andrea was at daycare). Kevin sat on a little blanket in the grass while I washed up some of the toys, and cleaned out and filled the kiddie pools, for the first time this season. At first he was curious about the green, tickly stuff surrounding him; however, he quickly got upset and dissolved into tears! He did NOT like the grass.

I think he inherited the anti-grass trait from his father. Apparently, Rod hated to go barefoot when he was little. His mom always had to put him in socks!

(Daddy's baby-in-the-grass picture: see the socks?)

***

When I saw how much poor Kevin disliked the grass, I brought him over to the swing. He's been in that before, and I know he likes it! Look at that grin!

I was saying "Hi" to him while he was in the swing, and tickling his feet. He was waving and pointing at me in return.

***

The swing is in direct sunshine in the afternoon, so it gets pretty warm. When I took Kevin out of the swing, he was a bit fussy. So, I thought, "Hmm . . . maybe I'll just dip his feet in the kiddie pool." I held him over the pool, and he started to bounce up and down in the water and squeal. Well, that was all the incentive I needed to lower him down onto his bum in the pool, with ALL his clothes on! Who has time to run into the house, change him into a swimmer diaper and swimsuit, grab a towel, etc. ,especially when baby is teething and fussy? Let's enjoy the good mood while it lasts!

He LOVED the pool. I couldn't believe it! The water was really cold! But he was squealing, and splashing, and grinning like crazy! He stayed in for about fifteen minutes, until he worked up an appetite and wanted to go in for his supper. Here's a video of Kevin's first time in an outdoor kiddie pool:

So, it looks like the swing is acceptable, but Kevin's real fun is in the kiddie pool. Andrea likes to play in the water too, so I imagine we'll be out in the back yard a lot this summer, getting wet!

Kevin's Bath Time

When doing Kevin's 10-month update the other day, I forgot to mention how much he loves his bath time now. He's into the major splashing phase--I remember Andrea went through this at about this age, too. Kevin splashes so much that I have to put a towel on the floor beside the bathtub and I have to tie a big bath towel on myself (like an apron) to keep dry!

Here's a video of Kevin's bath time splashes. Unfortunately, it came out dark. It's also long, because I couldn't decide which part to cut! In the first part, he is splashing and smiling a lot; and in the second part, he is chattering (you have to turn volume up to hear it well), and making some funny faces.

Kevin is also starting to brush his teeth. He has a baby toothbrush and special toothpaste. He likes to chew on his toothbrush. Mommy has to help him with his aim--sometimes he gets his eye, or his nose! He usually thinks getting his teeth brushed is funny.

Stanley Cup Celebration

The Detroit Red Wings won the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals!

In keeping with the tradition he began 10 years ago, Rod designed his own Stanley Cup to celebrate with when the Wings won the the NHL Championship. He brought it with him to poker last night, and everyone was drinking beer out of it when the Wings got their victory! Here's a picture from Rod's phone, of him celebrating the win.

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Today, he showed the Cup to Andrea, explained how it's the big hockey prize, and she was impressed. ***

He showed her how to hold it up over her head, like a hockey player!

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More evidence that Andrea is Daddy's Girl: she knew about drinking from the Cup, without anyone telling her first!

Kevin: What's that? Can I have some?