Over Already?

Today is Stephanie's last day of being between jobs. As you probably know, she has taken a couple of weeks off before starting up at the bank tomorrow. It has been a great 2 weeks but it has really flown by.

We wanted to get away for a few days during Stephanie's time off so we decided to go to North West Ohio and spend some extended time with family. We drove up to Bowling Green on Wednesday afternoon and we returned on Sunday afternoon.

On Thursday morning, we met Kim and her son Carson at the Toledo Zoo. Stephanie and Kim have been friends for a little over 30 years now. Carson and Kai have now been friends for about 3 days. I (Chad) used to go to the Toledo Zoo with my mom's family every year when I was growing up in Southern Michigan. Stephanie and I were amazed at how much the zoo had changed since the last time that we had been there...but this blog is about Kai and not his old parents who like to reminisce about the good old days...

Kai really enjoyed the zoo! He had a great time watching people and he even liked watching some of the animals. He really liked the aquarium and the penguins. He also liked all of the different primates, the elephants and the hippopotamuses. Here is a picture of Kai with his mom and Carson checking out the fish.

Here is Stephanie and Kai with Kim, Carson, and baby (Kim is just finishing up her first trimester so her baby is only the size of a kumquat and not easy to see in this picture, but he / she is there!)

After we went to the zoo, we headed West to Edon to see Grandpa and Grandma Lesnet. The last time we were at the farm, Kai didn't enjoy visting the sheep. This time, Kai really enjoyed the sheep.

We spent the rest of the weekend trying to relax and get ready for Stephanie's big day on Monday! We made a trip to the toy store to get Kai a truck, watched Grandpa Eridon referee a volleyball match, critiqued golfers teeing off behind Grandpa and Grandma Eridon's house, and Stephanie and I even went out on a date!

We are now back in Indiana finishing up the last of our weekend and trying to get things prepared for the upcoming work week.

So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days. - Ezra 8:32

Kai Boiler's Up!

Today has been a big day and it has been a fitting end to an exciting week around here. Today, Stephanie and I took Kai to his first Purdue football game! Kai did a very good job and he really enjoyed all of the sights and sounds at such a big event. We made it to our seats a few minutes before kickoff and we were able to stay until there was about 5 minutes left in the 2nd quarter. Even though we missed the far too exciting ending of the game, the Boilers still pulled out the win over Central Michigan.

Kai has now added MaMa to his two word vocabulary! He still uses DaDa more, but Stephanie is sure glad to be called Dada a little less than she used to.

We spent a lot of fat moola this week on our cars. We got the windows tinted on the Corolla and got some new tires for the Accord (they're French tires...oh la la). The Accord is also going in for some window tinting this weekend. We have watched Kai unnecessarily struggle with the sun in his eyes too many times which is why we're doing the tinting.

Stephanie has enjoyed the first week of her unemployment. She has got a lot of errands done and had a couple of good bye meals with her old co-workers. On Thursday evening, I even got to tag along for a dinner at Kinkaids. It was very yummy!

We celebrated Kai's 8 month birthday this week. For his birthday we grilled up some steaks and Kai got to have some. He really liked it but with only 2 teeth he had a little trouble gumming it up enough to swallow it. Also, on his 8 month birthday, Kai brushed his teeth for the first time. He really liked brushing his teeth because he got to put something in his mouth...his #1 most favorite thing!

In other news, the Indiana Hoosiers got whooped 42-20 by Ball State tonight! I guess those warm up games against Div 1-AA cream puffs like Murray State didn't help them prepare for a MAC team.

The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths like a stone. "Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you. You unleashed your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble. - Exodus 15:5-7

Look Mom! No Hands!

If you follow college sports, you may have noticed that there are rankings for young athletes starting as early as 5th grade. I'm wondering why they start so late? I'm sure that Kai would be the #1 prospect in the country at his age because he can do so much stuff before his 8 month birthday!

This week he has started letting go after he pulls himself in to a standing position. We have timed him and he is keeping his balance for more than 10 seconds at a time. He has also started "cruising", which (for those of you who may not know the parenting definition of cruising) means that he is able to walk around items while he holds on to them. Kai is also feeding himself finger foods and he cut another tooth! He is still considered a baby right? He seems like such a big boy now with all of the things he can do!

Friday was Stephanie's last ever day at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is now enjoying her 2 weeks of unemployment until she starts her new job on the 29th. She still has a couple of functions for work as she has a goodbye dinner and a goodbye lunch this next week.

Stephanie and I had a date night last night as our friends Eugene and Kim finally tied the knot. Eugene and Kim taught Stephanie and I some dance moves to use at our wedding which was nearly 7 years ago. Since they have been together for so long, there was a lot of comments about how this wedding was long overdue. We had a great time seeing lots of friends and we even made it on the dance floor. We were out super late as we didn't get home until 11 o'clock!! We were exhausted!

Due to the long overdue nuptuals of Eugene and Kim, I was forced to sell my Purdue tickets to a friend. Purdue played Oregon and lost in double overtime because Purdue missed a couple of field goals. There were a lot of fellow Purdue alumni at the wedding and reception checking the scores on their cell phones, we have very understanding wives! Here is a picture of Kai after Purdue missed the first field goal at the end of the 4th quarter.

Kai got some cool new toys this week! Grandpa and Grandma had bought Kai a Fisher Price Sesame Street walker and he loves it. Dad and Mom decided to buy him a LeapFrog Learn and Groove toy to celebrate Mom's last day of work. This toy was recommended by a friend and has been a great addition to the Lesnet house. Kai is now learning to count and say the alphabet in English and Spanish. Best of all he can do this all by standing up - which is his new favorite thing to do.

My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense." - 2 Chronicles 29:11

Watch Out - Teeth Coming Through!

It has only been a week since our last blog update but if feels like it has been a lot longer than that! Maybe the main reason for that is that time doesn't necessarily fly when your boy is up all night because those pesky teeth are finally punching through. We had some really long nights until we found some of dad's old teething medicine and now Kai is doing just fine!! Kai has has done a few new things this week. First off, he is now saying "dada" and "dadee". This is a very cool development but he doesn't seem to understand why I make such a big deal about his new sounds. Kai has also been able to feed himself some Cheerios this week. It is pretty funny to watch as his hands are so wet with drool and he hold the Cheerios in the palm of his hand. His technique is not at all efficient but it is effective (and funny).
After a wonderful summer, football season is here! Once again, the Indiana Lesnets have purchased season tickets to Purdue Football. They played Northern Colorado this Saturday and although they won 42-10, they still have a lot of work to do before the tougher opponents start (like next week against Oregon).

This upcoming week is Stephanie's final week at PricewaterhouseCoopers. It is crazy to think that Friday will be her last day. She will have a busy week as she has a lot of things to close out. It is always a little rough when Stephanie and I both have action packed weeks at work as I had another employee quit on me last week. I have a 3 person department and I've had 2 leave in the past month. She only gave me 3 days notice which is not very cool but the work goes on!

Here is a video of Kai crawling around and attacking the camera man. I think he is destined for stardom and he already seems to know how to deliver the beat down to the pesky paparazzi!

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. - 2 Timothy 2:5