Only words

I never simply post here without pictures, and sometimes I think I should. So many great things happen day to day, and I forget them almost immediately. I hate that. For instance, Kai was a handful this morning. He would allow Jackson no peace. Jackson tends to hide under the bed as a general rule because he never knows how the psycho will be on any given day. (I use the term psycho loosely for high energy, maniacal laugh). Today, as he hid under the bed, I heard a hollow thump resounding through my bedroom only to look over and see that Kai had shimmied under the bed and popped Jackson soundly on the nose with his plastic hammer. He immediately cut his eyes at me because he knows that's not okay. And he loves Jackson. After his requisite scolding, he moved on to the living room where he got eerily quiet. I crept around the corner to take a look, and he was half way up the steps playing with the light switches. Like I said, it's been a long day. The best thing about all of this is that he knew he was skating on thin ice, and he knew what to do. Right after the Jackson incident, and right before the light switch fiasco, he sidled up to me and requested a kiss. First time ever. What a Lothario.

Changes are in store...

This summer has been a blast. No two ways about it. We haven't traveled much except for work, and it has been roughly a thousand degrees every day, so we've stayed inside as much as possible. I found a really cool app for my iPhone, and I used it to manipulate some of these pictures.

Kai is turning into his dad. I sent this to Laura, and she had to ask me which one it was...

Clint found these pads at Dick's Sporting Goods, and I found them running plays...haha...

Some days the boredom got the best of him.

Other times, he did pretty well at amusing himself. He is obsessed with cars. He doesn't discriminate. While the Cars cars are nice, Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars are just as good. He has big cars and little cars. Bright cars and dull cars. Trucks and Jeeps. Like I said, he doesn't discriminate.

When the going got really tough, we let him know we were serious. If his expression doesn't scream "GUILTY" I don't know what does.

We went over to Murphy, NC to meet Brent and Laura while they were camping, and he LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the boys. It was the most precious thing I've ever seen. He wanted to hold hands with them every step of the way and follow them everywhere. They were great sports about it. Not that that is surprising.

We went to Murfreesboro with Clint for work. While he was in a conference, Kai and I toured the battlefield. They had this rock there, which Kai was convinced was placed there just for his pleasure.

One night, Clint and I had a date, and we went to The Peddler in Gatlinburg. The entire meal was incredible, but the dessert took the cake (please appreciate that pun...hahahahah). It was so incredible I felt it should be documented.

It is continually amazing to me how much joy Kai brings us every day. This summer has only reinforced that, and I am dreading going back to work in a couple of weeks. In order to twist the knife a little, we are going to visit Grace Baptist Church's Mother's Day Out program today. We really think it will be a great place for him to grow, but it is killing me to let him go. For him to come home and know things neither my mom or Clint or I taught him is a hard transition for me. And I'm a teacher. This is his first step away from us, and it terrifies me. However, every mother has to take one on the chin, and I guess that's where we are now. Wish us luck with that...haha... Some things I love about Kai:

• His passion for cars.
  
• His ability to catalog every car he has. The kid has a running list, and God forbid one be missing.
• His relationship with my dad. They adore each other. I never could have hoped for anything more.
• The fun he has with my mom. They look at each other and can't contain their laughter. What a lucky little boy.
• His two word sentences.
• The way he loves to go places. He is my son.
• The way he cuddles. It is my favorite time of day.
• The fact that he is such a boy. It seems to have come ingrained in his character.
  

This list could go one, but suffice it to say there isn't enough room. Preschool here we come...