What have we been up to?

We have actually had a couple of nice weeks here at home, which has been a nice break from all the traveling we did in February!  The only downside is that I got sick, which doesn't happen very often, but I made up for lost time with this one.  Mike was very helpful and took care of the house, and dinners, and K-Man, and me in addition to going to work all day long.  What a guy!  He even took a day off of work on my worst day so that I could rest and he could have some daddy/son time with K-Man.  

These two boys had some major bonding time, to the point where K-Man would have a meltdown when Mike left for work, and I only got a couple of pics of them having fun together.  I think these of them brushing their teeth are so fun!  K-Man is pretty good about getting his teeth brushed, and lets us brush his as long as he gets to brush ours.  

Look at those pearly whites

The dentist would be so proud

What a cutie

"Cheeeeese!"

This big Tupperware bowl was on the floor, where our cat, Chafa found it and thought it would make a nice bed.

Some things we have been up to that we haven't captured on camera are:

• Tons of playing outside
• Finding our bellybuttons
• Throwing lots of rocks, balls, and pretty much anything that will fit in K-Man's hands
• Learning how to put our dirty clothes in the hamper
• Going on walks
• Jumping, pretty much anywhere

Anyway, so this is what's been happening at our house over the last couple of weeks.  I think you're all caught up.

A little snack

The other day, I spotted K-Man helping himself to a little snack.  I bought some granola in bulk (I eat yogurt with fruit and granola every day for breakfast) and kept it in a tupperware container.  Once it was gone I left the bowl with the final crumbs in it on the counter, and look who found it...

Mmmm... delicious!  No wonder Mom doesn't usually leave this stuff out!

...Don't mind if I do!

Making sure to get every last crumb

I promise, I really do feed this kid!

So delicious!

Getting creative

My favorite shot... you can see his face all pressed up against the crumbs!

Somebody tell this kid to check his chin if he's still hungry :)

Counting Down to Christmas

We figured it was about time we post our Christmas pictures because we have birthdays coming up soon and we don't want to get behind!  Since we went to Idaho for Christmas to be with our extended families, here are some pictures at our house leading up to Christmas.  We were SO excited for Christmas this year because last year K-Man was only 6 months old, so he didn't really get it.  But this year, we knew he was going to have a blast!

Mom finished getting the Christmas tree put together and lit while Dad gave K-Man his bath.  This was his reaction when he saw the tree for the first time.  Too cute!

K-Man is getting so big!

He loves his wagon

This is how we let him touch the tree... he can touch the ornaments with one finger :)

He spent so much time by the tree this year--he loved it!

Just the Beginning...

K-Man has officially started putting things in the toilet, much to our dismay.  Luckily he started small with a chunk of banana.  We hope he doesn't advance to Matchbox cars any time soon!

A Visit with our Birth Mom

Last weekend we had the chance to go and visit K-Man's birth mom.  We are so proud of her for the good things she is doing!  It was fun to be able to spend time with her and to see her family.  She had fun playing with K-Man and we enjoyed being able to catch up with her in person.  She is an amazing person!

On this visit, Amy's parents were able to come and get to know Alyssa a little bit, which was really cool.  Amy's mom, who is also a birth mom, took some fun pictures of all of us together.  Here are a few of our favorites.  Now we just need to go get them printed off and hang them up!

K-Man and Alyssa

The adoption triad in action.  We are happy to have an open relationship with Alyssa.

K-Man loves this game!

K-Man with his two best girls

"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!"

Such a cutie!

Hanging out at the park.  It almost looks like we called each other to plan matching outfits!  Haha!

Cheeeeeese!

All smiles at the end of a great day.

We are so thankful for adoption, for K-Man, for his birth mom, and for the opportunity we have to enjoy an open adoption with her.

Scary Stuff!

How a relationship can change!  When he was a baby, and up until he was about nine months old, K-Man liked the vacuum.  In fact, if he was fussy, I could vacuum and it would calm him right down until sometimes he would even fall asleep.  Then came a period of distant curiosity.  He wasn't instantly relaxed when I turned on the vacuum, but he was interested in it.  He would follow me through the house as I vacuumed.  Recently, however, something has changed.  He is absolutely terrified of the vacuum!  So much so that I try to wait until Mike is home so that he can comfort the little guy while I vacuum.  Notice the look of terror on K-Man's face as he hides behind his dad from the big, bad vacuum!  What a sympathetic mom I am to grab the camera and take a picture of him scared out of his wits instead of comforting him!  In the end I figured I should try to show him there was nothing to be afraid of, so we vacuumed together.  But he remains skeptical.