Back to our roots...

Kai visited the Midwest for the first time last week. It brought a handful of firsts including a ride on the MAX, meeting the cousins, a visit to Kings Island and a 3-way.



Kai again turned out to be a good traveler. He managed the fiasco that was our return trip better than could be expected despite the fact that it took us to six states (Ohio, Indiana, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Oregon) in a single day.

Check out the other pics.

Day at the beach...

I know what you're thinking... Sunshine, swimsuits, and a leisurely day at the beach. Nope. Try winter clothing for Kai (and goosebumps for the rest of us) and enough wind to blow sand in your eyes. At least the sunshine part was correct.

Kai did like playing in the sand, but his favorite activity of the day was hanging out of the sunroof (while we were parked of course). As usual, we have a much easier time catching Kai's serious face than his silly face. See more pics.

Thumbs up, dude

Yes, we recently learned the thumbs up. And enjoyed a "walk in the park." I can now vouch that carrying a 30 pound munchkin plus gear for 6.8 miles with 2,000 feet of net elevation gain carries consequences. Other pics also posted.

Need to ask Sree if we can post the GPS data/graphs.

The zoo

We finally made it to the zoo. But only after some persistence. And a long wait to find a parking spot. Next time we'll be parking at Sunset and taking the train.

New pics...

A recent attempt to visit the zoo was thwarted, but we managed enough fun anyway...

ABCs

Here we are working on the ABCs...on a good day we can make it to Z, but some of the letters still sound similar (e.g. 'D' like 'B').

Blowing kisses

Finally got around to uploading some more video. We've been busy as of late. Kai is learning things faster than I can keep track of them these days. He's working on shapes and colors and loves puzzles.

The cow's "moo" sound is mastered, but for lions/tigers/bears it's a big open mouth with just heaving breathing noises. We heard the first real sentences in both English and Mandarin. In English it was, "I see Mama." In Mandarin it was, "this is my sister."

Another favorite activity of late is "reading" books to Elmo (or trying to get the big Elmo doll to read a book to the baby Elmo doll).