The Keene Family

During today's weather break, we hit the park and had a great time. This morning we had snow, rain, and ice coming down on us, so the high clouds and sun breaks were welcome! Haley decided to ride her bike to the park. She did a great job pushing her bike along, albiet slowly. She got some help from Mom so we would make it to the park in a timely manner. Upon arrival, JT likes to play with the trucks. My neighborhood has a big bucket on wheels full of toys that are there for anyone to use. JT loves to play with the trucks in the bucket while we're there.  Haley, on the other hand, went straight for the slide. The yellow slide, no less, which is the fast one. Here she is so excited to have made it to the top (lots of grunts on the way up). Haley is still figuring out stepping up and down without losing her balance. It was so funny to watch her get over this border. Ready for the blue slide now. Haley managed to climb all the way up the b...

I couldn't help snapping a shot of Haley sitting at the table coloring the other day. So. Cute. JT is on Bob Book #11. Reading is not his favorite subject (he picks math first when given the choice) but he perseveres and does well if I stay close and give lots of encouragement. I think it's because he has to put in more effort than he does for other things. JT has never been interested in drawing people. This is the first picture I've ever seen him draw of a person! He gave himself blue eyes and everything. :) After school that day, JT asked to do some art. I got these stencils at Goodwill for $1, new in the Lakeshore Learning package with the $19.99 sticker still on. Score. He colored a background with a barn, fence, grass, and sunshine and then finger painted three dinosaurs. He titled it "Dinosaurs on the Farm."

Our baby girl turned 18 months old today. Her checkup got rescheduled because her doctor is on vacation this week, so I'll post some stats in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, we have some pics and some video clips of our big girl! Haley has completely conquered walking and can almost run. She is trying so hard to two-foot jump, but she can kick and throw with the best of them. Haley eats whatever we're eating, just cut up, with a spoon and fork and drinks from a real cup with no lid. Just this week, she no longer uses a binky in the car and we'll soon think about losing it while sleeping, which is the only place she gets it now. She knows tons of body parts, some animals (her favorites are bird and dog), and uses 80+ words proficiently. We'll start working on colors next because I think she's ready. Haley is attracted to all things girl: jewelry, bright pink, things that sparkle, etc. She notices when I paint my nails and wants to put on makeup with me. My, oh, my. W...

JT is registered for 4-year-old preschool in the fall! That's right, three days a week. The preschool we decided on is just a little bit popular... we had to get in line at 7:00 AM for a 10:00 registration, and I got the last boys' spot in a 4s class. Seriously. My friend Jen and I had a great time waiting in line in our chairs, snuggled in sleeping bags, and it passed the time quickly. JT and I took a tour of the school at the beginning of the month and he said he liked the playground best. :) We are excited for a new adventure in September!

This weekend I spent 16 hours at the hospital as I watched my friend lose her baby at 18 weeks gestation. As a friend said, "There are no words." It was the most heart-wrenching thing I've ever been through. Our birth photographer, Sarah Ellen , came and took pictures for the family of little Herja after she was delivered. She posted this on her wall today on Facebook and I cried when I saw it. I couldn't help but repost it here. "...The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1:21B

This is my 500th blog posting. WOW. I felt like it should be something special. You know, something memorable and wonderful and perfect. It turns out, in the past two weeks we have only had completely normal-type things happening, interspersed with some not-so-great things as well. For example, Jim and I got sick. Really sick. My amazing parents whisked the children away for two days so we could recover. I didn't want to blog about that little episode in which we suffered in pain on the new couch, so I skipped last week's post. Then there's the fact that Jim is on light duty for his knee injury, or that we went to a funeral for a baby this week, or that Haley leaked out of five diapers in three days. Not such good stuff. BUT. Life goes on, and we have some good things to write about too. We are all healthy again, Jim is cleared to go back to work, and this week I sign JT up for preschool (!). So I've decided to let #500 go by with nothing but 100% ordinary. Because re...