Established 2001
We were supposed to go to a birthday party for a friend this morning, but he got sick this morning (the friend, who is three) and we stayed home instead.
So I slept in a little – awesome – while Jim got up with JT and made a yummy breakfast of waffles. Then we took advantage of a break in the weather and headed to the local park.
Where’s Slider?
Enjoying the slide
“Let’s go get Mom!”
Oops, JT is upside down again…
My boys… my favorite. 🙂
Walking to the park… JT loves to hold the leash.
Once we’re there, his favorite thing is to walk the stairs.
He loves to help Mom… sweeping the front sidewalk.
JT has started using a cup for milk at meals. Here he is enjoying his milk and asking for more.
Recently, he figured out how to crawl into the drawer in the coffee table. Cute!
We had our screening appointment today for birth defects, and with it came a wonderful ultrasound. We got some great pictures, and even a DVD. I pulled some of the footage off the video to make a short clip movie – below.
JT has known quite a few body parts for a long time now… head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, chin, chest, tummy, belly button, bottom, knees, legs, hands, toes, feet… and on and on. But it wasn’t until today that he started doing the motions with me. Of course, the rendition prior to getting out the video camera was the best one, but we take what we can get. My favorite part is when I encourage him to ‘finish strong’ and so he flexes his muscles.
I have read that it is good development for children to have a “baby doll” to take care of. Since there is no possible way we are getting JT an actual doll, he has George. And sure enough, he gives George his binky or sippy cup, he laughs when we put socks or shoes on George, he reads to George and gives him rides in rocking chairs and trucks, and he gives George hugs and kisses. Recently, JT has taken to diapering George. JT tells us he wants to do this by signing “change” and then saying either “Juh-ge” or “Ah ah ah!” (imagine a monkey sound). What cracks me up is that he is so particular: making sure George is at the head of the changing mat, etc.
This week, the weather has been nice and Jim thought he’d try JT on the ski again. Wow, what a different six months makes. Now JT loves it. In fact, he asks to ride it… which is awesome! He can now ride one handed, point to where he’d like to go, and even blow kisses to the crowd. 🙂
Here Aunt Donna is giving Taylor one last breath of freedom before car seat time.
Aunt Donna reserved an awesome beach house for all of us to stay in: three bedrooms, four full baths, and beds for everyone.
“the four of us”
getting used to the sand
hey, this is kind of fun…
playing in dad’s sand pile
ahhh… baby toes!
not so sure about the water quite yet…
it’s better to stand in the water with dad
or on the beach with mom
we saw a fisherman – and he showed us a fresh catch!
watching the birds
should we head for the water?
maybe it’s not so bad…
a family walk on the beach
cathy and her girls
the Washington Keenes
“Getting our picture made”
Bevin and Taylor watch from the sand
for all of you who have ever said “what does your hair look like curly?”
now you know why I straighten it…
On Tuesday, we took one last walk to the pier before the ladies left to go outlet shopping.
We finished off Tuesday with mani/pedis for the girls, followed by dinner at the Original Oyster House – with amazing key lime pie for dessert.
On Wednesday, after changing flights due to weather delays affecting our connection in Atlanta, we flew home from Mobile, Alabama. Here JT is in fine spirits after his morning shower. Little did he know he was going to spend another day in cars and airplanes… but he did great. We even had two different people ask us if we traveled a lot, because he was “such a seasoned traveler.” Phew!
On the three-hour trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, we stopped at a Harley dealer to pick up my mom’s birthday present. JT loved checking out the bikes with Jim. How do boys inherently know to look under cars and motorcycles? Is it in their DNA?
On our first day in Tuscaloosa, we had to do some shopping: snacks for JT, and a wedding present for Hilary and Josh. Grandpa Keene went with us to my favorite Alabama shopping center: SUPER TARGET.
JT enjoyed playing in Aunt Donna’s sink with pots and pans while the women worked on meals in the kitchen.
On Friday, we were invited to the rehearsal dinner. Yum… southern barbecue!
A big event happened in Alabama before we arrived: Jim’s sister, Jennifer, got engaged! Now we’ll have to start calling him “Uncle Matt…” The wedding is August 28th and the whole family is participating: Jim as a groomsman, JT as a ring bearer, and me as the matron of honor. I keep telling everyone that I will be a sweaty whale at the wedding (37 weeks pregnant and all), but Jim said I’ll be “glowing.” 🙂
JT loved going on the porch swing. Here he is with Grandpa Keene. Minutes later, he was almost asleep!
Before we left for our trip, Grandpa Cole came over to pick up Slider (what a great dog-sitter!). He also delivered Grandma Cole, who was making the first part of the trip with JT and me.
We left on Saturday, February 13th. JT, my mom, and I flew to Knoxville, Tennessee. Here JT is getting ready for some milk on take-off. He was very cozy in his own seat, in his car seat, with George and his blanket.
JT and I both took a nap on the long flight from Seattle to Atlanta. Thanks to Aunt Alice, I had a nice Alabama travel pillow. It fit great on the car seat. 🙂
JT’s car seat didn’t fit so well down the aisle of the smaller plane we took from Atlanta to Knoxville. Because it was such a short flight and we were the very last to board the plane, I made a quick decision and said JT could just sit in his seat. He got the hang of the seat belt right away… and then had to be sternly reminded not to keep unbuckling it during take-off.
After a two-hour or so drive from the Knoxville airport, we arrived at my brother’s house in Robbinsville, North Carolina. We had a late dinner and shared our pregnancy news. Here my mom and niece, Ali, are relaxing after a long day.
Robbinsville had some winter weather while we were there, and the kids’ school was cancelled for three straight days! What great timing. We played games and hung out by the warm fire inside and watched the snow fall.
JT was sooooo very happy that his cousin Preston shared his Nintendo DS.
By the second afternoon, we were ready to get outside. We took a walk to the church nearby and played “pool ball” and sat on the swings.
This picture shows the beautiful location of their home. The barn is on the lot next to them.
JT enjoyed the toys that my sister-in-law, Gena, had set out for him: child-size chairs, books, puzzles, legos, blocks, a wagon, and even a piano just like the one he has at home. Between the toys and three cousins, JT didn’t have a dull moment!
On our last full day, we took a long walk on the mile trail around the high school. We had to bundle up… but it was great to get outside. JT enjoyed shoulder rides from his cousins to make the walk a little easier. Here Madi and JT are getting ready to begin the walk.
In the car afterward… warming back up!
On Thursday, it was time to move on. Jeff, Gena, and Ali drove us the three hours to Atlanta to meet Jim (Madi and Preston were back in school). My mom flew home from Atlanta, and Jim picked us up in the rental mini-van. JT thought the van was pretty cool!
The Keenes are pleased to announce a new addition. That’s right. I’m pregnant! We’re very happy about it, too. And since I know you’re going to ask…
How far along are you?
Almost 11 weeks.
When are you due?
September 20th
Were you guys “trying” to get pregnant?
Yes.
Did you know you were pregnant before you took the test?
Yes.
How did you know?
JT, Slider, and I were on a walk and I was praying that I would be, and I felt this overwhelming peace and felt like I heard God say, Yes, you are. And I believed Him. 🙂
How did you tell Jim?
I took the pregnancy test at home on January 11, fully expecting it to be positive. And it was. (Jim knew I was going to take it that day, because we’ve been talking about it.) I didn’t want to wake Jim up, since he had just gone to bed a few hours before, so I went on with my day. It was pretty fun to have a secret for a few hours to myself! When JT and I got home from grocery shopping, we went upstairs to wake Jim up. I said I had a picture to show him and I sent his phone a picture of the positive pregnancy test from my phone. He said I should have woken him up to tell him earlier!
How did you tell JT?
I said, “JT, Mom’s going to have another baby. What do you think?” and he got this big goofy grin on his face. Seriously. Obviously, he has no idea what that means. But it’s a nice moment anyway.
How did you tell the grandparents?
We have a tradition that my brother started to give roses, which is what we did the first time around (read the story here). This time, JT got to deliver the roses in his new “Big Brother” pajamas. Grandma Cole and Grandma Keene were shocked – and very happy!
How are you feeling?
Just fine, thank you. 🙂 Here I am showing off my Baby 2 Belly, six weeks pregnant.
So now what?
We had our first doctor appointment on February 2nd, with an ultrasound to see the baby’s heartbeat. I had my prenatal blood work done, too. Our next ultrasound is March 8. Here’s Baby 2, circled, at seven weeks. Baby Keene #2 is much bigger now: about the size of a kumquat.
I haven’t done any tub pictures for awhile… JT’s newest fun is using old yogurt containers to fill, float, and dump.
We walked to another community’s park this week when the weather was nice. JT helped hold Slider’s leash on the way there. All I could see from my end of the stroller was his little hand sticking out, so of course I had to take a picture.
There were lots of other kids there, so JT was pretty serious. One girl kept inviting him to play with her, and he wasn’t very interested. But then, oh my, a group of older boys came running onto the big toy with a toy motorcycle. They huddled up to discuss their plans and – so cute – JT hurried over to join them. Sweet boys, they let him in to their group. They said, “Let’s send him [the motorcycle man] down the slide!” And JT nodded, like he was part of the whole thing. It was so funny to see him have zero interest in playing with a very nice little girl… and then absolutely run over to the other boys and join in the fun.
The Keene Family