making lemonade outta lemons

This one is for Brian, whose super-creative white elephant gift I managed to choose... among assorted, eclectic items was a 2009 Monkey Calendar.

Now, most people don't know this, but I abhor photos of monkeys that are put into costume and photographed. I truly, truly dislike them. To Brian's credit, he did not go out and buy this calendar - it came in the mail. Obviously I wasn't going to actually hang it anywhere in *my* house... but I did come up with a creative use for the calendar.

What do you think?

Some of Kaemon Ze's favorite things:

- his panda bear book. He LOVES LOVES the panda on the cover and spends lots of time looking at him. Kaemon Ze coos and smiles big big smiles at the panda. In the morning when he's waking up, he looks for the panda (usually in the same place) and absolutely lights up when he sees his buddy. It's almost like, "Hey! There you are! Where have you been?!"


- standing up. Kaemon Ze loves to stand up! He is so strong.

- ceiling fans and lights. Jason said he's going to be a lightening expert when he gets older. ;)

- watching the fire in the woodstove.



- looking at the black/white contrast prints his Daddy put near the rocking chair and the swing.

- art. He seems to enjoying looking at all the art on the walls in our home. :)

walk to the store

Here's my blue-eyed babe bundled up in his stroller after a walk to the store. He just woke up from a nap. :)

our lil scorpio

What's the deal with Scorpios?
Kaemon Ze is a Scorpio. :)
I don't know my signs very well...

ooops... it's not a tooth

Jason read his weekly baby update he gets via e-mail to me today and it said something to the effect that if your baby has white bumps in his mouth, it could be thrush. Hmmmm... well, that would not be good if it was, so I called and made an appointment with the pediatrician this afternoon. As it turns out, the lil white thing on his gum is just a cyst (not thrush), despite the fact that he's drooling quite a bit.

Kaemon Ze also got his first immunization shot today. The shot was super fast and he cried from the shock of it... but just for a few seconds and that was that. Since Kaemon Ze is nearly three months of age, we scheduled his two-month check-up while we were there. Heh.

Our baby weighs a healthy 14 lbs, 11 ozs.

Both my boys got shots today - Jason got one from the dentist (he hates needles) this morning.

hello mr. president!

my house is full of Life

Yep, it's my favorite cereal. Super sale. Couldn't resist. Heh

What do you think? Did they pinch each other? hehehe
We got a kick out of Kaemon Ze communicating his hunger while Auntie Shannan was holding him. "Stop laughing and feed me!"













Kaemon Ze talks to Mommie; then he borrows Auntie Shannan's thumb to use as a teether for his incoming tooth.

if a tree falls in a wind storm...

... is there anyone there to cut it up?










Our neighbor's tree came down yesterday afternoon, missing a truck by a slim two inches, but luckily harming no person or property.

Jason went over yesterday to see if the neighbor needed help and if they wanted to dispose of the wood, to let them know we would take it for our wood stove.










Our neighbor (on right) accepted Jason's offer of help and had his buddy (center) come over to help him, too.










This is a "during" shot.










And the "after" shot. Jason estimated this was about a 1/2 of cord of wood. We usually get three cords for each winter. He estimated that he chipped about 30+ bags of mulch for our yard. That's a lot of work. Not at all what he was planning to do for the weekend, but that's the way things roll at times. :)

"Well, I'm partial..." says Mama. :)













Here's Kaemon Ze with Ms. Karen Marie today at Deborah's birthday breakfast. Happy 50th Birthday, Deborah! :)












Happy 2009 Everyone!

crisp afternoon walk

Before.... and after!

happy birthday gumpapa d!

Kaemon Ze's Aunti Laura stopped by for some play time. :)

While I was pregnant, every time I saw Laura, she would bend down and have a conversation with Kaemon Ze - totally between them. I would continue my conversation with whoever else was around while Laura and KZ had "their" conversation. I really do believe these two have a connection that preceeds their human experience.

(Below) Kaemon Ze plays with a toy given to him by Cam and Laura at the baby shower they co-hosted with our friend, Kim. Now that KZ is cutting his first tooth, he has his hands in his mouth - a lot. He seems to be trying to put this toy in his mouth. No can do, son. We'll have to get him some chew toys - now that he's learning to grab things that catch his eye. Also below is a photo I took of Oliver. Isn't he sweet?

first bath fun

It may be hard to believe, but Kaemon Ze had his first bath tonight. It's not what you think... we're not neglectful parents... we have been bathing him... by wash-cloth. Tonight was the first time we submerged him in water. We weren't sure what to expect - if he'd like being in the water or not. But like everything else with Kaemon Ze, he was just fine with it. He didn't balk at all. Laid back and seemed to enjoy it. Lucky us! :)




















Then, afterwards, he kicked back with Dad and watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."











My guys are soooooooooooo cute!

Kaemon Ze's first tickle giggle!

I was kissing Kaemon Ze's neck tonight and he started to giggle - his first tickle giggle! It is soooo cute! I asked Jason to film it so you can see it too. :) Jason said he giggled once for him while he was changing his diaper. I am looking forward to a lifetime of giggles and laughter with these two guys! :) *heart*

holiday photos

These are some of the photos we had taken before the holidays.










It's love baby...
















Hush now, lil nekkid baby.

















Kaemon Ze is wearing his great-great grandfather's christening gown.

Kaemon Ze is cutting his first tooth!

Update: we had the 'tooth' checked out and it's just a cyst. :)

Can you believe it? He's been drooling since last week, and today I put my finger in his mouth to feel if really (I mean really!) there's a tooth there. I wasn't really expecting to feel anything, but there it was, a hard little something, on his bottom gum! I pulled back his lower lip and sure enough... two little white things poking through his gum.

I referenced the baby book given to us by the pediatrician. It says babies usually start cutting their first teeth between 4 - 6 months. Kaemon Ze is 10 weeks of age (2 months + 2 weeks). Wow!!

Jason's mom told me that when he was 3 months, he bit her (while breastfeeding) with his first tooth. The book says heredity determines when a baby gets his/her teeth. Looks like Kaemon Ze is on the fast track!

Here are two photos ... it's not a clear shot of his tooth... but it's fun, nonetheless. :)

heavy duty baby

Kaemon Ze is catching his morning nap. I put him in the "Heavy Duty" outfit given to him by Donna and John (thank you!) this morning - it's the first time he's worn it. The outfit is sized for 3-6 months and KZ is about two weeks shy of three months. He has big feet that no longer fit his pre-three month clothes. Growing, growing, growing!

Three times now he's slept six hours through the night. Not three nights in a row, however. :)

Last week I started back to the gym after a year's hiatus. Whew. I am out of shape. My goal for this year is to drop all the weight I put on and fit back into my size 10 clothes. I want to be strong, healthy, and physically fit. Looking forward to that!

Kaemon Ze says "nuh-huh"

This was shot in December: a funny exchange between me and Kaemon Ze. I shortened the video up to just the exchange. He says, "nuh huh" and then gives me a lil zerbert - all in perfect timing to my questions. *grin*

What do you think? Is it worth $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos? :)

Kaemon Ze tells daddy a story

Kaemon Ze (almost 10 weeks of age) is becoming more and more animated as he's spending more and more time awake. It's really cute, super fun, and downright heart-melting, especially when he looks directly at you and smiles the biggest smile ever!

tummy talk with a visit from Oliver

Here's a video of Kaemon Ze having some good tummy time. When he noshes on his hand like this, it means he's hungry. He's a pretty effective communicator. Heh. Oliver, who celebrated his 19th birthday on January 1st, makes a brief appearance at the end of the video. Oliver and Kaemon Ze are pretty oblivious of each other - Oliver, because he's so old; and Kaemon Ze because he's so young. :)

new year's surprise(s)

I got a call from long-time friends, John and Angela, who said they were in Oregon and wanted to know if they could come spend New Year's with us. Yes! Yes! What a fun surprise! But there was still another surprise in store...










John and Angela (pictured above)joined us as we welcomed in 2009 at Cam and Laura's home for their annual New Year's bash.










Here's the hosts with the mosts!









Christa and Lori whoop it up.










The Coxes are all smiles.











Kim and (her) Jason are all dolled up!











Our second (and wonderful) New Year surprise from John and Angela is that Angela is pregnant! I'm sooooooo happy for both of them! I'm in awe of the timing and I am absolutely thrilled that they are taking this journey (of parenthood) with us! Here's to many years of visits involving parks, swings, slides, and kid-friendly restaurants! :) :) :) (Pictured above, Angela and John with Kaemon Ze on January 1st, 2009.)