Kellan is 2!

Spring is almost here, and that means Kellan is having a birthday! He's currently napping after enjoying some lunch and playtime at Chick-Fil-A today. So what can I say about my little man today...he is such a joy! So different from his sister in so many ways, but such an energetic personality just like her!

He is active, busy, on the go. He goes full speed ahead at everything he does (scaring Marlon and I most of the time!)--he is a boy through and through.

He enjoys playing outside, riding his little bike, chasing bubbles, and kicking balls of course.

He still sleeps with "lovey", "buddy", and blanket.

He can count pretty well up to around 16 or 17. He recognizes most letters and is practicing singing the ABCs. (he does like to sing the chorus of the "New York" song (not sure what it's really called) by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z though!) He also sings along with one of the songs on one of his Thomas the Train videos.

His favorite show is Chuggington (he enjoys singing along to this theme song as well), and he LOVES to watch someone play anything on the Wii. He's a great cheerleader when Alex plays (as you can see from the video on the previous post!)

He knows most of his colors--we're still working on brown, black and white (I would consider those boring colors that aren't too much fun to learn about, so I guess that's why I haven't focused on them!)

One favorite thing he and Alex like to do is collect all the pillows/cushions from around the house, pile them up in the living room and jump and climb all over them.

He is beginning to like coloring.

He seems to be going through a phase of not eating much. His appetite has definitely slowed down significantly (fortunately he was eating a ton before, so it's not a big deal!). I have to force him to finish even half of most of his meals. I'm sure his eating will pick up again eventually. He still loves fruit--blueberries, canteloupe, bananas, mandarin oranges, pineapples!

He started taking a gymnastics class (a mommy and me one) last week and he really enjoyed it, so that's kind of our birthday gift to him. We'll go to class once a week on Friday mornings through May! He gets to run around, bounce on the trampoline, climb on the balance beam, and play in the foam pit...all right up his alley!

Yesterday he was being really quiet while Alex and I were working on his birthday cake, and when I went looking for him I saw that he had taken Sophie's dog treats into my room (they were in a canister in the pantry), emptied the entire container on the floor and had hidden treats all over my room (we found one in my sink, one in the bathtub, bathroom, under the bed, etc.) Fortunately the container was getting pretty close to empty so Sophie didn't eat too many. Guess I should be grateful I didn't catch him eating them too!

We will be having all of our family in for the weekend to celebrate his birthday with a train party, so we're excited to see everyone! Tonight we will celebrate by having some chinese food for dinner and enjoying his special St. Patty's day cake with some friends.

Happy Birthday little man! We love watching you grow (although we feel it's happening way too fast!!).

Birthday Eve

On the night before Kellan's 2nd birthday, I am posting a few funny videos of the birthday boy-to-be. I will post a birthday post tomorrow! We are having a lunch playdate at Chick-Fil-A with moms from my MOPS group, and I made him an ice cream filled cake (white cake with vanilla ice cream (containing crushed mint oreos) inside) decorated for St. Patty's Day!

Video 1--Stinky Feet

Video 2-Cheering Alex on while she ski jumps on Wii Fit

Video 3-"Watch Me"

Bring on some SUN!

Welcome back sun! We've really missed you around here :) The kids and I have tried to take advantage of the beautiful weather we're having by being outside as much as we can!

Let's begin by saying what says March better than Girl Scout C00kies?! Our boxes arrived on Sunday and the kids and I broke into the Thin Mints. Let's just say either the boxes are getting smaller or we're eating a lot more of them, because they were gone by Tuesday. (both kids are big fans!) Wish I would have known that sooner...I would have gotten more than one box. Here is Alex enjoying hers...

Kellan is really enjoying riding outside--I just have to make sure he doesn't go off the side of the driveway into the ditch, or down the slope of the driveway into the street. Fortunatley he seems to be coordinated enough to stop himself (so far).


The kids have also enjoyed getting back on the swings. Alex loves swinging herself and always reminds me when I give her a push that I'm nowhere near as good as daddy...sorry girl, but daddy rarely takes you outside so you're stuck with me.

Today it is beautiful out, so Kellan and I spent some time outside after lunch, and he was so excited that I broke out the popsicles. For a good portion of the winter, every time we walked past the refrigerator in the garage he would start asking for popsicles (probably since that's the only thing he's ever seen come out of it!) He's a kid on a mission when he eats one of them--he works on it til it's gone!

Cute little man's feet. Can't believe this boy is turning 2 in less than a week! Stay tuned for his 2 year old post! I have grand plans to make a cute cake with ice cream (vanilla with crushed mint oreos mixed in) in the middle for his real birthday, complete with a clover on it of course in honor of st. patty's day.

Chasing bubbles (although I don't think you can see them very well in this photo)

Again, chasing bubbles--if you look closely you can see them!

Welcome back warm weather! We'll be sad to see you go in a few days when the rain comes :(

Our week in video(s)...

Alex got to go bowling for the first time--cosmic bowling! After our friend Ehren's baby shower, they had a "bowlathon" at the local bowling alley. Alex had only done Wii bowling before, so she was excited to try the real thing! Marlon didn't feel like going, so he stayed home with Kellan and Alex and I got to have a girl's night out. Aside from the ridiculous smokey atmosphere that is so gross at bowling alleys, we had a great time! Alex loved hanging out with the adults--a bunch of our friends were there so she had plenty of people willing to help her and cheer for her!

We also took the kids up to Pittsburgh on Sunday for Storytime Live--3 adults, 4 kids in a car makes for an eventful trip, but they enjoyed the show, that featured Dora, Backyardigans, Kailan, and Wonder Pets. Check out Desiree's blog for a video of the kids on the way home (after they were on a sugar high about 15 minutes after finishing some huge choc. chip cookies!)--you may notice Kellan is quiet--he's the only one who didn't have a cookie :) and also the only child who didn't fall asleep at all at any point during the trip. Needless to say it was an early bedtime for him when we got home!

This is a funny video of Kellan that we took last night. Marlon was tossing the ball to him--and although he may be great at soccer, it doesn't look like he has a promising future as a wide receiver!

Another funny clip of Kellan (and Alex), as he thought it was funny to say "UH UH" to everything Marlon asked him...

Last video for fear of making this post way too big--here's a clip of Alex doing a little dancing to what she refers to as the "baby down down" song. I'm not sure where she's learned about the art of break dancing, but she sure seems interested in trying it as she throws it into every dance she does.

First Video

I'm attempting to post my first video of Kellan kicking the ball around. I'm not sure if everyone can view it--let me know!

Kellan-23 months

One more month until Kellan turns 2! He has continued to change this past month--I would probably say that in the past 2 months he has really begun to develop from a communication standpoint, becoming more verbal and more clear in his speaking. He's had an eventful month with getting his first set of stitches 2 days ago...and I have a feeling it may not be his last! (**Beware that this post may contain some graphic photos J) He is just such an active little boy, fearless in his play, and we often cringe as we watch him run head first into things, diving on the floor, knocking things over. He's been fortunate to not injure himself more often, and we're thankful for that! Here's what he's up to:

-He continues to improve on learning his colors. He is great at identifying green (thanks to his book where he learns about green train Percy!), blue, and does pretty well with yellow and orange.

-He loves to sing his version of ABC's (he has a long way to go!), and he is able to identify the letters M, O, E, and L consistently.

-He is still enjoying practicing his soccer skills. He has perfected the art of a one-touch pass (he's clearly left footed), and has been able to drop kick some of his lighter, smaller balls. I am waiting to catch some footage of him playing on my new Flip video camera that Marlon got me so I can post it to share!

-As I referenced above, he got his first set of stitches (technically only one stitch) 2 days ago after falling onto one of his favorite toys, a plastic racing ramp for little cars. His lip split and bled immediately and we made the decision to take him to Urgent Care (it was in the evening so the dr was closed). I can't say I enjoyed watching them give him a needle in his lip, or holding him down (with the help of 2 other nurses) while the doctor stuck what appeared to be a small fishing hook through his lip to stitch him. We had Marlon keep Alex out in the hall to prevent traumatizing her! He kept crying "Get up Mommy" and "Stand up, Mommy", letting me know he wanted me to pick him up. As soon as he was done and I was able to hold him, he calmed down. They gave him a bunch of stickers, which he wanted us to put on his shirt and his pants, and he had a few left over that he clutched tightly in his hands for the rest of the evening. We were in and out in less than 25 minutes, and he's dealt with the stitch pretty well. The doctor said with his age she expected that he would probably pull or chew on the stitch, and she said it would probably be out within a few days, although she would like to see it stay in for 7-10 days. The stitch is not a self-dissolving one, so I will have to remove it myself in a few days if he hasn't pulled it out by then. Oh the joys of having a boy!

In the waiting room with daddy, checking out his stickers

Arriving at home, sitting with his sticker collection

A close up of the big boo boo!

Here is the culprit toy (the one in the center) that he hit his lip on. It’s his favorite toy these days-he and Alex like to race cars down the track. He also like to put his cars on his train track and push them around.


We are planning a train themed birthday for him next month, and we're looking forward to having the family and cousins here with us to celebrate!

Oh--can't forget to mention that at 23 months Kellan had his first trip to the dentist with Alex yesterday (the morning after getting stitches!). He got a quick check up and a gentle brushing with flouride, and he was very excited to ride the train, get more stickers, and play with the trains in the waiting room and the play area. Alex also had a great visit (despite crying pretty hard for the 2 minutes it took the dentist to look in her mouth and brush her teeth!)--she still was unsure about whether or not a drill may appear at any moment--hopefully by her next visit she will realize that regular check-ups are not at all painful!

Not forgetting about big sister Alex, she got to go on a little Valentine's Day date with her daddy to the WVU women's basketball game. She had a good time (especially because she got a special treat of cotton candy!).

Big sister and little brother snuggling on the beanbag chair together (I tried to capture the moment quickly before it disappeared!) The kids have been spending a lot more time together since Alex has been home from school so much due to the snow--I think Kellan really enjoys having his sister around to play with!

snowed in

Updated: Check out my neighbor Desiree's blog to see some videos of the kids sledding. It's pretty cool to have a huge newfoundland dog that can pull kids on an inner tube up a snowy street!

We've been more or less snowed in since Friday when we got around 16 inches of snow, so we've been spending many days playing in the snow, sledding, shoveling, and making a snowman! Alex loves the snow, and Kellan could take it or leave it, although it does seem to be growing on him. I've even gotten to enjoy some sledding myself, something I haven't done in years! Alex has looked forward to going out to play every day when she wakes up--she especially enjoys sledding. We have a perfect trail set up in the backyard that has gotten pretty slick as it's iced over, and our neighbors have a more "advanced" slope that we also have been using, complete with a bank turn to keep the kids from going down the hill into the fence! Here are some photos, starting with a view of our neighborhood on Saturday...

Happy girl to be playing in the snow

Happy boy despite the fact that his daddy was pelting him from above with snowballs--in typical boy fashion, he thought it was hysterical (although he didn't really care for getting hit in the face)

A long day of playing in the snow led to something almost unheard of in our house, Alex fell asleep and took a nap! Ahhh, I love the snow.

Once Alex's nap ended, we ventured to the neighbors' house to hang out with other snowed in families for a family pot luck and game night--as usual, there were tons of kids in attendance and a good time was had by all.

All the girls

Kellan doing what he does best, play ball. He was using a ball belonging to Ellie the dog. Fortunately she didn't mind sharing.

Day 3 of playing in the snow. The sledding course has gotten pretty quick--I even got Kellan to go down a few times with me. Fortunately we have not yet done damage to our fence when we slam into it. :) In true Kellan fashion, he finds a way to play ball outside in the snow. He enjoyed kicking the ball down the sledding hill since it was smooth and flat. Sophie would chase after him and the ball.

Our first snowman--on day 3 the snow finally became good packing snow, and we were quickly able to put a snowman up. Alex was kind enough to share her hat with the snowman, who we named Frostina.

As much as I'm not a fan of snow, I will say that we've really enjoyed the past few days! Alex will be sad to see this snow melt eventually so we're trying to enjoy it while it lasts!