We're Back!

So it's been quite a while since our last post. Kaizilla, as he is now affectionately called has changed so much. He's 10-months-old now and is measuring in at 28 inches and an even 20 lbs. Although everyone likes to tell us how big he is, he is right at the 50 percentile mark on both height and weight. He's even started to grow into his big ol' noggin. I'm happy to report that his bust is now bigger than his head so he's slowly loosing his lollipop look. He is often a little man on a mission and LOVES to crawl everyone. He's really quite fast and is simply adorable to watch. He's begun cruising as well and now prefers to stand in his crib at all times. He particularly enjoys throwing things out of his crib, and often gives himself a round of applause once he hears the object hit the ground. He now has four teeth and likes to chomp on anything that can produce a crunching sound. He likes to take long crackers and munch them bit by bit with his teeth, like a little rabbit. Recently he has discovered how to click his tongue, which also gives him great pleasure. He now says Mama, Papa, Baba and gives an occasional shout out to Anpanman (a red bean animated character here, who saves the day by breaking off pieces of his bean head--um yeah). We recently joined Gymboree and he absolutely loves it. It's so nice to see him interacting so easily with all the other babies. He is fearless when he plays at the gym- tunnels, tubes, ramps, are no match for his will. He goes to a music class once a week and his newest thing is to crawl to the other moms and attempt to get high fives from everyone-- always the charmer.

We were shocked to suddenly see Kai standing one morning. It's amazing how they are able to learn new things just out of nowhere.




Since I've neglected this blog so severely I'm going to attempt to work backwards, as I'm sure a lot of you would like to see some of your moments with Kai. First Up:
Father's Day

** Never one to miss an opportunity Mimi attempts a sneak attack **

The Godfather Part I
[Kai & Mitsuru]

Kai at 9 months

I think he looks so much like Naoto in this photo. While I of course love to see him giggling and smiling all the time, I really enjoy catching him in moments he takes to himself.

** Children's Day and Jiji's Birthday **
This is a national holiday in Japan celebrated on May 5th. It's a day simply to celebrate your children.

We went to Takamatsu to celebrate the holiday with Kai's Jiji and Baba. They had this set up for Kai when we got there. The written character is his name and the other items are traditional representations for a boy.

Traditionally on the holiday families hang carp kites from the roofs of their homes. The black carp represents the father, the red the mother and then each of the smaller carps represent how many children you have. It was really nice to see them fluttering about everywhere. These were just set up along a highway.

Happy Birthday Jiji!







At the Anpanman Museum

Our Trip to the States
We finally made it back to visit the Dittmar Clan. Kai was spoiled rotten by his Mema and Pepa and loved every minute of it!




With his Great-Grandmother (my amazing Nanny)


With is God-Mother (Cioci Christie)


Keepin it real with Cioci Stacey


Three cheeky little monkeys