Dirt Digger

My little man loves digging in the dirt. We are enjoying the warmer winter in NC. It's a week till Christmas and the temperature was 69 today!

Gingerbread House

We had quite a time decorating a gingerbread house this year.  Kellen was all about the candy.  He was so sticky by the time we were finished that his hair was even spiked up.  Even so, it still turned out nice. 

 

My Little Elf

Kellen has been having so much fun digging through all the Christmas decorations.  He tries to be very helpful...

oops, this one wasn't a "real" ball. 

Our Christmas tree before decorations,

 and after.

Its a little smaller than usual, but still looks nice.  I love coming in the house and smelling fresh pine. 

Happy Birthday Daddy

Billy celebrated his 30th birthday last week.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the birthday boy, but I did get pictures of Kellen tearing up a piece of chocolate cake and icecream.  YUM - MY!   

Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband and father!  We love you, even if you are 30!

Home Made Ornaments

Since Kellen is getting a little older now, I wanted to start some holiday traditions with him.  So one of the projects that we've done so far is making home made ornaments out of a flour salt dough.  Of course I thought it would be a great idea to do his hand print before he gets to big.  Caution:  This was not as easy as I thought it would be.  Trying to get a toddler to sit still and put his hand in dough was very difficult.  With that said, I still think they turned out pretty good.

 

The "Sweetness" of Motherhood

So earlier in the week, Kellen seemed to be a little more clingy than usual and just not quite himself.  Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to the signs....Wednesday night we went to care group (Kellen seemed fine, other than just not wanting to eat much that day).  He was a little upset, so I stayed with him and the other kids.  He spent most of the time just sitting in my lap.  He appeared to be very tired.  Then, just as he was starting to fall asleep he got sick!  By sick, I mean vomited all over me and himself.  What a mess, and at someone else's house.  I was so embarrassed, but knew there wasn't anything I could do but take care of Kellen.  We got him home and in bed, and of course by the morning he seemed perfectly fine.  I am thankful for times like these, when I'm reminded that even being vomited on, can be "sweet" when your little one is sick. 

Dadda's Ewws (Daddy's Shoes)

Kellen loves shoes, just like his Mama.  I have to keep them hidden, or he would wear our shoes around the house all the time.  He's not the most steady on his feet wearing shoes 10x to big for him. 

Happy Halloween

Kellen celebrated his second Halloween.  I wasn't sure how he would react to others dressed in costumes, but he did really well.  When he saw someone wearing a scary mask, he would "Roar" at them.  It was really cute.  We went trick or treating to just a few neighbors doors, then spent the rest of the time handing out candy.  Kellen really enjoying having all the kids come up to the house.  He was very kind, saying, "Hi" to everyone!  He was the cutest little golfer!

     

Visitors

We were very excited to have our friends come and visit with us this weekend.  We had a great time hanging out and letting the kiddos play.  Here are some of the special moments we were able to capture!

       Can't wait to do it again!

Dig, Dig, Dig

We did a little gardening the other day.  Kellen could't wait to help.  Guess we'll see if anything comes up in the spring! 

P.S.  He looks so cute in his camo-rain boots!

 

Bumbo is Back

Many many months ago, we were using the Bumbo seat daily.  It was great for when Kellen wasn't able to sit up on his own.  We came across the seat the other day and I was surprised that he could still fit in it.  As you can see, he's very excited about his new chair!  After lending the seat to friends and using it ourselves, we are still getting good use out of our Bumbo seat!

Aunt Annie Comes to Our House

Daddy and Kellen making Aunt Annie's pretzels.  Yum!

 

20 Months

Kellen is 20 months now.  What a fun age!  Just in the last week, he has started doing so many new things.  His vocabulary has greatly increased.  He's trying to say everything we say, most of the time its not even close, but he keeps trying.  He's turning into quite a ham, whenever I get the camera out he gives me a big, "CHEESE".  He's been such a good traveler.  We've gone back and forth between here and home several times now, and he's been so easy in the car (the DVD player helps).  His love for music has just increased over the months.  He loves it when Uncle Keith plays his guitar and banjo for him.  He also really likes to play the piano.  I hope his passion for music continues.  We would love for him to take music lessons someday.  He's also learned to give hugs and kisses.  I caught him giving kisses to his stuffed Big Bird the other day.  Really sweet! 

Quite the Show-Off

Kellen seems to find FUN in the most unusual places.  These days he's into everything.  Our toughest challenge is keeping him out of the dogs water bowl.  The other day I caught him face down, blowing bubbles in the water.  Yucky! 

Chilling in the fridge.  He thinks this seat was put there just for him.

I think he wants a riding mower???  None of this push stuff.

He loves hats.  He puts everything on his head.  This cookie dough bucket is one of his favorites.  Its getting very tight, I think we're going to have to find a bigger bucket!

Multi-functional bucket, a.k.a. a seat!

Pumpkin Painting

Today, we took some time to get a little messy!  I actually let Kellen play with paints.  Washable paints.  I would of thought most boys would like to get dirty, my little one just kept saying "dirty" and wanted me to continually wipe his hands off.  I'm sure that will change real soon!

Curious Cutie

 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do... Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Mark Twain