California Dreamin'

Last month, Kellan experienced a number of "firsts" while on vacation with Mommy and Daddy - it was his first airplane ride (at least, the first one where he was cognizant of being there), his first trip to California, and his first trip to (drumroll, please)... Disneyland!

 

Kellan had some comfort items in hand to help ease any anxiety he may have had on the plane; namely, his blanket, his pacifier, and his stuffed rabbit, "Rabbit".


In an effort to transport the carseat and Kellan around the airport with ease, Mommy duplicated an idea off the internet to attach the carseat to one of our rolling carry-ons.  It was sturdy enough for Kellan to sit in the seat while we rolled the luggage around with us and worked like a charm!  We did get some funny looks, however...


Our first stop after picking up our rental car was Newport Beach.  It was a gorgeous day, and a surfing competition was being held while we were there.  So exciting!

Nothing like being able to take off your shoes and walk in the sand

There was a group of girls there - obvious beach veterans - that caught Kellan's attention.  They didn't seem to mind Kellan standing close to watch their antics.

Our vacation rental was situated across the street from Disneyland, which meant it was a short walk to get there.

We had dinner at Downtown Disney our first night.  This is Kellan occupying his time with an electronic game while waiting for the food.

We ate outside!


The next day, we went to Disneyland.  Kellan was wowed by the castles and characters.

We spent the week leading up to the trip introducing Kellan to the wonders of Disney, with a lot of emphasis on Mickey Mouse.  When it came time to meet Mickey, Kellan became incredibly shy... of course, as soon as we left, he remarked, "I like Mickey Mouse!"

We went on several different rides, but Mommy's favorite was going on the teacups with Kellan.

During our last bit of exploration that first day, we happened upon Pixie Hollow (where Tinkerbell and her fairy friends live).  It was built to make you feel like a sprite - blades of grass and flowers towered above us.  There was a cute, round door that reminded Mommy and Daddy of a Hobbit's house.

Mommy and Kellan, waiting in line for Peter Plan's Flight

The wait to go on Peter Pan's Flight was around 30 minutes at any given moment; thankfully, Kellan didn't seem to mind passing the time in line.

Kellan and Daddy in the car outside of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

We couldn't take Kellan on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad train ride due to height restrictions, but he did love watching the train whiz by with Daddy.

We can't wait to go again!  Hopefully by next time, Kellan won't be so shy to meet Mickey and his friends.

And Kellan Is His Name, Oh!

Here is a random assortment of Kellan photos I'd like to share with you.  They were taken over the last couple of months.

Remember View-Masters?  They came with cardboard disks with 3-D images you could view and alternate between by pulling down a lever on the side of it.  Mommy found one in a box of older items, and Kellan was fascinated by it.

One of Kellan's many mischievous looks.

Finley and Thatcher came over for a visit one evening and played "fire emergency" with Kellan, Daddy, and Aunt Justyn.  "Fire emergency" is a game that consists of one person being the fireman and the others playing people in need of help from the fireman.  Usually Sesame Street figurines are used to represent the people and Kellan's firetruck (specifically, the ladder) is used to help rescue the people from the couch cushions... it's an exhilarating and fast-paced game.  You'll just have to take my word for it. 

One of Kellan's favorite things to do is have Daddy spin him around in our desk chair.  Kellan wanted Finley to experience the thrill, too, so they both took a twirl in the chair together.  The smiles were endless.  Well, until the chair stopped spinning, I mean.

I really like this photo, even though it's horribly out of focus.  Can't you just imagine their laughter as the chair whirled around?

Kellan helped Mommy make a batch of mini oatmeal muffins one day.  He poured most of the ingredients into the bowl by himself and even greased the muffin tin.  I think he feels especially important wearing his very own apron (a fabulous gift from "aunt" Jennifer, made by Jenn's sister, Janelle - you can see more of her stuff here).  It's hard to make out, but at the top of the apron is Kellan's name embroidered in green.  Too cute!

Believe It or Not, Kellan's Walking on Air

A couple weeks ago, we joined the Ludwigs at the FunZone Indoor Inflatable Playground at Magnuson Park.  Kellan had a great time climbing around in bouncy houses and going down slides with Faith.

There was a special inflatable area designated just for 3 year olds and younger.  Kellan's face lit up when he got inside and started playing.

Once the smiles started, they simply didn't stop...

Kellan loved the slides!

Back in the 3 and younger area, Kellan played "follow the leader" with Faith.

You just can't have a bad time when you're running and jumping on air!

But, eventually the fun did have to come to an end. :-(

Aw, don't be sad kiddos.  We'll be back!

A big thank you to the Ludwigs for introducing us to this extremely enjoyable indoor play area!

A Trip to the Zoo with Chelsea

A couple weeks ago, Kellan and Mommy joined our friend, Chelsea (whose birthday just happens to be TODAY - happy birthday, Chels!), for a visit to the zoo.  Despite the chilly day, we saw more animals than usual.  It was also nice that it wasn't so crowded!

Kellan's hand was almost as big as a hippopotamus's... almost.

A happy boy standing in front of the tapir exhibit.

We saw an elephant with only one tusk.  According to Kellan, he only has one tusk, too.

Chelsea, in a staring contest with an orangutan.

(Yes, there were other obvious captions I could've used for this photo, but it is her birthday...) ;-)

Kellan pretending to be a meerkat on the rock structure outside their display.

Kellan and Mommy

Kellan and Chelsea, in front of the lion exhibit (don't worry, they ran away just before the lioness could eat them).

Post-Christmas Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I had a great Christmas.  Mommy, Daddy, and I enjoyed seeing family and celebrating the holiday in some new locations this year - at Aunt Mari and Uncle George's house with Mommy's family, and in Cashmere with Daddy's family.  I got a lot of fun gifts, for which I am very grateful, but I wanted to send a follow-up letter so you have plenty of time to prepare for my 2012 gifts.

I got to test-sit on two different tractors at Aunt Mari and Uncle George's house - maybe you could bring me a John Deere tractor for Christmas this year?

Getting a tractor would make me ever so happy

You wouldn't even have to wrap it - I have a bow I saved and can put on top (I know how expensive giftwrap can be)

Grandma Pat made me a blanket as a gift, and I loooooooove it.  It's soft and cozy and a good size for my bed.  So, you don't have to worry about bringing me a new blanket this year.

Thatcher, Finley, and I really enjoyed creating things with Playdoh.  It wouldn't hurt if you added more of that to my stocking this year.

I was so excited to receive my monkey slippers from Grandma on Christmas Eve - Finley got mermaid slippers, and Thatcher got lion ones.  If you decide I need another pair, I'd like giraffe or elephant ones.

I know it doesn't look like it in this picture, but one of my favorite things we did in Cashmere was watch Christmas movies together.  Maybe you could send Mommy a new Christmas movie to watch next time - we already saw the Grinch, Charlie Brown, Mickey's Christmas Carol, and Polar Express (Mommy said stop-motion movies are cool, so perhaps one of those?).

We already have a big playhouse - this Thomas one is big enough for Finley and me to stand up in!

By the way, did you like the cookies, milk, orange, and caramel we left for you to eat?  Let me know if you'd prefer something else, OK?

Our Open-Me-First pajamas were really cool.  I think you talk to Grandma beforehand to make sure we get good ones, so be sure she knows what I like.

The Sesame Street characters you put in my stocking were perfect!  My favorites are Abby Cadabby and Super Grover (who is dressed like a fireman).  I don't have a Zoe one, though, so keep an eye out for one of those.

The train set you left for me is one of my favorite gifts.  I was so happy you included the motorized Thomas and Percy trains, too!  I might need a few more track pieces next Christmas, however.

The puppet theater you brought for Finley and Thatcher is so neat!  We had a lot of fun performing different puppet shows for the family.  I think my "pop up, then back down, then pop up again, then back down..." routine was a real hit.

Maybe you could bring Finley a car next Christmas.  She seemed to like my zoo-themed auto set quite a bit.

And I have to say, Thatcher's garbage truck was uber-cool.  I'm definitely adding one to my wish list this year.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas and a good head start on planning what to bring me this year.  I can hardly wait the 313 days until Christmas!!

Sincerely,

Kellan Gray

Everything But Christmas

I'm sure you're all curious to know what's been going on in Kellan's life the past couple of months.  Well, he's certainly been busy.  He's doing well in the big kids' room at daycare.  He still focuses his friendship energies on Margo, Abbey, and Sena, but the teachers have told me more than once that he's very popular with all the girls in the class.  Tsk tsk, already a ladies man... what's a mom to do?

Anyway, we've got lots to catch up on.  Here come the pics - everything but Christmas, which I'll have to do in another post.

I would not classify Kellan as an artistic type.  His creativity is subtle - for example, when we ask him to name a giraffe figurine he's holding, he always comes up with the wildly unique moniker, "giraffe".  But this triad of photos makes it look like he is an artist in the making with his thoughtful gaze at the picture as he's drawing it.  It encourages me to continue trying to foster the crafter in him.

Kellan and Finley, hanging out on Grandma's chair

At the daycare center's "Christmas production", Kellan dressed up as an angel with the rest of his class (this was before he moved to the older kids' room).  Isn't he cute in his halo?  The girl in the foreground is Abbey, one of his 3 best friends at school.

Many times when we've picked Kellan up from daycare, the kids have been dressed up in animal costumes in the gym.  It's usually a hard sell to get Kellan to come home with us on those days.  Clearly, being in an elephant costume is way more fun that going home for dinner and bathtime.  I'm sure you can guess what his pretend name is when he's in the costume... yep, "Elephant".

We've been to the Lynnwood Community Pool for Open Swim with the Freemans a couple times now.  It's like an indoor waterpark, though the kids aren't big enough to go on the waterslides yet.  That's right, they have waterslides.  I'm so glad Kellan enjoys swimming - those lessons really paid off!

We had a few snow days back in January.  Here is Kellan next to the small snowman we made at the nearby high school.

Kellan, enjoying the snow as it fell.

We joined the Freemans one day to sled down their cul-de-sac hill.  There wasn't much snow, but we made the best of it!

Daddy and Kellan

Mommy and Kellan

I have a funny little story to share about Kellan.  Last weekend, we ended up watching the Super Bowl with our PEPS group.  Madonna's performance at halftime featured many of her popular songs over the years.  When her song "Like A Prayer" began, Kellan excitedly shouted (amongst our otherwise quiet and attentive group) "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" and threw his hands up in the air.  Leave it to K-man to find a way to praise God during the halftime show, huh?