Overdue Rare

     Wow, this post is beyond overdue! Like months overdue. There is a lot to catch you up on, so bear with me as I attempt to do so without writing a novel. And hopefully I will be better at getting back to blogging.... well, here it goes. Our adventure over the past few months.


     RARE. Rare, you say? This word dominated most of our May-September 2013 (yikes, it has been a long time since I have written.) No, we did not eat an abnormal amount of steak over those months. If only that is what RARE referred to... rather, it had to do with Kristopher. If you have been really out of touch with us then you might be confused as to what I am talking about. We found on Easter 2013 that something was off with KG medically. He had a surgery and a battery of test run in the UAE. All had the same result. "Uh, that is really strange. I've never seen anything quite like this." -all of the drs who treated KG. April and May were long, hard months as parents. We felt so helpless as we watched Kristopher bleeding from sores on his body. Some days were better than others, but everyday there was blood. After a particularly bad day we crossed back across the border to the UAE and KG was admitted into the hospital. He was given Factor VII to force clot his blood. It was hard watching my little guy get poked with needles. But he was so brave! After staying the night in the hospital they were able to slow the bleeding but the Drs. told us there was nothing else they could do for him in the UAE and that it would be best to return to the States. His condition was too RARE. Our Company quickly came to the same conclusion, that we would be able to get answers in America. SO, we had 4 days to pack for the trip, say see-you-laters to a few friends, and find lodging in Augusta, GA. We chose to return to Augusta because there is a top-notch pediatric hematologist at the Children's Hospital of Georgia. (Our families were thrilled that we would be so close to them!)  He agreed to see KG right away and was very interested in his case. The plan at this point was that we would return back in three weeks...

Surgery and Overnight in the Hospital UAE

     Our first appointment at the Children's Hospital was totally different than any we had experienced in the UAE. The rooms were designed for kids and the staff was amazing at relating to kids! Alexis loved this part! There was even a pizza party! After this first exam the Dr. again told us this was a strange case. He ordered so many test for Kristopher that they had to take my blood too because it would have been too much to take from a baby. We had to wait two weeks before we got any results back so we enjoyed our short time we thought we would have in the States. Went on vacation with my parents to Hilton Head, and spent time with Hans' sister and her family. KG's bleeding had stopped a little, but while on the trip to the beach we noticed another sore. We called the hospital right away because we were scared that this would lead to another bleeding episode. KG was then seen by a few more specialist in their fields. And again we heard, "wow, this is weird, strange... let me consult someone on this. Man, I've never seen anything like this." This is NOT what you want to hear from a doctor about your baby!! After this appointment we extended our time frame of being in America for another few weeks.

Hilton Head trip (Memorial Day Weekend)

Hilton Head

Gunter Time

Fourth of July

      We were not really that close to an answer but our time to fly back was closing in... we had all of our bags packed and tickets ready when we were told by the medical dept. within our company that we were not going to be cleared to return until we found out exactly what KG had. This was a huge blow! One of the pediatric doctors told us it could be up to 10 years before we knew what this was!
At this point we were pretty broken. Our little boy was still sick and we had no idea what was wrong. And on top of that we had to figure out how to get back to our house and pack it up. Thankfully an amazing couple stepped up and provided the funds needed for us to fly back and pack our home! It was a huge blessing! Hans and I spent 5 days totally packing our things and trying to say good bye to some of our dearest friends. It was one of the hardest weeks of our lives. We had a yard sale- the kind where everything must go, and I broke down when we sold KG's crib. I mean he never even had a chance to really use it! It was crazy waking into our house and seeing it all set up as if we had just been there! Lexi's little shoes were still by the front door, and the kids rooms were filled with all of their things. Let's just say it was really really hard. There are moments even now that I still get sad about the abrupt ending to things there. Alexis still talks about her home, and tells people that is where she is from...

Saying good-byes that week
Could not have done it without our great friends
We celebrated our 5th anniversary that week

       Back in America we were in a state of totally transition, only we didn't know where we were/what we were transitioning to. So we focused all of our efforts into figuring out what was going on with Kristopher. By this point the test came back negative for any hemophilias! Praise Him!! All the Drs. agreed that it had to be auto-immune. This brought us to a pediatric rheumatologist. She was fantastic, and within a few appointments with Kristopher she came to a probable diagnosis; Bechet's Disease. Now let me explain a little bit about what this meant... She was NOT happy about telling us that this might be what he has. Most people are diagnosed with this in their 20's, very rarely in childhood, and NEVER in infancy. Bechets causes ulcers in the genital regions and in the mouth. They are painful and can bleed. Check he had those... And the third qualification for Bechet's is swelling of the eyes. This will eventually cause blindness. KG was a champ at this intense eye exam! Thankfully there was no swelling at that time. It can happen up to three times a year, so we are supposed to watch for it. Bechet's is rare in America, as it is found mostly in the Middle East/Asia. It is also referred to as the Silk Road disease. We were put in contact with a Dr. in Turkey who is the world's leading physician on the disease. She was very interested in KG, as he would be the world's youngest patient to be diagnosed with this. She referred us to one of her colleagues at Emory in Atlanta, GA. He, along with the Turkish Dr., are on a committee that is rewriting some of the older research on Bechets. At this time they are saying Kristopher has Complex Aphthosis because he doesn't have the eye swelling. We will observe KG over the next several years and watch his symptoms. IF they progress then we will know its Bechets. But for now, we will rest in saying its Complex Aphthosis (this is very similar to Bechets, it just doesn't have eye swelling as a symptom and all the other horrible things that go with Bechets are not an issue!) So for now Kristopher is on a medicine that he must take daily. Giving a pill to a toddler has it challenging moments for sure. This medicine can be really hard on his liver so he has to have blood test every couple of months to check his levels. So far so good. He also has to have a round of steroids when he has flare-ups. Thankfully he has only had one. :) Oh, and I forgot to mention: we found out all of this in October. So it has been a long road to figuring out what was going on. We are thankfully for God's protection of him. If you didn't know he had this, you would never know by hanging out with him. He is SO full of life and energy. He loves to explore everything! He has no fear, and really he is our Hero!

{taken by Brett Seay Photography}

     Gosh, sorry this has been really long. Are you still reading? I know that was a lot! But all of this has been a life changer for us! We found out in Nov. that we were going to have to resign from the IMB for medical reasons. KG's condition requires him to be seen by a pediatric rheumatologist, a specialty that is rare in the Middle East. We were crushed at the news that we would not be returning overseas anytime soon. But God is faithful. We said all along that we felt like KG's medical stuff would send us somewhere we had never thought of... and the next day after getting the news that we would not be going back, we received a call from the North American Mission Board about working with Muslims in North America, specifically in Toronto, Canada. Nope, that was not on our radar. LOL. After praying about it and consulting with many friends of the Faith, we felt that this was in fact something God was calling us to. We will be moving in March to Canada. I will explain more later in another post. Mostly because this one is SO long already. Hope this fills you in on the last 6 months or so.

OH, and WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!! Tie-breaker coming in Aug.!

I will go back and write a few blogs to fill in blanks. Like KG's 1st Birthday Party, Lexi's 4th Birthday Party, Christmas, snow day, more about this pregnancy, and more about Canada! 

An Easter to Remember

     Spring came and went in about three weeks for us! But we made the most of it and decorated for Easter! Because we live in a country that does not celebrate Easter, we cannot just run out to a Hobby Lobby, Target, or any other store for decorations: SO we had to make our own. Some girl friends came over and we had a craft night.

Kristopher's first Easter basket (I made the chicks and the eggs)

Lexi's Easter basket! The hits of the basket were the doll and slinky

     Now that we are in a new language program we have more control over our class schedule. So, we chose to take the week of Easter off! To celebrate we took a trip to Abu Dhabi, UAE. We are so thankful to have friends who let us crash with them!

     Our weekend started off with a relaxing night of catching up with our friends. KG did not sleep so well that night. Not sure if it was because he does not like sleeping in the same room with us, or if it was his new teeth that were popping through! That's right, my 9 month old baby has 6 teeth! Even though we were running on little sleep we jumped into a full Saturday, complete with a 2 yr. old birthday, an Easter Egg hunt at a local park, and an AMAZING Mexican dinner beside the Gulf! 

Easter photos taken by B. Galloway

     On Easter Sunday we got up early. But let's be real, we had 6 kids under 6 yrs. old in the house, so no sunrise service for us! But we did head out to the beach nice and early. KG was so excited to be able to play in the water. His favorite part was playing in the wet, muddy sand. It was his first time to eat a mud pie! Alexis really enjoyed swimming and playing in the sand. We had a pretty scary moment, however, when she stepped away from the shallow pool were the kids were playing and into a drop off! I am so proud of her because she didn't panic! She was fighting to stay afloat. I think it scared me the most! At the end of the day she told me, "mom, the water was up to my eyes. But daddy saved me! He's my hero!"She was not afraid to get back in the water, either! My tough girl! Hans had some fun too! He jumped off a bridge into the water. So the old saying, "would you jump off a bridge if your friends where doing it?" was brought to life! 

A wonderful morning at the beach

     After the beach (and a quick trip to IKEA because it was on the way back to our friend's house) we enjoyed a lovely Easter brunch. Homemade waffles, out-of-this-world quiche, turkey bacon, fresh watermelon, and peeps were on the menu! It was perfect! 

     We said our good-byes and left to return home for one night's rest and had plans to drive to another city to see more friends. But KG had different plans. A few weeks ago we noticed some sores that kept bleeding. (I am sure you are wondering where these sores are. It's only natural... all I will say is that it is in his diaper region. You can use your imagination. I mean, I know one day it will be my job to embarrass him, but he is too young now. haha)  We took him to his pediatrician to get them checked out. He told us he was unsure and to come back if it kept happening or got worse. Well, on our drive home KG started getting super fussy. We stopped to change his diaper and thats when we saw more blood! It was at this point that we decided that we needed to go back to the Dr. So we spent Easter night in the Urgent Care. And sure enough that Dr had no clue. She was alarmed enough, however, that she requested that we return first thing the next morning to meet with a specialist. Easy for her to say! For us to do this we had to wake up rather early in order to crosses two borders. But of course we did it because we want the best for KG! One Dr lead to another, and today we found ourselves back at the hospital meeting with a surgeon. Basically whats going to happen is that the sores need to be taken care of and we need to figure out the next steps. The big problem is that all the Dr's are concerned that Kristopher has a blood clotting disorder that has allowed the bleeding to last this long. He has signs of anemia because of blood loss... and today he had to give five tubes of blood to be sent away for tests. My little man was so brave, though! We go on Saturday to get results of the blood work, and the surgery is scheduled for Monday morning!

My poor little guy has had a rough day!

      Really, doesn't it seem like we had quite the break from school?! Well, not only was our cake iced, but we got sprinkles too! The past two days we have had bad sand storms! If you looked out our windows you wouldn't think we had neighbors! But if the sand blowing in through all the cracks in our unsealed doors and windows was not enough the heavy rain that followed it last night really made for a fun adventure! We spent until about 1:00 AM trying to stop the leaking muddy water! Life is keeping us on our watch this week. How was your Easter break?

     OH YEA, I forgot! I cut all my hair off! I have wanted to try the pixie cut for years! I finally got the guts. Verdict: I love it!

recap of months 7 & 8

Geez! Yesterday Kristopher turned 9 months! And I have yet to do a post about months 7 and 8... fail. Well, here is a brief recap and some fun pictures of our silly KG.

Growth: I don't really notice much in growth, but I know that he must be growing because he is reaching the final stages of being able to fit into his 6-9 month onesies. He is weighing in about 20 lbs and 27 in.

Sleep: For the most part, KG slept great the past two months. He kept a fairly consistent nap schedule. But the past two weeks have been pretty crazy as he has three teeth coming in up top! Poor guy is so miserable! He gets upset at the pain. He balls his fists and shakes his head! And I guess the pain is what's waking him up so often. Oh, and he is not sleeping because he uses night time to practice his new physical skills...

New Tricks: Yep! He has learned to pull up on pretty much everything! It started with his determination to get toys from Lexi's toy box. He worked at it for a few days, and then he figured it out. Now there is no stopping him! KG has also figured out how to sit up from laying down.
He lifts his chest up and looks like he will do a proper crawl, but then drops back do to belly crawl. Maybe its because he knows its faster? I don't know, but I do know I am ready for him to crawl on his knees because right now the necks of his onesies are being so stretched!
Kristopher also loves to wave at people who wave at him. It's cute. I can't call him a social bee (butterfly is too girly) because he gets shy around new people. He is a mommy's boy. He cries when I leave the the room and watches the door until I return to him.

Eating: He eats EVERYTHING! Sometimes I don't think he even takes the time to taste. Its crazy to watch how much he can eat at one time. He has tried local food that was a little spicy and he loved every bit of it! Also, we found his new favorite food: Oranges! We had to pry the peel out of his hands after he ate the insides and you would have thought we pinched him or something! He was SO upset!
We are still trying to be really careful of how much dairy he consumes. And I am terrified that he is going to find a stray peanut on the floor and put it in his mouth. (Alexis LOVES peanuts and snacks on them. We try to keep her in the kitchen but we have found her smuggling them into the living room.) It's hard learning to adjust to allergies. I have not had peanuts now for 8 months and sometimes its a real challenge not to start chowing down on a pb&j sandwich. We are praying that he outgrows these allergies.

KG in his new swing! Lexi trying to push/pull him

Likes: Kristopher really enjoys being outdoors. Hans hung a baby swing outside beside Alexis' and KG loves swinging beside her. They laugh at each other! Now that he can sit up with confidence we have started letting him take a bath with Alexis in the big bath tub.  He loves to pour water on his head! Bath time is one of his favorite things! He practically leaps out of my arms into the water.
Oh, and he likes to play with doors. He likes to swing them open and closed.

Dislikes: Like I mentioned above, he does not like for me to leave the room. And I am certain that he is not too keen on teething...

Favorite baby item: The Jumpy Swing that hangs in the door frame. He gets so excited to be in it.

He's not sure of puppies... likewise, they see him as a hairless pup and are afraid of him!

Christmas in Thailand

      Christmas of 2012 was an amazing one! We had the chance to go to Thailand to visit with Hans' parents! We had so much fun! Here are a few photos from our trip. Sorry there are so many. We crammed as much as possible in the 10 days we were there. It was also KG's first Christmas! 

Top Left: KG's first Christmas outfit
Top Right: Our Christmas tree at home
Bottom: family Christmas picture

     Here we are on the airplane. I was rather nervous about flying with two kids. It was a little crazy at moments... like when all of our tray tables where loaded with those obnoxious food trays and Lexi decided it was time to go to the bathroom! KG only slept for maybe 10 minutes in the little bassinet, but thankfully he slept for a couple of hours in Hans' arms. Overall, he did great for his first flight. Lexi enjoyed having her own little TV and playing with her little animals on the floor (we had bulkhead seats! A must for kids!) But, poor Alexis really struggled with her ears during landing. My heart broke for her because I couldn't take it away, and she didn't understand what was going on. The airports were a breeze. Its amazing how you get to skip in line when you have kids!

     Our first few days were spent at Grandma and Grandpa's house because we all had the stomach bug. But we really did not mind because Grandma had her house decorated like a Christmas wonderland! Alexis loved playing toys and reading books with Grandpa. We got to catch up on some needed rest and enjoyed playing Phase 10. 

Christmas day was so nice. Alexis was thrilled to see that Santa ate the cookie and drank some Coke! She also loved opening presents. KG mostly just ate the wrapping paper. After opening presents we ate a really yummy feast! 

Christmas Morning

     A few days after Christmas we went to the Sanphran Elephant Ground and Zoo to see crocodiles, monkeys, tigers, and of course ELEPHANTS! And finally I got to cross riding an elephant off of my bucket list. Alexis loved the tigers. I think she would have climbed all over them if we had let her. 

It's a little hard to see in the picture, but Lexi is holding the tiger's tail!

    

     Hans and I went to Bangkok a few years ago to help with Disaster Relief after a cyclone. Traveling the city with little kids, was a bit more adventurous than that time! We had to fight to get all of us on the sky train, and I am sure Grandpa was getting tired of hauling the double stroller up and down several flights of stairs. But he was a good sport! KG loved being around people. He smiled at everyone and made many friends. I am sure there are several Thai women (and an entire Japanese tour group) who have pictures of my kids on their phones! 

Playing baseball in the courtyard

     We loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa! And I think Grandpa enjoyed having Lexi be an excuse for being able to eat lots of ice cream! Oh course, Lexi did not mind one bit. She loves sweets.  Our time was wonderful! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for letting us stay and make new memories with you!




 I know this is almost two months late! But I'm trying! I want to post a few more to catch-up and then I will go back to posting more recent things :) thanks for your support!

KG is 6 months

Ah! I cannot believe I have gone so long without a post...

So much has happened in the past two months. We have had many adventures. But, I will get to those posts in a few days.  Got to start somewhere, and why not with KG's turning 1/2 a year?

6 months stats:
Height: 27.2 inches
Weight: 17 lbs
Clothes: 6-9month onesies, 9-12 month pants, and 12 month PJs

Our very big baby boy has kind of hit a plateau in his growth. It's a good thing, I guess, since he was growing like crazy for several months.

Sleep:
Finally! We have a schedule. After our little vacation to Thailand (will post about this next) he started taking routine naps and sleeping much better though the night. Also, a big milestone: KG has started sleeping in his own room! We were keeping him in our room, mainly because we could not find the power cord to his baby monitor. Lame excuse? We did not want to spend the $ on another monitor. (those things are already overpriced!) and our walls of made of concrete so I was worried I would not hear him wake up in the night. (this is on top of the fact that I sleep with my good ear buried in a pillow) Also, we kind of liked having him close to us. Not going to lie, however. We are enjoying having our room back again! No more tip-toeing around in the dark at 8 pm!

Eating:
Ok, more truth: because parenting is a learning process. I think I thought that the BLW was a sure-fire method of feeding a baby. But KG gagged his way through many of his "first foods." I don't know if it was because I was offering him the wrong things, or if it was because he was so eager about eating that he was trying to devour everything he could get his hands on! We quickly learned that he was not ready for crackers or bread. I was really discouraged. I really did not want to give him only pureed food, but there were a few times that was the only solution. Then, it clicked! He was so determined to eat that he worked out how to manage food. So far his favorite combo is mashed potatoes and strawberries.
He has backed down on nursing, too. Most days he nurses 5-6 times. We have offered him water and little bits of juice, but he does not seem interested.

Likes:
Playing with his sister's toys, and being silly! KG has the best since of humor; always laughing at the right times :) He is a happy baby and he only really cries when he is hungry. Oh, and he loves being NUDE! In between diaper changes/ wardrobe changes he flashes a huge grin, rolls over as quickly as possible, and starts scooting like his life depended on it!

Dislikes:
He does not like not being included! He gets really flustered if he is left on the floor while others are doing things. Also I don't think he knows he's a baby.
I thought I was going to put shots here, but I took him to get his 6 month shots and cried for a second and then he LAUGHED!

Baby Items we are thankful for:
the BOBA baby carrier. We used it a lot this month! I carried him all over Bangkok in it, and also took him mountain climbing!

Big News:
Crawling! Ok, so it is more like scooting/arm crawling, but he is quick! Gone are the days of being able to place him on the floor while I do a chore. Nope, now we much keep an eagle eye on him at all times! He loves getting into the electrical cords. And of course his new found skills really bother Alexis because now he can get her toys. He is still not sitting up yet. I guess that will come with time?

Firsts:
first time on a plane (he did great!)
first time to Southeast Asia. He now has been to 3 countries
first Christmas
first time on a boat
OH! and his first time "driving" a car! Yes, and a Range Rover at that!

Kristopher Graham,

       The first 6 months of your life have been quite the adventure! Not going to lie, buddy, the first two months were a little overwhelming! You rarely slept, ate pretty much non-stop, and wanted to always be held by only one of your parents. BUT you knew what you wanted and went for it. We admire that about you! You are such a motivated little baby. We love watching you discover new skills! You got so excited when you learned to roll over both ways, and you were giddy when you learned you could scoot! Let's not forget the time you finally got to eat real food; we have never seen a smile so big! Your smile, ah, your sweet smile...you smile with your entire face when you smile! You flash those little white teeth and show that cute little dimple in your cheek! Makes us want to smother you with kisses! You also have the best sense of humor! You love to laugh and seem to always know when to do so. WE love you little buddy! Can't wait to see what the rest of the year has in store! May the adventure continue! 

With so much love,

Mommy and Daddy

Camping in the Desert

I grew up camping. I remember starting off in tents. Then my family moved up to the pop-up and pull-behind-a-truck campers. The campers were fun, but there was just something about camping in a tent! When I went away to college, my dad gave me a big box filled with camping gear! I kept it in the back of my Jeep Cherokee because I never knew when I needed an impromptu camping trip. My love for camping stayed even after I got married and had my first baby. We took Alexis up to Jones Gap State park in SC when she was around 8 months old. It was cold and we did not get a lot of sleep! But it was still a memory I am glad we have! We took her again when she was 18 months and it was so fun! She loved playing in the streams and throwing leaves.
When we first moved here we were sad that we no longer had a Jones Gap to camp in, but we quickly learned that this culture is very much into camping! I imagine camping here is like what it was when my parents were little. You could just drive up to where you wanted to camp and set up your tent. More primitive style. (now wait just a minute! I am not suggesting that my parents are so old that everything was primitive in their day. Haha, rather I am just saying I cannot recall a time where I did not have to pay for my camping spot in my lifetime.) If you want to go camping on the beach, then go for it! Just find a spot! If you want to go to the mountains, then do it! It is that easy here! This is such a camping culture! We found one-time grills: little tins with charcoal, a rack, and a book of matches. It was packed together and only about $3. The only down side to camping here is that firewood is a little more expensive, and there is not much just laying around the campsite!
Anyway...two weeks ago we decided to go for our first camping trip to the desert. We invited along our Brazilian friends! We had yummy Kababs cooked over the fire, and introduced the Brazilians to the joy of S'mores! After the sun went down, it actually got COLD! Wearing jackets and staying cozy by the fire was just a blessing! We took the pack-n-play along for KG, but he ended up sleeping beside Hans. Next time I think we will just leave it at home. I slept beside Lexi, and as a result woke up with several scratch marks and bruises! Ok, it was not that bad, but geez! that girl is a crazy sleeper! And she did pull my hair several times.
Our site was in the sand. Thick sand, mind you! The Brazilian's car got stuck three times! We had to dig out sand from around the tires. Alexis loved all the sand, however! She played for hours!

top row: (L) Lexi watching us put up the tent (R) I just love that face!
bottom row: (L) waking up in the morning (R) playing in the sand

top row: Our views by day and by night
bottom row: gazing into the fire and our tents

Overall, our trip was AMAZING! We cannot wait to do it again! So glad we can continue to pass the joy of camping along to our kids!

5 months

Eek! I cannot believe I forgot to blog about KG at 5 months! He will be 6 months in a few days. Yikes, I need to get a handle on these things. Well here are some pics. Better late than never, right?

Sleep: Thank you for your prayers! KG is finally getting a schedule for sleep. (well, most nights!) He goes down around 7:45 and sleeps until 6 or 8 am. He gets up early on the weekends! Silly goose! Naps are still a wild card. But at least we are getting a routine down for night time.

Eating: I am still letting him nurse on demand, but he seems to have a schedule down for when he eats. On the days were he does no feel the best he tends to nurse more. And this month I had a battle with mastitis, so I had him nursing A LOT to try to help relieve pain :/

Clothes: I almost cried a couple of weeks ago when I tried putting him into one of his footie pj's. They were 6-9 months and made his poor little shoulders so hunched over. He is growing quickly!

Likes: His sister! He is really into everything she does now. He always wants to be around her! He gets super giddy when she walks into a room. Lexi has taken it upon herself to be his translator. She likes to tell me when he is hungry, or when he needs a new diaper! Or if he wants to share a cookie or piece of cake with her! haha...she is just trying to get more for herself!
He also likes tags. He loves to play with the tags on his bobby, his stuffed animals, and his pink blankie! (My mom is sending a blue one in the same style...hopefully he will be ok with the switch!)

Dislikes: Riding in the car when it is dark outside!

Baby items we are thankful for: His Aden + Anais sleeping sack. He is a roller in his sleep. He never stays in the same position. And since I am paranoid about letting him sleep with blankets, his sleeping sack is super helpful! Also he knows that when it goes on that it is time for bed.
Another item we are using a lot of right now: Babylegs! These are cute little leg warmers. They are nice for diaper changes and can be put on, or pulled off, quickly.

And BIG news: KG got his Christmas wish early... his two front teeth! He now has two little teeth on the bottom! He never really got cranky or ran a fever. One morning I looked in his mouth and was like, "Whoa! He has a tooth!" And the next morning, "Whoa, he has another tooth!"

Also, a few first:
He celebrated his FISRT Thanksgiving.
Saw his FIRST rain!
Went camping!
and had his FIRST taste of food!

With food, we are taking a different approach this time around. I have been doing loads of research and read a lot on Baby Led Weaning. (BLW) Basically, we offer all the same foods we are eating to KG. At first he just plays with them and sucks the "juices" and then he should get the hang of it and actually start feeding himself. So far he has tried broccoli, carrot, red pepper, zucchini, cucumber, strawberries, and pears. He LOVES pears! He is happy and seems excited about trying new things. I know that some people have given me strange looks when I mention that this is the method we are using. And maybe you feel the same. But I tried puree' with Alexis, and it was not a good experience. And she is one of the most picky eaters I know! The World Health Organization recommends BLW. So before you judge me, I invite you to look into it :)

top row: KG in his 12 month sized PJs! Happy Thanksgiving! Silly glasses!
middle row: Camping trip! From of Christmas photo shoot! Loving that pear!
bottom row: Ready for a walk outside! Trying new food! Being 100% cute!