Pictures not Included

This past week has been full of weird ailments for all in the family.  None are things you would want to see pictures of so they have not been included (nor were any taken of these events).

It started with me taking a routine pill that I take every morning.  Nothing was different about this morning except I immediately became very sick!  I was sweating and needing to throw up but couldn't.  It was so bad I had to call TJ and have him come home from work because I wasn't able to take care of Keaton.  After about an hour and a half I was better and was off to work.

When I came home that evening, TJ was in bed sick.  He has been fighting various illnesses for the past 6 months or so on and off.  He had a fever and had all the signs of mono (he's had it before when he was younger).  He stayed in bed all evening/night but then woke up the next morning feeling almost 100% better.  Weird. 

Thursday evening I picked up Keaton from daycare and he was his usual hyper, happy self.  Nothing seemed off at all until he woke up an hour after going to bed screaming.  This doesn't usually happen so we checked on him and he had thrown up all over the place.  This is the first time he has ever thrown up.  We threw his favorite blanket in the wash and gave him a bath and put him back to sleep.  An hour or so later he woke up again so we grabbed his favorite blanket from the dryer thinking that would help sooth him. He immediately threw up all over the just washed blanket as well as wall/carpet/me.  While TJ was out to buying Pedialyte to help with dehydration I made the mistake of letting him drink a bunch of water and he threw up again downstairs all over this table/floor.  We knew this was going to be a long night. So Keaton camped out with me in our bed watching movies while TJ tried to sleep in the other room. I think it was around 5am when he finally fell asleep.  It was such a weird night because he never had a fever and didn't really act sick after getting sick.  The next day he was pretty normal besides being tired and not eating a lot.  Never a dull moment with kids, the week prior we were dealing with a rash so it's always something...

Poor Manny had an irritated eye all week but with everyone else being sick it kind of got over looked.  Friday night we decided the squinting dog deserved a trip to the doctors.  Boston Terrier's eye's are prone to all sorts of things because they stick out so much.  Sure enough the doctor said Manny has a corneal ulcer in this eye.  The good news is the doctor thinks it will heal with some eye drops and he won't need surgery. 

Let's hope next week goes more smoothly than this one!

Cousin Fun!

Becky, Emerald and Crystal were down visiting this past week (Jason got to have a break and stay behind).  They came just for fun and we had SO much fun with them!  Let's see if I can remember most of the fun things we did....

We went to Skymania in Kirkland for the toddler jump time.  It is a giant trampoline place and during toddler time all kids have to be under 5 so it's much safer!  The foam pit is always the best part for the kids.

We had a slumber party at grandpa's house.  We only planned to spend one night there but it was so fun that we had to stay another night.  Keaton and Emerald have very similar personalities and get each other very worked up and hyper.  So things were pretty crazy with the two of them.  Luckily Crystal is the opposite and very laid back (I don't think we could handle a third crazy kid).  Keaton picked up some bad habits from his older cousin, Emerald, like constantly closing doors.  Luckily no fingers got in the way of all the closing doors.  He also learned that there is life after 8pm and one night got to stay up until almost 10pm.  Must have been the ice cream cones grandpa fed them...

Keaton did learn some good habits as well from his cousins like going potty in his toilet.  I've never even seen him take off his clothes before so I think his cousins must have influenced this exciting event.  I was surprised he even knew what it was for since it's usually a step stool and even been used as a hat.  But he sat down and went right away so he knew what he was doing.  We'll stay in diapers for a bit longer though since I don't think we are completely ready for the transition (at least I'm not).

We went up to the outlet stores in Marysville in search of some jeans for Becky and another pair of shoes for Emerald since she insisted she needed more shoes (she sure is girly...although she also likes fishing....in her best princess dress).  We didn't end up buying either.

Then we stopped by Cabela's up there, which is quite a store.  The kids saw all kinds of animals like grizzly bears, polar bears, deer, fish, etc..  And got to play on a big boat.  I also let them play with a game there but it wasn't very politically correct so I won't mention it.  I got scolded by Becky which was a good thing.

We went to story time at the Monroe Library where we heard stories about butterflies and then got to make our own.  And play on their very cool kid computers.  I just got Keaton a library card and we have started checking out books which is fun.

We went to dinner at our  Aunt Jeanne's house (my mom's sister) and saw relatives we hadn't seen in many, many, many years.  It motivated all of us to do a better job of staying in touch.

Becky, Grandpa and kids went to the Mount Lake Terrace pool but  Keaton and I didn't get to go due to Keaton's "mystery rash" that was covering his entire body.  Doctor didn't know what it was but pretty sure it wasn't contagious since no one else ended up with it.  During that outing they also went to the Goodwill outlet store in Everett where things are practically free.  They were nice enough to buy Keaton a few things including same DVD about trucks that he watched at Nana Tarr's a few months ago.  They also got him a book on throwing tantrums which was very appropriate (hopefully it helps).  They also visited Rich.  It's probably good Keaton wasn't there because Rich has a lot of electronics that Keaton would have got in trouble with.

We went to Kidstock in Edmond's.  It was an all day event where we had front row seats to the Recess Monkey's (thanks to Keaton who loves music and would have been on stage if it wasn't so high up).  The kids got their faces painted, got to make snacks and jump in a bouncy house. 

I think the most fun the kids had was just playing with each other...jumping on the bed or running around the house... (I tried to insert a few video's but couldn't get it to work).  It's always the simple things that make kids the happiest.

Emerald invited us to her 5th birthday party in May so we should probably show up for that!  Things are pretty quite around here now after our busy week of fun!  We miss them already but Keaton's daddy is probably happy that he's around a bit more now (and I'm sure Jason missed his girls too)!

The Rest of Christmas Vacation...

TJ and I were both really lucky to have 2+ weeks off during the holidays.  And even luckier because Keaton has been in a GREAT mood the entire time.  Probably because his best friend ever...daddy...was around!  He absolutely adore's TJ right now.  He also slept and napped a lot (yahoo) so when he was up he was up and ready to go go go!

Our time off was pretty low key but we did get out and do some fun things.  Here are some of them:

We spent a very fun afternoon with Lynn Still's perfect little baby, Camden.  Keaton has never been around a little baby and I didn't know how he would do but he was a natural big brother...although he got pretty upset when we took the baby away!

We went to the park a few times even though it was cold out.  It felt good to get outside. 

Keaton took his new bike for a spin around the neighborhood and really enjoyed it.  He liked both riding it and pushing it.  In a few more years he will be down at Alki with his buddies getting into trouble....

One thing I wanted to do was go back to the Mount Lake Terrace pool and we didn't make it there but Keaton got to take a dip in the big tub at home with daddy.  Taking a bath with a little one isn't that fun for 2 reasons....the water has to be much colder than most adults would bathe in since kids can't be in really hot water....and you all know the other reason....:)

We went to see Cyndi Soup, Tim Noah, Gus Puppy and friends at the Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater in Snohomish which was really fun.  When I was a kid we saw Tim Noah perform and he's still doing it.  They encouraged the kids to participate but Keaton didn't want to go up on stage until the very end.  He randomly went up there all by himself and walked around while they were performing....they didn't seem to mind...not sure what he was doing up there!

 

We also rocked out on New Years Eve!  It was just like being out at a night club....there was music and dancing and karaoke...all in the comfort of our living room.  Keaton is pretty good at karaoke, me not so much!  Luckily we have no pictures from this!!

Looking forward to 2013!

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!