Little Trees

Beata has convinced Kavaun that he is cooking his own food. Last night he made "little trees" (broccoli) and then ate them for dinner. My wife is a genius.

happy birthday to me

today Kavaun peeled his own orange

not his first

exchange of high fives

giggles and proud smiles

congratulations son

big day

many more on the way

do not want this one to slip into the margins though

the best thing that happened on my birthday

Feb 11, 2011

Kavaun has been a ton of fun lately. So, while a lot of these exciting firsts are fresh in my mind I want to get them documented before we move on to all of the new stuff on the way.

• Our son may be a bully? - Kavaun has taken a “tough” approach to dealing with other children (even four and five year olds). It seems that for Kavaun, shoving and even tackling are the best way to intimidate others into giving up a toy or spot in line. He normally goes with a push first, then the swipe of the toy. If the other child hangs on, Kavaun’s persistence and unpredictability seems to be effective in at least forcing the other child to cry a little bit. (My admission here reveals that once or twice I have watched this interaction to see what would happen).
• The Shadow Game – This is bedtime ritual that Kavaun and Beata play. The shadows from their hands and feet talk and dance on the headboard of Kavaun’s bed. Great fun to witness.
• Kavaun is a singing and dancing machine – He has taken it to a whole new level. In his favorite stalling tactic before bed, he will sing a song about 75% of the way through and stop and say, “Uh-oh” before breaking into a whole new song. we, the rookie parents, think it is so cute and he gets an extra 10-15 minutes to avoid bed time. The best is when Kavaun bobs his shoulders back and forth as he sings.
• The Tickle Monster and the Tickle Ferry – Two of Beata’s inventions that get Kavaun giggling in anticipation and then bell laughing as he is tickled and hugged.

Perfect

Today was the best.

For me, I never knew the joy of Christmas like I do now. Opening gifts with Kavaun and Beata and spending the entire day inside with a big breakfast, playtime, homemade dinner, a movie tradition (Love Actually) and completely living in the moment was perfect.

Kavaun's genuine happiness to be home with both of us, his excitement for his gifts and joyful play all day was perfect. His sense of humor and being able to spend last night with my family made this Christmas awesome so far. In just hours we will be on a plane to Oregon and our great Christmas will be complete. I cannot wait to get there to see everyone and for them to see Kavaun.

For all the simplest and obvious reasons, today has been one of the best days of my life.

(More later on Kavaun's latest antics and accomplishments)

2010 Christmas with our elf

First real snowfall of 2010

Fun times

Kavaun's latest is coloring on the walls of the bathtub and also asking us what letter he is holding up. Usually before we can answer, he giggles and identifies the letter. I especially like his fascination about the "M" being turned upside down to be a "W" or as he says, "duhb - ooh"

A pretty common pose for Kavaun is the hands resting behind his head look. He does this on car rides, the diaper table and occasionally when he naps like in this photo after a long car ride home from Thanksgiving in Ionia.

Yup, Beata can still bring it when it comes to fashion . . . even Kavaun can't slow her down. He's pretty big now and he insists on throwing things, screaming, destroying, ripping and going crazy from time to time.

King of Thanksgiving.

Kavaun loves his play set

Play set birthday gift from Oregon!

Updates

(The picture is unrelated to the post)

• Kavaun's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star performance at the Balice Thanksgiving was a hit.
• Kavaun has been counting up to twenty (note: 13, 14, 15, 16 all sound the same)
• Kavaun is identifying all of the letters and he says most of them pretty well. V and Y along with M and W are easily mixed up for the little guy.
• For the most part, he is still a vegetarian despite our repeated efforts
• Sleeping is pretty interesting and usually consists of Kavaun joining us in bed somewhere between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. If he comes after that and I am not in bed, he goes crazy looking for baba.
• Hey Soul Sister by Train is a favorite for Kavaun. I think Beata's record for consecutive times listening and dancing with Kavaun is 9 or 10. Kavaun simply asks for, "Hey" and now Beata also sings it to him before bed as he smiles and giggles.
• Beata and Kavaun dance and play after she gets home. I usually join in and contribute horsey rides more than anything else.

post-Thanksgiving

Today I played cars with Kavaun. Before that he sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. And before that he counted up to 20 and said some of his ABC's in between our interactive puppet show.

Perfect Friday with Kavaun

1. Cartoons and breakfast
2. Get dressed and pick-up house
3. Play in leaves, swing, walk
4. Lunch
5. Nap
6. Play more

(day off today)

Chicken Dance

Our fall trip to Spicer’s Orchard has turned into four separate trips to the orchard as the weather stays sunny and warm into mid-October. Kavaun makes his normal request for “cake” and I happily oblige with pumpkin or sugar covered warm donuts. Our most recent visit to Spicer’s Orchard was memorable. Cousins Lucas and Anthony were there and we stayed another two hours after they went home. Kavaun played in the corn barn, rolled around in the dirt, climbed into the tree house, teased the goats and danced with chickens. We had a blast and I was glad I could just enjoy the moment together.

Fatherhood has been so many things all at the same time – scary, fun, routine and memorable. Most of all, fatherhood has humbled me and reminded me that my own capacity to love is not easy for even me to comprehend. I love being Kavaun’s baba more than I love any thing or experience. I have grown into this baba role. There is nothing as fulfilling as family and the “collaborative” influence that is shared with me, Beata and Kavaun. Knowing that my life will never be the same as it was before September 2008 brings with it the kind of uncertainty and excitement that will no doubt lift my spirits unexpectedly from time to time and sometimes will also keep me up late worrying.

More of Kavaun’s language (recorded here in case we should forget)

PB num num – PBJ sandwich

Kah-man – Kavaun’s pronunciation of his own name

Lamp on – Light on. This can be stated as a question or with an exclamation point. Most often used when requesting a light to be turned on in the house or in the car.

Work is a concept Kavaun seems to have down pretty well also. Yesterday he said, “Ma Work” around 6:30 when Beata was late getting home. He usually points out if lights (lamps as he refers to them) work also.

In the bathtub he can identify most of the letters in the alphabet and show them when asked. He also says some of the letters and repeats numbers as we say them. There are literally too many things to keep track of as Kavaun expands his vocabulary.

Yesterday Kavaun sat on the couch looking at me and then imitating me. I scratched the bridge of my nose and he did the same. I tapped the top of my head, and again he did the same. We carried on for a few minutes until I could not hold my laughter as his smile busted into giggles at my fake dismay.

Trend Setter

Summer 2010 new style

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Dear Kavaun,

Happy second birthday buddy.

People told us when you turned one that it was going to get even better. I half-heartedly believed those people.

But now I get it. It is not that it gets better necessarily, it's simply that the total sum of the days with you makes it seem better now. We needed all those early days to add to the Kavaun we know today. Your personality was evident right away though. Stubborn, yet cute. Proud, but also sneaky and funny. Affectionate and independent. Son, you wasted no time letting us get to know all of you. And all of you, over the course of your first two years, makes now the best time of my life. Thank you.

I will probably be preaching the same story next year at this time and maybe for a few years after that too. I like being naive and I enjoy the vulnerability that comes with being your baba.

When you were days old and you smiled to show me that dimple, it was perfect. Months later you were crawling and laughing and again, perfect. Your first steps, the princely first birthday celebration and and all the giggles later, and we loved every bit. At any point you could have asked me and I would respond, "this is the best time." Now you are two, running, talking in one and two word sentences, fake crying, repeating phrases ("hot mama" and "cool dude") and answering our questions (Who is your president?). These moments - all of them, including the nights we stay up or even sleep on your floor - are special. I can honestly say that before you, I only thought I was able to live in the moment. You have redefined what a moment can be.

Those moments, all the pictures, the videos - it is all special because you are special. And maybe someday, a long time from now, you will be able to understand the incredible power of your kisses and hugs, the way your giggle can literally change the course of an entire day or how an overwhelming sense of pride and joy can be wrapped up in one expression because you will get to be a dad.

Buddy, I cherish our life together. You and your mom fulfill me.

Happy Birthday buddy,
Baba

Note for the record: Beata's parents came to Michigan to celebrate Kavaun's birthday. We enjoyed dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe (Kavaun loves elephants right now) and we spent time at the orchard too.