Her words with translation.

I fine. - Keelyn's favorite thing to say. She learned this from her dad, who also enjoys the simple combination of words which give absolutely no detail whatsoever when a question is asked which it may or may not be an appropriate answer for in the first place. For instance, I might say, lunch will be ready in ten minutes, and she might say, I fine. Or, I might say, we will have lunch when we get home, would you like a peanut butter sandwich, or grilled cheese, and she might say, I fine. Your shirt is all wet Keelyn. I fine. You look sleepy Keelyn. I fine.

Reah kick. - Real quick. You know, like when you tell her it's time for bed and she's pulling out a game or book? Don't worry. She's fine. She'll be reah kick.

Litta bit moe. - The amount of anything she wants when it's time to move on from a meal. Even if she's done, this is what she tells you to avoid having her mouth wiped.

Want to eider. Fit eider. Help me eider. Look at me eider. - This is a negative. Intonation and the use of the word "either" clearly imply that.

Dinner already. Purple already. Own Self already. Tired already. - This is a positive. Intonation and the use of the word "already" clearly imply that.

Mines. - Implies something is rightfully hers. The English language is just one big joke, no?

Mommy, um, but(h), well, but(h). - Implies she needs me to listen, but in fact has nothing to say.

Keelyn is in total narration mode. She talks about everything she sees from sun up to sun down. We were driving the other day and she noticed a flag on someone's house. So we hear, "Flag! Noman flag. Sparkly. Flyin'. Tryin' to get away. Hard. Do. Hard do it. Tryin' hard. You see it guys? Notha one! Two, Five, Eight. Ooh!" Add in some, wells, and buts, and you can fill a whole car ride. And on and on. The best part about these little talking tangents, is that she incorporates a fake little chuckle where she throws her head back, mimicking one of us, no doubt. And to add cute to cute, many times, she'll do this on the phone. And I'll try to interject, and I hear, "Talkin' to you eider, Mommy. Phone already." You see. It makes perfect sense.

Keelyn's Room

A while back I posted pictures of Hailey's room, knowing that Keelyn's big girl room was in the works. I'm no designer, that's for sure, but I want my girls to have happy rooms where they can play and be themselves. Thanks to some re-purposing, a few trips to the craft store, and my all-time favorite HomeGoods, I think the second time turned out as well as the first!
This is my favorite part. These two paintings have been mine for a very long time. They were some of the first my grandmother ever painted, and not nearly as detailed as what she eventually would do. I love the simplicity, and I love that they are a part of her. Anyway, we hung them in Keelyn's room before she was born, and I liked them, but I never felt like they quite fit. Then, in my painting frenzy, it occurred to me, that pink frames would make them fit...and it does! I think the paintings themselves even look brighter now! I just painted the frames they were in...ones my grandpa put together forever ago, no doubt, and voila! My favorite part.

Keelyn was so excited to see her new room, she could hardly stand it. She was especially stoked when she realized her bedding is the same as Hailey's!!! I was so excited myself, when I found Hailey's bedding, which is pink and yellow, in green and purple for Keelyn. Just as bright and happy. And of course, they LOVE that it matches. Same! Same, Mommy! Like Hailey's woom!

Okay now, starting to the left as you walk in...the play area. These bins used to be in our living room, but we bought storage that fits the living room more nicely and keeps things more tucked away...and moved these bright bins (which match her room perfectly) upstairs for her. She loves being able to see all of her toys when she plays. I also moved her princess hooks to the play area to hang dress up clothes.

This is to the right a bit, and really what you first see when you walk in the room.

These prints hanging over in the corner are just lovely. The pictures were taken by my step-mom, Wendy. Keelyn was 12 days old. She was so tiny. The more I see newborns, the more I realize I really had tiny babies. I'm so glad we have these pictures to remind us.

These were all pictures of right around Keelyn's birth. The top one is in the hospital, the one on the left is the day we came home (make that the moment we came home, as Hailey could hardly stand waiting one more second to hold her baby sister), and the one on the bottom is just days before she was born, all snuggled up inside. Oh, and the one on the dresser is from last Easter. Yummy.

And let me pause for a funny story. The other day we were looking at pictures of when Hailey turned two. Hailey wanted to see her "two party" of course. Anyway, Keelyn kept begging "where's Keelyn" and I decided to show her some pictures of when I was further along so she'd understand she was in my tummy. We kept scrolling through, and got to an image of me in the hospital bed just before giving birth, and then an image of me holding her just after she was born. I explained that's when she came out. She looked at me from my lap, and her eyes got wide. Frantically, she lifted my shirt and banged on my belly yelling, "BACK IN, Mommy, back in!" So cute. If only.

To the right again is the bed, as you can see. I kinda feel redundant here, like the words aren't so necessary. We bought her the little nightstand so she could have a place to put tissues and water like Hailey, and also so she'd have some drawers of her own...every girl needs a special drawer, no? Top is for cards. Bottom is for paci's (yes, we still use them for sleep), and middle is tbd. She loves it.

And of course, a few more photos of the people who love her most, and some pretty little bookends and jewelry box with room to grow.

The other day, Keelyn was just trying to come up with another reason for me to come see her room really, so she told me to come, and excitedly threw herself onto the floor in this position. Look Mommy, LOOK! Ballweena. I like your room kid, no tricks necessary.

Hello Kitty Pawty

So, when asked two months ago what type of birthday Keelyn wanted, despite no real ability to comprehend the question, her response was, "Hello Kitty pawty...PINK ONE!!" So that is what we did.

We invited only a few close family friends, and were so excited to find out as it got closer, that the weather was going to allow us to grill hot dogs and play outside. Saturday was one of the first days above 40 degrees this year, and it got all the way up to 60! Andrew and I found a parachute and bean bags, which the kids had a blast with, and it just really turned out to be a fun celebration that Keelyn (and I think everyone else) enjoyed. A happy day for a happy girl.

And her cake...A Hello Kitty cake, PINK ONE!! I was so nervous to do this, but I think it turned out cute! Chocolate-covered almond eyes, lemon jellybean nose, black licorice wisp whiskers, and M&M's for the bow.
Here's the birthday girl all gussied up in her dress...and bow that stayed in only long enough for a few pictures.

The girls were watching for their friends to arrive out Keelyn's window at 8:30am. The party started at 11am.

Beanbag time!

Beanbag rockstar.

Put it on your head and walk around the room...Turn around, turn around, stamp, stamp, stamp. Try to get it out of your head. Just try.

Parachute...which we have played with every single day since!

And here's Keelyn trying to blow out her candles. She totally does not get the concept. In fact, I'm pretty sure her "blow" involves a lighter exhale than what she might let out in a regular breath. Maybe next year.

The good news is, what she lacked in candle-blowing-out ability, she made up for in present-opening ability, and loved every minute of it.After her party and a good nap, we opened more presents with Nana, and then Nana played with the kids downstairs while Andrew and I put Keelyn's new big girl room together.

She was quite pleased with the whole experience...dontcha think?

And here's a sneak-peek at her room...I'll show lots more pictures in another post. We opened a few room-related presents, mostly because I wanted her to have something to actually open from Mommy and Daddy. Pillows and picture frames.

Here she is checking it out...she was SO excited. It was really cute. It made it so much fun to do for her. She still runs into her room like a crazy person every day yelling about how purple and pink are her favorite.

The following day was her actual birthday. This is how she chose to dress herself.

More parachute time!

And here she is enjoying her time in the spotlight with her Grandpa and Wendy...see them cheering her on as she shakes it? So funny...Hailey was requiring everyone to hold pom-poms for the performance! This was going on at the exact same time she was actually born two years ago. It's so incredible how much changes in such a short time.

You only turn two once, and I'd say she did it in a pretty good way!

Notta baby any moe.

Dear Keelyn,
As I look back at these pictures from just one year ago, it hits me just how much you've grown...how much of your own person you've become.

You are still full of smiles and joy. You are still full of might and spunk. You are independent. Bold. Curious about the world. You are timid about new things on your own, but willing to try anything at the hand of Mommy, Daddy or Hailey. You are trusting. You are confident. You hold so many wonderful traits in your heart that have flourished as you've grown this year. You are absolutely amazing.

You take it upon yourself to attempt at dressing, getting around, and making decisions, yet you still seek to be cradled and rocked. You are the most cuddly little girl there ever was. You love to snuggle. You just look at us and say, "Hold you?" and we know we're in for a nice long hug. You love to sleep in our bed during the early morning hours before we start our day. You love to have your cheeks rubbed, and to give hugs and kisses. You are so outwardly affectionate to the people you love. Each of your kisses is a blessing. Each one is special to me in its own little way.

You love to be outside. You gaze out the windows on cold or rainy days, and soak up the few moments we have from the front door to the car on the days when that's all we get. You truly appreciate every little chirping bird and scampering squirrel. You like to ask about the clouds and the leaves and the rain.

You have amazing eyes. They twinkle with your every expression.

You smile more than you frown, laugh more than you cry, and will do anything it takes to get someone to laugh with you. You love to play hide-and-seek...and to yell "come find me!" when someone isn't paying you enough attention.

You love to help around the house. You like to fold laundry, to unpack groceries, and your favorite activity is to unload the dishwasher. I swear, you could be watching your favorite cartoon, eating m&m's, and having your back rubbed, and if you hear the dishwasher open, you drop everything and come running. It's adorable.

You love baby dolls. You wash them, diaper them, put them to sleep, rock them, sing to them, and cuddle them. You walk around with them under your shirt, and while they are "in your tummy" you like to burp them. Precious.

You have a million smiles.

You love Hello Kitty, and Mickey Mouse, and Dora, and "Messy Seet"...particularly Elmo and Abby Cadabby. You pretty much go crazy at the sight of them, though you can't seem to sit still for long enough to get through any one show. You are very busy. Busy, busy, busy.

You are busy doing house work, like wiping the windows over and over again. You are busy building towers with blocks. You are busy playing with Hailey's Barbies. You are busy singing little songs. You are busy walking a baby around in a stroller. You are busy cooking in your kitchen. You are busy building a fort. You are busy jumping in circles. Just busy. Even when you are tired.

You sleep so peacefully. You love your bed, and to go nite-nite all snuggled with your lovies. You still love Emmit, and Blankie. You've added Kitty as a necessary carry-along. Her name is "Marlene," but if we call her that, you yell at us and say emphatically, "No Mawlene, name Kitty! Do dat!" Lately you also like to require an additional blankie and a few more animals to keep track of, and lucky for me, you always know where they are, and who is missing, so you never go to bed lonely. We often find you cuddled up with two blankies, two kitties (one Hello and one Not Mawlene), a lamb, a bunny, a frog, and Emmit.

You like to play at the sink. You will take any opportunity to brush your teeth, wash your hands, or wet your hair.Your favorite food is macaroni and cheese. You love pink and purple. You like to wear dresses. You like everything to be in it's place.

You love your sister. She is your very best friend, and you enjoy every minute that you spend with her. You like to play with her, cuddle her, tease her, and follow her around. She adores you back.

You like to tell me stories. You have an incredible memory, and will start up a conversation about something that happened a week ago, or something that I didn't even know you noticed was going on around you. Your language is such a beautiful insight into your world. You will talk for ten minutes or more about completely nonsensical things, just to retain my attention and share a smile. You flip your hands around and roll your eyes back like it's important and should be heard. You ask me lots of questions. Your favorite one is, "Why, Mommy?" And "What's dat?" takes a close second. You also fancy the expressions, "Dat's Silly," "We did it, Hooray!," and sing Jesus Loves the Little Children, which goes something like this..."Jesus love da chiden, red, yellow, black, (add additional colors here), they peshus-site," particularly when we are in the grocery store where you might get an audience.

Keelyn, you are an absolute joy in every sense of the word. Even as we embark on the challenges that being two can present, your happy temperament overpowers the day-to-day frustrations of learning to work together as Mother-Toddler, rather than Mother-Baby. You teach me to take moments to laugh and appreciate the fullness of life in a way I didn't before knowing you. You keep me busy, running about and singing and dancing, and then you snuggle with just as much vigor as we rest at the end of the day. I just love our mornings when it's just the two of us, and we can talk and explore together. I love the twinkle in your smile when you see Hailey after a morning away from her. I love your ability to get back up after a frustrating moment, or to use a time-out to calm yourself before trying again. I love your peaceful ways, and I love your excitability. I love your enthusiasm for life. I love every little piece of the person you are, and I love getting to meet that little you every single day as you grow. You are a mommy's dream.

Happy birthday, Keeks.

Love,
Mama

The next time it will fall of flying pigs.

Snow is just not the norm here. But then again, neither is the amount of snow the whole country has gotten recently, so I guess we should just be glad we were included for a second time...this time with much better snowman building snow.

So he was big. And.

He defied gravity by day two, and remained standing until some time last night, which was day four. Magic.

Best friends, Baby friends

Last weekend some of our very best friends, Fred and Jen, came to visit. They were in and out quickly, but we had the pleasure of watching their little Ellie while they had other obligations. As I loaded pictures from the weekend on the computer today, I realized I never took a single one while they were here! I guess having an extra little friend around eliminates my ability to take pictures. I was too busy snuggling with her. Ellie is just six weeks younger than Keelyn, and the girls all have a blast together. Hailey turns into a little mommy, and caters to the little ones' every needs. Precious.

Anyway, they were just here last month as well, and so I wanted to share some pictures from that visit, which was equally fun, and happily, much longer.

Little ones at little table.
This product is not intended for use of small children. Dolls only.
Night time stories. Don't they look cozy? I'm pretty sure my kids had absolutely no care as to whether their mommy and daddy were even in the same country.
The girls were up and playing before they were even awake it seemed. Really...don't they look like they're sleep-playing?
And hugs and kisses to end the weekend.
We love you guys. From dirty dorm rooms to fancy weddings, drive-by visits to the perfect time to have kids...you're the best, and we miss you all the time.

Happy Valentine's Day

Seriously.

Eat.
Them.
Up.

Hope you have a wonderful day with the people you love.