Today's Post Is Brought to You by the Letter K and the Number 3

Oh Sesame Street, how I love thee.  I must've watched every episode as a kid, and I love it when Kellan gets excited to watch it - even if it IS only because Elmo's there.  Right now, Kellan is "bock-bock-bock"-ing like a chicken, even flapping his arms like wings... because Elmo's doing it on TV.  I wonder if there's an episode where Elmo sits down at the dinner table and completes his meal without throwing food on the floor?

It's been quite awhile since I last posted, so there are a few things to catch up on.

Between Christmas and New Year's, Daddy had a very special "playdate" with his friend Greg... and the #1 disc golf player in the world, Dave Feldberg.  That's right; Daddy got to play disc golf with THE top player on the planet.  And here's Kellan holding the disc Daddy had Dave sign (this was taken just before we hermetically sealed it into a bulletproof glass box) ;-)

It's so great when we get together with the Freemans - Kellan really looks up to his older cousin, Finley, and it's a lot of fun to watch them interact with one another. 

This picture was taken on a family trip to Cashmere in January - just look at the adoring smile on Kellan's face

From the same trip to Cashmere.  Mommy loves their expressions (and Finley's boots!).

This is Kellan showing off his "Giggle with Elmo" doll to Finley.

You see?  You shake him up and down, and he giggles!  Isn't that funny??

Kellan has also been enjoying time with Thatcher (who just turned 1 on Tuesday - yay!) .

Good times on the couch in Cashmere

Thatcher and Kellan, trying on some kid-sized Bavarian hats

See Thatcher?  You gotta put it on like this.  Good thing I'm here to help you!

I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse...

(movie reference, anyone?)

Kellan is able to entertain himself with the simplest things these days.  Are you bored?  Check out what you can do with just two chairs!

It's a party!

And what's that you say?  You've only got a box big enough for you to sit in and a length of rope?

Add Daddy to pull the rope, and you've got yourself a homemade vehicle of fun!

The past few weekends we've tried to get out of the house and check out some downtown Seattle sites.  The first place we went was Pike Place Market.  We shared a strawberry and nutella crepe, checked out old books, played with wind-up toys, and even bought some flavored dry pasta and fresh garden peas.

Daddy and Kellan, having a good time together, just like always!

You may not be able to tell right off, but it was fairly windy that day

On a separate weekend, we decided to check out Seattle Center.  There was a yo-yo competition going on in the Center House, which was pretty fun to walk through.  It was also beautiful outside, but brutally chilly.

Despite the cold, we ventured outside for a bit, where Kellan was surprised to find... a leaf!

Mommy, Daddy - do you see the leaf I found on the ground?

He was so shocked whenever the wind picked up the leaf

We took the Monorail from Westlake Center to get to Seattle Center.  Here's an almost-complete family photo inside the Monorail (sorry it cut you off, Daddy!)

Hey hey!  Check out the big boy at the back of the Monorail!  Lots to see and point to there.

Christmas, Etc - Part II

We spent Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa Gray's house.  There were lots of new things to enjoy, and Kellan and Finley were beginning to play with one another - so cute!  Can't wait for Thatcher to catch up and join the fun.

Grandma Jean had special cutters that allowed her to personalize the cookies - YUM

Here's Kellan opening his "Open Me First" gift (in case you don't already know, 'Open Me First' gifts are opened Christmas Eve and are always pajamas).

Kellan's new pajamas with the monkeys in Santa hats on them were no match for the nifty green ribbon that enclosed the gift.

Also, the crooked tie shirt was a gift from Grandma Jean.  Isn't it cool?

Um, Grandpa, I don't know if you saw me back there? But I was totally rocking that green ribbon.

Finley has the most luxurious hair for a (almost) 3 year old - look at that volume and the multitude of curls!

Hey Thatcher!

Boys' Bath!

Both nights they were there together, Kellan and Thatcher got to share their bathtime.  I'm not sure either liked it, but they didn't seem to mind too much.  Maybe if we had battleships instead of rubber duckies it would've been more entertaining for them?

Christmas morning!  This was Kellan's gift from Santa.  A mini Seahawks recliner.  He really likes it - especially since it's got the cupholder on the arm.

Kellan's got a great Uncle Sam impersonation (it's all in the pointing)

One day, these guys are going to be the best of friends!  I hope Thatcher starts to become more interested in balls soon...

beep, beep, beep, beep...!

Kellan got a ridealong dump truck from Grandma and Grandpa - he immediately jumped on and started pushing the buttons

Thatcher got a John Deere rocking tractor from Grandma and Grandpa (which Kellan coveted throughout the remainder of our stay)

Kellan's impression of a "surprise gift"

Grandma's are great, especially when they let you eat yarn

He didn't seem to mind wearing the reindeer antlers

Christmas is fun!

Kellan got two of this toy for Christmas. You squeeze its belly, and it will sing for you while opening it's mouth (the mini scrunchie) with each note. He's both fascinated by and fearful of each, though the higher pitched one doesn't seem to bother him as much.

Fun on Grandma and Grandpa's bed!!!

Grandma and her grandkids

Don't you love Thatcher's look in this one?  He is very expressive.

What a cutie!  The headband is very "Flashdance".

We bought Finley a "Rapunzel" doll with hair that she could style. She seemed to like it, as did Kellan (well, the accessories, at least).

Notice Finley's doctor coat?  Another gift from Grandma and Grandpa.  It was hilarious, as she would put it on and transform into "Dr. Walsh" (actually her doctor's name) and suggest various remedies to her diagnoses of our ailments.  She told Jared to "have some water, you'll be fine".

We all hoped we'd have a doctor in the family someday.

Christmas, Etc - Part I

It's been over a month since our last post, and much has happened.  Where did December go??  Doesn't it feel like it flew by?  I can hardly believe we are in the last days of 2010...  OK, enough pondering.  This is All About Kellan, not "Mommy's Musings".

Kellan is doing wonderfully, and nary a day goes by that Mommy and Daddy aren't bubbling over with pride.  It's mind-boggling how much he understands now.  He's so good about sleep these days, too.  He literally points to the crib when he's ready to go to sleep, most of the time before we're done reading him his bedtime books.  He's learned to say "thank you" and loves to mimic us.  He dances and spins until he gets dizzy and falls down.  And he has a sense of humor!  It's an amazing time in his development, and it really feels like an adventure.

He had his 18 month appointment earlier in the month.  His height (31") and weight (25 lbs) were enough to keep him in the middle of the pack percentage-wise.  They don't measure his head anymore, which is a bit sad - we always liked to see him excel in that category. :-)  But the big news is his he's caught up to his peers, developmentally speaking.  He shines in his motor skills (both gross and fine) and is doing well with problem solving.  It's incredible how much he's learning and absorbing each day!

Additionally, he's eating quite well and (knock on wood) has been illness-free for months now, save for a minor cold here and there.  It seems like his immunity is strong - perhaps it's all the yogurt we feed him.

We have tons of pictures to share, most all from the last couple of weeks and centering around Christmas.  This first group is from our annual Christmas gathering with Great Aunt Betty, Great Aunt Mari, Great Uncle George, and Grandma Pat.  This year we were lucky to have a close friend of Aunt Betty's join us, Shelley.  Hey, the more the merrier!

With Daddy, looking very regal

With Mommy, looking slightly scared

The family!

Grandma Pat brought some playthings of Mommy's to share with Kellan - it was so fun to watch him play with the same toys I played with as a kid.

 

This pushtoy is pretty cute.  It has 3 heads that randomly pop up as you push it, and there's a whistle with each one.  Daddy pointed out that the handle could practically impale a person, but we won't think about that.

Daddy go into the fun as well (with the "safer" toys, at least) ;-)

 

Kellan was fascinated by the little plastic figures he could put on his fingers

Mommy especially remembers this doggie pulltoy - it bounces up and down as you drag it and makes a funny little barking sound.  Seems advanced for a late '70s toy, doesn't it?

Too-big-for-Kellan Santa hat.

With lights!

Obviously the ensemble wasn't complete until we added the Christmas robe

You can tell Great Uncle George has had practice with little ones

It's the Season of Giving!

I guess you could say that Kellan looks up to his Grandma... ;-)

Stay tuned for the next blog installment - more photos to come!

Kellan (He's What It's All About)

Kellan's been developing so quickly lately, we can hardly keep up.  He's running, follows instructions really well, and has an incredible memory for his age.  He speaks several words now (words in bold are current faves): row, no, please, more, up, down, bye, banana ("nana"), dog/woof, meow (won't say kitty or cat yet), ball, duck, uh-oh, yeah, bunny, moon, hi, baby, balloon, wow/whoa, apple, water, milk, and of course Mommy and Daddy.  He also understands many, many other words, but doesn't say them.

In addition to all those good things, Kellan's teething his molars.  Some days are better than others, obviously.  There are days he seems ravenous and constantly wants to eat, and then those where he will barely eat 2 cups worth of food all day.  He's also been waking up in the early peeps of the morning and not going back to sleep, which hasn't been all that helpful to Mommy and Daddy's sleep patterns.  But, we've heard this is par for the course around the 18 month mark.

Here are a few pictures of our quickly growing boy:

That's string cheese in his mouth, not teeth

He loves books.  This one ("Spot Visits his Grandparents") is a story we borrowed from the Library in preparation for his trip to see, who else, his Grandparents in Bellingham while Mommy and Daddy took a trip to Las Vegas.

In case you didn't know, Kellan is a very happy guy.  We get comments from strangers nearly every time we're out with him saying "what a happy boy!"  We totally love it.

Recently, we had dinner with our friends, Steve and Michelle Kleyn, at their home in Issaquah (thanks again, guys!).  Upstairs, they had a room where Kellan found drumsticks.  Trying to get them away from him was a practice in futility.

He thinks these headphones are really fun to put on his head

We can add golf to his roster of sports - here he is practicing his putting.

Mommy has to gush - he's got such a great face!  It's fun to capture different countenances he has.

One of his signature over-the-shoulder looks

You probably can't tell, but this picture shows his most recent haircut

He's still got his blue eyes!  For some reason, this picture sort of reminds Mommy of Ralphie from "A Christmas Story".

And speaking of Christmas, only 31 days until then!  Yippee!

Snow Day

Yesterday marked the first snowfall of the year and Kellan's first experience with snow.  The daycare center closed early, and Mommy and Kellan sat inside the house, mesmerized by the snow coming down until Daddy came home.  We then made a quick trip to K-Mart to get some gloves and boots for Kellan.  I have to say, Kellan looked pretty darn cute in his snow getup:

Notice the oversized gloves (toddlers seem to have poor choices when it comes to keeping their hands warm)

At first, Kellan was happy with all the excitement - Daddy and Mommy getting dressed up in funny clothes... where are we going??

...but, turns out Kellan isn't a huge fan of the snow.

 

He watched Daddy throw snowballs

And he touched the snow when Daddy was holding it ("touched" is a loose term, considering those huge mittens of his)

For the most part, Kellan simply endured the experience.  I have to admit, it was quite chilly and windy - even Mommy didn't really want to be out there.

Today it's still windy, but not actively snowing.  Maybe we'll take a walk later and see if Kellan's impression of snow has improved any since last night.