Thanksgiving and Singing Songs

Yesterday we celebrated US Thanksgiving. We almost didn't. Kai woke up in a terrible state and not much we did cheered the little man up yesterday, not even a run outside with mama. The best we could do was a DVD of the "iggles." (For those not in the know, the Wiggles are like the Beatles only for toddlers and they're from Australia instead of the UK). Greg and I aren't sure what was the worst part of yesterday, Kai's constant crying and discomfort or "toot, toot, chugga, chugga" playing constantly in our heads (and we admit, we sang it out loud occasionally too - let's call it stress relief).

We were invited to Thanksgiving dinner with our friends Tara, Joe and their daughter Lauren so we didn't even have our own turkey in the oven. For part of the day Thanksgiving was looking rainy, cool, and turkey-less. After waking Kai from a rare nap we decided to risk the 2 minute drive to our friends' house and see if a change of scene would help Kai out (and fill our bellies with turkey). We suspected an ear infection so we loaded him up on Motrin and headed out. The novelty of driving in the van in the dark certainly helped matters and our little trooper was ready to go.

Turns out, a change of scene was exactly what he needed. Kai enjoyed Lauren's toys, Christmas tree and most of all, decorating a gingerbread train. I have never seen two toddlers so engrossed in an activity. I apologize for the picture overload but it was, quite frankly, adorable. As for Kai's health, he seems to be doing better today but we'll be heading to the urgent care hours at the pediatrician's office later today just to be sure.

And here is the finished product. I went for the aerial view so you could fully appreciate their handiwork. Notice all of the "coal" in the caboose. After patiently decorating candy by candy, Kai went all out dumping handfuls of candy into the caboose.

Squishing two post topics into one today. After all, life with two kids is all about multi-tasking! Kai has been doing alot of singing lately. I've been trying to get some on video but he clams up as soon as he sees the camera. He is kind of a shy singer. He likes to use the tune of twinkle twinkle little star or frere jacques and then he puts various words to it. The most popular lately is "the hinge song," aptly named b/c it is a song about hinges...and doors...two of Kai's favorite things. Strange topic for a song you say? Might be, but if you've ever seen the movie Happy Feet you'll know that diversity can be a wonderful thing!