Spontanious Trip to Vashion

We recently took advantage of a beautiful, sunny day in Seattle and the great idea "Uncle Brian" had.  Within 45 minutes I had everything packed up for Keaton and Nolan and we (including Manny) were on a ferry to Vashon Island (we live about 5 minutes from the ferry terminal).  That's pretty impressive since planning and packing 3 year old and 3 month old can be tough since its hard to predict what you will need.

 

 

This wasn't Keaton's first time on a ferry and also wasn't his first time to Vashon Island.  It was Nolan's first time and he had a great time taking in the views and fresh air! 

 

 

We had no idea what we were going to do once we got there.  We stopped and got a map and were on our way to the beach to explore.  Brian and I decided it would be the perfect place for a vacation home and started brainstorming ways to make that happen (then my dad told me they have issues getting water so we will have to look into that).

 

Keaton never takes naps anymore but this adventure wore him out.  I would have included a picture of Nolan napping in the car but that happens on any car ride so its a given.

 

Happy 3rd Birthday Keaton!

Keaton turned 3 on February 23rd.  We held off on a party for a week since Papa was in Peru and we didn't want him to miss out.  On his actual birthday we went swimming at the Rainier Beach pool.  It was awesome and the warmest pool I've ever been in.  They had water slides, an indoor spray park, a lazy river, plenty of places to jump into the water and lots of toys for the kids to play with.

I wanted to capture a few of Keaton's favorite things at 3:

• Zero
• Booms and Thunder
• Milk
• Car Mats
• Pepa Pig
• Nabi (and Talking Tom)
• Sockies (motorcycles)

And he is very scared of Scuba Divers!

I asked Keaton what kind of party he wanted and he said race car so that was pretty easy to decorate.

 

Here he is with his very own "talking tom" which is also a game on his Nabi that he is obsessed with.

 

 

And his very own chainsaw!

 

And here is Nolan who turned 3 months the day before (Nov 22-Mar 22).

 



 

Crazy Kid with a Lot to Say

Keaton has always been a big talker with a lot to say but lately he is really carrying on a conversation.  When daddy come home he's very quick to say "Mama said that I have to ___ but I didn't want to and so I ___".  So I guess he's at the age that I have to now start being careful about what I say or do because who knows what he will tell others (like the time he told daddy that I hit him in the bathtub, which was not true).

Here's an example conversation that happens many, many times during the day:

"I didn't want to have quiet time but mommy said I have to and that's why I was crying but I just wanted to look and go get that toy but I like booms but daddy doesn't like green but mama I got a great idea those are the two options this game is a silly game a matching game and that's why I didn't want to have quiet time so I was crying."

Are you still following?  Luckily he usually ties his crazy conversation back to the original topic so if you catch the beginning and end you can follow.

Seattle Did It!

I was going to title it "We did it" and I guess WE did help since the 12th man is such an important part of the Seahawks. I don't know much about football and am one of the fans that joined the 'bandwagon' late in the season (partly due to Keaton's love of the Seahawks as well as the winning streak). But it has been fantastic to see this city come together and explode in blue and green in support of this team.
And they WON!!!!!  They WON!!! They WON!!!! They WON!!!!

 

They WON!!!

 

They WON!!

 

No diet for Nolan

No diet for Nolan! He spent first few weeks of his life struggling to gain weight and then exploded...at least that's what TJ and I thought. But at his 2 month appointment doc said he's totally healthy and that its great he's such a good eater. Nolan's only "to do" from the appointment is to sleep through the night. Doctor's orders! He must have been listening because he slept for 11 hours straight last night in his crib.  Unfortunately I was up quite often checking the baby monitor to make sure he was still breathing!  Keaton was never affected by shots but they must have made Nolan very sleepy since he has never slept for more than 5.5 hours prior to last night.

2 month stats:
52nd percentile height
86th percentile weight (13lb, 14oz)
90th percentile head size
Pretty similar to Keaton. Short, chubby with a big head!!

Here he is right after he peed all over the floor/wall/table at the doctor's:

 

Here's his 2 month picture.  Good thing he's moved from the monkey chair to the crib since I don't know how much longer he will fit in it.

 

Where did all our "free" time go?

• When you are married you think about all the "free" time you had when you were single.
• When you get a dog you think about all the "free" time you had when it was just you and your spouse.
• When you have a child you think about all the "free" time you had when it was just you, your spouse and the dog.
• When you have a second child you think about all the "free" time you had when you only had one child.

I have no idea what people do with more than two children.  When you have one there are two adults so one of you is often getting a break (break to do things like dishes, laundry, grocery shopping, etc). When there are two adults and two kids each has one to be responsible for and little to no time for anything else. 
With three you our out numbered and I'd imagine things are totally out of control!  Since there are more kids than adults so I guess they are the ones in control (although the truth is with only one you have lost control).  Add a few more pet into the mix and total chaos!

I'm enjoying a moment where both are sleeping (Nolan in his crib for last 2.5 hours, this is the first time I've tried to get him to sleep in it and total success for the moment!). Now that I have some "free" time I'm not even sure what to do with it.  I can daydream back to the glorious years when I was single (all through my 20's) and had nothing but "free" time to do what I pleased (but few significant memories to show for it).  Even though "free" time is pretty sparse right now, it is very much appreciated!  But not nearly as much as the time I'm spending with my family creating memories more valuable than I could have ever imagined. 

Now time to....Go check on Nolan, feed him, change him.  Get Keaton up from his nap. Pack them all into the stroller to walk the dog.  Bring a snack and toy for Keaton on the walk.  Unpack everyone.  Feed the dog. Play with the dog.  Pack up the kids to go to the store to buy milk since we are out.  Maybe something for dinner too since last night we ate pancakes.  Cross fingers that dad will be home soon.  Feed/diaper change again for Nolan.  Probably change of clothes too since he will have spit up many times.  Fold some unfolded laundry.  Make dinner.  Deal with a few temper tantrums in between the above.  Take baths.  Read books.  Find a toy for Keaton to sleep with since he has to have one now.  Walk dog again.  Remind self and TJ that being a parent is better than all the "free" time in the world, but still exhausting.  Remember that it's Friday and TJ will be around tomorrow morning to deal with our early risers.  Remember that the days may go by slow but the years go by fast and before we know it we'll be back to a life full of "free" time where our kids want nothing to do with us....good thing we will still have Manny!

Having Fun

A few nights ago Keaton and Nolan were going for a ride on Keaton's sleeping bag and we got a smile out of Nolan!  Keaton gets really excited when he gets to "play" with his brother and is really looking forward to him getting bigger so they can play all the time.  And Nolan is pretty lucky to get to do such fun stuff at such a young age...the first child never gets to be towed on a sleeping bag through the house at 6 weeks old!  The benefit of being the second!

 

Oops...didn't mean to publish this....so going to quickly add a few more pics. Trying to do too much at once....watch Seahawks...hold crying Nolan...help Keaton with his video game....talk to Brian...seems to be the way of life with two kids. Always multi-tasking!

 

Go Seahawks!!!!