Summer Storms

The weather has been unseasonably cooler and wetter than normal for this time of the year. The last few days we have had small thunder and rain storms roll through in the afternoons. It reminds us of Georgia and we are loving it!


Yesterday we had an intense storm blow through; it rained so hard that little rivers formed in the street and the rain turned to hail. Zuri, our little adventurer, had so much fun running in the rain and jumping in the puddles, that she refused to come inside, even though she was soaked through and cold. Ah, to be young again, sometimes it would be fun.

Picaboo!

There is just something about kids and a box. So simple and yet boxes can provide hours of fun. Zuri was having a blast today because we have begun the packing process and pulled out the boxes, which she naturally took over as her own. :-)

It's a Guy Thing

Disco Ball

One of the nurses at Primary Childrens brought in a miniature disco ball for Kai and it is his favorite "toy."  He will just stare at the ball, and if he isn't in a good position to see it, he will maneuver himself so he can see it.  He especially loves when we spin it.  It is so fun to watch the wonder on his face as he watches the ball.

He is a very sweet little guy.  He loves to be held and swaddled.  He really only fusses when something is bothering him, but other than that he has a very calm temperament.  He loves to watch and observe all that is around. 

Kai is also gaining some weight; he is getting cute little baby rolls on his arms and legs.  His last weigh in was on Sunday, when J took him to Primary Childrens to have an emergency replacement on his g-tube button because the balloon wasn't holding in the water.  He weighed in at 2.9 kg (6 lbs 6.2 oz).

Zuri is handling having a sibling around much better and much worse than I thought.  She only has minor bouts of jealousy with Kai.  Usually it is when I am holding him and then she also wants to climb into my lap and be held.  The hardest times are when I am busy with Kai and Zuri wants something right now that we have the most problems.

Earlier today we had a scare with Kai, he was crying and not able to breathe correctly even after suctioning several times.  He was rapidly turning purple so we hurriedly took the trach out and put in a new one.  Turns out the trach had become plugged with some thick mucus.  Zuri, not understanding the severity of what was going on, was busy throwing a tantrum because I had left her in the middle of our activity to help J with Kai. 

On the other hand, she is also very attentive with Kai.  She loves to watch him sleep, and always wants to touch him.  She knows that she must put on hand sanitizer before touching him, so I always have a clue as to what she is up to when she asks for the hand sanitizer.  It is really cute.

Wild Hair Diva

Zuri was out playing in the kiddie pool today after her nap.  She will take her hair out of whatever hair style that I have her in before she falls asleep, so when she wakes up her hair is really wild.  I didn't redo her hair before she got in the pool, so her hair was really wild for this shot, but I thought it was cute anyway.

Impulse Buying

We are not normally impulsive people, but we made an impulse buy on Saturday.  We kept getting flyers in the mail to trade in our Maxima for a new car at Ken Garf Nissan, and at the bottom of the flyer is a coupon for an oil change.  So, we decided to take advantage of the coupon and take a gander to see what they had in inventory and what the price range would be.  We in no way actually thought we would be buying a vehicle.  

Because of all the equipment that we have to bring with us for Kai whenever we go anywhere (oxygen tank, trach and g-tube emergency kits, monitor, feeding bag, plus all the normal things you need to bring for a newborn), we knew that we were going to have to upgrade to a bigger vehicle sometime in the near future.  We were looking at seven to eight passenger vehicles (SUV's and minivans).  When we took a look inside this Tahoe, we fell in love.  It has bucket seats for the second row, leaving a gap in the middle (perfect for placing all of Kai's equipment), and allowing easy access to the third row without having to remove any car seats.  The previous owner had taken really good care of the Tahoe and we knew we couldn't pass up such a great deal.  We were able to get a higher trade in value for our Maxima than we thought and we got a new vehicle!  

I still can't believe we bought it, but we absolutely love it.  The Tahoe had only been in the lot for two hours before we bought it, and as we were getting all the paperwork filled out, we heard two other people asking about the Tahoe (they post their inventory online)--good thing we got to it when we did!  It is hard getting back into a car payment because we had both our vehicles paid off.  The payments are just slightly more than what we had had with the Maxima so they really aren't that bad, especially considering the Tahoe is worth much more than the Maxima.  Nice thing too, the Tahoe is $3 less to insure (hey, every penny counts)!

In further news, we will be moving at the end of the month.  We are getting an apartment with my brother, Shin.  We are really excited for the move, although we are going to a one level place, which we haven't been in for two years now, so it will be quite the change for us.  We will still be in Orem (can't seem to escape Happy Valley), but it will be a good change for all of us.

Siblings

Zuri adores Kai.  She is constantly checking on him to make sure that he is doing okay.  When he cries, she tries to soothe him and she loves to peek at him in his crib.  We had a check-up today with the ENT for Kai's trach.  All went well; the trach site is healing nicely and looks great.  Kai has also gained a pound since he has been home in the last week and a half!  He is now at 6 lbs 4.5 oz!  He is starting to get cute little rolls on his arms and legs.  :-)

Ah, the miracle of miracles: both children asleep at the same time!  My mom was visiting with my younger sister and brother; and my sister, McKenzie, wore Zuri out.  Zuri was showing her the iPad and they put on Swan Princess and Zuri fell asleep.  So funny, and ever so nice.