Trick or Treat

Silly Geese

Keaton and I make 3 trips a week to Borough Park in New Cumberland to swing and walk around to see the geese. He absolutely LOVES the geese there. Since learning how to make barking sounds when seeing a dog, he now barks at every animal he sees. He barks at the geese the whole time we are there. We enjoy these special days as they will soon be coming to a close as the days get colder and the geese fly south.

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

Who needs fancy expensive books when Dollar Tree books are just as great! Keaton is loving these books that I got from the Dollar Tree.

These are also from Dollar Tree. You get them in packs of 3. Very simple yet very educational. Keaton will bring these books to me all day long to read to him and when you ask him, "Where's the cat?"...he points right at it. These books are great!!! He is learning from them everyday.

Here is what they look like inside. He loves the cat!

Keaton is definitely all boy...he LOVES his trucks! He will push them around the house making "brrrrooooommmmm" sounds just like a truck. So cute!

Man, this Vtech car carrier is amazing! It is ridiculously smart. There are sensors all over the thing so when you take something off or put it on, it knows. It freaked me out when I put the jeep on it and it says..."yeah, here's the jeep!" I was like, "Whoa, how the heck did it know that?" Very cool toy and Keaton loves it.

Developmental Stuff

What's going on in Keaton's world? Well, here ya go...

1. Not walking yet but getting closer every day. He does stand unassisted for a few seconds more and more everyday. He cruises the furniture and anything he can pull himself up on. He is all over the house now and you really need to keep a close eye on him or he will get into everything.

2. He loves to open cabinet doors and drawers in the kitchen and laundry room. We have about 50 cabinet doors and drawers all over the house so he is constantly in them. We did close off the dangerous ones that have poisonous items inside (ie cleaners, detergent, etc.).

3. Babbles constantly...always has something to "say". We think he is saying doggie but sounds more like doo-doo. He "says" a lot of the same things over and over so I'm not sure if he is trying to say something or if its just babble talk. He does say mama and dada to the correct person.

4. He is pointing and using his index finger all the time. Pincher grasp is completely mastered. He picks up the smallest little things...like tiny pieces of lint off the carpet. Then he tries to eat it...haha.

5. Learning body parts more and more. He knows where mouth, nose and eyes are right now. He is way more into animals and is constantly giving me this little picture book of animals that I got from the dollar tree. He points to the correct animal when asked. So cute to see them learning.

6. NO.MORE.BOTTLES! I pretty much just stopped cold turkey right after his birthday. I was obsessed with making sure that I did not start any bad habits throughout his first year. I never let Keaton fall asleep to the bottle at bed time. I always gave him his bottle before his bath during our nightly routine so he did not depend on it to fall asleep. Never gave him the bottle to "calm down" from any tantums or before putting him down for a nap. All of this made it a breeze to ditch the bottles cold turkey. He never missed them!

7. We were down to one nap a day for about a week but found that he needed to go back to two. I thought he was ready and he was doing great for a couple days but then he started falling asleep at his high chair during lunch so I knew that I was pushing him too hard. He is a great napper for me and I'm blessed in that department. He is excellent at putting himself to sleep on his own. Again, I did not want to start any bad habits so I always put him down awake and did not rock him to sleep. He always "talks" to himself for a couple minutes until he drifts off to dream land.

8. Eats like a champ! He is completely eating "big boy" meals now which is so nice when planning meals. I don't have to make a different meal for him anymore...he eats what we eat. : ) Big fan of homemade mac n cheese, spaghetti, tuna noodle casserole, yogurt, and bread.

9. Picks toys up and puts them in containers, puts his blocks in the correct shaped holes, and puts puzzle pieces in the correct spot. My big boy!

Keaton's First Birthday!

Well, my little man is ONE YEAR OLD!! Where the heck did the past 12 months go?? His birthday party was GREAT and everyone, including the birthday boy, had a lot of fun. 28 adults and 4 kids (including Keaton) all came to celebrate this momentous occasion. The "theme" of the party was monkeys because Erik calls Keaton his little monkey man so we thought it fit to do this for his party.

Keaton was very scared of his cake and did not want to touch it plus 28 people staring at him flashing cameras did not help...he started crying and wanted nothing to do with it. I had to feed him a little just so he could have a taste.

Keaton had 3 friends here to play with...Madison, Olivia, and Evan. Keaton has been having a hard time interacting with other kids but he did GREAT at the party. It looks like he may be turning a corner. : )

Below are a couple pics from the party...I missed a lot of good moments but my friends and family were able to capture them so I will have more later.

Picture table of Keaton through his first year of life.

Favor table out in the foyer. Monkey chocolates that I made and homemade banana bread to go with the "theme". These were a big hit.

Another pic of the favor table.

Happy 1st Birthday banner

Napkin holders

Dessert table with MONSTER cupcakes from Dingledein Bakery in New Cumberland. So good!!!

Close up of cupcake and cupcake toppers

Food table

Keaton scared of his cake

Still unsure...

Playing with the ladies

Playing in the rocket ship tent

Olivia pretending to be Marilyn Monroe over the air vent

Keaton playing with his new toys with Grandpa

First Haircut

Well, Keaton's first haircut is all over. My good friend, Erin (who cuts my hair and does my nails), cut Keaton's hair today. He was not a fan of sitting in the chair but did much better when mommy stood up with him....mental note for next time. Now my handsome boy is all ready for his big birthday party this weekend.

Pool Time Fun!

Boy, Keaton LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his pool!!! I wasn't sure how he would react once I put him in but he had a blast from the moment he touched the water. We had a hard time getting him out. I'm glad this will be a fun activity to do a lot this summer.

11 Months

11 months old?!?!? Wow! One month until my little monkey is ONE! I can't believe it! I am very busy now planning the big bday party and I'm going so overboard. I can't help it though, you only have your 1st birthday once! It will be a great celebration...my inlaws will be here along with many other friends/family AND it will be the big reveal of our new deck! Erik and my dad have been busy building this deck and so far it looks awesome! It looks like we should have it all done in time for his bday...as long as the railing supplies arrive in enough time to install.

Keaton is growing and changing daily...I really can't keep up with him anymore. What a joy it is to watch him grow and learn new things. We love our little monkey sooooo much!!

Likes

• Eating! We have quite the eater on our hands....carbon copy of his daddy
• Chasing the dog around...poor Del!
• Watching the washer and dryer spin
• Blowing raspberries everywhere
• Getting his picture taken
• Playing with plastic bowls...loves to play with them on the coffee table or hardwood floors
• Anything that spins or rolls
• Seseame Street...especially Elmo
• Playing "steam roller" with his daddy
• His swimming pool

Dislikes

• Vacuum
• Still not a fan of loud noises
• Sitting still
• Being in the stroller for more than 5 minutes (he used to be the BEST shopper)

Here are some pics from his 11 month photo shoot.

Mommy's Little Helper

Keaton recently discovered the laundry room and all the fun things to get into in there. He loves to watch the washer and dryer spin the clothes around...he gets so excited. Now, I can't keep him out of the room. He is going to be just like his daddy...obsessed with doing laundry!

My Current Favorite Time of Day = Bedtime!

I sure love my son to death but oh my, he is so fussy and cranky anymore that I just can't wait for bedtime so I can get some peace and quiet. Nothing is making him happy!! He is extremely attached to me so if I get up and take a couple steps away from him, he screams! I try to feed him, he screams! I try to put him down for a nap, he screams! I try to play with him, he screams! I try to take him outside to play, he screams! I try to change his diaper, he screams! It is getting very difficult to make it through the day. Ugh! I just want my happy little boy back. I'm sure it is just a phase but I can't wait for it to be over. He doesn't have a fever or pain anywhere so I guess it is just separation anxiety. He just wants me to hold him 24/7. I hope this ends soon!!!

Mmmmmm

Yummy....sketties!!!