Back Yard Project

When we first moved into our house it had a really nice landscaped back yard with beautiful green grass in the back and front of the house.  Over the past few years we have realized our neighborhood is very wet and doesn't get good sunlight so the green grass is very mossy.  And the back hill has over grown.  So we brought in the person who's lawn looks like a putting green to help us out.  Brian!
The front grass is looking much better and Brian has done a great job of cleaning up the back hill.  We haven't got to the backyard grass yet since we are seeing if clearing out will give us more light so grass will grow properly.  If not then we will have to decide what to do...giant deck, pavers or my vote....fake grass.  I think Manny has enjoyed the cleared out hill more than anyone.  He spends all day out there now, barking at everyone that walks by.  I'm sure we are known as the house to avoid when going for walks.
Here are a few pictures.

Hair Cut

Nolan had his first hair cut one day short of 5 months.  Keaton's first was around 6 months.  One thing about having kids being born with lots of hair is that they go through the awkward stage when their hair falls out in patches.  The first picture doesn't really show how crazy it actually looked!  He did pretty good with his first hair cut, which is good because he will likely need them quite often like his big brother. 

 

 

 

Here is Keaton before his first hair cut

 

 

And getting his first hair cut

 

 

 

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.