What Keona is saying......

Reading is FundaMENTAL..... We love reading around here and have been reading to Keona since the day he was born and have already brought Kalani into reading time as well. However, there may be a downside to such high ambition as illustrated by the words of my ever surprising son. Talk about words coming back to haunt you! In preparation for the arrival of Kalani we have been reading a book called Hello Baby! by Lizzy Rockwell (known as the Hopstable Book by Keona). Anyway, one paragraph included the information that "Mommy's breast make milk that is the perfect food for a baby". (we have always referred to the breast as "the ninny", I'm not even sure why anymore)Mind you, Keona had months before band us from calling him "baby"; he is a "big boy" and was having no more of the baby stuff. The other things is that Keona loved, loved, loved to nurse when he was a baby. So much that we were afraid it would be an issue when Kalani arrived and started nursing.

One day before Kalani arrived, Keona and I were enjoying some time together. He was asking questions about this and that when before I knew it, he had led me straight down the garden path and ensnared me in his little web.

"Mommy, am I your baby?"
"Of course, honey, I innocently replied. "You will always be my baby, even when you are all grown up."
Keona got a big smile on his face and triumphantly repeated his now favorite line (word for word) from the hopstable book, "Mommy's breasts make milk that is the perfect food for a baby".

Of course, I had to laugh and admire his ability to lay and spring his verbal trap, but my heart sank just a little thinking about the new baby nursing. The good news is that with Kalani's arrival Keona has decided that he really is a Big Boy and shows no interest in drinking from the ninny. So now I can look back and laugh and enjoy his prowess.




Storyteller
One day Keona began to tell me stories...beginning with "once upon a time".... He told me three.


Once upon a time there was a mommy. She was doing her work at the computer. Then she did a silly dance.

Once upon a time there was a big boy named Keona. He was swimming to Cocoa Island.

Once upon a time there was a boy. He liked to blow bubbles—when he was older.

Introducing........

Pregnancy is done! We all know that I am not a good pregnant person. There was no need to post my misery on my precious boy's page.

However, I can now proudly announce the birth of our second precious boy.
Kalani Timoteo Corpuz (Kalani means "the heavens")
February 7, 2006 at 2:13 pm
6 pounds, 2 ozs
19 inches long

SLEEPING ANGEL

EXCITED BROTHER

PROUD DAD

Pictures from the big day.......

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.