And Baby Jesus, too!

Our North Carolina cousins spent many hours making these wonderful Creches for all their cousins (which is a long list!). Keona was singing Rock-a-bye Baby to the baby Jesus tonight.

A Christmas writing....
(outline shamelessly stolen from Father Michael)

Carelessly left among the refuse,
Hidden among the bright bows and shredded paper.
Rested the baby Jesus fashioned from a bowling pin,
Inviting us to peer into his world,
Searching for a way to reach us,
Trying to send his seemingly lost
Message. But somewhere in the chaos,
Angels added their voices and
Seemingly we heard some part of the tiny chorus as we stopped to listen.

Christmas pictures......

We had a wonderful Christmas visiting with friends and family....starting with our Christmas party (sadly no pictures) ,which included neighbors from Woodberry and some from our new neighborhood, to spending Christmas with my brother and family. Keona was very excited about his desk from Auntie M, a fishing pole from Santa, a REAL tennis racket from mommy and daddy, and his Sit-n-Spin from Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jim. Keona is also still talking about what fun he had playing with Tony and Dana.

When they are developed from our "old-fashioned" 35 millimeter camera, there will be more pictures of the kids.

We aren't afraid to say it.............

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!! We hope that everyone is enjoying the Christmas season in a way meaningful to you. While Keona only has a limited grasp of the BABY JESUS, he knows what babies are and that people get very excited about them -- as he is about his baby brother. However, he has a very firm grasp on Santa Clause because he has seen a hugged him! I say anywhere that faith can begin, let it be. Santa is a tangible reminder that there is someone bigger than ourselves who can accomplish great things. I didn't know how much of "the Santa Phenomenon" Keona understood until we took a trip to Sam's Club one day and he saw a large Santa figure and got all excited (last year, he wasn't so excited). I asked him what he wanted Santa to bring this year and he very firmly stated: "A fishing pole". He has remained steadfast in his request ever since. Oh to be two and know exactly what you want. If only his requests would stay so simple. : ) Keona thoroughly enjoyed his visit with Santa this year and even gave the Big Guy a hug.

What Keona is saying......

Yesterday, when Auntie Ann and Uncle Stanley were visiting Keona was telling them all about what he likes to do. As always, tennis came up. Until recently, Keona has enjoyed the freedom of playing tennis inside with little restriction. However, as of late, his arm is getting quite strong and we find ourselves having to dive to protect our bric brac and other bobbles. So mom has (I thought) quietly put away all the rackets and related projectiles. In his reporting to Uncle Stanley, he showed that he knows EXACTLY what is going on. After telling how much he likes tennis, he thoughtfully added, "but mommy put my rackets away....ALL of them". But what he doesn't know is that Santa will be bringing him a REAL racket, though it will come with a few rules.

Another day, he warmed my heart. Many times when I or his father are driving him in the car, we like to sing with whatever is on the radio. Keona often emphatically says, "don't sing"! Of course we always took it that perhaps there is "something" about our singing that bothers him. However, he explained himself further several weeks ago when he and I were going somewhere. I was singing along with my favorite carols and Keona made his usual request that I not sing. Not to be outdone, I asked if I could turn up the music so he couldn't hear ME. He then said, "but I want to TALK to you!"

November visitors.......

In November Keona was thrilled that we drove to Williamsburg to see our cousins who were visiting from Chapel Hill, NC. Even now, he often says out of the blue..."I had fun with my cousins". I think the big hits of the day were eating icecream and wearing Franks fancy three-cornered hat. The marching fife and drum corp wasn't too shabby either. We hope to see the cousins again soon!

What Big K is up to........

First of all, he turned Big TWO and started off with a bang. You never have to wonder what the Big K is thinking. Case in point: his favorite Uncle Bubba came with Tony and Dana to celebrate his special day. And Uncle Bubba, being Uncle Bubba, decided that it is not too early for Big K to learn proper social etiquette. He reminded Keona (several times) that he should always read the card before he opens a gift. Keona, being an excited Keona, ignored him -- or so we thought. Finally, after being reminded a third time to "read the card", Big K exclaimed "I can't read!" and began to tear into his gift after handing mommy the card. What can you do in the face of such a simple truth?



Several weeks ago we went to the zoo. What was the most exciting thing that came out of this trip? Well, it was the pee-pee cow! Yes, we saw a cow going pee pee and this apparently was truely an amazing event for a 2 year old Keona. Now whenever he is bored or needs to connect he says, "Guess what!" and you supply the needed "What?" and Keona says, "I saw a pee-pee cow!". This has been our start to the day and everywhere in between ever since. We go through the ritual first thing in the morning...."Guess what.....". What can compete with the toileting habits of a cow?

We have also been entertained by the purchase of a bug catcher from the Dollar Tree. We can now catch bugs and keep them for several hours to observe before releasing them. Several ladybugs, grasshoppers, and a centipede have passed through. Though they have all been interesting, none has yet surpassed the famous pee-pee cow.

He has also, much to our joy, discovered an early love for tennis. He watched the US Open with zest and joy and has enlisted us to practice with him for hours (and hours--- did I say HOURS?). We bought him a badminton racket to play with and he hardly lets it out of his sight. He will often wake up in the middle of the night and cry"where's my racket?". Wimbledon-- here we come! He will on occasion stop to play baseball for a while. He'll say "I playing baseball!", but then he pauses and adds just to reassure mommy and daddy, "I like tennis better." That's our boy!

He is also getting quite excited about his pending new brother. He often talks to him, though he insists that brother lives in mommy's right boob, not her stomach. So every morning he talks says good morning to baby -- and he shared the most exciting information about THE PEE-PEE cow. I guess that is acceptance. He is getting a little impatient though. When he went with us to the ultrasound last week, he got so excited he said, "get the baby out!". I hope he'll be as excited when he has to start sharing his toys. Sharing is not exactly one of his priorities right now.

Message for Auntie M 

Duck Eggs

The other day K got up on mommy and daddy's bed and began gathering the comforter together in a bunch in the middle of the bed. I asked what he was doing and he said, "I building a nest! Gonna lay eggs!" My son the "duck".......

A great way to cool off... 

Sprinkler fun... 

Look, it's Nemo! 

I just got to be me! 

Ain't balls grand? 

August Update.......

Despite his mommy being "down for the count", Keona has kept quite busy this summer. We can hardly believe that he is about to be 2! It seems just yesterday we were showing off his ultrasound pictures and now he is running around talking to us! In full sentences , no less. The other night while I was at work and Big K was home playing with our friend Camille, I couldn't resist a phone call to see how things were doing. Keona got on the phone and told me exactly what he and Camille were reading...."I saw a squid! I saw a octopus! I saw the dolphin!" His Doula and Mr. Bob came by for a visit on another day, which yielded some great photos. What Joy! They are posted above. Another milestone...Keona is quite excited about his "big boy" bed. Once he saw the bedspread with Nemo all over it, it was quite easy for him to give up the crib! Now if we could just get him interested in the POTTY...

He continues to enjoy his sand and water table...and has put his water to good use. He adopted "Weedy" that grows right next to it and faithfully waters it every day. I have no idea where he picked this up. A quick trip around our yard reveals more than a few struggling plants!

He's pretty unsure about what he thinks about the little brother or sister thing, but he knows he can't push on mommy's tummy anymore.

To cool off, he has been going to the pool, but right in his own yard, he loves to run in the sprinkler. He has been spending time with his friends Maddie, Elise, Lydia, and Daniel. He is really excited about seeing his best buddy Spencer tomorrow, who sadly moved away in May.

He has been to the zoo and aquarium several times and spent more than a few Saturdays with daddy at the beach -- allowing mommy to get some rest. The growing little one seems to be taking alot of her energy! The aquarium has a great exhibit right now. They have transformed a large room into an aviary and let hundreds of birds loose inside. If you buy a foodstick, they will land on your head or hands. What fun!

Well, that's all the update for now. A simple summer, but we have enjoyed it all.

It's me again.......with an update.

AS you can see, MoMMy is not postiNG much these days. She lays on the couch ALOT. isn't much fun either. Ever since she ran around with that stiCK THING. Sometimes she asks ;me if I want a broTHER or sisTER. Whats that? Sometimes I say brother...sometimes siter...she smiles always....I just wish she would GET OFF the COUch and play ball again! The bonus is I get more TIMe with my daddy. WHat PHun! yesterDay we went to the beach; today we WENT to the ZOO and fed ducks and I RAN in the fountains and got REAL wet. My diaper fell to my kneez...daddy said I LOOkeD like I had a BIG load!....well, I will write more later. I have some new pictures, but eYE have to find where momMMy put them.

I kneed your helP!!!

DEER PlayGRoup Buddies,

I need yoUR HeLp.

Mommy has been running around the house with THis ThiNg fouR days? She keeps yEllIng somEThing about TWO lines. Whut DoeS it ALL meAn? WhY duE Eye get the feeling thinGs are going to changE A Round here? Why Is she so happy?

Please Hlep, SEE PICTURE BELOW

Love Your FRiend,

The Big K (and why does she keep calling me BIG BRother?)

CAMILLE...THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!

Sometimes reading between the lines is a good thing. So have a beer for me!

Big K has his priorities straight...

On Friday morning as CC was getting ready for work, Keona came in the room and said, "Bye, honey!" Which was quickly followed by "Cash?"

One of his first deliberate drawings. Keona kept chanting "circle" as he drew. I think there are definately some circles here. : ) 

Early work. Here Keona shows his colors. 

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite friends! 

In the words of Big K............

Usually at the end of the day as things are winding down, we begin to get a running commentary of what has happened in Keona's day. Yesterday we went to the beach and as he was bathing and getting ready for bed we heard:

sand -- shovel -- dig

fish--sand-- swim

big fish

tiny shell

'pus (octopus), legs--swim--gone

After Botanical Garden

flower--pretty

slide

snake--big--water

turtle--water-swim

Cute enough... 

Not cute enough to wear..... 

The offending romper! 

Clothes Horse

This morning I had an interesting experience when I tried to dress Keona. I had picked out a new romper with a yellow shirt. Quite a smart little outfit. Big K had other ideas about it though. When I tried to put it on him he said no....and started to push it off. I tried to pull it up; he pulled it up and turned up the volume, "Nooooooo! Don't want it." Well, I figured that he was just being obstinate about getting dressed, but we had places to go, so there was no choice. The fight continued for a few minutes and finally he said, "Jeans". I put him down and he ran into his room and tried to open his drawer, so I opened it for him and he got out a pair of jeans! Good night! It was the same with the socks, too. I tried for a white pair and he decidedly wanted red. Who knew at 20 months that he would care!

Sad Duck Story

Last month a duck chose to make her nest and lay eggs in the middle of Keona's play area. I think her decision was made in desperation and in the wee hours of the morning. Before discovering her nest, I found a duck egg lying in the open on the other side of the yard, so perhaps when she built the nest, she was in a hurry. Anyway, even though it wasn't a good place, I was pretty excited. She had 9 eggs in there. I tried, however unsuccessfully, to keep Keona out of the loop on this. I did let the mothers know when they came for playgroup so that everyone would be aware and keep the kids away from the nest. We always spoke in whispers about it and just looked in the general direction. I took pictures of mom and eggs, but only when Keona wasn't around.

One morning I came out to a tragic scene. It had been a particularly cold night and I couldn't resist walking out to check on mother and eggs. What I found broke my heart. I saw several shells on the ground, completely smashed. At first, I was pretty excited because I thought they had hatched. But the nest was eerily silent. Upon closer investigation, I found that mother was gone and all the eggs had been smashed and clearly eaten by some predator. I really almost cried. When my friend Robyn came over with her daughter Maddie, I told her about it and I think this time we went over and looked. The kids continued to play. However, sometime later in the afternoon, Keona amazed me with his perception. He walked over to where the nest had been and looked into it. Then he said, "Duck, eggs, sad...". He has repeated this several times since the event. How did he put all that together? I don't suppose I will be able to play the Santa Clause game with him for too many years....

Sad Duck Story 

Oh, no! Not the stiffy!

Yes, it has begun. Keona and I were on our way home from a very nice afternoon at the Hermitage (pictures later) when we stopped at McDonalds. I decided to take the opportunity to change his diapers and clothes as he was wet and sandy. However, when I went to put him back in his carseat, he had decided enough was enough and he didn't want to be restrained...and you guessed it: he went stiff and started screeching. It's one of those bad moments when you have to force the little guy into his seat...horrible, horrible, horrible. I figured he would stop crying after a few minutes as he normally does, but today he kept right on screaming and getting louder and pushing against his straps. I reached back to reassure him and he grabbed my arm with a death grip and started shaking. I thought my god, something is really wrong. Maybe a bee flew in and got into his seat; maybe he is pinched.... Anyway, I decided to stop and check. I pulled into a parking lot and got him out of his seat quickly. No bee. I even stripped him down to check his diaper and clothes. At this point he had become calm and was enjoying the game. I had to get a couple things in the pharmacy anyway, so we took the break and went inside. Keona was perfectly happy. I came back out and put him in his seat and had to listen to the screeching for the remainder of the ride home! The next morning, I dreaded putting him the seat...but he was fine. Whew!

Sigh....I really miss him. 

This is me and my bestest buddy, Spencer, who just moved to Georgia.  

This is me and my bestest buddy Spencer, who just moved to Georgia. 

I just gotta be me!