And just like that, Kai decided it was time to start stepping. Of course his first walking missions was to venture into the kitchen and make sure things were in order. Open this, close that, make suggestions, and move this around a little bit.
Panamanians, and I’m sure other cultures throughout our planet, have this mystical “thing” about when exactly you should cut “The Baby’s Hair”. Some of these myths may or may not piggy back ride on the biblical character Samson. Now, if you’re not familiar with Samson this most definitely confirms that you were raised in a cave by wolves. Somehow “The Baby’s Hair” holds some kind of power which must be harnessed for as long as possible in order to prevent certain things from happening to the baby. Here’s an incomplete list of those things: Coarse/Nappy hair (as if this is punishment straight from the devil), stunted growth, speech impediment, bad luck, etc., etc., etc. For now, I have to be honest and admit that I don’t want to cut “The Baby’s Hair” because it’s wild, I love it, and I’m living my hair fantasies vicariously through him. One day I will have such beautiful hair… again.
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So by now it should be obvious that my “Project 52” failed. Posting a picture a week for a year began to feel more like a job, when in reality all I want to do with this is have fun. Anyway, I’m switching it up to a different format of basically posting whenever I feel like it. I will do my best to try to catch up with the old flicks and “moments” in Kai’s growth, instead of just skipping about a year of pictures. Because of this I will back date the posts based on the date the pictures were taken.
This is how wide Kai opens when it’s eat-eat time. He’s serious about his food.
The night Pop Pop arrived, Kai automatically identified the DNA connection. He turned into a talking machine/babbling machine. It didn’t matter that he was the only one who knew what was being said, he just kept on saying it. I assume it was something along the lines of “Nice to finally meet you Pop Pop, one day I’m going to be just as tall as you, and also play Basketball”. Give or take a few words.
Needless to say, Kai is an action-packed baby. As his dada, I believe it is my duty to encourage the action and pack even more, but knowing his mama would chop my head off if something happens to her “hijo”, I decided to go online and search for something to provide him ,and give us a sense of pseudo safety while he roams around the house. After extensive online research I decided on the “Jolly Jumper Bumper Bonnet Toddler Head Cushion”. It is not the cutest headgear in the world, but this was not about being cute; this was about not being hurt… too badly. Sometimes he likes, sometimes he doesn’t, but he knows that when we put it on him it means freedom, and that’s all that’s important to him.
Kai, just like his mama and dada, is a music lover. Any form/genre will do: Mobile music, classical, R&B, the Little Buddy song (he looooves the Little Buddy song), the list goes on. You play it, and Kai will immediately change moods or if the tune tickles his fancy, he might even start dancing. Here we see him demanding more from the mobile.
Kai pretending to be too grown for baby games with Dada’s Dada, aka Big Poppa.
Most people might not see the big deal in this picture, but to us (mama and dada) this is quite a huge accomplishment. During Kai’s first 3 or 4 months, his sleeping position pretty much dictated how long he was going to sleep, which of course dictated how long WE were going to sleep; or not sleep. Unfortunately, the one position that maximized his sleeping time was face-down, but of course this is the most dangerous position for a newborn. We tried sideways; we tried face up; we tried the car chair; we tried the bassinet; we tried dada’s hairy chest (this actually worked pretty well, but it meant dada had to sleep like a mummy). But of all the positions, face-down was the most effective. So every once in a while we took our chances. However, even though Kai slept well, we still couldn’t get much sleep because we were afraid that he was sleeping face-down. Catch 22. Now, we just throw him in the play pen, his crib, or on the bed, in whichever position, and he’s as comfortable as can be.
Yes, I confess, this was a last minute shot taken on the morning that Grandma Juana was returning back home to USA. I know, I have to remember to take more staged photos of Kai with family members when they come visit. But I have to say, I find those boring. I enjoy capturing him naturally interacting with others (or himself), and doing what he does best: Kill people with “Kai-ness”. Juanitaaaaaa!!!
Kai’s abuela (Juanitaaaa!!), and his crazy tia (Vane) are constantly complaining about us not “combing” Kai’s hair. They’ve even gone as far as to threaten to take us to court because of this… whatever that means. Well, here’s what taking matters into your own hands looks like. During her “very short” visit, Kai’s Grandma decided it was time for a change (Yes She Can!). Given the complexity of his fluffy, curly, straight, soft, patched hair; this was the best she could do. I must admit, I think Kai liked it since he actually wore it for an entire day. The following day it was a different story. Maybe we should have forced him to sleep with his head propped up on a pillow in order to preserve the hairdo (Like Vane). For the record: Kai’s hair gets combed everyday! But it has a mind of its own.
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