2011 Ends....

Wow what a year! We have been so horrible about keeping the blog updated but it has truly been a whirlwind of a year. Kai has grown so much and is becoming such a young boy and yet still experiencing the "terrible twos". He is learning so much, talking so much and playing so hard. We found out we are expecting child number 2 and recently found out that it will be a "baby brother". Which is funny because that is the only thing Kai would say we were having, he never said he was having a "baby sister" even when everyone else was saying it was a girl.

Christmas season was great. We just tried to enjoy as much as possible with him. He helped mommy and daddy decorate the tree. However, because mommy had to stand on the step stool to put the tree topper on, he thought he needed to in order to decorate the tree. He took his picture with Santa a couple of times and just kept telling everyone, "Kai take picture with Santa". He wasn't scared and didn't cry. The season was an amazing time since he is still too young to get what is going on. We went to Christmas mass and had dinner Christmas Eve with my sister and her family. Kai loves hanging out with his cousins. We did some gift exchanges with them so the next morning when Santa had visited, he thought the presents were for his cousins. It was so cute. Christmas day was a fairly quiet day for us. It was pretty much just the three of us with the exception of a couple of small visits from titi Lisa and the Edgars. It was great, I made breakfast and dinner and we stayed in our PJs all day! We let Kai run the house with all his gifts. He drew on his art easel, he played marching band with daddy through the house on his guitar, he played with the many cars he received and he even rode his scooter through the house like a champ!






Kai making the announcement about being a big brother. Even though we aren't sure he knows what it really means or what's in store for him, he seemed really excited about the news! A couple of times, he has lifted my shirt and patted my belly and said "baby brother". So cute and so unexpected, I truly don't know how to react. He is going to be a great big brother. Of course there are days where he says, NO baby brother or NO big brother, so we will see what happens.


In November Kai had his first trip to Disney World. We all had a great time and tried to enjoy it all even though it was crowded. He loved seeing the characters and the parades. He also loved the Dumbo ride. He did not like Mickey's Philharmagic and said it was "scary". Scary is his new feeling that he seems to be expressing a lot. So anything in the dark is "scary".

Halloween was fun. We took Kai to a pumpkin patch and he got to do the hay ride with his 2 buddies Trey and Zane. The boys were so excited to see the horses. Kai dressed as a little league football player and enjoyed going trick-or-treating until it got dark. Then he said, "it's scary mommy, let's go home". lol So we did. He ate a lolli pop while we handed out candy and then off to bed he went. Needless to say, we still have his candy hidden away and it will probably make its way to the garbage can shortly. Out of site, out of mind seems to have worked in this case. lol

Easter 2011

Wow, Easter weekend was very hectic for us. Kai was a popular kid. lol We had swim class on Saturday morning, followed by an egg hunt at Trey's house, followed by Adrian's 1st birthday. Then on Sunday Kai woke up to find his basket, have an egg hunt in the backyard, church with the family, and then food and fun with the family and the Wright family at our house afterwards.

Egg hunt at Trey's house. Kai won the game of "pin the tail on the bunny" and got a bubble prize!

Look at that awesome basket full of books, bubbles sand and pool toys!

Just finished finding all the eggs in the yard. This one has a car inside.

Swimming with the cousins and thinking that he is their age.

Eating dessert of banana pudding that his auntie gave him!

Smoothies and Swimming

March and April were trying months for us. Eli was gone for over 3 weeks to China for business so it was just me and the little man. We tried to make the best of it by continuing play dates, staying active and Skyping with daddy almost every day. Kai had a rough time with daddy being gone and decided to get even pickier in his eating habits. So, I tried to get creative and would make smoothies for him on the weekends since he wasn't eating any fruit. He thought it was great because he would get his cup and I would have mine and we would go out back and sit on the patio and drink our smoothies and enjoy the great Florida weather.
Kai got bumped up to the next level of swim class, where he now swims with the instructor and the parents sit on the side of the pool but don't go in. I wasn't sure how he would do, but he seems to be doing fine. You can tell he is not excited about being in the water without one of us, but the instructor does a good job.

1st Haircut

FINALLY! Yes, on March 19th Kai finally got his first haircut at 20 months old. lol It wasn't necessarily needed all over but some areas around his ears and such definitely could use some shaping. He didn't care for it too much, but he did well.

Isn't he so cute with his hair all trimmed up?!?!

Jumping, Jumping, Jumping

This is his daily energy! So, what better place to let him release it than Monkey Joe's. He looooovvveeeesssss JUMPING!

Table, Chair, Swimming & Corn on the Cob

I recently decided it was time to buy little man a table. He really loved the one at my sister's house, so we thought let's get one like that. So I picked him up a picnic table for him to eat his breakfasts, lunches and snacks at. The kid loves it! Every morning he runs to his table and asks for pancakes, waffles, oatmeal or whatever he feels like eating that day.The same day I bought the picnic table, I decided to buy him his own chair and the store had a Disney Cars chair on sale. Now mind you, Eli and I both thought it was "safer" to get the picnic table then a regular table with movable chairs. However, within one hour of me being home from the store, the kid fell out of his new chair and into the pieces of the picnic table (not yet put together) and gave himself a black eye. Only our child! lol

Anyway, he totally enjoys sitting in his new Disney chair. I have found him playing his play guitar and reading books in it. He also will sit in it in the mornings to do his nebulizer treatment. Which, by the way, is what the pulmonary specialist has us doing every morning and night.
We just started swim classes again! Wasn't sure what to expect since Kai hasn't been in the pool since last summer. Well, he wasn't exactly happy, but he didn't cry either. He just kept saying "no, no, no". By the end of the 30 minute class, he actually seemed to be enjoying it since I found a boat and a ball for him to swim after. Zane and Trey joined the class too. Zane loved it, Trey hated it. It is so funny how different they can be.
Just this week I had decided to cook some corn on the cob. Well, I put one on Eli's plate and one on my plate. After watching me bite into mine, Kai looked right at me and said "more?" Which in his terms means that he wanted some. So I gave him a bite. He loved it and took it out of my hand. He then began to chow down on it. Eli and I were laughing the whole time. Needless to say, he ate it all and I had to get myself another one.

Other than all of the fun things I have already talked about, little man continues to grow and learn. His newest saying is "See ya" when he says good-bye. He is also repeating everything we say, so we are on our best behavior. lol He is infatuated with the Disney movie "Toy Story 2". He loves Woody and Buzz! We have to watch it every night before bed. We do trick him though and go to the end of the movie so it is only about 20 to 30 minutes long. This kid will not leave the room until he sees the credits rolling. He also loves a Leapfrog video that teaches him his ABC's, and we truly believe he is learning from it. He has picked up a habit of grabbing his blankie and all of his stuffed animals that are on his bed in the morning and bringing them out into the family room with him. He does have a fit when he can't seem to pick them all up. So we have to help him! lol Not a dull moment in the Rivera household.

Nonstop Growth, Development, & Adventures

In February we went on two trips. One to Pittsburgh to visit our good friends, John and Jing, to celebrate their engagement with them. The other was a drive up to Orlando for a weekend of events with my sorority sisters to celebrate our Chapter's 10th anniversary.

It was fabulous to see all of my line sisters and to see so many sisters, old and new! It was a great time to visit with everyone!While in Orlando, we picked up a UCF outfit for Kai. Go Knights!
As for Kai, he is growing so much! He basically runs or hops everywhere and is speaking up a storm. He knows his numbers from one to ten in both English and Spanish (thanks to the daycare). He is trying to form full sentences, but not quite there yet. He LOVES to play outside and in the bathtub. He remains to be all boy....running, climbing, jumping and just full of energy!