The Keene Family

Last night we went to dinner with some friends and when we got home, Jim taught JT to make a snowball in the driveway before we came inside. Then JT suggested, "We could build a snowman!" Jim said, "Maybe if the snow's here tomorrow, we can." But last time we had enough snow for a snowman, JT didn't want to go outside. I wanted to capitalize on the moment and it was only 7:30. So I said, "Why don't you right now?" The men geared up and went out to the backyard while the women stayed inside and prepared the snacks. Rolling the balls Finished products JT wanted to make two. The funniest line of the night was when Jim popped his head in the backdoor and said to me, "Yeah, we're going to need more carrot sticks. Slider ate one." They finished off with a snowball fight... you can see JT's snowball flying toward Jim at the right side of the picture. And before they came in, Jim said, "Do you want to leave the snowmen up or knoc...

Princess Bean has really been changing in these past few weeks. We have noticed a little more chunk on her face and thighs (yay for baby chunk!). She has figured out how to play in the Exersaucer all by herself: she turns to face the toy she likes, spins the circles, presses the buttons, and more. This is partly because she grew enough to touch the bottom with both feet and stand. So fun! She has succesfully transitioned to two naps a day. Her schedule blends so well with our families': up and breakfast at eight, nap about ten, lunch around noon, nap about two, dinner between four and five, some solid food with us at six, and bedtime at eight-thirty. To get her from afternoon nap to bedtime is a long stretch, and sometimes she needs some "me time." This week I gave her the soft, snuggly lovey that Aunt Merrie got her and she loved it. I refuse to get stuck in the "lovey" trap because she already has a binky, but there is nothing wrong with holding something to s...

Around here, snow is a big deal. We were supposed to have this crazy, nasty winter and so far it's been very normal. So when it snowed this week, we couldn't help but head outside and take some pictures. JT, Haley, Slider and I took a snow walk after nap one afternoon. JT got to wear his snow pants for the first time ever and he was so excited. He kept running around the house saying, "My no pants! My no pants!" (We are working on pronouncing that initial S sound. It is tough!) JT getting ready Haley getting ready I hope you caught the contrast there. :) Anyway, Haley cheered up considerably as soon as we got going. She really hates being stuck in something like a snow suit or a car seat... and don't even think about putting a hat on her without some angry tears. The snow was rapidly melting off the sidewalks but JT got in a little snow time in the grass.

Haley turned six months old today. Yesterday I jogged five miles. It's been a good week. :) Haley got her picture taken in her new Pottery Barn Kids outfit that I got new-with-tags-on at a consignment store... and she is sporting, for the first time ever, an adorable pink bow. Hooray for hair long enough for hair bows! We had a tough time at the photo shoot. I was over ambitious about having her sitting by herself (which she can do for, um, two seconds). She caught JT's nasty cold and is feeling pretty crumby. There were tears and so I abandoned my idea and let her sit in her BebePod. I got a lot of bad pictures and one or two keepers. This one cracks me up and it shows off her pretty blue eyes. I also took her picture in a very special dress. I wore this on my first Easter, and my mom wore it on her first Easter. But my mom was born in February, and I was born in March. And Haley is small, I didn't want to risk waiting until April and having it not fit. So we took a pictur...

I started my Valentine's Day by finding a card from Jim in the egg basket in the fridge. :) Love it. The really funny thing is that I had already planned to leave his card on top of his breakfast plate, which I leave in the fridge every morning. We are quite the pair. Then JT got the gift of his (short) lifetime, and it was unexpected. I went to Kid to Kid and on our way out, a woman was coming in carrying a wood Thomas the Train box. I said, "Whatcha got there?" with a smile, and JT yelled, "Look! Thomas!" The woman smiled and showed me that, inside the box, she had tons and tons of track, and four buildings, and lots of train characters. She was going to see how much Kid to Kid would give her for the set. Now, in case you aren't aware, these little Thomas train characters are pricey. They are about $15 each, and she's showing me a box full of characters. To make a long story short, I offered to beat what the store was offering her, depending on what ...

I took JT and Asher on a puddle walk today. We had so much fun in the rain! The boys had hot cocoa with lunch, and got to play in warm, dry clothes before naps. I have great memories of doing this as a child... as an adult, my mom divulged the secret motive behind this fun rainy day activity: both boys have been napping for almost three hours now. Thanks for the tip, Mom! :) JT noticed that his coat matches Asher's boots (and vice versa). They should have switched! We walked to the park on our street and the boys found some plastic squirt guns to shoot at each other. Good stuff. Mail truck! Asher - so cute! Science lesson for the day - a worm.

Dinner at our house on Jim's work days is usually very low-key. I thought I'd give a little taste of what goes on... especially now that Haley is eating cereal like a champ. I have interspersed the videos with JT's conversations. Basically, I have become the proverbial never-taste-food-hot parent, but I don't mind. I take a bite, feed Haley a bite, and look at JT. Over and over and over... I love this first video because it's like she forgot what cereal tastes like and then remembers that she likes it. At the end of that video... JT: "What's in this?" (We're eating homemade turkey soup, yum. He's holding a potato on his spoon.) Me: "That's a potato." JT: "Where is the rice?" (Because last time we had soup, I made it with rice.) Me: "I didn't put rice in this time. I used potatoes." JT: "What's in potatoes?" Me: "It's just potatoes." Which bring us to Haley cruising along eating, ...

We've taken advantage of the breaks in the rain/wind/cold to get outside the last few days. JT and Jim played baseball in the backyard for awhile. JT is actually pretty decent at throwing the ball up and hitting it by himself. It doesn't go far, but he has a great time! We also broke out the sandbox again. I'm sorry to say that our lid has not been returned since our last big windstorm, even though I posted signs up in the neighborhood. Sad. But the sand wasn't too wet thanks to our covered deck. I pointed out to JT that he was too big for this little bike now, and told him that Haley would get to ride it this summer. He thought that was so funny. I'm sure he's envisioning Miss Bean toppling right off, the size she is right now. I said "Smile, JT!" and this is what I got. Slider hopes someone will throw her ball. Back inside, I finally realized that JT could use the cool Magnanimals that Uncle Jeff and Aunt Gena got him for his first Christmas. He...

Well, well, look who's trying to sit by herself. :) Haley is starting to manage a one- or two-second tripod sit on her own before she topples over! This is an early Valentine's Day picture. More sitting practice... She has mastered getting large objects into her mouth and spends most of her time doing just that. Her binky is still a little elusive and, although she can take it out and look at it, she has trouble getting it back in exactly right. It is actually pretty funny to watch. My, my, didn't I already take this picture ? :) I put Haley at the table with JT the other day while he was coloring. She felt pretty cool joining him at the table, and JT thought it was so funny! She is just starting to understand the point of the exersaucer and she can touch with one flat foot or two tip-toes. She hit the musical button the other day with her elbow and looked around for JT, because he is usually the ones pressing the buttons. Since Haley was born, JT has not once woken up from...