Wow, 2017 started off with a lot going on. I can't believe we're at the end of February already as it feels like we just rang in the New Year! The year started with us traveling up north to enjoy more Christmas celebrations with family. The kids had a blast seeing their relatives and enjoyed the opportunity to stay in a hotel. One of the perks the kids always enjoy is swimming in the pool at the hotel. Believe it or not, our little boy can officially walk in the three foot end of the pool. Yup, he is that tall! We could hardly believe it ourselves, but this little guy had a blast with his newly found freedom.
Early in January we finally got the Winter Ohio is known for, snow. It wasn't enough to go sledding, but Keaten and Brianne had a blast playing in it regardless. Then in February, it finally happened! We got enough snow to go sledding. Keaten couldn't have been happier as he got a sled for Christmas and was dying to try it out! It didn't take long for him to convince Mommy to take him outside to play and play they did. However, true to Ohio form, the snow didn't last nearly long enough and the ground was uncovered once again.
If you asked Keaten to pick his favorite thing in January, it would likely be the Train Expo. We went to it last year so we had to do it again this year! The kids had a great time, Keaten dressed up in a conductor outfit, hat and all, and had an absolutely blast walking from model to model watching the trains chug by.
School has been an up and down rollercoaster for Keaten and for us. We've yet to see the progress we wanted to see and quite frankly we've had enough issues and discussions about his school far too often at home that we decided to take him out. He now gets to have school at home with Mommy; and he actually seems to be doing pretty well with it!
Of course, there was one classmate who took notice to Keaten's absence. Yup, Brooklynne. Brooklynne and Keaten hit it off from day one and from what I understand, they were pretty well inseparable. Brooklynne's mom arranged a playdate with us one afternoon after school and when Brooklynne got here, her eyes lit up and she ran and gave Keaten a big hug. From what I hear, the two of them had a great time and we'll likely have to have a repeat playdate at some point.
While at home, Keaten and Mommy also did some handiwork. They repaired a piece to his wooden train track. Keaten found a piece that was missing a handle, so Mommy and him went to the hardware store, found a dowel rod that fit, cut it to size, painted it red and glued it in. When I got home he couldn't wait to show me what he accomplished. He was so proud of himself and admittedly, he did a great job.
At the end of January we took the kids to Disney on Ice, as we bought tickets as part of their Christmas present this year. It was AMAZING! Keaten was fascinated with Mickey and the special effects, such as, the fire blowing dragon, the bubble machines, and the snow makers. We permitted both kids to pick one item from a gift shop and Keaten choose a light up, spinning, Mickey inspired wand (say that five times fast). The show almost too long for our little boy. The show was two hours and when we hit intermission, he was ready to go home. Thankfully, the second half was full of special effects and captured his attention for the remaining hour.
One of Keaten's favorite Christmas gifts this year was legos. The boy absolutely loves them. I'm not referring to the duplo or mega blocks, but actual legos. It was finally time for Daddy to bring out his collection from its slumber in the basement. Mommy probably wasn't sure who was more excited, Keaten or Daddy. Tirelessly, Keaten and Daddy went through each set, built it, and set it on the activity table, eventually building a city which had a fire house, two space launch pads, and various other pieces from planes, helicopters, transportation vehicles, and a racing team.
Of course, we're at the end of February which meant, we had the opportunity to celebrate Valentine's Day. Mommy bought Keaten a lego set, and I invited Keaten to go to the store to help me pick out flowers for Brianne and Mommy. This child of mine was hysterical. He carefully looked over each bouquet, studied it, compared it to the one sitting next to it, the one behind it, the one three columns over, and eventually he was decided. To celebrate Valentine's Day with the kids we took them to Uno's pizza. The kids had a great time as we got to order appetizers and even desert! We were super excited to find out that Uno's is a peanut free facility and that included everything on their desert menu too!
These past two months have flew by and although they've been really busy, they were a lot of fun. To share the enjoyment beyond words, we've attached the photos below.
Love,
Matt, Kami, Brianne and Keaten