Ollin and Kai.com

It’s been a few weeks, and the two boys continue to get along well. 

At least, that’s Ollin’s perspective.  Check out this batch of photos which includes Ollin trying to play nice as Kai tries desperately to escape.

Yes, I’ve finally answered the most basic questions folks ask about Kai.  (This does not include the questions about his parents, like “Are you sleeping much lately?”)  The answers to those questions can be found on the updated Vitals page.  Be sure to scroll down to catch Kai’s stats. 

And yes, I am projecting him as a small forward (same as his dad).  That means we’ve got to work on that outside shot and some basic ball-handling, right away!

It’s been about a week, and I think we are getting a pretty good idea as to what Kai is going to look like.  As proof, I submit to you a few photos as Kai turns a week old.

And yes, along with some interesting photos of the extended family and the ordeal it is to get the family on the road these days, there are some Ollin sightings in here as well!

Hey, this is a family website!  I am talking about the origin of the name Kai, not the baby himself.  So here it goes . . .

How do you spell Kai’s full name?

This one is not as obvious as you think.  Assuming that the question seeks an answer in English - First, we had to leave out some special characters that typically show up in names of their origin.  This includes an apostrophe, a dash, and an accent.  Correctly represented (again, in English), the name should be written: K’ai Wu-Hyun Alvarez.

What does Kai mean?

In Yucatec Mayan, K’ai means (v.) “to sing” or (n.) “music”.

What language does it come from?

Yucatec, one of the only forms of Mayan still spoken today. 

How do you pronounce “Kai”?

We are pronuncing it just like it’s spelled (Ka-E for those still wondering), but in Mayan, it’s pronounced “K’A-E” (the same pronunciation with a very hard stress on the K sound).

How do you write “Kai” in (Yucatec) Mayan?

Mayan’s wrote using glyphs that were partly pictograms, partly phonetic (similar to Chinese Han-zi).  In my research, I was unable to find a single (pictogram) glyph for “K’ai”, so I went with a combined phonetic glyph, that is pictured below:

Please pardon my awful sketching.  We’ll do something nicer later. 

Next Up: The Origin of the Name “Wu-Hyun”

Any of you seen the famous dance clip from the Fresh Prince TV show from the 90s?  I guess Ollin has, too!  (Requires Quicktime to view, and it behaves much better if you RIGHT-CLICK and save the file somewhere on your PC).

Note: He only stops because he notices a strawberry stain on his sweatshirt.  Believe me, he usually keeps going.  But I thought for the sake of brevity (and bandwidth) we’d just put this one up.

It’s probably too early to tell, but we’ll let you be the judge (that’s Ollin on the left and Kai on the right).

Okay, he really doesn’t have an iPod, but here’s the list of music that Ollin simply can’t be without these days:

• Sugar Hill Gang - “Apache”
• Stone Temple Pilots - “Interstate Love Song”
• Rush - “Limelight”
• Barney & Friends - “Mr. Sun”
• Black Sabbath - “Paranoid”
• The Wiggles - “Big Red Car”

These are a welcome departure from the “Mothersong” songbook (with little known hits like ‘Mother I Feel You Under My Feet’).  But I am sure these songs will soon drive us crazy, just as with previous favorites. 

As for Kai - he would just like it to be QUIET for once!

Just three days after the birth of Ceclia, and six days after Ollin’s second birthday, we welcomed Kai Wu-Hyun into the world!

He was born at 3:16 AM with cries of freedom (that lasted for about an hour).  Mom was very relieved.   Later that morning, Ollin greeted him by jumping on his bed, screaming with glee, and later giving him a gentle kiss on the forehead.  There is a lot more to tell, but it will need to come over time since we all need a bit of sleep right now.  In the meantime, enjoy some of the early pictures:

On Easter Sunday, Ollin’s first first cousin was born!  Cecilia Louise is home from the hospital, and is already compiling a portfolio of headshots for Elite and Ford Modeling Agency.  (I would post a picture, but can’t afford the royalties).  In the meantime, Ollin is already scrounging his spare change together so he can meet her in person in the next couple of months.

Ollin hit the big 0-2 today!  Surprisingly, he knew to blow out the candles.  I’m not sure where he learned that trick.  What he wished for, I don’t know.  I’ll guess juice (pronounced “joosh”).  Or perhaps tickets to the next Ozzy show.

And are some photos commemorating the occasion, with a few throw-ins from Easter.  (There is a rare cousin Hunter photo in this bunch).