Stones, Miles Stones

Lately Kai has been keeping us busy with all his new moves. First off, he now knows he has hands. This is a big milestone for the little guy; we can now entertain him with toys and even things that aren't toys (but he enjoys it all the same). The most recent display of this new power is Kai wielding a plasma sword into a wizard (at least that is what I thought upon viewing this image). As you can see, he has the look of an early Muhammad Ali, or maybe a Foreman: a warrior to say the least.

The other big milestone we encountered recently was the baby-pushup. Kai busted this one out late last week, and has never looked back since. When laid on the ground, he can lift his body up and hold his (massive) noggin at a 45 degree angle.





He even was able to throw in a little Hip-check, just to show off for all the kids back home.


Going along with this growing up theme, we had to move Kai from the New Born diapers to the next size up (the 5kg max to the 4-8kg-ers). Even though Kai is probably about 6.5kgs (14.33 lbs for all you non-metric fans), he still can pack a good punch. Please read on...


Bear with me here, I've had this picture for a while and always thought of it as a forshadowing, maybe even a reckoning for the pain I caused in my early years. But after looking at this picture it's plain as day, there is a little devil in there somewhere.



Lastly, to bring us back on track, we can see the obvious angel as plain as day.


"Gifted" you surely are.






Much thanks to my wonderful wife Aya, who took a lot of the pictures you have seen recently, more to come soon.

Kai want more...

Back in Black

That fresh egg yeller is to damn rare,
but the white part is good, for slickin' down yer hair.
                 -Tom Waits


Well first off I have to apologize to all the readers out there.  Two weeks is too long to be misinformed about Kai.  

I do have an excuse though, if you could be so nice to entertain the idea: we were busy > being really loving parents.  It's hard to get mad now huh?  Well there was a movie or two in there somewhere, but only after nine, when the little one was sleeping and Aya and I were exhausted (this parenting stuff is not for the weak of heart).  

Anyway, Kai is bigger than life, weighing in at probably 6.3 kg, or pushing 14 EL BEES (aka lbs).  Right now we have him wearing outfits that max out for a 9mth old baby, with only an inch or two two spare (Kai is only 9 weeks old).  Needless to say, he's a big boy.

Also during the hiatus, we took a lot of pictures (151 to be exact), so I will just get right to it.  Hope you all can find in your hearts to forgive us; don't you worry, Kai-chan isn't going anywhere.

Here are some of my faviortes. The rest will be on Flickr (Sorry there was no time to label all the photos.)

Blue with a hint of Green


Directing Traffic


NASA: What's That?!?!


Yakuza


The Sleeper hold: I can't breath!


Grins


And Smiles


Thank you Nocciolinos!

Kai want more...

Kai Kalendar

For all of you out there on the Kai Calendar, you will already know this when I say it, but I am going to go ahead and say it anyway: today we are 5 weeks old!

That's right, Kai is 5wks and going strong. And in honor of the big guy's achievement, we have a live (and I do mean live here, as this video was taken this evening) video of Kai-chan giving his acceptance speech. If you listen closely you will hear him tell you, very clearly, "One: I am cuter than you," and, "Two: I am cuter than you, when you were as big as me."

The latter might be a stretch, but I think we can all agree on the former. We'll I won't keep you any longer.

Enjoy the show.

Kai want more...

Baby Update

Yesterday we went to the doctors for Kai's one month check up and boy has he grown.

In only 4 weeks he has gone from 3.8kg/8.5lbs to 4.9kg/10.8lbs. This has got to be some kind of Japanese Baby record; when we were at the hospital, Kai was by far the biggest kid there, out weighing all the babies in the place. His legs didn't even fit on the little table they used to measure him.

Besides his weight, he has grown from 52cm to 58cm. That is a 2in growth to 22.5in. I was talking to my parents and they said I weighed 11.4lb at 4 months; Kai is going to have that beat in no time. You can see how big Kai is in comparison to other kids, just when you lay him down next to another baby. It's funny to see, and next time I have then chance I will take a picture.

Until then I am going to go do chin-ups so I can carry Kai when he is 3 months old.

Kai want more...

Kai hits 4 WEEKS

Saturday the 16th is Kai's 4 week B-day and he has grown a lot. He always finds a new way to surprise us everyday and its been a real adventure with him.

It's been fun these past few weeks, and my hat is off to Aya: the woman in charge doing the majority of the baby work. She has done so much with Kai and taken care of him every step of the way. Its hard being away all day, and then sometimes doing things after work and not ending up home till 9 at night. I thank Aya for everything she has done in these past weeks, and she is the reason why Kai is growing up so healthy and strong.

ARIGATO AYA!



AISHITERU YO!

Thank God as I write this, I am finishing out my last day of School! It's winter break finally, and this will give me a chance to spend a lot more time with Aya and Kai. We got a big vacation planned of changing diapers and catching some serious ZZZs. I can't wait. Also Nick, aka the wild card, will be visiting this winter for New Years, along with spending his 19th birthday in Nihon.

I'm looking forward to the long break and the time with the fam. It's time to begin the Holiday Season.

Kai want more...

Oh yeah, I forgot

I forgot to tell you all about Kai's middle name. We decided to go with Marion, instead of Michael. Marion was my grandfather's name and is actually my confirmation name too. It was my first choice and I am glad we went with it.

The Biggest Baby In Japan

Kai Marion

Kai want more...

Baby A Day

Baby A Day is here! It's up and running and you will receive your Daily Baby Picture everyday, come rain, snow or typhoon.

Check out the site, and sign up to Baby A Day by Email, bookmark it [Control+D when on the page], sign onto the Baby Feed, or just do it the old fashion way: check the site every day.

It is up to you, but most of all, enjoy the beautiful baby pictures!

Taker easy,

Kai want more...

Baby Weigh In

He is a Big Baby, that is for sure.

Yesterday the Nurse from the hospital came by for a baby checkup and she found Kai to be in excellent health. He is now weighing in at 4.3kg or 9.5lbs! Baby Kai is only 2 and a half weeks old, but he can definitely pack a good punch.

We did a little more "tummy time" the other day, and I was surprised and how strong he has become. He was picking his head up no problem, and looking around; at one point he almost flipped himself back over onto his back.

Well we have a lot to look forward to in the coming months, and I am sure Baby Kai will no disappoint.

Kai want more...

Your Kids Grow up fast

Not to sound cliche or like a 60 year old Dad, but as I've been watching Kai through these last 2 weeks, he has already changed dramatically.

First off he has grown about an inch or so already, and gained some more baby fat. He is definitely a strong baby, seeing as how he can pick his head up and move it around, especially when he is looking for some food. I don't know if we are not feeding him enough, or he is just a really big baby, but he sure likes to eat. I think its probably the latter of the two.

Aya has been doing a lot of feeding, and now we are supplementing. No not GNC weight gainer, just using some baby milk mix, to add to a bottle here and there when Kai doesn't seem to be full.

The other day I laid him down on his belly for some "tummy time." This action helps him strengthen up his neck muscles and relieves some of the stress on his head; but yeah, it was "tummy time" for baby Kai, and already at not even two weeks of age, this little guy (will have to stop saying little soon) picked his head up off the floor and switched it from facing right, to facing left. I was dumbfounded. I guess it was like watching one of the many new milestones, Kai will be performing in the coming months.

Kai want more...

And we're off

Thursday, Nov. 16th.
11:09pm

Kai want more...