The Keene Family

Some of you will think I'm insane (and some of you already do), because I do all of my Christmas preparations the day after Thanksgiving. I buy all of the presents, set up the tree, decorate the house, wrap the presents, and mail my Christmas cards. One year I even managed to fit in making Christmas cookies. It is a very busy, exhausting day, but at the end of it I am DONE and I can relax and actually enjoy the holiday season. That said, I highly recommend it! This year, having JT around, I knew I would have to be extra organized. I also wasn't at home Friday afternoon to wrap and decorate. Nevertheless, as of now, everything is done. No cookies yet, but I'm waiting to invite our god-daughter over to decorate them with me anyway. JT thought it was very strange that there was a tree in his house when he got up this morning. Jim set it up last night but we didn't decorate it until today, so it was a surprise for JT to see it. When we came downstairs, I asked him if he wa...

We had Thanksgiving this year at the Coles' house. All of the Washington Keenes were there, too! Here we are getting ready to eat. We tried to get a good Thanksgiving picture of JT in his handsome outfit (a birthday gift from the Joneses that finally fits!) but he was too wiggly. The only good one I got was when I had the flash turned off on my camera. :( Then we got up early to hit the Black Friday sales - a tradition for my mom and me. Here we are waiting in line at Target with our free bags. When we were on our way home, my mom and I saw this Smart Car - check out the add-on on the back. Cute! Then we headed to the Keenes' to watch Iron Bowl (Alabama v. Auburn - Roll Tide Roll!). JT got to play with his set of barnyard fridge magnets that I brought with us (a great gift from the North Carolina Coles). He doesn't get to play with them at our house because ours isn't magnetic so I use them as a special away-from-home toy. Below: The Keene men enjoying the football game

Hooray for wonderful husbands. Jim booked a Date Night Package at the Bellevue Hyatt for us Friday night, and it was fabulous. We highly recommend it! Drinks, dinner, dancing, movies, and breakfast in bed - it doesn't get much better. We even got upgraded to an executive suite... we could see Seattle and the Space Needle from our windows. Meanwhile, we have two sets of grandparents who are just dying to have JT spend the night... Grandpa and Grandma Cole were first. Of course, JT had a great time. He even "told" Grandpa Cole that his diaper needed changing a few times... a hand sign that we are thrilled to see in action. Playing footsies with Grandpa Helping Grandma in the kitchen And finally, a little story... We have a command for Slider "muddy paws" so that when she comes in from outside she sits and waits on the rug. She lifts her paws one at a time so we can wipe the mud and wet off before she comes inside. We keep a small towel on a hook inside the back ...

Since getting his molars, JT has become a whole new type of eater. (And it's marvelous!) He can chew meat and larger size bites, so we don't have to grind up some things anymore. He also has decided that he needs a fork. He had started just staring at things like pork chops (see video) without doing anything. I handed him a fork and - viola! - he started eating. It is slow going, sometimes painfully so, but he eats just as much and really seems to enjoy himself. We skipped those silly plastic baby forks. Who can stab a pork chop with one of those? Two more from the week... JT's Harley Bear (from Great Aunt Julie) came with some aviator glasses that just happen to fit... JT thinks wearing them around the house is pretty funny. And finally, you've all seen so many videos of JT pestering Slider. Finally, the word "gentle" means something. I captured this moment on film as proof.

We are lucky enough to keep our boat on a lift on Lake Meridian. The only downside to keeping your boat on a lift is when the lift battery dies... and your boat is stuck. So between that, work trips, rainy weather, and injuries, we haven't skiied in awhile. Fortunately, all it took to get us back on the water was a dry day, a new battery, and some help from our friend Adam, who braved the gap between the dock and the battery box with his ladder. JT was a little concerned about what Adam was doing. :) Jim was thrilled because it meant we could ski again. (Adam: "Okay, hand me the battery." Jim: "Don't drop it." Adam: "I'm trying not to fall." Jim: "You'll dry off. The battery will not.") Finally, we were off. Dry suits, heaters, and hot water showers ready... JT snuggled up in his life vest and sat in this spot while all three of us skiied. Notice he got a heater hose under his blanket all to himself. :) I decided to wear a flee...

My, how time flies. JT will be 16 months old tomorrow. We are so blessed to have him in our family! You may have noticed in the side bar that I posted about his teeth. He has his first four molars now and all eight front teeth. I think he looks taller all of the sudden, too; he has been eating a lot and sleeping a lot. His little body is growing quickly! Since he got his own armchair, he has been increasingly interested in chairs. I showed him how to use the ottoman to climb up into the rocking chair in his room, and now he loves to do that. Flip Clip #1 - In and out of the rocking chair - and a little reading Our friends the Skagens invited us to the Seattle Children's Museum on Veteran's Day. They had free guest passes, which made it a pretty fun deal for us! :) We had a great time. JT has been working hard on figuring out keys and locks. He's not allowed to have car keys (or cell phones... or remotes...) so getting ahold of the keys to the office filing cabinet makes his...

Good News: JT and I went to a new park today. He and Slider loved the big toy. Bad News: Even though we're at a new park, JT still wanted to spend time making sure the stroller buckles were properly latched. Good News: JT practiced walking the stairs all by himself. Bad News: He tripped and hit his head on the metal pole. (Use that click-to-enlarge feature!) Good News: He recovered quickly and went back to practicing the stairs. Then we had a little photo shoot. Too bad about the giant egg on his head and the tear leftover on his face. But the really Bad News: is that we had to go to the park while Jim was at urgent care getting diagnosed with swine flu. So I came home and spent two hours sterilizing everything he had touched in the past few days. My new best friends, pictured below. Even worse news (update 11/6): Jim doesn't have the swine flu. He has a hernia. Right now we are hoping it will heal on his own and he won't need surgery. Pray for him to heal!

With winter weather in full swing, we've decided to take a break from swimming. Here's a picture of JT and Emi (and their dads) from their last swim class together. Instead, we enrolled JT in gymnastics. It's a Mommy & Me class, and it is so much fun! The first week, we learned somersaults and I was so excited to get one on video. I invited my mom to come early the night I was packing to leave for Denver so she could see gymnastics, and we didn't do somersaults at all! We did some other fun things, of course, and she took some video for me.

My teammates and I got the opportunity to present at the National School Board Association conference in Denver, Colorado this past week. So off I flew, away from JT for the longest time yet. We had an awesome time! No cooking, no cleaning, time with friends, what could be better? Made a cameo at the candy-themed party Getting ready to present Did you hear on the news? It snowed and snowed! At the end of the week, I stayed an extra day with my friend Lara, who moved to the Denver area almost five years ago. It was great catching up with her! While I was gone, JT spent time with both sets of grandparents as well as two days alone with Jim (read below if you missed it... so sweet!). I'm sure there were lots of photos, but this is the only one anyone has sent me. It's JT and Grandpa Cole coloring. Too cute.