This was the beginning of our New Years. Keaton received a tutu from Lindsay just as we were leaving for a couple of hours out compliments of Aunt Amy. God bless her. We had a great night out and we were in our jammies well before the ball dropped.









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Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was definitely all that I had hoped it would be.  Santa was extra kind and brought Keaton a play kitchen.

We had the pocket doors closed when she came downstairs.  As soon as they opened, she took off across the room. 

As she started to play and open up everything, I discovered a present she had wrapped for me, with a little help from Dad.  You can see the beginning of me starting to cry and Keaton having no interest in me whatsoever.  She was completely consumed by this kitchen.  We couldn't even get her to take interest in any of her other presents. She stopped briefly to eat breakfast and as soon as we took her out of her highchair she was off like a bolt again straight to her kitchen. 

Here is one of the rare shots when we actually got her to look away. 

More of Christmas day soon to follow!

Christmas Eve Fun

Thank God this wasn't a gift just a fun toy at Aunt Layni's house.

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As Close As We Are Going to Get

Keaton and I ran over to the zoo a few weeks back on a warm night before Larry got home from work. I decided to take a chance and see her reaction to the big man. She was interested. She gave him a high five and took a candy cane from him but as soon as I went to put her in his lap she latched on to me. She was having none of it. So the video below may be as good as we are going to get when it comes to a picture of Santa.

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Our Special Christmas Place

As it began to snow last Sunday, I mentioned off hand that it would be beautiful at the zoo.  .  .  in 15 minute we were out the door.  We got there as snow was falling.  It was pretty quiet and we had a nice stroll through the zoo.  Larry took the pics below. 

The Festival of Lights is truly magical at this time of year.  It was one of the first places we ever took Keaton that she responded to.  This year, she loves to walk on the paths, touch everything and stare in amazement.  It seemed a little crazy at the time to head out as a snow started to fall, but it was a beautiful, peaceful end to a great weekend.

Holiday Wonder

This is the first installment of the holiday fun. This was Keaton's first look at the house with lights on it.  Seeing everything through her eyes this year has been an absolute blast.  I have always been a big fan of Christmas, but it truly does seem more special when you get to see it from her perspective.  There are so many things that I would overlook that she stops to look at in wonder.  The house is a perfect example.  There have been several times that we have walked into the house in the dark and take a moment to stop and just look.  I feel like a kid again.  I can't wait for Christmas day!

Little Eyes Are Watching

We have become increasingly aware that there are little eyes watching us at all times.  This video is a very good testament to that.  I left my netbook out after Keaton got up for a nap.  I am guessing that this is her impression of me.  My coffe cup is the tall cup with chipping red paint.

15 Months

Do you like how she has perfected the "MOM, stop taking pictures of me" look already? I don't.

We are definitely in the full swing of the holidays now. It has been a lot of fun to see everything through Keaton's eyes. She is very wide eyed these days. When she gets into overload, she gets quiet, snuggles up against you, and stares as if she can't figure out for the life of her why suddenly there are lights on everything and strange characters walking around everywhere we go.

We had Keaton's fifteen month check up last Thursday. She is now 31" tall and weighs 24 pounds 2 ounces. At fifteen months she can:

• She now signs cat and says meow simultaneously.
• Her new words are meow, uh oh, and socks. We are working really hard on Amy and ho, ho, ho.
• She has been practicing standing up and putting her head down on the ground so that she can look back through her legs.
• She is running.
• She can put things into or out of a container depending on what you ask her to do.
• Her hair seems to have grown over night.
• She is obsessed with taking ornaments on and off the Christmas tree.
• She will play for quite a while with a spoon and a bowl. I can hardly wait to give her the kitchen set we bought her for Christmas!

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break proved to be a welcome relief from our normal hectic schedule. We spent a lot of time relaxing, eating and decorating. Thanksgiving was spread over two days this year. We went to Layni's on Thursday(The previous post of Keaton going to the dogs) and my family on Friday. This made for a much more laid back Thanksgiving preparation and time for us to reconnect as a family. It was wonderful. Here is Keaton enjoying the feast on Friday.

Here she is playing with Lindsay after dinner. I love that smile. She was cackling when this picture was taken.

After the Thanksgiving festivities, we set to seriously decorating the house for Christmas. We woke up on Saturday and set out to find a tree. I love these pictures of her as we were getting ready and with Larry. She looks much bigger than I am willing to admit she is.

I commented to Larry on Saturday that it had been such a relaxing, nice day. Larry looked at me like I was crazy. He then listed the craziness I had asked him to do: hold a 8 foot tree suspended as I got it into the stand, climb out onto the roof to hang lights, and then wrestling with strings of light to get them on the tree. I guess it is all about perspective!

Going to the Dogs

Keaton enjoyed the dogs at Aunt Layni's so much that she decided to join them.



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Happy Thanksgiving

Keaton helping me make pie dough this morning




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Month 14

Keaton is definitely a toddler these days. She is picking up new signs and words weekly. It has also been fun to watch that look of wonder and awe when she experiences new things. I can barely wait for Christmas. She is going to be amazed and we are going to love watching every moment.

At 14 months, Keaton can now:

• Use sign language for the following things: all done, more, help, hurt, drink, eat, dog, car/motorcycle, again, and milk. I am sure I am forgetting some here, but these are the ones she uses most often.



• She can now say: mama (my favorite), dada, piggie, cat, that, this, eye, no, and yes.



• She can point out eyes on a face when asked.



• She will hold her arms up for so big.



• Is starting to use a spoon. There is a lot more going all over her face and high chair, but she does get about 1 out of 4 spoons into her mouth with food on it.

Halloween Festivities

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Halloween was a great taste of the fun things that are to come. Keaton thoroughly enjoyed all the activities and it was great to watch her see so many things for the first time.

We started off carving pumpkins. Here is a picture of her first handful of a pumpkin's insides. I love to watch her expressions these days. I think she has inherited my gift of having all of her emotions displayed on her face.

And of course she did her best to "help" with the cleaning and carving. I was actually very impressed with how well she did. We were at this for at least an hour and she stayed right with us. It was a lot of fun.

Notice my phone in her hands. She has become very good at managing to get a hold of it and walks around with it up to her ear now.


Larry outdid himself with this one. It was very impressive. Definitely better than anything I could have managed.


To enjoy one of the last warm days we decided to take a walk at Spring Grove. I know it may seem weird to some to go for a walk at a cemetery, but it is absolutely beautiful in the spring and fall.



Here we are watching the swans and ducks at one of the lakes-notice her little pony tail!


This is one of Keaton's first television watching experiences. We watched Charlie Brown. She watched for about five minutes and was then off playing.
Halloween night Amy and Cindy came down to pass out candy and see Keaton trick or treat. I am attaching her wings which she was not so fond of.



She thought it was great to have everyone come and visit our house.


Notice the increasing layers being added to her in the pictures. The temperature steadily dropped throughout trick or treating and her little lady bug dress definitely was not warm enough.




It has been a great fall, but it has gone by fast. Keaton has been amazed by all of the decorations and activities. She makes this face of wonder and amazement when she sees new things. I cannot wait until Christmas. I feel like a little kid all over again. Seeing her face light up has to be the best part of living. There will be so much to see and do for Christmas and I know we will get to see it from her point of view.

Tuckered Out

She was a trooper but she has definitely had enough shopping fun.



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Big Helper

I made the mistake of leaving the broom out this evening. Keaton took it upon herself to "help".

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The Games We Play Part Two

Hopefully this video will go up smoother than the first. I am slowly starting to figure out this video thing. Here is the conclusion to this weekends exciting video.

Happy Halloween

All done with trick or treating.




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The Games We Play Part One

I have been trying to post this video forever. I am having battles with Blogger about posting video, so this will be two videos in two separate posts. I need a tutorial in video editing and posting. Grrrr. . .

Anyways, one of the greatest things about toddlerhood is definitely Keaton's love of games these days. This is definitely one of her favorites. We play this almost every single night before bedtime and her laugh never gets old. This also captures another one of my new favorite things. Keaton now comes up to us and grabs are finger to take us places or if she is not sure about what is going on. I have to tell you that I was a little sad when she started walking. It definitely marked the change from being a baby to being a toddler. That all changed the first time she grabbed my finger. It was almost as good as the first smile!

Christmas

I know it seems early, but I have been receiving questions and buying things for a special little girl already. Her biggest gift will be a kitchen play set. Honestly, that will be one of the only toys that we will be buying her. She has an amazing knack for playing with anything that is "big" people stuff and ignoring toys. I added some kitchen accessories to her list (Amazon list on the left) and a couple of books. Board books, especially those with flaps or touch and feel things, are a big hit these days. She also is just beginning to discover the world of crayons, etc. Any crayons, paint brushes, and paper that is easy for a toddler to use would be great.

Two Little Maidens

The Cincinnati Family Enrichment Center had their annual Halloween party yesterday. Karen found the costumes she and her twin sister wore as kids. Of course, the girls had to wear them out.

Fun at Findlay

Getting ready to go to the market





Our Saturday morning routine most weeks is breakfast and then the market. It's a great way to start the week.







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Out On The Farm

We decided to rough it out on the farm to pick out Keaton's first pumpkin. We visited Gorman Farms. We trekked out to a field to pick pumpkins sitting on what appeared to be mowed over cornstalks. Keaton quickly began to try and take all the pumpkins with her.

We spent a little bit of time checking out the animals. Here we are looking at the chicken coop.

She decided da da da was a little tired on the way back to the car and gave him some help.

13 Months

Keaton turned 13 months yesterday. I actually didn't think about it until someone asked me how old she was and I realized it was the ninth. She is getting bigger each day and is learning new things daily. It is becoming increasingly difficult to remember all that she is doing for her monthly list, but I will give it a try.

Keaton can now:

• Brush her hair when asked, wipes her face when asked, switch a toy from one hand to the other so you can change her clothes, and will hold out an arm or leg to help you dress her.



• She says mama, dada, piggie, no, that, and calls the cats



• She points to things to request them



• Has a serious addiction to keys. You cannot let her see them. She won't give them up for hours. I have spent several car rides with her screaming because I took them away so I could drive.



• Walks everywhere and can climb the stairs



• Throws temper tantrums-did I mention the keys



• Rides in her car seat facing forward



• Loves to eat whatever we are eating and gets upset if you have something on your plate that she doesn't have
• She also has a molar coming in.

It's Back. . .

I'm super excited to announce, we pulled out the turkey hat today and it still fits.




Keaton is less than pleased.




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Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

One of the best things about Keaton turning one has been introducing her to even more food. Tonight we introduced grilled cheese with tomato soup. She clearly enjoyed it.

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A Long Time Coming

I apologize for the delay in this blog. It is very overdue, but in my defense, there were a ton of pictures to get to. We had been looking forward to Keaton's birthday for quite some time. It was great to reflect on all that we have learned, experienced and enjoyed over this last year. I miss that small baby that was so snuggly this time last year, but I love getting to know the wonderful little toddler that has quickly started emerging.

Larry and I both took off the actual day of Keaton's birthday off to enjoy the day with her. Scott flew in to town just for the occasion. We started off by opening presents and having breakfast.

I had been collecting things here and there for months. She was most impressed with the wrapping paper, her chatty kathy phone, and the melissa and doug ice cream set.

Daddy teaching her how to take a phone call.

You should be noticing that the tongue sticking out is a common theme.
She really loved her new pop up tunnel.

I made her a pumpkin pie for her actual birthday. She wasn't sure at first but definitely got into it after a minute or so.

Saturday we picked up her cake and then decorated. Here is the finished product!

The house was packed. It was great to see so many people who wanted to celebrate Keaton's birthday. She was a little overwhelmed and definitely didn't understand why so many people were at the house at once. This was just before we gave her the cake. You can understand why she became a little shy.

I did have the good sense to take her dress off of her, but it didn't really matter. This is about all she wanted to do with the cake and everyone staring at her with cameras ready.

She was definitely much more in to opening presents. She really liked playing with the cards. . .

but really liked cash best. Notice the open hand trying to get the money.

I was determined that I was going to get a great cake shot and get her to rip in to her cake. We saved it the night of the party and gave it to her the next day. She still wasn't very in to it. I even put my hands in it hoping she would follow suit.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend to mark a huge milestone in Keaton's life. We are so lucky to have so many wonderful, supportive people with use to help celebrate. Keaton is definitely one very lucky little girl. I have uploaded all of the pictures of her birthday and 12th month onto the Kodak site. There is a link on the left.

I have been thinking about the blog and how it will change in Keaton's second year. The first year, I really wanted it to serve as a record of her first year. I will be downloading the blog and creating a book for her over the next couple of weeks. When we are up and running again, I am going to change the format and start with a slightly different format. Time is at a premium with me returning to work and I have also discovered a great way to post blogs from my phone. That means you will be getting many more blogs on the fly and much less of these lengthy ones. Thanks to everyone who has been there for all of us in this past year. We could not have made it without you.