Reunited

Kira and her best bud Ella Mae or  “EmMin nae” as Kira would say have finally been reunited.  Kira may be five months older than her pal, but you would never be able to tell.  They are both the same size and have a blast playing with each other.  In the mornings Karen and I each workout for about an hour, while I exercise Kira goes to her friend’s house and when Karen works out Ella Mae comes to our house to play.  Today Kira was running around the house shouting “EmMinEmMinEm Nae!”  It sounds like “M&M” and when she is finally done saying “M&M” about ten times she ends the whole thing with and exclamation “NAE!”  She’s getting closer to being about to say Ella Mae’s name, but you have to get her credit for trying.  She was also giving Ella Mae tons of hugs and she says, “hug” when she is giving them, it’s so sweet.  Here are some fun photos from the morning they spend together.

KIRA PLAYING IN THE TUNNEL AT ELLA MAE'S HOUSE

BALL PIT!

YOU'RE RIGHT ELLA MAE, YOUR DAD REALLY IS GOOD

HEY WOULD YOU BE A PAL AND HELP PULL MY PANTS UP?

THANKS ELLA MAE, YOU'RE THE BEST!

VIEW MORE SILLY PHOTOS IN THE MAY PLAYTIME ALBUM

Playing Catch-up

January 2011

Now that everyone has stopped following my blog because I haven’t posted in so long, I figured it’s about time to start up again.  Where did I leave off?  January.  Towards the end of January Justin and I made the long trip back to the United States excited to see our new home for the first time after owning it for nearly six months.  Of course we saw the house before we bought it, but we had to return to India last summer before we even finalized all the paperwork.  My parent’s drove an hour and a half from their home and picked the three of us up from the airport.  We arrived at our house expecting it to be empty and when we opened to door the house was filled with the smell of fresh baked lasagna, a small table, some chairs, candles and a bottle of wine.  It was so sweet, my parent’s planned the whole thing and it really made our place feel more like a home and less like a house.  We told ourselves we would take it easy this block-off, but true to our nature we scratched those plans and decided to take on the substantial task of planning for a remodel.  It started off by simply looking for a bed to sleep on and a couch for relaxing, but soon turned into much more.  We spent our days running around looking for deals and fortunately we found quite a few.  Before we knew it our time was nearly up and we were to be returning to India, but there was a bit of a hang-up that still wasn’t resolved.  Kira and I still hadn’t received our visas, without our visas we wouldn’t be able to leave the country and would be left behind while Justin set off to India.  I filled out all the necessary paperwork before we even left India and we were back in the US for nearly four weeks, so I was convinced they would show up eventually, but with each passing day I started to become more fearful that I actually wouldn’t be returning with my husband.

SPORTING 80'S STYLE IN THE SNOW WITH THE MCDIVITT'S IN SANDPOINT

 

 GREYSON AND ADDISON AS CUTE AS EVER

February 2011

 My fears became reality as I kissed Justin good-bye and listened to Kira cry as we drove away from the airport just the two of us.  Justin wouldn’t have more vacation for another eight weeks, so we tried to make the best of our time apart.  Kira missed her daddy terribly, but we found ways to keep him close.  She carried a little picture of him with her and we talked on the phone often.  Meanwhile in India, Justin was working overtime and dealing with a lot of new changes in the company, which always creates additional tension.  Kira and I filled our days with projects around the house and visiting with friends and family when possible.  Since I was going to be at the house anyway we decided to use the time to our advantage and start prepping the house for a remodel.  The plan was that when Justin returned from India we would complete all the remaining work in the three weeks he was there.  Sounds impossible, but that’s probably why we decided to do it.  We are so silly sometimes.  So I painted, and painting and painting, until the entire interior of the house was finished.  I had a little help with the high ceiling, but still felt proud of how much I was able to complete alone.   I took out lighting, replaced fixtures, patched drywall, and made countless trips to Home Depot.  I think Justin was starting to get a little worried when I told him all the stuff I was doing by myself, because most of the time that is the type of stuff he does, so he was skeptical of my craftsmanship, but little did he know the countless hours I spent helping fix up the home I grew up in. 

KIRA DIDN'T WASTE ANY TIME BEFORE DRIVING INTO THE TOYS AT PAPA AND MIMI'S HOUSE

 

 PICKING OUT THE FLOORS, CABINETS AND COUNTERTOPS

I KNEW SHE WAS BEING WAY TOO QUIET

March 2011

Our friends in Spokane were so helpful and were always looking out for me.  My parents drove from Idaho to visit on their days off and I decided to go to Oregon to visit Justin’s family and spend some time with my relatives that live there as well.  I actually had a really good time in Oregon.  I stayed at my brother’s house and was able to visit with him, my sister-in-law and my precious little nephew who I hadn’t seen in six months.  It was so fun watching Kira and Roman laugh and play together.  I also had lunch with Justin’s mom and we talked and enjoyed snacks and strawberries.  Kira loves strawberries and enjoyed playing with all the new toys she got from Grandma Tammy.  Kira and I also spent the afternoon at Justin’s aunts beautifully remodeled home in Silverton.  It was a lot of fun, his aunt, cousins, mom and grandma were all their and we able to spend a little time with Kira.  My aunt also planned a get-to-together at her home and my family was able to see Kira as well.  Most of them hadn’t seen Kira since she was only eight weeks old.  Justin’s sister was in Mexico doing some wonderful work with her church helping families.  Even though she got home the morning before we planned to return I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to see her, which was really too bad.  Justin’s sister’s so sweet and I hope that she can come visit us at our house in Spokane the next time we are home.  I’m glad I was able to see everyone and can’t wait for people to be able to come see our new place in Spokane.

KIRA HAPPY AFTER WALKING DOWN THE STAIRS ALL BY HERSELF

 

OCTASAUR!  MY BROTHER CRACKED THE KIDS AND ME UP WITH THIS LITTLE MONSTER

KIRA PLAYS IN A FUN TOY FROM GREAT GRANDMA AT LAUREN'S HOUSE IN OREGON.

WHERE'S KIRA?

PEEK-A-BOO!

April 2011

Once I returned to Spokane I only had a few days before Justin would be arriving from India so I felt a little like a chicken with its head cut off.   I knew he was excited to see all the changes to I wanted to house to look nice when he first saw it so I cleaned and filled to fridge with goodies.  Kira also made him a special card and drawing to let him know how happy she was that he was home.  Justin was a little nervous about how Kira would react when she first saw him, and so was I to be honest, but we both had nothing to worry about.  His flight arrived around 11:00pm so I woke Kira up and said “We’ve going to go get Daddy!” and even though she was tired, eyes still adjusting to the light she smiled and starting clapping.  When Justin got into the car the reunion was terrific and Kira said “Daddy, da Dad” as soon as she saw him.  I was so happy to see him as well, as I’m sure you can imagine.  The plan was to relax for a few days and enjoy being a family again before starting the demo on the kitchen, but when the hardwood floor guy showed up and hit us with the news that we had not one but two floors to rip out we realized that we had to begin working right away.  We thought we had a simple click together floating floor to remove, which we did, but we also had a linoleum floor that was glued to particle board that was stapled and glued to the subfloor.  It was a nightmare, but thanks to hours of sweat and backbreaking labor by Justin, my dad and our buddy Chad the floors were finally out.  If I wasn’t so far behind on updating everyone I would have probably written an entire post on how incredibly difficult of a task it truly was.  Not to say everything else when smooth.  We find time to have fun, but spent a good deal of time waiting, waiting and waiting some more for contractors to show up.  Which I have been told shouldn’t have been a surprise.   The kitchen was gutted most of our time home, so what did we do, went out to eat.  This didn’t do any of us any favors.   We ran into a few hang-ups, but believe it or not we actually finished the bulk of the remodel the day before we had to hop on a plane heading for the other side of the planet.  It was excited to see the house come together, but sad to say good-bye, but not as sad as it was to say good-bye to all our family and friends.  This was the longest I have been back in the United States in the last three years.  So I was able to reconnect to my old life more than I usually do and Kira was able to actually get to know people and vice versa.  I wish our trips didn’t always end with good-byes, but it’s not forever and our time abroad will be coming to an end at some point and all the time away will feel like a distant memory before we know it.

 

SO IT BEGINS...JUSTIN, CHAD AND MY DAD HARD AT WORK.

OUT WITH THE CARPET

HARDWOOD IN, CABINETS OUT.

NEW CABINETS!

MORE PICTURES HOPEFULLY COMING SOON.

Back in India

We made it safely back to Hyderabad and I wanted to write a quick post to let everyone know that I have been without internet the last several months.  Now that I am connected again I will be composing several posts to get everyone back to speed with all the changes in our lives.

Surprise Dinner

Two nights ago was our driver Salim’s wife's birthday.  Salim told us that he was going to make his wife's favorite dish and that he wanted to bring us some.  I need to backtrack a bit and tell you about what has been going on with the exchange of food between our families.  A while back Justin and I went out and bought a substantial amount of food from a nice restaurant as a gift to Salim.  The following day was Kira's birthday and we told Salim that we would be having a little party around 4:00-5:00pm.  Salim told us he wanted to bring some special treats for Kira.  We had our party; everyone had cake, ice cream and so on.  The party ended, everyone went home, we got Kira ready for bed, and still no Salim.  Not long after that Salim shows up with his arms full of Samosas, and a special type of sweet treat.  He was wearing his best clothes which included the shirt he wore on his wedding day.  His grandmother, and his whole family spent the entire day preparing this food and everyone had already gone home.  Salim looked heartbroken. We told Salim 4:00-5:00pm it was now almost 7:30pm.  He wasn’t being rude it’s just that in India when someone tells you that something starts at a certain time it means that you should come about four hours later.  Some of my friends attended an Indian wedding and the wedding party didn’t even show up until three hours after the invitation time.  We invited Salim in and gave him the slice of “Rainbow Chip” cake we saved and a big scoop of ice cream.  He sat and ate the cake and Justin and I had some samosas while he told us all about how his special dessert was prepared.  He asked me if I made the “sugarless cake.”  I told him no, and I could tell he didn’t really like it.  We had paper birthday plates and I am not certain but I think he folded the plate to disguise the leftover food when he threw it away.  Meanwhile Justin and I were thinking the same thing about his sweets.  We asked him how he liked the food from the restaurant the night before.  He said the kids liked the peppers, but everyone was wondering were all the masala was and why the chicken was so soft.  We had given him chicken fajitas with fresh tortillas, which honestly it isn’t so far fetched for someone with an Indian palette.  He obviously didn’t like it, or the birthday cake.  The point of this is that although we have both been trying to share foods with each other it never seems to work out and we tend to feel worlds apart.  Since then we have joked with Salim about it and Justin and I have tried to make it clear that we just shouldn’t bring each other food.  Now back to the original story Salim’s wife’s special birthday dinner.  Salim had told us about this dish.  “It’s the bone soup and the spicy meat.  The meat is cooked and the meat has gone spongy.”  This didn’t sound too fabulous and soups from an unknown source are generally a no-no if you don’t want to get sick, so again we tell Salim, that it’s his wife’s birthday, it’s her favorite dish and that he should just keep it.  Then he explained that westerners don’t know what good food is and that we must try it.  We tried and tried, but the end result was that he was bringing us soup at 6:00pm.   7:30pm rolled around and there was a knock at the door.  Salim had a stack of Tupperware, a small plastic sack that you would get from the grocery store and a silver canister.  First he opens a container filled with “the spongy meat.”  I look over at Justin I he looked really scared so I figured I better be the one to try it.  Maybe he meant that the meat was tender, and he just wasn't familiar with that word.  I took a small piece of meat and started to chew and chew and chew, the meat seemed to actually be growing in size.  Meanwhile Salim explained how the dish was prepared.  “You get the mutton (which is goat here) and you must put it in the sun for a long time until it gets the shiny, then you rub the spices and you…”  As soon as I heard leave the meat in the sun until it gets the shiny, I knew it was time to stop chewing and stash the meat in the side of my cheek.  I had a brief flash back of being a little kid longing for a napkin and a simple distraction so I could transfer the meat to my jeans pocket.  Meanwhile Justin is still looking like a deer caught in the headlights, now for the main course.  I kill a little time in the kitchen looking for containers for the food.  I find one and Salim empties the contents of the small plastic bag.  Bones, lots of bones, bones with ligaments, and little hairs, now for the silver canister of soup.  Right then I was thinking thank goodness the bones are separate, I’ll just try the soup it actually looks pretty good, like a curry of some sort.  Salim says you must add the bones, and I even confessed to him that I was actually scared of the bones and that I wanted to try the soup alone.  It was too late, plop, and big juicy bone was sitting in the middle of my bowl of soup.  You have to understand I am the type of person that dissects even a boneless skinless chicken breast to make sure it is free of veins and tendons, now I have a bone that is filled with marrow and actual animal hairs on it swimming in my bowl of soup.  Salim tells me to put special bread in the soup and enjoy.  Meanwhile, Justin is standing facing the food with a confused look on his face; he looks at me and gives me a quick head shake, signaling no.  I was guessing, no he couldn’t do it, and no he didn’t want me to have to do it either.  I dipped the bread in the soup and gave it a go, keep in mind this entire time I still have the wad of meat from earlier tucked away in the side of my cheek, which isn’t making this any easier.  Plus, I am talking and I get this feeling Salim might be able to see my little secret, but you know, what could I do?  I couldn’t swallow it.  At this point Salim was telling us about the soup.  “You must add the bones, these are small, small bones, the bones give the new flavor.” Oh it gave the new flavors alright.  “The bones must be cooked minimum 12 hours and you chew the bones and they become like rice.”  This wasn’t helping.  Then it happened.  “Sir, you must try.”  I couldn’t believe it, Justin dunked some bread and had a taste.  “You must eat minimum 100ml you get the soup and the deep sleep comes, the dreamless sleep, all the thoughts gone, like if you had the alcohols.”  Salim doesn’t even drink!  “If you eat the soup all the joint pains with be gone.”  Salim brought the food for us, and our friends downstairs Ryan and Karen.  So I told Salim we better pack it up so he could give them some.  This was a very special and traditional dish, and this is his wife’s favorite food.  He wanted us to taste good food.  I felt like I was on Andrew Zimmer’s Bizarre Foods.  I was terrified, but I tried it and the flavor was actually pretty okay.  I love food, but this is something I think I’ll be okay with never having again.  We deeply appreciated the gesture, but when it comes to some foods we really are worlds apart.



THE EVER EXPANDING "SPONGY MEAT"

THE BONE THAT GAVE MY SOUP "THE NEW FLAVORS"

EXTRA BONES JUST IN CASE.

Christmas With Friends

Thanks to working after midnight the last few days and countless hours of overtime, Justin was able to make a deal with work so they would let him have Christmas off.  It was wonderful to wake up as a family and open presents with Kira.  Believe it or not, one of her favorite gifts was a huge bag of drinking straws.  At least it beats playing with the wrapping paper like last Christmas.  We spent the day drinking cocoa, playing games with friends, listening to Christmas music and having a great time.  I baked fresh cinnamon rolls.  The house smelled awesome.  We had a wonderful day, but it never feels quite like the holidays without all our family and friends back home.

CHRISTMAS MORNING KIRA STILL IN HER JAMMIES

I WONDER WHAT IT COULD BE?

AN AWESOME LITTLE TRIKE AND TRAILER.

"CAN I HELP DADDY?"

"THERE'S GOT TO BE SOMETHING BETTER THAN BLOCKS TO HAUL IN MY TRAILER."

"LAST CALL...NEXT STOP IS THE NORTH POLE!"

Christmas Eve in Hyderabad

I'm not exactly sure what was going on in these photos, but I'd like to think since it was Christmas Eve that maybe this truck was delivering a donation of some kind to these shanty homes.  As I watched the truck unload and all the people smile and scramble to grab the goods, it made me realize how lucky I am. I am so thankful to have a home and have happy and healthy family and friends.

Getting Everyone up to Speed

Justin and I have been incredibly busy over the last few months.  Justin has been working overtime since so many people are away for the holidays and I have been preparing for my art exhibition.  My artwork is finally on display so I have some time to catch up on what has been going on since thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving with Mike and Mary-Signe :

That’s right we went back to Goa.  This time we stayed in little cabins near the beach.  We stayed for a few days and spent most of our time lounging by the beach.  Justin and Kira both got sick during our stay and we all got bit by ants or some other bug which put a damper on things, but we still had a lot of fun.  It’s hard not to when your are hanging out with Mike and Mary-Signe.  We made it back to our house Thanksgiving night.  The three of us were wiped out so we called it an early night and went straight to bed.

HERE WE GO, KIRA LOVES AIRPLANES!

MONKEY ENJOYING A BANANA OUTSIDE MIKE AND MARY-SIGNE'S HOUSE

FISHERMEN PUSHING BOAT ONTO SHORE

MIKE AND JUSTIN ON A MORNING WALK WITH THE KIDS

Ivan Meet and Greet with the Moms Group:

Mary-Signe came to Hyderabad to deal with Ivan’s citizenship and while she was here Pam put on a small party so all the moms would have the opportunity to meet little Ivan.  It has been a while since I have been to one of the meet-ups so it was really nice to see everyone.  Kira had so much fun playing with all the other children and was running around getting into everything.  Unfortunately both Mary-Signe and Pam will be leaving the start of 2011.  I’m really going to miss them, and hope that some day we will be able to meet up in the United States

MOM'S GROUP HYDERABAD

Charity Ball:

Justin and I had the pleasure of attending a fantastic ball supporting three wonderful charities here in Hyderabad.  I donated one of my paintings to help support the cause.  Around twenty works of art were up for auction.  Justin and I had a friend watch Kira which also made the night even more fun, considering we haven’t had a date night since my parents watched Kira on our anniversary.  The charity ball was formal and there was a delicious five course meal served, dance performances, a live band as well as the auction.  We had a terrific time and although not all the artwork up for auction sold, mine did.  It sold for 29,500 rupees, I really felt honored to be a part of the event and such a terrific cause.

OFF TO THE BALL

DONATED ARTWORK

Almost Showtime

SEE MORE ARTWORK GOING ON DISPLAY IN HYDERABAD VISIT ONLINE GALLERY

Happy First Birthday Kira!

I can't believe Kira is already one.  We had so much fun.  She wore her fancy red dress and spent the day out on the town with us.  In the evening we had a small party where she got plenty of attention, played in her cake and learned how to unwrap presents.  The first couple gifts she had a little trouble with, but after she realized there were fun surprises inside she really started to get into it.  Everyone enjoyed tea along with a bit cake and ice cream.  Afterwards she played with balloons, wrapping paper, the boxes, bows, and even some of her gifts.  We took a short walk to burn off some sugar, then we came back and gave her a bath.  She was so tired from all the excitement we didn't even have a chance to read Goodnight Moon before she was ready for bed.  What a fun day, our little girl is officially a toddler!

A SPECIAL GIFT FROM SCOTT AND STACEY

A LITTLE CAKE JUST FOR KIRA

MAKE A WISH SWEETIE

NAKED AFTER CAKE AND READY TO OPEN MORE PRESENTS

BIRTHDAY GIRL ALMOST READY FOR BED

CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS FROM KIRA'S 1ST BIRTHDAY

Best Buds

"HMMMM....HOW CAN I STOP KIRA FROM ALWAYS TAKING MY STUFF?"

"STOP.  BACK OFF, KIRA!"

"OOOOH, I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE JUST GAVE ME THE HAND!"

ELLA MAE: "HEY STOP...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

KIRA:  "YOUR ARM CAN'T STOP ME, WATCH THIS!"

ELLA MAE:  "WATCH WHAT KIRA?"

"KIRA, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING."

"YOINK!"

ELLA MAE:  "OH MAN, NOT AGAIN..."

"YOU'RE STILL MY BEST BUD KIRA."  "YOU'RE MINE TOO, ELLA MAE."

MORE CUTE PHOTOS IN THE "KIRA 11-12 MONTH" GALLERY

Kira Learns to Walk in Goa

Justin found a way to group a few of his off days together and we planned a short trip to Goa to visit Mike, Mary-Signe and meet their new baby boy Ivan.  Our trip was absolutely wonderful; Goa was so different from what I had imagined.  I didn’t even feel like I was in India.  Mike and Mary-Signe were terrific hosts they had something fun planned for us everyday which really allowed us to see and do so much more than we would have been able to otherwise.  Mike picked us up from the airport and drove us back to his house which was about one hour away in north Goa.  The roads where very narrow, meant for only one car or a few scooters.  Palm trees were everywhere you looked and the air was noticeably more humid than Hyderabad.  Once we arrived at their home we settled in and had a chance to meet Ivan, he is such a cutie.  Justin and I really enjoy Mike and Mary-Signe’s company so we couldn’t help but have a terrific time.  That evening we had dinner at a fantastic restaurant that overlooked the beach.  We made it in time to watch the sunset, it was breathtaking.  One thing that really shocked me was the amount of foreigners and how much skin was showing.  I am so used to people being covered all the time.  At our pool back in Hyderabad women go swimming fully dressed.  In Goa, I saw both men and women wearing thongs at some point during the trip, unbelievable!  Each day they took us to another amazing place to eat.  I can not stress enough how big of a deal having amazing food in India is.  We usually don’t have the opportunity to indulge until we are back in the USA, so I was in heaven.  They even served real beef.  While we were hanging out around the house Kira started to explore and before we knew it we looked over and she was walking!  We couldn’t believe it.  I am so happy Justin was off work and there to see those unforgettable first real steps.  Now she can’t be stopped, she walks all the time.  We also visited a beautiful outdoor market, which was very similar to a lot of art fairs back in the United States.  The booths were full of clothes, jewelry, fresh spices and more.  Loud music was playing and Kira couldn’t help but be-bop to the tunes.  We met up with Anna and her daughter Maya and son Rohan.  Anna just moved from Hyderabad to Goa as well so it was great to be able to visit with her.  The next day we all rented a hut on the beach and spent the day having fun in the sun, splashing in the waves, Mike and Justin even tossed Rohan’s little football around for a while.  Having the hut was perfect because with all the kids and us girls needing to breastfeed or put the kids down for a nap we really wouldn’t have been able to stay the whole day without it.  Plus, it only cost 500 rupees.  That’s around $10.00 and we split that three ways so it was practically free!  The hut had a big bed, places to store your clothes, a shower and a toilet and ocean views to top it off.  On our last day Mike and Mary-Signe scheduled a one hour massage for both Justin and me.  The lady came to their house and I am telling you this woman was amazing.  I haven’t had a massage that good in quite some time.  Before we went back to Hyderabad we stopped by and had lunch with Anna since her place wasn’t far from the airport. We had big juicy burgers.  I can’t believe it has taken us over two years to finally travel to Goa.  We were only there for a few days we both feel completely rejuvenated, it was just what we needed.  I can’t wait until we can go again.



Ivan Joseph Geimer Kelly

OUTSIDE MIKE AND MARY-SIGNE'S HOUSE

THIS BATHROOM EVEN HAD A PALM TREE

I SNAPPED THIS ONE WHILE WE WERE DRIVING

AT THE BEACH

WATER BUFFALO ENJOYING THE SURF

ROHAN GIVING KIRA A BIG HUG RIGHT BEFORE THEY BOTH TOPPLED OVER

 THE PHOTO GALLERY IS FINALLY WORKING AGAIN

CHECK OUT MORE PHOTOS FROM OUR TRIP IN THE GOA PHOTO GALLERY.

Art Exhibition in Hyderabad

During my time in India I have created an amazing collection of artwork.  About a month ago I spoke with the owner of an art gallery here in Hyderabad.  He is also an artist and while we talked he showed me some of his own work.  He asked me to send him some images of my paintings to look over.  He liked my work and I am scheduled to have my artwork on display from December 17, 2010 through January 11, 2011.  I am very excited and have been very busy framing my artwork and preparing for the show.  I've been trying more new styles which I love and I am very excited to unveil them in December.   I have a completely new website the address is www.strictlyart.com.  I plan to post new artwork in the gallery as it's finished so if you haven't visited it yet, check it out.  I want to thank everyone again for all the support I have recieved throughout my career as an artist, without it I wouldn't be where I am today.

Ganesha Festival

Last month the hindu people of India celebrated the festival of Ganesha known as Vinayaka Chaturthi.  It lasts ten days once the festival begins many different trucks are seen around the city carrying plaster molds of Ganesha that has been decorated by the local people.  Day and night people sing, dance and drum their hearts out.  Processions follow the statues through the streets.  Some nights the drumming would be so loud that it would wake Kira.  On the 11th day all the statues are taken to the lake and are finally submerged under the water where they then sink to the bottom of the lake.  This year I finally remembered to take some pictures.

THE GROUND FLOOR AT OUR APARTMENTS

NOT EVERYONE WAS SO EXCITED ABOUT ALL THE PARTYING.

Good Times

PLAY TIME WITH DADDY!

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN KIRA TRIES TO FEED HERSELF.

SHE DOESN'T LIKE BATH TIME AT ALL.  CAN YOU TELL?

A Day With Kira

It’s hard to think that it’s already going to be Kira’s first birthday next month.  I have received several requests for more photos and posts about what she is up to these days.  Here is what is life is like for Kira and me right now.  On a typical day Kira will usually wake me up with a bit of screaming, still groggy I fumble around to find my glasses.  I get to my feet and walk to her room, open the door and the second she sees me, the crying stops, she then smiles.  She is usually standing up holding on the side of the crib, hair wild as ever and occasionally there is a red impression on her face from sleeping on her hand all night.  I often say, “Good morning Kira, it’s morning time!  How’s my little silly bean?”  I snatch her out of the bed, change her diaper and if Justin is home I bring her into our bedroom so she can play for a bit before breakfast.  Justin is likely to be lying with a pillow curled around his head hoping to get some extra rest by pretending to be asleep.  Kira then crawls over to him and either pulls his ear or hair while babbling and saying “dad a, dah-dee and a bunch of other crazy Kira language.  She is so cute that he can’t help but give in.  After she has tried to stick her figure up his nose one too many times he will pick her up, turn her around, lift up her shirt and gives her a raspberry right on the belly, she laughs and laughs and before you know it we are all wide awake checking emails and drinking tea.  Kira has breakfast, which is sometimes uneventful and other times a complete disaster.  She loves wheat cereals, apples, rice crackers, water, pears, mangos, corn, bread, and most other foods, but believe it or not, she doesn’t care much for bananas.  After breakfast we watch a little video she has then we play in her room.  Sometimes she will play by herself for a while and I will make myself some breakfast, Justin and I chat and make any phone calls while it’s still not to late in the USA.  After Kira has been up for several hours she is ready for her morning nap.  That’s what she is doing right now, so I’m catching up on things I have been putting off like this website.  Once she wakes up it’s the same drill, change her, check to see if she needs to go potty, feed her and then we play in her room with blocks or I read a few stories.  She will usually get bored and start roaming around the house for the really fun stuff.  She opens drawers, takes out Tupperware, bangs it on the floor, then she finds the drawer with the plastic garbage sacks, out they come.  Once the drawers are empty she moves in the living room to pull on speaker cords, open and shut the DVD player, open other drawers, crawl over to the shoes, try to stick them in her mouth while I’m not looking, cruise around the furniture, and even take a step.  She took her first step yesterday going from one piece of furniture to the next without holding onto anything, it was fantastic.  This is the time of day I run errands if necessary, groceries, and so on or I also clean around the house, do laundry, or start the prep work for dinner before Justin gets home from work.  In the afternoon she starts rubbing her eyes, getting upset about really silly stuff and she starts shaking her head “NO” at everything I try and give her.  That is my queue that she is ready for her afternoon nap.  This is the shorter of the two naps and I usually paint or just relax while she is sleeping.  Once she wakes up Justin is often home and we go for a long walk around our apartment building sometimes we meet up with Ella Mae, Kira’s buddy from downstairs and once it starts to get dark we head in for bath time.  After splashing most of the water out of the tub she likes to try and stand up and bang her water toys together.  She also tries to drink the bath water, silly girl.  When she is finished we dry her off lather her with lotion, put her in pajamas and then we read her “Good Night Moon” or Dr. Suess’s “Sleep Book.”  Then it’s off to bed for her before it starts all over again. 

 

Mother and Child Painting

I am trying out some new styles.  I wanted this painting to look abstract at first glance, hoping that people will see the mother standing with her arms raised holding her baby upon further inspection.  Justin had a little trouble seeing it at first.  Sometimes I like looking at a painting for a second or two before the image jumps out at you. 

Baby Milestones

Kira, Kira, Kira.   There is so much to report.  She usually wakes up around 6:00-6:30am and starts her day wide eyed and ready to play.  Her room is now completely full of all kinds of things for her to push, pull, open, toss, taste and discover.  She is also a bit of a chatterbox.  She correctly uses “ma ma, and mom” and also “da da, dah--deee (that’s how she says daddy) and dad”  She also points at things when she wants you to take notice and if you answer something like “Fan!” and twirl your arm about, she will smile and wave her arm around in an effort to mimic you.  She has mastered waving “bye, bye” and when people turn their back to her or even get close to our front door she starts shouting, “bye, bye….bye, bye…bye, bye” and of course her little hand goes wild waving the whole time.  Two days ago her second tooth finally cut through, which is wonderful for all of us.  It’s still giving her a little grief, but it's much better than it was a week ago.  She absolutely loves bath time, each night we give her a bath and before we get the bath out we ask “Would you like to take a bath?”  She immediately starts to say ‘bah, bah, and sometimes it really sounds like bath, bath.  It is so cute, if she even sees her little bathtub she starts jabbering about bath time.  Once she is in the tub she splashes around and fills her toys with water then dumps the water out onto the floor.  Lately, she bends down just so her face touches the water, then she quickly raises her head, or she puts her lips under and starts blowing bubbles.  She is cruising on all the furniture and is getting into everything.  Yesterday she stood up on her own without holding on the anything.  I looked over and she was doing a squat and then straightened her legs and just stood there maybe five to ten seconds.  It was amazing!  I think she might be taking her first steps very soon.  A while back we started telling her the word “potty” each time we changed her diaper or if we could tell she was trying to go.  When I could tell she was trying to go and I say “Do you need to go potty?” ( I don't say bathroom, because she will start saying bah-bah and crawling over to her bathtub.)  She would reply “pa—dee” or “ba—dee” and I would quickly pick her up and take her to the toilet.  Now we can ask and she will say potty or kind of grunt an affirmative and sure enough she is using the toilet!!!  It is so awesome, I still can't believe it some days.  It’s really neat to have her be able to communicate with us.  She also says “up, book and wa—bah (her word for water).  She understands an incredible amount too; she understands no, but doesn't always obey it and she will come over to you if you ask her to “come here.”  I feel like I could go on forever.  She is such a precious gift.

 

 OH YEAH!

KIRA WITH OUR FRIEND RYAN, LOOK AT THOSE EYES, LUCKY GIRL.

FINALLY GETTING A LITTLE HAIR UP TOP.

KIRA PLAYING IN HER ROOM.

KIRA VISITS HER BUDDY ELLA MAE!

Rainbow Over Kondapur

After the heavy monsoon rains, the sun decided to show its face and a beautiful complete rainbow was spotted from off our balcony. 

Kira Meets Her Great-Grandma Nina

Justin's Grandmother flew in from California to see us and finally meet Kira for the first time.  I haven't had a chance to spend a great deal of time with Nina until this visit and she genuinely is one of the sweetest ladies I've come to meet.  She was such a joy to be around.  We relaxed at my parents house, explored Sandpoint and had a great time playing around at Schweitzer.  I'm so thankful that she came to visit we had a wonderful time with her.

A BEAUTIFUL DAY TOGETHER

KIRA'S FIRST TIME SWINGING WITH DADDY

GRANDMA JOINING IN THE FUN WITH A LITTLE LADDERBALL

MIGHT AS WELL TRY OUT THE SLIDE WHILE WE'RE AT IT

LOOK AT HER LITTLE ARMS!

FINALLY I CAN JUST RELAX WITH GREAT-GRANDMA

Summer Recap

ENJOYING A QUICK BIKE RIDE WITH MY AMAZING DAD

KIRA'S FIRST BOAT RIDE, MY FIRST TUBE RIDE

JUSTIN HAD A BLAST SAILING WITH MY DAD

ROMAN, THE CUTEST NEPHEW EVER CAME TO VISIT

  I HAD A GREAT TIME MAKING BALLOON ANIMALS WITH LEXI

WE EVEN HAD A CHANCE TO VISIT ADDISON AND GREYSON