Don't Forget to Vote!

I hope everyone is as excited as I am for this election! It doesn't matter who you are voting for, just make sure you go out and do it!

But if you are still not sure on who to vote for - my plug is for Obama.

As a 'Republican' - I have to say I am disappointed with the Republican party. I believe they have waved the 'We are for family values' and 'We are the patriotic party' flags for awhile now and once in office, have done contrary to those statements. I belive the Republican party is too big and too powerful for it's own good. I believe, ultimately, the Republican party is for big business/corporations and are only for family values and American patriotism when it's election time.

Being a PR person - I know a smart PR campaign when I see it. And 'they' (the Republican party) have built a great 'false' image that stirs the hearts of the voters. They know that those who believe in family values and believe in the country, are those most likely to vote. So they pull out these flags when election time comes around and viola . . . the voters turn out and they get elected.

Once in 'power', they push for policies that further big business' agendas and forget about the family values that put them in there. They forget about those families who are working hard and can not afford health insurance. Where are the family values in that? They forget about the sons and daughter, fathers and wives fighting over in Iraq- some coming home scarred for life (either physically or mentally), others never come home. What is the number up to these days? 4000??? And why is it we are over there for again?

And what about the Iraqi families - who have lost loved ones? Who live in a constant state of not knowing what the future brings for their families- where are the family values in that? Or do we not care - since they are part of a country that is deemed part of the 'axis of evil'.

What about Katrina? What about all of those families devestated and homeless after they lost everything? Where was the grand ol' party who believes in protecting families? Would the outcome have been different if those affected by the hurricane were more affluent? But then again, they would have been able to help themselves, right? Because of course, that's what we belive as republicans right? No socialism here . . . we believe it's not up to the government to help people, they must help themselves.

Now, having said all of this, I don't believe all Republican politicians beliefs or actions are in contrary to family values and American patriotism, but I do belive that in order to become president, you have to ultimately bow down to the power of the party. I belive McCain is a good man, who has served our country well. He probably deserves the presidency just as much as Obama, but I don't believe he will be able to stand against the party and what the party dictates.

Anyhow enough of my thoughts . . . just go out and vote!!!

Some pictures of my cutie

I am so far behind in posting pictures . . . here are a couple. I remember loving to hide under the laundry basket when I was a kid and what-do-ya-know so does Kai.

Here is a picture of Kai with the beautiful flowers in our backyard. If you look at the September/ October blogs of last year - I took pictures with Kai in my belly. It's amazing how fast they grow.

The Giggling Hyena

Isn't life grand when you can laugh at the simple things of life - like falling clothes pins?

Feeding Baby Bird

Yea!!!! my first video upload. Too cute to resist. I told you Lauren is a good friend. (She is doing the feeding.)

Kai and Lauren

So now that I have started working more, Kai has been spending more time with his little friend Lauren. (refer to Feb post for cute picture and to compare what they looked like then versus now.) She is such a great friend. She takes such good care of him. Everytime she sees him anywhere (including sacrament) she yells out 'Kais'. It is way cute! A funny story her mother told me - one night, while Lauren was fast asleep, she just randomly yells out 'kais'. She was dreaming about her real live doll. Very cute.

We thought this photo was funny because it looks like they are going to kiss.

I like Kai's face in this picture and the colours.

This shot is for grandma - 'fan since birth for the UTEP miners'. I don't know about that . . . especially when mommy is a cougar!!!

have to love the drool pics . . . looks a lot like grandpa, if you ask me.

Uncle Shane's visit

Uncle Shane and Kai enjoying a sunny, warm moment.

So we took Uncle Shane up to the mountains. We hiked the Three Sisters hike - 1000 steps down. (Very hard on the knees, or are we just getting old?) This day was absolutely freezing. I was so worried about the little guy. He was so rosey. I wrapped him as well as I could. And the little man loved it. He is a big lover of the trees.

The boys . . .

The hooded family - everyone including Kai. Those are the three sisters behind us. It was very cold that day!!!!!! Did I mention that already?

The second day, we found the best hike ever in Mt. Victoria. (Close to Katoomba) I felt like we were in some Indiana Jones movie. Great views and a path that lead you to caves. It was amazing!

Uncle Shane doing his yoga on the mountain.

Our sleepy hiker....

The ladder we had to climb as part of the hike - to get to the caves.

The bigger of the two caves. The picture doesn't do it justice, but trust me it was amazing. I wish I had better pictures of the hike itself. You will just have to take my word for it.

Our visit to Koala Park.

This was a special moment. We were looking at the sleepy koalas in the trees, when all of a sudden we spotted this mommy koala running past with her baby attached to her back. I was trying to get a picture of it, when it came up to me and started to climb on me. I was crouched down and didn't want to make any sudden movements. It was an amazing experience to be that close to a momma 'bear' and her cub.

Mister, as we call him, seems to always attract attention to himself. While we were visiting Koala Park, we went to see the sheep shearing 'show'. As we were waiting for the show to start, a girl from a Korean tour group caught sight of Kai. She said, 'So cute. Can I picture?' I said - ok. And then next thing we know, Kai is being passed around from person to person taking pictures with some tourist from Korea. The guy running the 'show' wasn't impressed. I thought it was funny. Agh, that little Mister, he is a cutie. Uncle Shane made him the blankie in the picture.

MIB -

Yep that's us - don't we look cool? (that's a rhetorical question) We dressed up as MIB for a stake dance on Friday. I know, we are silly, but we had a lot of fun. They need more activities for marrieds.

Our First Family holiday - Pacific Palms Beach

So it's school holidays over here and we took a few days and went north to the beach. I know, a bit cold for a swim, but we still had fun. Here are some pictures we (mostly I) took.
Kai had his favorite spot on the couch and chilling with his cuppie. There was a slight slump in the couch so he could sit up and not fall over. Very cute.
Every morning we woke to the cuckabarras' (i know i should know how to spell it - but no idea and at the moment to lazy to care). laughs - wonderful!
Kai in deep thought . . .wonder what he is thinking about . . .the next feed????
Ben and Kai having a conversation. (See - what did I tell you - he loved his little spot.)

Ben did a lot of running around with Kai and I snapped away. Kai loved it. And I loved hearing Kai giggle and squeal.
Kai's first time eating, I mean, playing with sand. To be fair, he only put sand in his mouth once and I think he learned from that and didn't do it again. But he sure looked cute with sand all over his face.
Kai chillin' with the sunnies . . .
Go team go . . .

Aaaggghhh the view. . .
Look at that kisser . . . very cute I tell ya.All for one and one for all . . .Our little familia

Taiwan lives on inside of us!

So we decided to get a scooter for various reasons - petrol prices on the rise (about $6.50/ gallon here) and I need a car so I am not stuck at home.

So we found this guy selling them - brand new one with bike wheels so you feel like you are on a motorcycle. Ben has been loving it.

I still need to get my license so I can drive it. We loved having one in Taiwan.

Funny story - So Ben had to take some stuff to school for his class - they are building models about China and he said 'Jeanelle I am going to need the car because i have too much stuff to carry.' I said 'What are you talking about - don't you remember what we carried on our scooter in Taiwan? Freak - you can take a family of four and a dog on a scooter.' He said - 'Yeah your right - I have just forgotten.' I said 'You are going to have to show these Aussies how to do it Taiwanese style.' So he did - Picture below - and compared to what we saw in Taiwan this is nothing! oh the great memories.

What a cute li'le tigger

So I bought this little tigger outfit before Kai was born and Ben has been really wanting to put Kai in it, but I kept saying he is still too little or it's too hot. Well I finally gave in and viola - he has almost out grown it. Silly mommy - doesn't know what she is talking about.

The little guy keeps growing!

Okay, so I have been a bit slack in updating the blog. Apologies, I have been busy organising things and I just started my new job (only part-time), so that's my excuse and I am sticking to it.

And it has been really exciting here at the Walters house. Little Kai is growing so fast. About two weeks back, it seem to all hit at once. He started rolling over and holding his head up so high and wiggling on his belly. I was so excited, I snapped a few pics.

Then I noticed he started grabbing for his feet. It was so cute! And he started reacting to us when we called out for him. Of course, we always call him Mister, so he doesn't know his name just yet. And I read him stories and he listens and looks at the pictures.

And then I noticed he was showing all of the signs that he is ready for solids. He was chewing, etc. So I said what the heck and gave it a go. He loved it! I gave him some mashed potatos and then after a few days he had some sweet potato. So we decided he needed a chair in the kitchen, so we bought him a highchair. He loves sitting in it, although he looks so small in it. And he eats like a champ! And he likes grabbing the spoon and putting it into his mouth.

All of this before he is five months. (He will be five months tomorrow.) I knew they grew up fast, but not this fast! I keep telling him to slow down because I still want my little baby. And I am always telling him that he is not a baby anymore, he is my little boy. But he still likes to be held like my little baby. :-) And he loves to do spins in his cot. He is hilarious! He is constantly cracking up and making us laugh. He is a star!

My little garden

So I promised some pictures of my garden. I am so proud of this little plot. It's my first ever attempt. And I am already seeing fruits of my labours. too bad the pictures aren't the best. I am happy because I am using recycled grey water to water the plants. I am trying to help the environment, even if it's in little ways.

My carrots have taken root.

My cabbage is surviving. I have had too pick a lot of worms off of it. Yuck! Guess I am not a real gardener yet.

Louder than Words

Yet again I have devoured another book in about 5 hours. Louder than Words is such a well written book. And if you would have told me I would have enjoyed reading one of Jenny McCarthy books, I would have said no way - that obnoxious woman.

Funny thing is one day I was watching Oprah (yes, I like Oprah) and she was on. I thought to myself, man, what in the world are they interviewing this lady for. The only thing I knew about this woman was that she was a loud obnoxious lady that used to host some MTV thing and that now she is dating Jim Carrey.

But as she told Oprah her story about finding out her little boy had autism and her quest to find a cure for him, I was completely compelled by her story. I was in tears through most of the interview, with moments of laughter scattered throughout (she is a very funny lady). And as she described feelings she received from God (yes, those were her words), I don't know what came over me, but I knew I had to read her book. I felt connected to her story and I was impressed with her spirituality(which came totally unexpected).

Sure enough I went out the next day and bought her book. (I have never done this before - gone out and bought a book straight away after watching a promo.) The first page was beautiful - a dedication to her son. I was already in tears. The next page was her thank you's and guess who the last people was she thanked - the Mormons. I know, my jaw dropped too. Needless to say I was more intrigued to read on. The first third of the book I was in tears. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like to go through what she did with her little boy. I am sure the man sitting next to me was thinking - what in the world is wrong with this lady (I was waiting for Ben outside of Westfield Shopping Centre). And then she gets to the part about the Mormons. I won't ruin it for you, but I really felt the Spirit testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that his priesthood authority is again on the earth. And I really felt privileged to have served a mission for Jesus Christ.

I highly recommend this book. It's a very informative book about autism and her beliefs of what causes it and what can 'cure' it. But mostly it's about a mother who loves her son and her strong belief that God has a purpose for everything; and her journey to fulfill this purpose.

Mothers' Day

I had a great Mothers' Day. Ben made me breakfast and Kai gave me lots of cuddles, giggles and smiles. We dressed Kai up in his little suit that grandma gave him. He looked so cute and everyone at church commented on it. The suit has a tie and jacket too, but Kai was not keen on either. I love the tie and jacketless look, makes me think Kai has a bit of disco fever.
Some other pictures we took . . .

Never thought my baby would be so white. ha ha ha