The Keene Family

We've been pretty low-key lately. Let's see... my boys are pretty smitten with Haley. JT loves to make her laugh. Jim's favorite activity is co-napping. Naps with Dad Looking for big brother He's so much fun! JT continues to love puzzles and books. He is learning his letters, slowly but surely. Here he is assembling Eric Carle alphabet puzzles that he got from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Gena for his birthday. Another gift from the Coles - a book you can write in. We are still doing gymnastics once a week. JT's friend Gracelyn comes, too! JT built a fort in his room last week and got to take a nap inside it. I couldn't believe I have a little boy old enough to take a nap in a fort. So much fun. Grandpa Cole has been working on teaching JT the symbols for the different makes of cars. He is doing a great job pointing out Chevys and Fords everywhere we go. Here the kids are snuggling with Grandma Cole and JT is purusing the car ads, looking for Chevys and Fords.

Yesterday Haley turned five months old. Almost half way to the magic number one! :) Thanks to my tripod and remote, I got this great picture. Haley looks like this a lot of the time. She is so cheery and full of smiles. We sure love our baby girl. It's been a busy month for Haley. She just discovered her toes and can't keep her hands off them. She grabs on with both hands and rolls side to side. She also starting eating rice cereal just a day before she hit the five month mark. I am not super excited to venture into solids, but I'd like her to be eating well by six months and I'd like her to go to bed just a little earlier than she does now. We were impressed that she knew what to do right away, but she wasn't impressed that it was a slow process. Apparently her patience does have an end. And just a couple more random pictures from the week... playing with Dad and wearing the Pooh onesie that is a hand-me-down from her cousins Madi and Ali. So sweet!

We think it is so cool to be two and a half . There are so many new things that a big guy like JT can do. For example: Wear underwear instead of diapers during the day Put on socks and shoes "all by self" Cut bananas into slices Spread condiments on bread Sort laundry into piles by owner or type Use markers and stickers without supervision Brush teeth with real toothpaste Get ready for bath without help Sing Jesus Loves Me Say "please" and "thank you" without reminders And so much more. Hooray for 2.5!

I like to take pictures. The problem is that every time JT gets older, I have to come up with a new strategy for getting a good picture. (Fortunately I've already learned what to do for different ages, so it is easy with Haley.) My two-and-a-half-year-old photo shoot didn't start off well. JT was hungry and tired (I know, what was I thinking?) but he said he wanted to do his picture NOW instead of later. Brainstorm: Put the camera on a tripod. Give the toddler the remote. Hold him in place and let him press the button as much as he wants. Crop picture later. Voila! :)

Have you ever thought about the fact that kids have to learn how to play? Their little brains must get so tired. Recently Haley has made some big steps in learning to play. She can hold onto a toy and shake it, and just this week passed it from hand to hand. Haley also figured out how to spin the toy on her BebePod chair. This morning at breakfast JT announced, "She's spinning it!" Last night, Haley had her first try in the exersaucer. She is still a little short for even the shortest setting, but she really enjoyed JT's tour of what all the toys do. (Thanks, Shucks, for letting us borrow your exersaucer!) All of that playing is really tough work. Sometimes Haley crashes out in the spot where she's playing (right about nap time, oddly enough...). JT knows how to play, and he does it well. I love when he gets up from nap or finishes a meal and he looks at me and says, "I play?" Grandma Keene got him two new boats to play with, and he won't let them ou...

We had the Skagen kids over for a fun play date night while their parents went out for a birthday date. We had such a great time! We had pancakes for dinner with whipped cream and sprinkles, and threw in some sausages and bananas to be healthy. Aly helped me make the pancakes! After dinner, Cole and JT played while Jim and Aly had a hot date to McDonald's for ice cream. Aly had a gift card and she was so excited to pay for her own ice cream. :) When they got back, Jim declared it was snuggle time on the couch. Everyone put their pajamas on and we the kids voted to watch Bob the Builder. We had just finished one episode when Adam came to collect his children... and no one moved off the couch to greet him. They must have had a great time!

We were pretty excited around here when Haley rolled over a few weeks ago. I finally got one on video tonight! :)

We've been having a great 2011 so far (all two days' worth). Haley has looked so cute in some new clothes! From Uncle Jeff and Aunt Gena From Mom and Dad From Great Uncle Rick and Great Aunt Julie I finally got video of Haley laughing... it's pretty poor quality because JT was in the tub when she started giggling and the only thing I had with me was my cell phone. She was sitting on my lap watching JT splash and I was holding her arm with one hand and my phone with the other... but I got one (twenty seconds in), and it's pretty contagious! The rest of us are enjoying our new toys... like the remote for my camera, which helped me get this picture on our way out the door to go grocery shopping. I couldn't resist getting a picture of Haley. She's so stinkin' cute. JT got some new Thomas books and is really getting good at "reading." He points to some words and sometimes asks what the letters spell. He is always looking for an audience. JT is loving hi...

The kids and I spent New Year's Eve quietly at home, but New Year's Day is a whole different story. We hosted our seventh annual New Year's Day pajama breakfast at our house, with eight adults and, this year, eight children four and under. Fun times! We ate and ate and relaxed and watched our children run around until everyone went home to take naps. It took me two hours to clean up and locate all of the toys - many of which required using the wand on the vacuum... it was worth every minute! :) Typical: the girls are smiling at the camera and JT is busy eating. These two are ready for nap time. Future babysitters! This year's picture Click here to compare with last year's picture