Got a Southern Accent from my Boston Relatives????

Last week Keaton's Grandpa, Nana, Aunt Eileen, Uncle Steve and cousin Wyatt were in town visiting.  For some reason Keaton is now pronouncing many words with a southern accent which makes no sense...a Boston accent maybe, but Southern??...

We all had such a great time with them and got to do so many fun things.  I didn't participate in all the outings but I think this captures most: Woodland Park Zoo, Lincoln Park, Museum of Flight, Pike Place Market, Monorail from Seattle Center to Downtown, Snoqualmie Falls, Seattle Waterfront (where Keaton got his very own Totem Pole), Ballard Locks.  They did a lot more than I would have expected given size of the group that included two toddlers.  We often split up during the day but always came back together at night since everyone wanted to watch the world series...and the Red Sox winning the world series!

Keaton and Wyatt got along so well and had so much fun together.  It was so wonderful to see the similarities and differences between them.  They made it a whole week with no major accidents/injuries which was very impressive given the high energy level that never stopped. 

We had two firemen for Halloween.  Keaton was a bit more spooked than I would have expected when we went trick-or-treating at the West Seattle shopping area, Westwood Village.

 

But he sure did make a handsome fireman and would certainly be "Mr. October" in any fireman calendar out there.

 

 

We got a couple group pictures, which is wonderful since we don't all get together that often.  However now that we know Uncle Steve's parents have a swimming pool we will probably be back this summer!

 

I was happy to make it through a meal at the Cheesecake Factory without going into labor. The last time I ate at that restaurant I went into labor with Keaton the next day so I was a little concerned. 

 

They all made it home safely and Keaton/Manny are recovering from their absence and TJ from the embarrassment of driving a mini-van.

Second Time Around

I thought it would be interesting to see how months 3, 6, 9 compared the second time around to the first.  Luckily I have been very good about keeping pictures very organized so it was easy to dig up the ones from Keaton.  The first picture is my pregnancy with Keaton, the second picture is pregnancy with baby #2.

3 Months: I was a bit heavier to begin with so I had more of a tummy the first time.

 

6 Months: I definitely popped sooner the second time around.  Didn't stop me from putting on a bikini and going swimming :).

 

9 Months:  I'd say I'm about the same but the baby is definitely lower in pregnancy #2 which is usually a sign the baby is getting ready.  I've been convinced the entire time I was going to be early (was 1 week early with Keaton) and am guessing by mid-Nov the little guy will be here.  Of course this also means my children will have Husky birthstone colors (purple & gold) which is not ideal for a Cougar grad! :) 

 



Planning

The planner in me is definitely in full force now.  I spent 12 years planning, executing and analyzing the results of client's advertising campaigns.  Starting with setting goals/objectives, then research, planning/execution and finally recapping performance.

These skills aren't too much different from the ones required as a parent (except I got a lot more done each day than I do as a parent).  Every day is different and unexpected.  Deadlines are unreasonable.  Clients (like children) are unreasonable.  Organization and multitasking is constantly being perfected.  Media is always changing just like children. 

Since we aren't in the middle of remodeling a house, selling a house or trying to move and I'm not working I do have a bit of time on my hands to "nest" or plan.  I didn't do much of this with Keaton.

We've all been working on setting goals and objectives for this new addition and life change.  Determining the adjustments everyone will need to make to achieve a well balanced, happy life with number 2. Applying learning's from Keaton to number 2 (i.e. sleeping in a chair for 6 weeks was insane), etc. etc.

We've been doing research to learn how to best transition a new baby into Keaton's life.  Research on how to decorate the baby's room, the best stroller for a toddler/infant, etc.  Lots of focus groups with friends to get advice.  Luckily we have so much already that there was a lot less research the second time around.  If anything, mommy is starting to research the things she wants to do with her life post-baby :).

We have been working on executing a lots of tactical things on my planner "to do" list.  Most of these things are totally unnecessary and as a second time mom I should know that but again the planner in me comes out. 

As far as evaluating how we do on all of our plans for baby number 2, that is something that we won't be able to fully evaluate for another 18 years or so.  Hoping everyone in the family has a more fulfilling life with the addition, hoping the little guy goes to college, doesn't borrow too much money, stays out of jail (or at least doesn't do anything too bad to get him in there), hoping him and Keaton become buddies, him and daddy become buddies, mom doesn't go crazy from being the only girl in the family, Manny doesn't need some expensive doggie depressant meds after this, etc.

Here are few pictures of Keaton playing in his brother's room:

We started putting up a few decorations. It was my idea to go with a monster theme so hopefully the little guy isn't scared to death by it. And no, he won't go straight into a twin bed, that's in there for cousin Wyatt's visit!

 

 

Keaton trying out the baby's stuff:

 

Keaton is very fond of the swing, probably because when he was little he spent many nights sleeping in it (while I slept on the couch):

 

Let the adventure begin!!  Well, hopefully not for a few more weeks. I have thought that I'd be early all along and it is looking that way from my last doctor visit.  Maybe there will be a Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy after all!

 

 



 

 

Pumpkin Patch Time

We had our annual trip to Bob's Corn & Pumpkin Farm this past weekend.  It was a completely different experience from last year (warm and sunny vs. pouring down rain) and everyone had a great time! 

We started our adventure by checking out the pumpkins.  Keaton has been watching the neighbors pumpkins grow and turn orange so he's very familiar with how it all works.  He's also been watching mommy's belly grow into the shape of a pumpkin but luckily it hasn't turned orange. 

 

 

 

This is our third year to Bob's. Keaton is growing up quickly!

 

We sure did have a great outing with our friends.  However, I think Keaton and McKenzie may have had different plans for the pumpkin patch meet up.  Kind of looks like they were on a date with all that smiling and hand holding!

 

Then back to Colleen's for some spooky snacks.  The Band-Aid crackers were the spookiest....

 

A Few of my Favorite Things in West Seattle

Keaton definitely has some favorite landmarks in West Seattle that he likes to go by daily, multiple times during the day if he's lucky. 

As mentioned previously, he became obsessed with totem poles during a Spring trip to Victoria BC.  There is a big one in West Seattle that he LOVES and he was very excited to have his picture taken next to it (even though the weather was horrible and the Seattle skyline is no where to be seen in the background like it is on a sunny day). Keaton showed me the smaller version of this totem pole at the West Seattle Trader Joe's. I would have never spotted it but he did and now we look at it every time we are there.

 

He also LOVES this peacock that is right up the street from us.  Yes, I realize it's not a peacock but that's what he calls it.  I'm a little worried the owners may request a restraining order since we drive by their house a lot...but these are the things you risk for keeping your kids happy.  A lady at TJ's work has a small statue of this (why I don't know?????) so it is possible for us to get Keaton his very own but I'd rather look at it in someone else's yard than my own yard.

 

Keaton is also really into scarecrows right now.  There is one down the street (but currently broken from the crazy weather so no picture of that one) that we walk by daily when walking Manny.  He loves it and has been lucky enough to get 2 for his garden (we didn't have much luck this year, next year we're sticking to strawberries and pumpkins).  He also got a scarecrow window hanging from Nana Tarr that he loves and moves from window to window around the house.

 

On the lookout for his favorite things in West Seattle....or maybe looking for the "BOOM"! He still talks about the BOOM and is trying to find it...the thunder from a few weeks ago!

 

 



First Day of School!

Last week was Keaton first day of preschool at the Admiral Mon/Tues Two's co-op preschool.  We did co-op preschool last year but started mid-year so it didn't feel like a first day of school.
He goes two days a week for two hours each day.  I work in the classroom one of the days.  Co-op preschool means parents are involved and help run it.  At first that sounded like a great idea but now that I have number 2 on the way (and just assumed new baby could tag along) I'm not sure what we are going to do.  Trying to convince dad to go to work late that day each week so he can watch baby or work at preschool...we'll figure something out.

I have been very lucky that Keaton is one of those kids that you can pretty much drop off anywhere and as long as they have fun kid stuff he's happy.  So I had no worries that he would do great by himself and he did.  He is actually much better behaved at school than at home (doesn't stand on chairs while eating, follows directions, is more mellow, etc.). 

It is fun to ask him what he did at school and see what he says.  When I would ask him what he did at his babysitters/daycare he would always say "Eat ice cream cones".....I was a bit suspicious and asked one day and was of course told "do you think I'm crazy, I'm not going to feed all these little kids messy ice cream cones full of sugar"....but I did find out she has pretend ones that must be pretty good!

I resisted from being the crazy person who photographs their child's every move (well I resisted this time but have done it many times before) but did take a few pictures on the first day of school.

The house across the street had decorative stones in the yard that he was very interested in.

 

 

A few more years till the real thing!  And then about 13-14 more before he can drive (which he is already very excited about) and then, fingers crossed, college in about 16 years.  

Over and Over and Over....

Keaton is definitely at the age where he likes to do the same things over and over and over.  For the past month or so he has been obsessed with playing cars on his car mat.  He likes to have someone pretend play with him, his cars and little characters (like smurfs from McDonald's, little people, etc.).  He could do this all day long if he found someone willing to play with him for that long.  I'm SO tired of playing "cars" and even tried to hide the mat yesterday but then he kept asking for it so it came back out.  It does keep him very happy and he has quite the imagination.

 

There is a lot of construction action going on at our neighbor's house today so I'm hoping that will keep him distracted from wanting to play cars.  When he's not playing cars, he's looking out the window to figure out "what that noise is" and then wants to go find the firetruck, ambulance, garbage truck, etc.  Or if he hears tools (like he will today) he will become focused on wanting to get his chainsaw to cut down branches or tools to build a dog house or need to fix something.  And he's very quick to correct me on what the sound is "no mom, that's a drill, not a hammer".

 

He is a busy little guy with so many interests and is always telling us that he needs this or that and has so much to do!