Working off those holiday cookies

Somehow we ended up with so many holiday treats!  Cookies, candy, etc. etc. etc.   I've been trying to get out for at least a short walk each day to work off some of this as well as get some fresh air.  We live right down the street from an elementary school so it's the perfect little walk.  Keaton can play on the toys and Manny can run around (since it's almost completely fenced in).

 

 I have so many places I want to explore with Keaton that I've read about. We still needed to burn off more calories from all the cookies, candy, etc. we had been eating so we spent at afternoon at the Seattle Gymnastic Academy in Columbia City. They have toddler times each day and it was a great discovery!  I thought it was kinda funny (and a very good idea) that you have to show proof of insurance before your toddler can play.  Keaton ran around for an hour and did not stop.  Luckily we didn't have to use that insurance card so we will be back...very very soon!

 

Tomorrow we are off to grandpa morgan's for a day or so.  Then maybe a rock concert (kiddo style) to ring in 2013.  Gotta keep busy and keep moving with a toddler!

 

Holiday Magic

We had a lot of fun this holiday and it really was magical with Keaton!   Keaton was old enough to join in on all the Christmas fun.  He helped make cookies for the neighbors, helped with the Christmas card, helped decorate the tree (and take off the ornaments daily), and even got to visit Santa (and so did Manny).  Santa wasn't much of a hit this year but the camera guy made him laugh and the candy cane was good! I got to spend an afternoon visiting an old friend (Lynn) and holding her brand new baby for hours....it was the best and really made me think about what the holidays are all about.....family!

 We started a tradition last year of visiting the Menashe house to see their spectacular light display(they own jewelry store in West Seattle).  We probably went at least 5 times this year because Keaton really enjoyed it and it's right down the street.  We drove over to Ravenna one evening to see the famous lights at "Candy Cane Lane" and decided we liked this one in our own neighborhood better!

 

We went to church on Christmas Eve, which is something I really like to do each year.  They sang "Happy Birthday" which I thought was very cool since that is what Christmas is really about (but easily forgotten).  Keaton made it about 10 minutes before he started screaming random things......Big Truck...Big Red Truck....Ee i ee i oh!....etc.

Christmas morning was fantastic because Keaton didn't even get up until 7:30 (so I got to sleep in).  Of course now that Daddy is around on vacation he's not getting up early anymore :).  TJ and I were SO excited to have the experience of enjoying Christmas with a little one who's starting to understand it all.  It was lots of work and by the end of the day we were exhausted but would do it all over again because Keaton had the time of his life!  He loved every gift he opened and it took him most of the day to get through all of them.  He loved having family over (Grandpa Morgan, Uncle Rich, Aunt Claudia, Uncle James) as well as skype'ing with other family (Nana and Grandpa Tarr, Aunt Becky and Cousins Emerald and Crystal).  Keaton really likes having a crowd to entertain!

 

Manny also had a really good Christmas (he has more Christmas stalkings than anyone else in the family)!  He got all his favorite treats and toys and even a little pot roast.  Now we just need to work on his barking when guests are over...

 

 

It was a magical holiday that we all enjoyed!  Now the tree is down, already been taken away with the garbage, and we're looking forward to 2013!

Wired for the Tech World

I think kids now a days are born knowing how to use computers, cell phones, even the most complicated remote controls.  Keaton is of course fascinated with all of these wonderful electronic devices and we are constantly trying to keep them out of his reach.

We were at story time at the Monroe Library today (with Grandpa Morgan) and decided to wander over to the kid book section afterwards to read a few books.  We never got to the books because we found these computers that were just for kids!  They had special keyboards with extra large buttons and a very fancy mouse that lit up and had water/fish inside. It was amazing to see how quickly Keaton figured out how to use the mouse to play the games.  And he knew to put on the head phones to hear the music since he does that with daddy all the time.

So the old fashion books didn't get read but he did do some learning via the exciting and ever changing tech world!  Now let's hope he forgot all about this once he wakes up from him nap because the computer is still off limits at home!

A Few of My Favorite Things.....

Keaton's favorite things are changing constantly....but most of these have been his favorite for quite awhile:

Bubble Guppies: As far as Keaton is concerned there shouldn't be anything else on TV besides this  show.  The bottom of the Christmas Tree is covered in Bubble Guppies paper ornaments for Keaton.

Blue Blanket & Thumb: He is a blanket guy and thumb sucker. He's got two blue blankets that he loves, one that my mom made and one that my aunt Jeannie made.

Dogs: Manny is very loved by Keaton, he likes all dogs which can be problematic at the dog park.

Talking: He's a big talker and lately it's even starting to make some sense!
 Belly Button: It was the first body part he could identify and he loves to show it to everyone. 

Condiments: Lately Keaton hasn't been a very good eater but does love anything with BBQ sauce or ketchup.

Trucks: Still completely obsessed, anything with wheels that moves is a truck.

Books: Loves to be read to, flip books are his favorite and of course "Where's my T*R*U*C*K?" book.

The Performing Arts: Music, Singing, Dancing, Acrobats ....to a cell phone ring tone, commercial on TV, just about anything.....If I had to guess his future career path it would be a cirque du soleil actor or professional trampoline jumper.

 

And a few things he doesn't like....his high chair (which is now in storage), not being able to move freely, sleeping in.  That's about it!

Halloween 2012

Halloween was so much fun this year!  It is so fun to experience different holiday traditions with Keaton now that he's old enough to understand a lot of it.

We went to 2 pumpkin patches this year.  One on a very warm sunny day and one on a very wet stormy day!  We also went to a festival in West Seattle where they had a small petting farm and Keaton got licked by a little horse.  He really liked the cow train at Bob's pumpkin farm and we had to pull him off it kicking and screaming because he wanted to go again.  Not sure he was a fan of the pumpkin patch since he's screaming!  Keaton even got to go to a spooky party at his friend's house after the pumpkin patch!

 

 

Here is Keaton last year and this year at Bob's pumpkin farm.  He sure has grown up a lot!

 

This was Keaton's first year going trick-or-treating.  He loved it and could even say trick-or-treat by the end of the night (thanks to that smart cousin Wyatt).  TJ and I decided we would take turns picking out his costume each year.  This was TJ's year and I must say he did look pretty cute as a UPS worker (and if Keaton knew a UPS man drove a big druck it would have been even more exciting).  Keaton got to pick one piece of candy to eat at the end of the night, which was very exciting.  Mommy and Daddy ate the rest!

 

Back East...

We just got back from a very eventful week back east in the Boston area.  The 6 hour plan ride there and back was not eventful (Keaton was so good thanks to that DVD player) but the rest of the trip was packed full of fun.

Keaton got to spend lots of time with his new best friend Wyatt.  Wyatt taught him so many things and we are pretty sure Wyatt is about the smartest toddler around.  He is also very well behaved, Keaton's mom and dad learned a few things from his parents.  But we will never learn to cook as well as Uncle Steve.  If we lived closer we would be over for dinner every night.

One day we took the boys to get pictures at Target-wow-what a totally crazy experience with 2 little ones!  That hour felt 10x as long and it ended with me and Eileen taking our wild boys home and TJ sticking around to finish things with the photo lady.  Hopefully we won't be banned from Target's permanently!

Keaton spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Nana and Grandpa.  The best part was was probably decorating cookies cookies with Nana.  Actually the highlight was probably when he realized he could eat these cookies too!

  We planned the timing of this trip so we could be there for Hallowen.  We didn't plan to be there for Hurricane Sandy.  We were lucky and only experienced high winds and lots of rain (and about 20 minutes with no power).  Many others weren't as lucky.  We also stumbled upon "Sandy Island" at a park we were exploring.

The trip was spent visiting TJ's family and we got to see most everyone.  Even TJ's amazing Grandma who is in her 90's and still going to water aerobics and is a lot hipper than many 30 year olds.

 

It is hard being across the country from so many wonderful family members.  Hopefully we will be able to see them all again very soon!

Big Truck

The truck obsession continues!  Keaton now says "big truck" instead of just "truck."  Anything with four wheels is a truck...and he has been known to wake up in the morning saying "truck" "truck" "truck" for no reason at all.

 

Daddy got a new red truck that Keaton just loves!  He loves to look out our bedroom window at it in the driveway.  And of course go for rides.  I'm not sure who likes it more...daddy or Keaton.

 

Twice this week we have seen fire trucks (at events, not at fires).  Keaton was brave enough to go in one of them.

 

The second fire truck sighting was when the firemen came to storytime at the library. 

 

Can you find Keaton? All the other kids are sitting next to their parents/caretaker except mine.  I'm still trying to figure out if it's OK to let your child wander in situations like this or if it's bad parenting?

 

 There he is!

 

The Last Frontier

We just got back from a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska.  "The Last Frontier."

 

Keaton was FANTASTIC on the airplane there and back (unlike the last flight we took where he cried the entire way home)!  The best parenting advice I have received so far was to buy a portable DVD player.  Worth every penny!

 

We did lots of fun things on the trip but the best part was seeing the three cousins having fun:  Emerald (4 years), Keaton (19 months), Crystal (17 months).

 

We went to Emerald's school for lunch one day, a play place with a bunch of bouncy houses, visited Santa at the North Pole, swimming at Chena Hot Springs, a hockey festival at University of Alaska Fairbanks, daily rides on Becky & Jason's "truck" and of course McDonald's (almost every day since they all have indoor play areas).

 

Santa Visit:

 

University of Alaska Fairbanks:

(In the bottom picture Keaton is dancing all by himself in front of a room full of people to "I'm too sexy...")

 

 

Keaton loves trucks right now so Alaska was a great place for him since they have lots of "trucks"

 

 

Grandpa and his three grand kids acting goofy!

 

 I think Keaton is still catching up on sleep since he wore himself out, not wanting to miss out on anything.  There was lots of fun times but the highlight was probably when I got to lay on the floor of a McDonald's bathroom and crawl under the bathroom stall to unlock the door that Keaton locked himself in...aah the joys of parenting!

 

 

 

 

Splish Splash

We have been trying to enjoy the nice September weather as much as possible since we know what's next (months and months of rain). 

 

Keaton has been in my Aunt Claudia's pool twice this summer and I really wish we would have gone more since he loved it so much.  He went in once last year (picture on left) and was very happy just floating around.  This year he seemed to think he could swim if he had a life jacket on and didn't want me holding him. He's a bit over-confident in the water!

 

We discovered the Mount Lake Terrace pool and it is so great I am going to drive up there to take him to swim lessons instead of the pool right down the street.  It is really warm and has a really great kid pool with fake sharks and ducks floating around.  We took swim lessons at the pool down the street last year but he didn't learn to swim so we'll take some more.  I have a feeling it will be a few years... 

 

 

 

Manny got to go swimming at the Arbor Heights pool down the street from us this week.  Every year they open the pool up to dogs before they drain and close it for the year.  We took him last year and this year got him the week long pass!  Unfortunately he wears his nails down within minutes and we have to leave from his bleeding...but he LOVES it!  For some reason the same dog is in the background of all the pictures...guess Manny had his own personal lifeguard dog.

 

Keaton, Grandpa and I went up to Birch Bay on what will probably be the last sunny day of Summer.  There was a lot of "splish splashing" happening here.  The tide was way out so got to play in the sand, collect shells and play with little crabs. We also saw a sign advertising homes for $29,000 so we are looking into that; you can barely even buy a car for that amount now a days.  My guess is there is a catch since Birch Bay is a pretty fun little beach town and at that price would be sold out in minutes!

 

So far it seems like everyone in the family loves water! I have never been that good of a swimmer and am still scared of the deep end of the pool and swimming in lakes.  Guess Keaton and Manny get their love of the water from their dad.  I'm better in the hot tub than the pool.

First Visit to Dentist

Keaton had his first visit to the dentist today.  Luckily his favorite cartoon, Bubble Guppies, just had a show about visiting the dentist so it helped to prepare him :)

He really liked the fish and toys in the waiting room so that put him in a good mood.

 

And he was happy playing in the chair and with the little duck that they gave him.

 

But when it came time for the dentist to look in his mouth the fun was over...

 

There were some tears (screams) but it didn't last long. I asked about any tricks to make it easier at home and she didn't really have any except keep doing it, even through the screaming and tears...so doctor's orders we must keep at it.

 

He wasn't too happy after but did get to keep the duck and got a bag of "treats". Keaton calls everything a "treat".

 

 

 

 

planes, bears, parades, grumpy guy, etc.

We did lots of little things in August so I decided to put them all into one post, it's kind of random...

 

Keaton has been a little "off" this month.  He's woken up more at night this past month than he has in the past year. He's had fevers and been very clingy.  Here he was at a play date (after a 3 hour nap!!!) and not too thrilled to be there.  He is usually a very happy guy!

 

He does love his new DVD player that we got for a few upcomming flights.  I loved the Pac-Man game that he "pretended" to play while I was waiting for our cheese burgers.

I was in my first parade ever (at age 35) and Keaton was in his first (at age 18 months). At the rate this kid is going there won't be much left he hasn't done when he turns 35-that is the goal! I made a bunch of posters for my dad's church so we decided to walk with their group, which was by far the largest in the Monroe parade.

 

Grandpa Morgan got Keaton a horse, luckily it doesn't eat much. Keaton also really likes the bear at grandpa's house.  He likes to growl and pet it at the same time.  We're heading to Alaska in a month and will need to have a talk about bears before that trip since he could actually see a real one up there and we don't want him petting it (and I'm pretty sure his growls won't scare it off).

 

We had some time to fill last week and took a quick trip down to the Edmond's waterfront.  Kids sure do love water...we didn't make it out of there with a dry kid!

 

Thanks to TJ's fabulous Microsoft prime card we can go to lots of Seattle attractions for practically nothing. Yesterday we went to the Museum of Flight, somewhere that doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. Keaton was talking and pointing the entire time with excitement!  We even got to go into an Air Force One plane, which was pretty cool, Keaton and Daddy are in the presidential boardroom below.  I thought we should strap Keaton into a seat for 6 hours so he could practice for his trip to Boston but that didn't happen.

 

 

Manny has been enjoying the sunshine too and been swimming a few time. Last time there wa another boston terrier learning to swim and he wasn't nearly as fearless as Manny.