Melinda, Darin and Kai

Holiday Festivities

2010-12-21T20:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! We have been enjoying lots of Festivities this season, and it all started off with our Thanksgiving dinner. We spent the day at home and cooked "Thanksgiving for 3" by ourselves. It wasn't anything fancy, but we had a lot of fun....We watched the Macy's day parade, made dinner, went to Harry Potter 7, and then came home for left overs. It was really fun to spend the day with just the three of us.

The next day, we put up our VERY first Christmas tree, and Kai was in HEAVEN! He loves the tree, and every single day that it has been up, when we walk in the door he runs to the tree and says: "Lights, Lights, Lights" indicating he would like us to plug it in...he is not allowed to touch the lights, but he sure loves hovering while Darin or I plug them in.

One of our Holiday adventures included "Zoo Lights" at Utah's Hogle Zoo. We went with our good friends Joelle, Phil and Natalie. Natalie is a few months older than Kai, and he LOVED chasing her around (I'm not sure she loved it as much as he did).

And yes...the hat on top of Kai's head looks like a girls hat, because it is a girls hat...We forgot Kai's hat at home, so Natalie was kind enough to lend him one.What a fun night...I think we will make it a tradition (What do you think Whelan's?)

Darin was out of town during the Simar Family Christmas Party (his Mom's side of the family), so Kai and I celebrated with them, without him. Darin's Grandma is 93, and she is so good with Kai. She really loves the great grand kids, and he loves her too!

Kai was infatuated with this dog, and chased her around the house, until she couldn't take anymore and would literally hide from him for long periods of time. Isn't it nice to borrow other people's animals so that your kid can get their "animal fix" and then come home to the NO PET ZONE???

Tonight we drove around and looked at Holiday Lights. We had a great time, and ended the evening with Hot Chocolate. Kai had never had Hot Chocolate before, and when I took the lid off and he saw all the whipped cream, he about lost it. He couldn't get enough of that creamy white stuff. Finally we just gave in, and dumped all the whipped cream from our glasses into a little lid for him. He got a spoon and went to town...It's Christmas RIGHT?

And this is his post Whipped Cream resting daze. He really needed a break after all that indulging. What a little cutie!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Little Monkey

2010-11-28T19:19:00.001-08:00

Kai was a little monkey for Halloween this year. Incidentally he is also obsessed with Banannas, so it was a perfect fit. In fact, both times that he wore his costume (which he borrowed from cousin Beckett) he was so preoccupied trying to get his face close enough to the fake bananna in his pocket so that he could bite it, that he never even noticed all the other kids eating candy.
We spent Halloween Weekend in Washington helping my step dad Chuck celebrate his 75th birthday...it was a lot of fun, and Halloween night we went trick or treating in some neighborhoods near my Mom's house. Kai doesn't really know about candy yet (we have yet to let him indulge), so Darin and I divied up the goods...best Halloween Ever! Thanks for the candy little Monkey!

I see London, I see France...

2010-11-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

We spent the first two weeks of September in London and Paris...I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to blog about it, but after spending the last few hours looking at our pictures, I think I might have been putting it off subconsciously because now I am so sad the trip is over...it really was the very best traveling I have ever done.
We started off in London, and although Kai and I had terrible jet lag, the scenary could not have been more "lovely" as the British would say.

This photo was taken right outside our hotel room, and is one of the many entry ways to Hyde Park.

St. Pauls Cathedral
Downtown London
Big Ben
The London Eye and the River Thames

British food was fun to eat, and even more fun to order...

My first meal "Bangers and Mash"

The Millenium Bridge

I was quite surprised to see how well they had reconstructed it since everyone knows that the "Deatheaters" totally demolished it in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince...

The Tower (castle in downtown london)

The London Bridge

We walked along the South Bank of the River Thames for hours and hours. There were street performers everywhere doing amazing things. This sidewalk "chalk mural" was one of the most impressive.

We spent part of each day wandering through Hyde Park, and Kai even made some friends on the play ground. I'm not sure if it was the accents or what, but British children seemed so much smarter than American children???

Speakers Corner (in Hyde Park) was definitely one of the highlights of the trip (absolutely Darin's favorite part). Every Sunday rain or shine the corner turns into an "open microphone session" of sorts. People from all over the UK (and the world) show up in the corner with milk crates, soap boxes, chairs etc. and stand on them in order to be seen and heard as they share there thoughts on anything and everything with anyone willing to listen. The beauty of it is that everyone listening is welcome to talk back to the various speakers. Most of the people were talking about politics and religion, so it was really, really entertaining.

We took a paddle boat out to the Princess Diana Memorial, and had to rest several times on the journey...either paddle boats are A LOT of hard work, or we are just seriously out of shape.

Shopping in Piccadilly Circus

I was in love with telephone booths...they really were THAT charming.

One of the best things about London is that most of the attractions are Free to visit. We spent a few hours in the British Museum which was absolutely amazing. Even Kai loved it.

Kings Cross Station was everything I dreamed it would be and more...how could we not visit platform 9 3/4's right before the opening semester of Hogwarts was about to begin???

Leaving London was hard to do, but the fact that we were leaving on a train headed to a small town in Western England made it a little easier. This is the train station we got off in to get to Bath. It felt like we were in a movie.

View of Bath from the train station.

More Bath...

Stonehenge is about an hour away from Bath, so we joined a small little tour company for a few hours and visited this historical place. It was really fascinating to learn about how these stones were carried without any modern technology hundreds of miles and then stacked on top of eachother...thousands of years ago.

Welcome to Lacock...oh Harry Potter filming sites, how I love you!

This is the oldest standing village in all of England, incidentally it also happens to be the place that they filmed Harry learning to fly in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone. Also, Lacock village is one of the places they filmed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. The village itself was built in the 1200's.

Our Hotel was a couple of miles outside of Bath on a hillside over looking the most most beautiful farming area. The Hotel itself was a stable for animals more than 400 years ago, it continued to be added to and remodeled until it now resembles a small castle. It was a very authentic way to spend a night in the England Countryside

This is the view from our window.Back at the Train Station...Paris, here we come!

Parlez Vouse English???

Parisian Streets

Catherdral Notre Dame

The first day we were in Paris, we walked around the city for hours. There literally were not enough hours in the day to see everything in Paris. Walking along the Seine River was beautiful...

And of course, Miseur Eiffel

From the top

From the Bottom

There are statues all over Paris, it was like walking through an outdoor museum.

Our favorite Parisian area was the Mont Marte district. Artists, crepes, and street performers by the dozens.

Kai made friends with the most talented soccer player I have ever seen. He taught Kai all of his tricks, and Kai hasn't stopped talking about playing in the next World Cup since.

Kai had his portrat drawn by a local street artist.

Crepes! Crepes! Crepes!

Even if I didn't buy a pastry, I still made us stop at every single Patisserie just to check out the scene.

the MOULIN ROUGE...we only saw it from the outside.

Arch De Triomphe

The Louvre

I'm not going to lie, I spent a good majority of my time in Paris eating...it didn't help that our hotel had an all you can eat breakfast spread, which was NOTHING like American Breakfast...can you say "Chocolate Croissants, Baguettes and Nutella, Fresh Fruit, Waffles, Eggs, deli meats, and delicious cheeses", it was amazing. Not to mention every night we ate delicious cheeses, meats and breads. Our last night in Paris we went to a grocery story and bought our own picnic food. We walked to Luxemborg gardens and had the most delightful picnic you could ever imagine.

Oh European vacation...how I miss you. If we could find jobs in London...I'd be on a plane tomorrow.

Blog...WHAT BLOG???

2010-10-22T07:50:00.001-07:00

Really, the title of this post says it all. The Fall is my CRAZY time at work, so I have neglected my duty to document what is going on in Kai's/our lives. We spent the first couple weeks of September in Europe, which I will blog about someday soon. In the meantime, here are a few links to the media interviews I have been doing in conjunction with my work at the YWCA.

http://www.kued.org/?area=outreach&action=contact&day=2010-10-15

http://connect2utah.com/search-fulltext?nxd_id=113126

http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story/YWCAs-Week-Without-Violence/BBgBE3wEzEKkRNw3RQ2CPw.cspx

Maybe not as exciting as a trip to Europe...but atleast it's a post.

48 hours with the Granges

2010-08-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

My sister Anne and her kids were in Denver with her inlaws for a week and a half, and had a couple of days to sneak away to Utah for a quick visit. I had the day off, so I flew to Denver early in the morning to drive back to SLC with them. We had a great drive, and when we got to Salt Lake, the marathon of playing, shopping and eating began.

Anne wanted to head down to Provo for some food and errands, so we put both boys in the double stroller...it was so cute, but I'm not going to lie, pushing them around did not encourage me to want to have another child anytime soon.

Elle was so beautiful, and she sure did like cuddling up to Uncle Darin!

Beckett and Kai spent some time running through the fountain, and Beckett was so excited...he was literally jumping for Joy the entire time!

Uncle Tyler came in for a few hours on his drive to Florida, and Beckett and Kai could not get enough of him...he chased them around the fountain.

Me and my little guy.

The morning they left, Elle was fussing while Anne was loading the car, so Kai kept running to her car seat and rocking it back and forth. A few times he tried to get in with her, but luckily I was protecting little Elle (he would have tried to buckle up on top of her). He sure loves that little baby!

Patterson Cousins

2010-08-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Darin's brother Brian invited us over for dinner a few weeks ago, and we had so much fun visiting and playing with the kids. Ethan is getting so big, and Kai kept trying to hold him. When someone else would pick him up, Kai would say baby pease, baby pease, baby pease. He sure did think we were taking that little guy home with us, and was not too happy when we got in the car without Ethan.

Darin loved holding Ethan too, what a cutie that little guy is!

Briana and Garrett were having so much fun running around outside, showing us their toys, and riding their bikes/scooters. We love those kids!

Field Trip

2010-08-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

Kai's school class is always taking the cutest field trips (in the theme of whatever they are learning that week). A few weeks back they were learning about farm animals, so his whole class went to Wheeler Farm, and I tagged along. Kai was especially enamored with the geese.

In fact, he enjoyed his time with the Geese so much that when his teachers pulled out a bag of smashed up stale crackers to feed to the Geese, Kai spent almost 5 whole minutes intently observing the other children throw their crackers at the geese. He had a look of confusion on his face the entire time. When it was his turn to get a handful of crackers, his teacher handed them to him, and he turned around and began running in the opposit direction of the birds. As soon as he was far enough away, he plopped himself on the ground and began shoving the crackers in his mouth as fast as he could get them in. He stared the birds down with a look that just screamed "their is no way you guys are getting any of my crackers!"

It was hilarious!

Kai getting his crackers,

On the run...

Basking in his victory!

And finally, he spent some time with his friends enjoying the pigs. It was the best field trip ever!!

The Great Outdoors

2010-08-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have lived in Utah for 6 years, and have never taken advantage of all the beautiful hiking trails within 15 minutes of our house. We have been desperately trying to remedy the situation this summer by taking one hike per week. Kai loves being in the mountains, and gets especially excited when we run into the occassional squirrel, snake, butterfly, or even swarm of mosquitos. We are having so much fun, and trying hard not to remember that summer is quickly coming to an end.

You Gotta Wear Shades

2010-08-22T19:27:00.000-07:00

Kai is always taking mine and Darin's sun glasses and gooping them up, popping out the lenses, breaking the stems etc. We decided to get him his own...he LOVES them.

Ode to Doctor Metcalf

2010-07-27T18:31:00.001-07:00

Last night we went to a retirement party for Kai's life-long pediatrician. Not only did we stand in line for an hour (their were at least 100 families there to say goodbye), but I definitely shed many tears when it was finally our turn to hug him and wish him well. Dr. Metcalf is the most caring and compassionate doctor I could ever have imagined for our son. I feel so sad about his retirement and subsequently our need to find a new pediatrician...no one will ever compare to Doctor Metcalf. We love you Dr. Metcalf!

Summer Happenings (1 of 5)

2010-07-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Every year we go to the SLC Arts Festival with Maggie, Sina, Leila and Ben. This was Kai's second year, but the first year he and Leila were old enough to run around and play. They loved the kids corner, and had fun "creating" their own art.

We loved the kids corner too...nothing like a little family teeter-totter! Yay for the Arts Festival, we'll see you next year!

4th of July (2 of 5)

2010-07-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

My brother Todd and his family were in Utah for the Fourth of July, so we celebrated together with fireworks and fun in the back yard. Evee, Owen and Kai enjoyed watching Todd and Darin "blow things up". It was fun, and great to see Todd and Onjali and their kids.

The Infamous Liberty Park (3 of 5)

2010-07-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

This summer, we have spent approximately every other day playing at Liberty Park. Kai LOVES the "water park" where all the other kids run through the spraying hoops and shooting fountains. He has recently ventured into the world of the "big kids" and is now willing to join them in the water fun. Darin and I love to watch him, but every now and then he gets a little nervous, and needs one of us to come rescue him from the water...I am sure you can imagine how much we like getting soaked in our clothes. Kai sure thinks it's funny.

Kai and Natalie (4 of 5)

2010-07-24T15:18:00.001-07:00

Kai has become great friends with our friends' daugther Natalie. They play so well together, and even share toys. It helps that Natalie has quite an amiable disposition and doesn't mind having her personal space violated regularly.

It turns out Natalie LOVES Ranch Dressing. Don't worry sweetie, we have a costco size bottle all ready for your birthday. :)

Kai has become famous for "comandeering" Natalie's drink cups. It doesn't matter how many fancy drink cups we provide him with...he only wants to sip from Natalies. The amount of spit these two have exchanged is probably in violation of a million health codes...but they sure do love it. Thanks for sharing Natalie!!

Hiking (5 of 5)

2010-07-24T14:43:00.001-07:00

Darin and I recently realized, that as much as we LOVE to travel, and explore the world, the area we live in is beautiful, and has much to be explored. With that in mind, we hiked up to a couple of different lakes in the beautiful canyons above Salt Lake City. Kai especially loved it, and mentioned once or twice that he wishes we would take up camping so that he can enjoy the outdoors more...we may or may not consider his request. :)

Cousin Beckett and Beebee Ellie

2010-07-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

My niece Elle was born a few weeks ago, so Darin, Kai and I ventured out to Connecticut to introduce ourselves. She is BEAUTIFUL...we loved spending time with her, but Kai was her biggest fan. Every moning his head would pop up out of the crib and he would start saying "beebee, beebee, beebee?" He loved her!

Kai discovered that his lifelong best friend is none other than his very own cousin Beckett Ross Grange. The two couldn't get enough of each other...although, Beckett did love to hover over "baby-Kai" just a tad. :)

Dan and Anne took us on the greatest day trips! The first trip was to New Haven where we ate famoue "Frank Peppe" pizza and visited the YALE campus. Most of the buildings were built in the 18th century and the architecture was amazing. We also discovered a little grassy knoll north of campus with the world's greatest swing and spectacular hills for the boys to roll down.

Darin loved holding little Elle, and tried to convince Anne and Dan to let us take her home...

The second day trip involved a great drive through Connecticut, New York and on to New Jersey where we ate Brazillian hamburgers (filled with every meat and vegetable known to man), and a visit to Hoboken where we stood in line for an hour and a half to go inside (drum roll please) none other than Carlo's bakery; home of THE CAKE BOSS. It was awesome to say the least, and although Buddy did not come out to meet me personally, he wanted to, as evidenced by the guy who brought out samples of delicious baked goods for everyone in line (he couldn't just send them out for me, it would be bad business...right?)

The kids got to stay up late our last night, and they enjoyed watching AVATAR before their tearful goodbye embrace (ok, there weren't any tears, but mainly because they didn't actually understand that they wouldn't be playing with eachother the next day).

What a great trip! Thanks Connecticut Cousins (and Anne and Dan), you guys are the best!

Spaghetti Face

2010-06-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

Kai loves food. Recently he discovered how much fun it is to slurp spaghetti noodles. I know I probably should have put the camera down, and taken advantage of a great teaching moment...but he has his whole life to use utensils and napkins, right?

Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama

2010-05-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

Isn't vacation great??? I love almost everything about it...almost. Coming home is always such a drag because their is so much to catch up on (hence the reason I am just now writing about our trip...11 days after we got home).

Here's the scoop:

We left SLC at 12:50 AM on May 8th, and flew over night to Ft. Lauderdale. When we landed we went straight to the port, and borded our ship. Kai's favorite part about the ship was eating...of course!

Kai and I spent a lot of time in the pool. This is a picture of us the first day.

Kai discovered "ice" on the ship, and he and Leila had a great time playing with it.

On dress up night, the little guy was dressed to the nines...sports coat and all...he was the talk of the ship. :)

MEXICO:

Our first stop was in Cozumel, Darin and I were here on our honeymoon, so it was fun to go back and see some of the same places we visited right after we got married. Kai loved swimming in the ocean, and kept pushing Darin and I away, so he could "swim" on his own.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my two guys...doing what they do best...eating!

Darin and Kai played together for hours and hours everyday, in the pool, in the play room, and in the dining room. They were attached at the hip the whole trip.

COSTA RICA:

I can't even begin to describe how beautiful Cost Rica is. We visited a Bannana Plantation, toured the rain forest, and rode a boat through the canals of Tortuga. We loved the people, the fruit, the iguanas, the sloths, the monkeys, the "blue" crabs, and even the 103 degree weather with 110% humidity (well, maybe not the humidity).

PANAMA CANAL:

Next stop was the Panama Canal, and we loved watching the locks open and shut allowing HUGE ships to pass through the canal. It was amazing to me to watch the intricacies and details of this process.

PANAMA CITY:

We spent a day in Panama City, and loved seeing so many incredible buildings and beautiful architecture. I will tell you one thing I could have done without...the heat/humidity. It was only 2-3 degrees warmer in Panama City than it was when we were in Costa Rica, but it felt like a 20-30 degrees warmer. You could literally swing your arm and see the moisture in the air move.

We also visited the ruins of "Old Panama City". It was really fantastic to see such incredible ruins and since Kai picked up walking on the trip, he loved stumbling around checking out the old ruins.

Kai and Leila loved being together, and on the second dress up night, they snuck off to a corner of the dining room to play alone.

Finally our last day at sea was lots of laying out, napping, reading, and playing...best of all we loved spending 9 days with each other.

Like I said, I love almost everything about vacation...minus the coming home part.

Mothers Day Surprise

2010-05-07T13:13:00.001-07:00

Kai gave me the sweetest mother's day surprise ever...

When I showed up on Thursday afternoon to pick him up at his "class" (aka daycare), he was waiting with a wrapped package in his outstreched arms. He handed me a gift that he made in class. His teachers created ceramic plates and pressed his hands in it to make the cutest little hand prints. He painted over them himself. It was adorable. The best part was after I opened the package, he kept taking it from me and "re-giving" it to me approximately 20 times before I tricked him into getting in his car seat and leaving. What can I say, the kid loves Mothers day.

3 Days of Birthday Fun!!!

2010-04-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

How did this guy...

Turn into this guy...

In just ONE year??? I sure don't know, but here is how we celebrated...

Day one: We started the day off at his one year check up. Both Darin and I were certain that although he has been in the 8th percentile for weight since he was born, he was definitely going to topple the charts, and come in somewhere around 70th or 80th percentile at his one year. Boy, were we disappointed. Only 20th percentile (still, quite a bit higher than 8).

Next, Kai and I headed to the swimming pool for some birthday splashing. He LOVED the water, and cried when I had to pull him out for lunch and a nap.

The crying didn't last long, because soon enough we were off to his "school" (daycare) to share some cupcakes with his friends. When we arrived, his teachers had decorated the door and made him a special birthday hat.

Kai LOVES his teachers, and loved sharing cupcakes with them.

He wasn't so sure about sharing his cupcakes with me, since he yanked the frosting right off of my cupcake and shoved it in his mouth before I even knew he had it.

After sharing cupcakes at his school, we picked up Darin from work and headed to Kai's birthday dinner...the waitress brought him his own special "appetizer" plate. He loved it!

Day Two: We invited Kai's 3 best friends to join us at the zoo for some animal watching and cake eating.

My friend Joelle (also the mother of Kai's friend Natalie) made us this amazing cupcakes/cake, complete with zoo animals and edible grass. She brought it over to our house the night before, and suggested that I tell everyone that I made it...I laughed, as I explained that NO ONE would believe me. It looked amazing, and tasted even better. Thanks Joelle!

These are Kai's 3 friends...notice they are all ladies, which he affectionately referred to as his "entourage" all day. :)

He sure loved eating his cake!

His friends were so nice, and brought him really fun gifts...I'm not sure if he liked the presents or the wrapping paper more?!?

We spent a couple of hours looking at the animals, and Kai found out at the end, that this is the first of many zoo trips this year...he got a zoo membership for his birthday...YAY!

Day Three: Several family members mailed or dropped off presents before Kai's actual Birthday, so I set up this display to be enjoyed by all for a few days before Kai actually got to open his presents. (we don't really use our kitchen for anything else, so it became a great display area). Every time Kai was near the gifts, he was freaking out with anticipation (I think I enjoyed this more than he did).

Sunday night, we had a family party with Darin's Grandma, and his brother Brian, Kristy, Briana, Garrett and Ethan. We had dinner, cake and icecream, presents, and Briana even read Kai stories before he went to sleep.

Briana and Garrett were super great at helping Kai open his presents...he was a little too slow for them.

Brian and Kristy even spent some time trying to help Kai learn how to walk (he is SOOOOO close).

What a great FIRST birthday...Thank you EVERYONE!!!

P.S. next year, we will be celebrating his 2nd birtday with ONE party. :)

Kai's First Hair Cut

2010-04-09T11:52:00.001-07:00

SO...I knew we should get Kai a haircut eventually, but he has so little hair, I didn't want to take away from this precious commodity. However, after we took him in for his first haircut this past week, I realized we should have gone a long time ago for two reasons. One, he looked a little crazy pre-haircut, (see BEFORE picture below). Second, it might be the most fun thing we have ever done...If you have never been to "Cookie Cutter" with your little one, you are missing out. You walk in and the first thing you do is choose a cartoon for your child to watch on their own personal DVD player. Next, you choose a seat (rocket, airplane, horse, mini-car), and then if that weren't enough...you get a balloon and a sucker at the end...WHO KNEW GETTING YOUR HAIRCUT COULD BE SO MUCH FUN!?!

BEFORE

AFTER

Kai keeps asking when he can go again. :)

P.S. Today is Kai's First Birthday (pictures to come later), however I wanted to mention that it turns out Birthdays rock when you are planning them for a little one...I am pretty jazzed that this is the first of many to come.

Spring Fun!

2010-04-05T20:31:00.001-07:00

Between Doggies, Swings, Slides, kindermusic, and a visit from Grandma Judy and Grandpa Chuck, Kai couldn't possibly have a better spring.

Tooth

2010-04-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Kai's bottom right tooth started seeping it's way out of his gum a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn't very visible until this week. It's amazing to me that he has eaten everything in site for the past few months without teeth??? He LOVES food. Just think how much he will love food with teeth...HELLO Steak, Apples, Candy and other scrumptious goodies that you need teeth to eat.

Spring has Sprung (sort of)

2010-03-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we saw the sun for 2 days straight...YAY!!! We are on the cusp of spring. We spent as much time outside as we possibly could. Still a little cold (hence the coats), but we will take the cold as long as the sun is shining. Hope it's sunny where ever you are.

SEE KAI RUN

2010-03-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

Kai has been wearing the same pair of velcro/strap baby shoes since he was 4 months old. Last week we finally decided to upgrade to a new pair of "big boy" shoes. Best part is...the new shoes were named after Kai (or atlease A KAI). So, the next time you need a cute pair of baby shoes, check out the brand "See Kai Run".

Oh, and don't tell our Kai that his shoes weren't named after him, he's REALLY excited about having his own shoe brand. :)

Rainy Day Blues

2010-03-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Kai and I have anxiously awaited the arrival of Spring. We thought it was here. We were wrong. It rained and snowed for 9 hours straight on Saturday. Kai stood at the window ledge for a good chunk of that time watching the rain/snow fall. Oh Spring, we love you. Please come soon.

New Cousin!!!

2010-02-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

Darin's brother's wife Kristy went into labor on Thursday (4 weeks early), and delivered a little boy (7lbs 8oz) thursday afternoon.
Welcome little Ethan Carter Patterson!!!

KINDERMUSIK

2010-02-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

Kai and I joined a KINDERMUSIK class. We stay home together on Friday's, and since it is cold and snowy we wanted something fun to do...so we signed up for a music class. So far Kai loves it, he shakes little music makers, beats on drums, reads books (well I read to him), sings songs (once again...me), dances and plays with friends. He LOVES it! The only downside is that the teacher sings everything she says, so if I miss the song...I miss the instructions. (Kai likes the singing...his Mom is still adjusting).

Sleepover!!!

2010-02-21T14:34:00.000-08:00

Darin's brother Brian and his kids slept over a couple of weekends ago, and we had so much fun! We played SINGSTAR all night, made waffles from scratch (all BRIAN), built forts, ate candy (LOTS), and Kai was in COUSIN-HEAVEN!!! Thanks Pattersons!

Crawlin...

2010-02-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

Kai started crawling a few weeks ago, and I am just barely getting around to documenting it. He was a charming little HOPPER for a month or so, until he slowly figured out how to put one hand in front of the other. Now he thinks he can tackle ANYTHING...and he's a quick one. Each night after we put him to bed, we spend the rest of the evening baby proofing. Oh how I love his milestones. Oh how I miss him being stationary.

Little Yogi

2010-01-21T19:58:00.000-08:00

Kai has been practicing his yoga poses AKA "learning to crawl", and since it is National Yoga day this coming Saturday, I thought I would prep everyone with Kai's perfect downward dog. He also loves to hop around like a bunny rabbit...literally he gets on all fours and hops across the room. It's hilarious.

Bienvenido au MEXICO!!!

2010-01-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...I haven't blogged in a long time. We have been busy. However, I didn't want anyone to miss the opportunity to read all about Kai's first International trip (passport and all). We spent the week of Christmas in Mexico (Cabo San Lucas). It was warm, beautiful, warm, relaxing, warm and the weather was really warm. :)

Nothing says WELCOME TO MEXICO like walking onto your condo balcony and discovering this is your view. Kai and I watched Whales from our balcony every single morning.

Kai would scream if I let his toes touch the water...but it was so funny, I had to do it a few times, just to hear his little squeals.

Christmas Eve was a delight...we went into the downtown area of the VERY small town we were staying near (San Jose Del Cabo), so that Darin could experience Catholic Mass for the first time. The area outside of the church had turned into a little bazar for the evening, complete with lights, popcorn, balloons, and a man pushing a wheel barrow full of candy for the kids. Mass was very interesting and definitely had a local flare to it. Darin loved it, and Kai and I spent most of the time outside (as he was not in a very church-going mood).

Christmas Morning...

Before.

During.

More During.

And, After.

He loved opening a couple of presents (Santa gave him a trip to Mexico).

We went on a Snorkeling/Lunch Cruise, and saw 6 different whales, ate delicious food, snuck up on a colony of Sea Lions sun bathing, danced the Macarena and snorkeled the day away.

Kai loved his time on the beach...but he sure is a quick one, I have been changing diapers with sand filled waste for two weeks...What kind of mother lets her 9 month old eat handfuls of sand (I guess I do?!?)

Everyday, Kai and Darin spent an hour or two wading in the pool. Kai couldn't get enough of the 90 degree pool water.

And, our last meal in mexico included a little local entertainment from a miniature Gringo in a Pancho with a Sombrero and Maraca.

book club, kind of.

2009-12-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

i started reading the most enchanting book this weekend, and had to share. if you haven't picked up a copy of this little treasure yet, you are missing out. and, if you blog...lets start a "sort of book club", meaning we can chat back and forth about this post world war II setting, literary masterpiece. let me know if you are interested.

Friends, Family and Festivities

2009-12-20T18:59:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend cramming in as many family, friends and festivities as we could possibly fit into one 48 hour period....Friday night we met up with Darin's brother's family (Brian and Kristy), we exchanged gifts, and Kai loved the blanket Kristy made him as well as the sign language books and cute little cup. Briana and Garrett were pretty fond of their new keyboard that lights up when you play it. Garrett told Darin: "Thanks for getting me the piano, I've been wanting one my whole life...I just never knew where to find one" (keep in mind he is 4). It was so cute!

After the gift exchange, we headed out to see the lights...Kai loved hanging out with Brianna and Garett!

The kids spent the night, and had tons of fun cooking pancakes and waffles for breakfast.

In the afternoon, we joined Darin's Mom's side of the family for a holiday party...this was Kai's first introduction to Santa Claus.

That night we had dinner with friends, and they came back to our house for hot chocolate and cookies. Leila and Kai watched holiday movies and then exchanged gifts. Leila gave Kai some really cool keys, toys and finger foods. Kai gave Leila a "Baby Obama" T-shirt, Leila loves to say Omama, Omama, every time she see's pictures of the president, and Kai's parents are big Obama fans, so we wanted to support her infatuation.

Lastly we had a great Sunday resting and eating delicious food...these are my favorite guys in their holiday sweaters.

DSIcation

2009-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Some of you may be wondering "What is a DSIcation?" Well, I will tell you, DSI (Data Systems International) is the company Darin works for, and he often travels for work...well, this past weekend they agreed to send me and Kai with him to San Diego/Riverside, so we turned it into a mini vacation. We were in San Diego for a couple of days and then headed up to Riverside. My main goals for this 4 day trip were to EAT a lot of good food, spend time at the beach, sleep in and go shopping. I admit I get a little carried away thinking I could spend time at the beach, sleep in and shop with an 8 month old...but I sure did EAT a lot! (1 out of 4 is pretty good) Check out all the fun we had...

After an authentic Mexican lunch in OLD TOWN San Diego, we headed down to the pier and spent some time walking the boardwalk checking out the boats, pelicans, and seals.

Kai's favorite shop was a cute little bookstore, where a man was playing Jazz music with a saxophone and an oboe (he had a laptop with a digital band playing in the background)...Kai watched him for an hour and a half, and would have stayed all night if we didn't tear him away to go eat dinner.

However, he was still a pretty happy dude.

Coronada Island was our first destination Sunday morning...we spent the whole morning wandering around this 120 year old hotel admiring the old building, watching sail boats right off the beach, eating ice cream, and watching the kids iceskate on the rink behind the hotel.

The Hotel Decorations and outdoor courtyard were beautiful!

Kai enjoyed the Hotel, but mostly the sink...every day, for as long as I would let him.

The highlight of my trip was meeting up with Greg, a great friend I haven't seen in 10 years...we spent the whole night eating delicious food, reminiscing about old times, and catching up. It was soooooo great to see him!

What a great trip...DSI can send us on vacation any time!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2009-12-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

Darin and I have never wanted a Christmas tree, in fact, we usually travel every Christmas, so we haven't ever decorated for the holidays at all. Everyone said that would change as soon as we had kids. Well, we have a kid, and it hasn't changed . So, I'm wondering if they literally meant kids (emphasis on the S). I guess we'll see.
However, Kai is a huge fan of trees, and so we decided to take him to "Festival of the Trees", so that he could get his fill of Christmas decorations. He had a great time...

We went with his friend Leila, she kept trying to sneak under the super secure barricade (as pictured above) between the aisle and the trees.

We had a great time checking out literally hundereds of decorated trees, gingerbread houses, quilts, and other Holiday decorations, but Kai's favorite part was watching all of the other little kids running around, he could watch kids for hours and be perfectly content. Maybe we should just buy him a daycare for Christmas...Hmmm

Thanksgiving...or NOT

2009-11-28T16:08:00.000-08:00

I wasn't sure what to name this post, since It wasn't quite Thanksgiving...

Tuesday night I went out to dinner with my friend from graduate school, and I ordered a pulled pork sandwich, I didn't realize that it tasted a little funny, until I had eaten half of it. The next morning about 3 am I woke up with a terrible stomach ache, chills, a fever and major aching all over my body...I seriously wanted to die. Around 10 am I started throwing up, and didn't leave the bathroom floor until 3pm (I threw up 6-8 times during that time period). Darin took Kai to daycare, and then around 4 he came home and took me to the doctor. The doctor said it was definitely food poisoning, and that I couldn't eat anything for the next 48 hours...NO FOOD over Thanksgiving, it was awful! Poor Darin didn't eat any Thanksgiving either...just stayed home with Kai and I. It was the sickest I ever remember being in my whole life, I kept telling Darin that I would miss him and Kai, but I really wanted to die. :)
Then yesterday, I had to go into work for a couple of hours, and so I brought Kai with me and he started acting really funny (moaning, trembling, crying) and he was really hot. We took his temperature and it was 103, so we took him to the doctor. The doctor wasn't sure what is wrong with him, so we have just been holding him nonstop and giving him tylenol to help with the fever...he is so miserable. I can't remember a week filled with so much sickness. YUCK!

However, we have had more family time than usual, so we have spent a lot of time reflecting on all the things we are thankful for. Our combined list is pretty long, but I feel particularly thankful for such a great partner to raise our amazing little boy with. I never imagined how much I would love having a little family of my own, but nothing has every brought me so much joy. I am truly thankful.

This is a picture of the dinner Darin made around 9pm on Thanksgiving. We found a package of "instant potatoes" and a gravy mix that he whipped up like a world class Sous Chef.

Grandma Hope's Birthday

2009-11-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was Kai's great grandma's 91st birthday, she is a rockin' grandma, and Darin's aunts put together a rockin' party complete with delicious food, great company and grandma made out with a haul...books, clothes, handmade towels and some delicious cheesecake to boot. Kai's favorite thing about grandma Hope is that everytime we go to visit, she always tells us she is going to write all about him in her journal...HE LOVES MAKING THE JOURNAL! Happy Birthday Grandma!

Kai's favorite SUCKIE

2009-11-22T20:04:00.000-08:00

Kai used to like to suck on pacifiers, that is until he turned into an acrobat, and can now fit all 5 of his toes in his mouth...apparently regular suckies have lost their appeal.

Family Pictures

2009-11-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

We had this great idea to get family pictures taken while the beautiful Fall weather was peaking. Good thing we acted on our intuition, because it sure did snow all day yesterday, and now its rediculously cold! Good bye Fall. Hello Winter...(This is not a welcoming hello).

Halloween Heaven

2009-11-01T17:54:00.000-08:00

Who knew Halloween was such a fun holiday? Not me. Well, not me until I had a little guy to dress up and hall around the town showing off to anyone that will pay attention to his cute Pumpkin self. We started off our festivities on Friday by getting dressed up and heading to my work. I work at a domestic violence shelter, and all of the kids staying in the shelter during Halloween get dressed up and go around to each of the offices and "trick or treat". Kai loves watching other kids, so I thought it would be fun to let him help me pass out candy. Darin has been sick this past week, but was feeling better while we were getting ready to leave, so he decided to join us. Kai had so much fun (and he doesn't even know about candy...next year is going to blow his mind).
On Halloween we spent some time with his good friend Leila (the pretty princess featured below). Kai couldn't get enough of her costume...literally he kept trying to eat it the whole time they were visiting.
Next we headed up to Ogden for some famous "Ogden Pizzeria" pizza, and a little trick or treating with Kai's cousins Briana and Garrett. Kai got a whole bag full of baby food from Aunt Kristy and Uncle Brian, but the night would not have been complete without a little dance party featuring "Thriller" and "The Monster Mash", we may have scared away all of the Trick or Treaters, but we sure had fun...Kai was in Halloween Heaven!!!

LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW! LET IT SNOW!

2009-10-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

Weather dot com said it was going to snow this past Tuesday, so Kai and I decided to get ready. We went to the mall to find him a little hat and mittens.
Weather dot com was right...it snowed all day. Good thing Kai was prepared.

Oh October...

2009-10-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

I always dread October. First reason: it starts to get cold. Second reason: Week Without Violence. The first needs no explanation, the second, needs a little explaining. All 300 YWCA's in the country dedicate the third full week of October to educating the public on the effects of violence in our homes, communities and families. I am the Education Director, and therefore I spend all year planning this week of activities, events, public speeches, media interviews and a children's carnival. I love the actual week, but I don't love the 358 days leading up to the week...it's a lot of work. The week finished on Friday night, and I came home to flowers and my favorite candy from my two favorite guys...it was the best ending to a really successfull week! Now on to planning for next year.

6 months later

2009-10-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine a bumbo chair...

a box of rice cereal...

and a baby boy celebrating his 6 month birthday....

TADA!

That's right folks, Kai has joined the rest of the Patterson family in a life time love affair with food! And, he was practically an expert...barely spit any up!!! We are so proud. The best part is, he doesn't even know how much amazing food their is out their for him to sink his slobbery gums into...but he will soon enough (how could he not with Darin and I for parents...food is really our only hobby).

Congratulations Kai!

To Grandmother's house we go...

2009-10-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to visit my Mom and Step Dad in Spokane Washington. Kai was in heaven with all of Grandma's kisses, toys, hugs, and candy (he doesn't eat solids...so his parents graciously comandeered it). It was so much fun to show Darin all of the houses I had lived in as a child, schools I went to, places I played at and visited, and most of all things I used to eat (we went to Tomatoe Street for delicious soup and bread pudding, great harvest for pastries, Zips for burgers and fries, and my Mom made her world famouse coffee cake the morning we left). It was GREAT!

Mom and I at Manito park...I used to come here when I was a little girl to play, and they have the most beautiful gardens.

Zips...just as good as I remembered.

Kai and Grandma liked zips too!

As soon as Kai got over his fear of Grandpa's mustache...he just couldn't get enough of it!

My mom discovered Hula Hooping as a great ab workout during commercials while she is watching football. I was amazed at how long she can keep it spinning. She left Darin and I in the dust!

This was Kai's reaction to the news that it was time to get back on the airplane and fly back home (away from Grandma).

We had a great time! Thanks grandma Judy and Grandpa Chuck!!

End of Summer Blues...

2009-09-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Darin and I have been trying to prolong summer for the past three weeks...picnics, walks, barbeques and parks. This week the weather is supposed to get down in the 60's, so we packed in as many last minute warm weather activities as we possibly could. Tonight we went to the park and swung on the swings for as long as Kai would let us, and then walked around the park until it got dark reminiscing about all the fun we had during Kai's first summer with us. Here's a little video momento:

Milestones

2009-09-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Kai is learning how to drink from a cup...he had so much fun practicing with his dad. A couple more weeks and it's on to food for him!
Darin and Kai like to read every night together...this night he was especially into reading, he kept trying to hold the book himself.

Back in May when we went to the East Coast on vacation, we bought Kai a little sweatshirt at Harvard, this week it was raining and cold, so we busted it out, and he and I dressed up like twins.
Darin and I decided we want to start teaching Kai sign language, so we have been watching the signing time videos and then practicing the signs with Kai...He had decided he doesn't need us...he can watch the videos all by himself. (HE LOVES TV...he has a 10 minute limit each day)
Like Father, Like Son!

Labor Day Fun

2009-09-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

WHAT A DAY! We started out the holiday by meeting up with our friends Maggie, Sina and Leila so Darin and Sina could play tennis while Kai and Leila had fun on the swings (Kai's first time swinging), I'm pretty sure Kai loved it...well atleast sucking on his hand. :)

After Tennis, we met up with Darin's brother's family for some swimming at the Bountiful pool. Brianna and Garrett were so cute, they were like little fish swimming around. Kai loved watching all the other kids...his new favorite past time.

Kai was so wiped out by the time we went to dinner, he slept right through it...his BEST LABOR DAY EVER!

Kai goes to the zoo!

2009-09-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Kai and I went to the zoo on Thursday with our good friends Maggie and Leila. Kai has been really into looking at trees lately (he LOVES it!), so I figured he might be too young to enjoy checking out the animals, but the zoo has a lot of trees, so if he isn't into Lions, Tigers and Bears, atleast he will have some leaves and tree trunks to stare at. It turns out he likes animals too. He was really into the elephants and giraffes, and since Leila is a 1 year old prodigy baby that knows sign language and can sign every animal at the zoo, we were entertained by her intelligence and the amazing animals.

Little Thumb Sucker!

2009-08-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

I knew about Kai's secret obsession with his thumb long before he actually figured out how to get it in his mouth...he has been attempting this feat since day 1, as evidenced by him constantly shoving his entire fist into his mouth and occassionally punching himself in the nose. A few weeks ago he was able to master the thumb alone, and spends a majority of his days (and nights) indulging in this new found vice. Darin isn't sure how he feels about Kai's new habit, as he doesn't want to pay Kai's dental bills when his teeth are all messed up, but I on the other hand LOVE it...he puts himself back to sleep at night, so his mom is spending less time helping him get back to sleep, and check out these pictures...what a cutie!

Park City weekend get-away

2009-08-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Darin took Kai and I to see the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley (out door amphitheatre neer Park City). It was amazing! He also got us a two night stay at this great hotel in Park City, so we had ourselves a little weekend get-away. We had so much fun wandering the streets of Park City, eating at delicious restaraunts, shopping at the farmers market (we bought all sorts of yummy fruit), playing games in the hotel room and sight-seeing. It's great to have a little resort town 20 minutes away from our house...I wish we took advantage of it more often!

SEWING???

2009-08-13T20:11:00.000-07:00

My sister in-law was visiting from California several weeks ago, and she had the cutest blanket for her little son, I asked where I could get the same one, and she told me that her sister had made it, but fortunatetly she new where I could get the material...I laughed a little at this thought (making the blanket myself), but then Darin and I were at Ikea a couple weeks ago, and I saw the fabric. I purchased a few yards, and Darin put together the sewing machine my mom gave me when I graduated with my bachelors degree (he literally set up all the thread and everything), and I was on my way to a "copy-cat" blanket. Here are the precious fruits of my labor. :)

CATCHING UP

2009-08-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we took Kai to his first Political Rally...We marched from the City and County Building to the State Capital in support of Iranian Democracy, and "RECOUNTING" the vote. He was one of 4 babies in 150 people, so we considered it a success!! It was chilly outside, so he wore his only jacket for the first time...this jacket has a story, neither Darin or I love dousing babies in pink or blue when they are born, so we were pretty adamant about greens, browns, oranges and other non-blue colors, but my Mom and I were shopping last Christmas in Florida and found this jacket for $1.00, and we decided to get it as a back up item (just in case we needed a jacket in the 100 degree Utah summer), good thing we got it...it rained the whole morning.

Kai's absolute favorite sleeping position...however, he only gets to sleep like this during nap time, I swaddle him at night otherwise he flails his arms all night long. :)

For those of you that don't know, Kai has been in physical therapy every week for Torticolis (one side of his neck is not as strong as the other...so he is learning how to strengthen it). One of his favorite physical therapy exercises is TUMMY TIME on the boppy. HE LOVES IT!!

Kai goes to daycare 3 days a week at my work (which I affectionately refer to as his "school"), so on the days it's just him and I at home we go to story time at the library, yoga for "mommy and me" and take lots and lots of walks...he loves to sit in the baby bjourne for our walks (not really, he just goes straight to sleep).

DRIVE-IN

2009-07-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we drove up to Ogden, and went to a Drive-In movie with Brian, Kristi, Brianna and Garrett (Darin's brother's family). It was so much fun! We pulled out some lawn chairs and busted out every bag of candy imagineable, and sat back under the stars stuffing our faces and watching "UP". Kai loved it, because he was getting all sorts of loving from Brianna (who won't let anyone else hold him when she is around unless he needs to eat). It was great!!!

Kai and Beckett

2009-07-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

Anne and Beckett flew out from Connecticut for a few days in July...these two little cousins couldn't get enough of each other!

Ok, maybe Kai was a little overwhelmed with all of the love Beckett had to share...but behind that crying face, their is secretly a smile. He is thinking to himself, this guy is really gonna get it when I get bigger. :)

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

Over the 4th, most of my family and several of Darin's family members were here for the Holiday and Kai's blessing. Since Todd and Onjali were here for the weekend we doubled up on blessings and Owen (one month younger than Kai) and Kai were blessed together. We also got a chance to have some family pictures taken. What an exciting weekend! We missed Aunt Cindy and her family (Darin's sister) and Uncle Dan (my sister Anne's husband). Here are a few pics!

My little monkey is not so little...

2009-07-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

So, I started back to work about 3 weeks ago, and right before I went back, I was having a minor break down about the fact that my maternity leave with Kai was coming to an end...and to top it all off, the very first outfit I ever bought him (and my absolute favorite) was almost to small for him...meaning, my little baby is not such a little baby anymore. I was a little teary, and began explaining my woes to Darin. I wasn't sure he understood how I could be sooooooo sad about a little outfit being to small for Kai (it wasn't the outfit per se...more like the fact that he was too big to wear it was really devastating). We ended our nostalgic discussion about our little boy growing up, and went on our way.

A few days later Kai and I were at work (he came to work with me for 3 weeks until I started working part time, and now he is in day care at my work 3 days a week). While "we" were working, I got paged over the intercom and was asked to come to the reception desk. When I got there, there was a package for Melinda Patterson. Since I kept my maiden name at work, I was surprised to find a package with my married name (and so was the receptionist...she almost didn't sign for it, because she argued with them that no MELINDA PATTERSON'S worked there). I took the package back to my office and inside found an elegant Ralph Lauren box. I opened it and at the very top was a small card that said: JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE SUCH A GOOD MOM... There was no signature or anything. I opened the wrapping and inside was the next size up of my favorite little outfit. Darin had researched on the internet, and was able to find the 6 month size of Kai's little Polo outfit. Kai and I were so excited, we couldn't stop smiling, (and I may or may not have shed a few tears).

Darin is the most thoughtful, kindest, loving father and husband I could have ever asked for!!!

Exhibit A: The Outfit.

Exhibit B: The Card.

Exhibit C: The Happiest Mom and Son ever!

This is gonna be a LONG one...

2009-06-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Before we had Kai, we found some really inexpensive tickets to Washington D.C. from Salt Lake City, and we decided to take our chances that our 6 week old would LOVE traveling (like his Mom and Dad), so we bought the tickets. Darin and I had both been to D.C. when we were younger, but thought it would be fun to take the little guy. We also love road trips, so we scheduled 12 days of vacation and decided to drive up the coast stopping in all of our favorite East Coast cities along the way. We took a Red Eye to D.C. (which was booked in our naive PRE-baby days...thinking our son may be sleeping through the night at 6 weeks), he did a great job! He didn't cry one time the whole flight...we were so proud. The first night we visited the Lincoln Memorial, and I had never seen it at night, so we really enjoyed being there around midnight when no one else was there . It was so beautiful!

We had a great time at the capital, having a baby sure helps get you all sorts of great perks...while we were in the capital, we asked one of the security guys if we could visit the senate chambers, he told us "no, and that we should have asked our state senators for tickets before we came". As he finished his sentence he looked out of the corners of both of his eyes to see if anyone was watching him and he slipped us two tickets to visit the chambers. We saw a few senators and really enjoyed spending time "people-watching".

We spent a day or so wandering around in the Smithsonians, and other museums...but I have to say, that by far my very favorite visit was to the Seewell-Benson House (which is the original headquarters of the National Women's Party, where the second generation women's suffragist movement work took place resulting in the passing of the 19th amendment). If you haven't seen Iron Jawed Angels...it's a must see!

Of course we had to stop by the White House...Darin and I were really active in the 2008 campaign season and were excited to stop by the president's home...unfortunately he wasn't expecting us, so he forgot to pencil us into his schedule...maybe next time!

After leaving D.C. we headed to Philadelphia (not my favorite city), Darin had never been there and wanted to check it out. We stayed in a great hotel and enjoyed checking out Independence Hall. Here's a shot of us in front of the Liberty Bell.

Our next stop was so much fun...mostly because it included my cute nephew Beckett (and his cute mom...my sister Anne). Anne and her family recently moved to Newtown Connecticut (about 40 miles away from Manhattan), so stayed with them for a couple of days. The first night we were there Anne babysat Kai so we could go see CHICAGO on Broadway. I had fed Kai some formula earlier in the day so that I could pump my milk for him to eat while we were gone. About two hours before we were supposed to leave Kai started making a lot of noise immediately followed by intense throwing up...now, for those of you that have never seen a brand new infant throw up while laying on their back...it is quite scary (maybe a little scarier if you are the mom and you've never seen your own child throw up 4 ounces of formula). It looked like he was a tiny little fountain and all the white formula came spraying back down on him and covered his little face and body entirely in regurgitated formula. I immediately looked at Darin and asked if we should call 911. My sister (a much wiser Mom experienced in the art of baby throw up), assured me that it was normal and that he would be ok. He looked like he was feeling better so we decided to go to the show, but I sure did leave his insurance card and medical information. I also called my sister every chance I could before, during and after the show. He was alive and well when we returned...THANKS AUNT ANNE!

The next day we all went to NY city for some sight seeing, pizza eating, shopping and people watching. Kai loved giving Aunt Anne kisses in the middle of Times Square.

Beckett sure is a cutie and he and Kai are now great friends!!!

On to BOSTON!!! Of all the cities I have ever been in...Boston is my all time favorite! The city is beautiful, the food is amazing and their is so much to see and learn about. I LOVE IT!!! The first evening we got there we spent several hours in the Boston Common walking around and watching all the people. Kai loved sitting on the bench with his Daddy checking everything out.

Last spring when we visited Boston, we stumbled across the WORLD'S GREATEST SANDWICH in a cute little Deli right off the common and public garden (Lamperts Deli). If you ever visit this charming place, you will have to order a #1 Massachusettes Ave. (turkey, stuffing, cranberry, mayo on a delicious deli roll). It will change your life...I PROMISE!

We also spent a few hours walking around the Public Garden's looking at all of the beautiful flowers and admiring the Swan boats.

The last couple days of our trip were RAINY...but it didn't get us down. We spent one day in Harvard Square and then walked around Harvard Law School. We even had lunch in the Harvard Law School cafeteria...there was a Brie spread and tons of other "elegant" cafeteria food (yes, there is such a thing). I couldn't believe it...those people even EAT smarter. :)

We flew back to D.C. and then back to Salt Lake. Once again, no crying from the little guy on either flights, so we felt pretty lucky. It was a great trip. We loved showing Kai some of our favorite places, and enjoyed the leisurely pace. I started back to work a few days later, so it was really nice to have the time as a family.

Thank you Aunt Cindy!!!

2009-06-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

We got home from an 11 day trip to the East Coast on Thursday night and I was dying to check the mail, it was raining cats and dogs, but I'm sort of a mail nut...so I ran to the mail box and we had a key in the box to a bigger box (indicating we had received a package). Darin's sister Cindy sent us the CUTEST book ever, and to my amazement, she had made it. It's a cloth book with different nursery rymes on each page...she must know how often Kai spits up and drools, so she safeguarded it by sending a washable book. Darin is having so much fun reading it to him...and Kai can hardly wait to learn to read it himself in a few months. :)

Thanks Aunt Cindy...WE LOVE YOU!!!

VIVA Las Vegas

2009-05-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend Darin, Kai and I drove down to Vegas to meet up with our friends Ashleigh and Joe...Kai sure did sleep all 9 hours (yep...it took 9 hours from Salt Lake to Vegas because of the frequent feeding stops we had for Kai). This picture is of Kai and Darin taking a little driving break outside a grocery store in St. George.

WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS!!! How would we ever explain ourselves to Kai ten years from now if we didn't take him for a picture in front of the Las Vegas sign on his first trip to Vegas?!?

Darin and I recently discovered a dining GEM called the "Grand Lux Cafe" while we were visiting Florida with my family in December...lucky for Kai their was one of these fabulous restaraunts in the Venetian hotel.

And how could anyone enjoy an evening on the Strip without stopping to view the water show in front of the Bellagio??? I know Kai sure loved it...he tipped me off with all his screaming. We had to leave the show because people were staring at me with the "Lady, your kid is ruining this for the rest of us look".

My favorite part about Vegas is how cheap the entertainment is...checking out all the fabulous hotels, window shopping, people watching and SNEAKING into the Tropicana pool for a little swim!

We had to stop by the NEW YORK NEW YORK...Kai is visiting Manhattan next week for his first trip to New York, so we wanted him to have something to compare it to.

We stopped bythe Coca Cola store after the pool for some diet coke. Joe had a special treat...they served him 16 different soda's from all over the world for a little international experience right there on the Strip. So much fun!

I know...Ashleigh looks so happy, you would think she had won something...no such luck!

And last but not least, I asked Kai to tell me his true feelings about his first trip to Vegas, needless to say...I don't think he was very impressed. :)

Family Pictures

2009-05-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Darin and I took Kai to have family pictures 9 days after he was born, so these are about four and a half weeks old, but it was so much fun having family pictures taken for the first time that I wanted to share them with the blogging world. Everything went perfectly smooth (minus that Kai cried the ENTIRE time). :)

Graduation Day!!!

2009-05-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Darin Graduated with his MBA last weekend, YEAH!!! We are so proud of him. He has been working full time (well full time +), for the past two years and going to school full time at nights. He stacked up his last semester of classes to be finished a week before Kai came...we are so happy he was not going to school every night once Kai came! Congratulations Darin!!!

Making Faces

2009-05-10T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure exactly what I expected Motherhood to be like...I wasn't naive about the whole "feeding baby multiple times through out the night", but I guess I wasn't aware that the baby doesn't always go right back to sleep after he eats (or at all in between feedings). :) These are some photos I took the other night around 3 am while Kai was adamant about staying awake in between feedings. I sure love my son, but I am definitely looking forward to a time when he wants to sleep all through the night. :)

Daddy Time

2009-04-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Darin is the world's best baby bather! Check out this great video I made of him giving Kai a bath...maybe I should give up social work and pursue a career in Film???

More Daddy Pictures...

Thanks Grandma Judy!!!

2009-04-29T18:34:00.000-07:00

My mom has been staying with us since Kai was born and has been doing the cleaning, cooking and takes care of Kai between night feedings...She is leaving tomorrow, and I am not sure how the adjustment to being a mom without my mom is going to go, wish us luck!

Happy Easter Baby Kai!

2009-04-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

Kai's first Easter was pretty exciting!!! I really, really wanted Kai to have Easter candy...he loves Easter candy on his two day birthday. :) We went to Target and every single bit of Easter candy was gone except 4 bags of M&M's, but Kai doesn't like M&M's, so we went to Smith's, and they only had plastic eggs left...I'm not sure if it was post-pregnancy hormones or what, but I almost started crying, I was so upset that Kai's first Easter was going to be a bust. We drove home, and I was really upset, so Darin asked me if I wanted to stop at Rite Aid just to see if they had any. We walked in and their were two full aisles of Easter candy...I ran to Darin and hugged him as tight as I could, on the verge of tears, I kept saying: Yeah! Kai's Easter won't be ruined. Needless to say he loved all of his Easter Candy.

Darin's Mom used to buy him a chocolate covered marshmallow egg with his name on it every single Easter until she passed away, so it was really important to him that Kai have an Egg with his name on it. My mom is here taking care of us, so she made sure he got his little egg. :) Kai loves Easter!

Darin's brother and sister-in-law came over to visit on Easter, and we had a cake with candles and ice-cream to celebrate. Brianna and Garrett loved hanging out with Kai, and Brianna kept telling everyone: "Time to give Baby Kai to me". She would tell me: "Mindy, please tell me when you need to take Kai somewhere, and I will carry him to you, I am big enough to carry him whenever you need me." It was so fun!

We love being parents. Everyone told us before Kai came that the first two weeks are SOOOO hard, because you don't sleep at night, and your just exhausted. We have been up a lot at night, but I have loved it...I miss him while we are sleeping, and once my milk came in, he really started sleeping well and he's so happy!

Kai Ray Patterson

2009-04-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

He's here!!! Kai was born Thursday, April 9th, 2009. He weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces and he's 19 inches long. He is such a good baby, we couldn't be happier!

Our due date isn't until next Saturday (April 18th), but I went in for my regular doctor's appointment on Wednesday and she told me she wanted to induce me the next day because she still didn't feel like he was gaining enough wait, so she set up the induction and I went back to work. I worked until almost 10pm just trying to get caught up...When I left work I started having the worst back pain ever, and was up almost all night with back pain. When we got to the hospital at 7 am they hooked me up to the monitor and told me my contractions were 5 minutes apart and within 30 minutes they were 2 minutes apart. I was REALLY excited to see the anesthesiologist about a half hour later. :) We were in labor until 7:00pm and then I pushed for 23 minutes and he was out...

We are loving having him here, and are getting excited to take him home from the hospital. I have never loved anything as much as being his mom...but watching Darin be his Dad is a definite close second.

Any day now...

2009-04-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, my official due date isn't until next Saturday...but my Doctor said 2 weeks ago that I could have him any day now...so I'm getting a little anxious. Darin finished his classes last week, so we are totally in baby mode.

THE NURSERY

2009-03-22T19:20:00.000-07:00

Well, we are still missing the rocking chair...but we are well on our way to being ready for baby Kai (we are pretty set on this name...but won't be sure until he gets here) to arrive. The four picture frames get their own picture, because I made them to match his bedding set...and although they have many flaws up close...I am pretty proud of their far away picture. :)

8 months down...1 to go!

2009-03-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

I can't begin to explain how uncomfortable I feel "posing" in front of the closet in our guest bedroom so Darin can take a picture of my belly...I think I will like taking pictures of my son a whole lot more when he is no longer inside me. :)

We have one month left (and he better not be late...or else). This week we go to birthing class at the hospital we are going to deliver at, and you better believe I am going to be asking all about the anesthesiologist. :)

I am almost finished with his room, and so hopefully sometime this week, I will put some picutes up. I love working on his room, it makes me feel like I know him or something. (guess that is why they call it nesting?)

Baby Shower

2009-03-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Baby Shower!!!

Last weekend my sister and good friend Maggie had the cutest baby shower for me and the little guy. It was so much fun!!! I have kind of a safari theme going on with the baby, and Maggie decorated everything in lions, elephants and zebras...it was really cute! Anne made the best food ever, and should really think about opening a catering business. It was so much fun!

31 Weeks...

2009-02-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

This week we go in for our 31 week check up...this means, in theory our baby could be here in 9 more weeks...AHHHHHH!!! We put up his crib, dressor and even set up his bedding last weekend, so we are feeling more prepared, but as for LABOR, I'm not feeling so prepared! :)

Just like his Dad...

2009-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

Today we went to the doctor for our third ultrasound...I have always been a little freaked out by 3D ultrasound pictures, because sometimes the babies look so smooshed and non-human. I was in the process of telling the ultrasound doctor that I wasn't a big fan of 3D pictures when BAM...up on the screen is my baby in 3D. She told us that his little nose was pushed right up against my belly, so he looked like a little kid pushing their nose up against a glass window. She assured us his nose would look less smooshed and spread out when he arrives. :)
We had so much fun watching him on the screen, and it was so fun to see the little guy that is constantly kicking and moving all around. I can't believe we only have 10 weeks until he gets here!
Tonight while I was looking at his 3D pictures, I opened my wallet to get something out, and a picture of Darin when he was a toddler fell out of my wallet. I held the picture right up to our babies, and couldn't believe how much his features already resemble his Dad. Even Darin was amazed at how similar their lips and noses are. So, now you get to compare the two. :)

Christmas in Florida

2009-01-01T16:32:00.000-08:00

Darin and I have made a tradition of getting out of Utah for as long as we can over the holidays. When we were engaged we spent Christmas in Southern California, last year we were in Hawaii, and this year we spent Christmas with my family in Ft. Lauderdale Florida...I don't know why we always leave during the holidays, it's January that I really need to escape from the cold. :)

My favorite part about this trip was of course the niece and nephew I got to play with for 8 days straight. Todd's daughter is Evee and she is 16 months with a new brother on the way. Anne's son is Beckett, and the kid is as happy as any baby you could ever meet, but his 4 teeth are razor sharp and my sister thinks it's funny to watch him bite me...it's not so funny! :)

Besides hanging out with Beckett and Evee we spent time shopping (I only bought stuff for the baby...Darin didn't think I could do it, but he doesn't know how NOT fun it is to try on clothes while you're pregnant), toured the Everglades, and spent lots and lots of time at the beach.

24 WEEKS...

2009-01-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

Several people have asked me to put up pictures of me and the little guy thus far...he's the one in my stomach, or as my 5 year old niece Briana pointed out when I told her I had a baby in my stomach: "Mindy, you're not supposed to eat the baby you silly goose". Glad we got that out of the way. :)

Darin and I were in Florida for Christmas and New Years, so since my sister in law Ongali (who is also having a boy just a couple weeks after me) was there, I decided to get a little snapshot of the two cousins and their mom's. We were on our way down to the hot tub...man I miss that 80 degree weather!

2008-12-10T12:47:00.001-08:00

For those of you that don't know...WE ARE PREGNANT!!!

Darin and I are having a little boy in the middle of April. I haven't posted a blog in so long, so I know this is way over due...but we are 22 weeks along and are doing well.

I was really sick the first 15 weeks, and then have had a serious back problem (my SI joint is lose from the pregnancy) so I have been in physical therapy 2-3 times a week and am wearing a 4 inch wide belt around my waste to stabilize my pelvis...all sorts of fun! :)

Darin and I were both positive we were having a girl (we had given her a name and referred to her as a she the whole first 20 weeks), so you can imagine I was a little surprised when we went in for the ultra sound. I cried through the entire appointment because I was so certain it was a girl...so much for maternal instinct. Anyway, things are good, I have not really been showing yet, but I definitely feel pregnant, and can definitely tell things are not the same with my body as they used to be. The doctor told me at our last appointment that our baby is under the 25th percentile for weight, so she thinks he will weigh about 6 pounds or less...I was so thrilled, I tell my mom every day I would chose 6 pounds of baby coming out of my body any day. :) (now watch, he will weigh 10 pounds)

The happy family

2008-10-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

Just before the blessing we took these cute pictures right outside Trevor and Rochelle's house. Addy (the little girl) LOVES having her picture taken...she kept running up to me after every shot and wanted to see the picture before I took another. We were at Target the day before, and we walked past some cameras, she asked me to take her picture and when I told her they weren't my cameras, she stood up in the cart and yelled at the top of her lungs: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ME!!! :)

Trip to Seattle

2008-10-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my newest nephew Rylan was blessed. I went to Seattle for the festivities, and had a great time...but most of all I got some great photos of my super cute nieces and nephews...ENJOY!!!

Here's the deal with BLOGGING: You Blog.

2008-09-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

So my good friend Emilee posted a comment regarding me neglecting my blog...my biggest excuse is that I don't have any cute kids doing cute things to put up on the blog, so I'm working on getting some (there kind of expensive :).
I will be at my new nephews baby blessing in a couple of weeks with nieces and nephes galore...so look for a great posting then. :)
Things are good here, Darin is so busy with school and work I keep saying I feel single with no roommates. This is my busy season at work and I am in charge of a campaign called "Week Without Violence". My department puts together about 10 events open to the public to educate people about the effects of violence on our community...I work on it all year long, so I am including a link to the list of events and activities here.

Democratic National Convention

2008-09-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

So Darin and I were sitting around the house last Wednesday at about 10:30 pm watching the commentary on Bill Clinton and Joe Biden's speeches at the DNC, and decided to be a little spontaneous. We jumped in our car and drove until 4:00 am where we stopped and slept for a few hours and then drove the rest of the way to Denver. We had an amazing time walking around talking to other Obama supporters, listening to bands and standing in line...We really enjoyed Al Gores speech, and LOVED Obama's acceptance speech, however I did not love that we drove back right after his speech and got home at 4:00 in the morning just in time to go to work at 8:00. We are both spending as much time as we can this fall volunteering for the campaign, but with Darin in School full time and working full time, and me in my busiest season of the year at work and teaching 2 classess at Salt Lake Community College we are a little limited.

When in Rome do as the Romans...

2008-09-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

We stayed in the most BEAUTIFUL hotel!!! We thought about just staying in the hotel all three days in Rome because it was so nice...but eventually decided to visit the Coliseum, Forum, Pantheon, Vatican, Trevi Fountain and the Sistine Chapel. We also spent a lot of time eating...and I constantly wondered how we would ever be able to go back to eating American food, but somehow we are managing.

FRANCE (Nice, Monte Carlo, Monaco)

2008-09-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

The first thing we saw in France was a port where several multi-million dollar yachts were "parked". Some had helicopters on the back, others just had mini boat garages on the back...but ALL of them cost $100,000 dollars A DAY to be parked right outside of NICE. We probably won't be sailing our yacht their any time soon. :) We visited the second largest city state in the world (Monaco) where Grace Kelly was the princess and her son is now the prince. We also drove past the largest casino in the world in Monte Carlo where it cost 100 euro (equal to 150 American dollars) just to enter. Lots of people with lots of money...

Barcelona, Spain

2008-09-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

Barcelona had the most incredible architecture...we saw several buildings designed by Gaudi, and spent the morning eating Tapa's...it doesn't get much better than that!

Venice...the city of water

2008-09-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

Venice was beautiful! We took water buses and taxis everywhere. We ate Gelato, Gelato, Gelato and spent lots of time in St. Marks square, Dodges palace and even took a beautiful Gondola ride with a man who'd been a Gondolier for 44 years.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

2008-09-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Naples

2008-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Naples was the first stop on our cruise...and luckily they had just ended their year long garbage strike (still a little smelly!). Pizza was invented in Naples, and let me tell you, I have NEVER eaten such delicious food/pizza in all my life! Naples is also about 20 minutes from POMPEI the city under Mount Vesuvius which errupted in 79 AD and Pompei was preserved immaculately by the volcanic ash...It was so amazing!

Italy, Spain, France and Croatia

2008-09-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

Darin and I left for the longest/farthest vacation either of us had ever been on July 31st. Our flight got canceled last minute and Darin pinched a nerve in his spine...so we were off to a great start. Because of the flight cancellation mishap (and the strong sentiments I expressed towards the airline), they flew us first class from Salt Lake to New York and then New York to Italy...Darin loved first class so much, that I wondered if anything on our vacation would ever be able to compare with the flight over. :)

Blogging...so much to learn :)

2008-09-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

I finally started a blog (against Darin's wishes), but here we are. My biggest fear about blogging is that I'm not sure we can ever compete with all the cute blogs that include pictures of babies...so, that being said, I will do my best.