Ode to Kai

A few nights ago Kai was running around the house naked, either right before or right after a bath, running around and around our brown chair, giggling and shrieking. He runs with his belly in the lead, arms up and out, his little bare feet slapping the hardwood floor. I watched him, entranced. There is nothing in this world that is cuter than Kai in his birthday suit.

I noticed the small details. I love the part of his face where his cheeks become his jaw and his jaw becomes his neck. The small hollow space at the back of his head, in between the two muscles in the back of his neck. When he stands next to me my fingers fit comfortably there and I can play with his hair, those beautiful curls.

He is getting more adorable every day.

He walked around for days last week saying, "Muck". I thought he was saying "milk." I kept filling up his sippy cups and he kept not drinking them. Finally I watched him playing on his own one day and realized that he has been running races with himself. He's been saying, "Mark, set, go!" just like Jett does every time he sets foot on the sidewalk.

He is very kissy lately and I love it. Jett invented the "Family Kiss", where the four of us stick our lips together in one big "MMMMMMMMMMMMMwah!" and Kai loves it. If I sit on the floor he will almost always walk up behind me and put his arms around my waist. Then he'll lift up the back of my shirt and give me a zerbert on my back. Where does he learn something like that?

For months I've been asking him, "Who does Mama love?" He answers, "Me!". Then I ask him, "Who does Kai love?" And finally, finally, after weeks of practicing, he now says, "You!" And you should see him when he says it. He sticks his little lips out in a giant round "o" and says, "You!" It kills me every time.

When it comes to games, my current favorite happens during the diaper change. Once I realized that he was saying "On your mark, get set, go!" I started saying it with him. He says it when he's on the changing table. "Mark!" I kiss his knee. "Set!" I kiss an elbow. "Set!" I kiss the other elbow. (Sometimes he gets stuck on "set" for a few times). Then finally, "GO!" and I pounce on him with tickles and kisses and zerberts and he dissolves into a fit of giggles. Sometimes Jett gets in to it and climbs partway up the changing table and then Kai really starts laughing, getting such good attention from Jett. Diaper changes take forever now, and they're worth every minute.

Sweet Kai. He's somewhere between 20 and 21 months old now and he's one little luscious ball of fun.