On the look out

The last month has consumed Jeff & I with a kitchen "face lift." It's almost done and we are finally seeing the light at the end. When I sat down the other afternoon to upload some photos I realized that I had taken NO photos of Kieren since Christmas. YIKES! So that afternoon, after taking Kieren to get his haircut I snapped a few photos of our little man.

Kieren is attempting new words every day. He's quite a jabberbox and is obsessed with pointing out hats whenever he sees someone wearing one and is constantly on the look out for deer & ducks. We have an abundance of both around our house so one of his favorite spots is by the back slider where he has the best vantage point. His other latest obsession is balls: footballs, tennis balls, stacking balls... it's usually the first thing he asks for in the morning and his last request at night. If he can't find one he'll go from couch to chair to ottoman looking underneath each. Our favorite "Kierenism" is when he truly can't find a ball or it's out of his reach, he'll put is hands out and ask "Ball?" I've made several attempts to capture it on camera but you'll have to take my word for it (for now.) It is the CUTEST!
He's cautiously trying out his walking legs but for the time being prefers the efficiency of crawling. I'm OK with this and cautiously making peace with the fact that my baby is becoming a boy.

1st Christmas

As for most 1 year olds, Christmas is all about paper and bows. Who really cares about what's inside? Here are a few photos from our house and Papa G and Memmy's house in Lynden.

First Haircut

Yep, KW is nearly a year old and he was long over due for a haircut. Juli had tried to perform a little trimming several months ago, but let's just say it's a job that should be left to a professional. Yesterday, we took him to a local haircut locale for kids called "Sprouts". It's a fun place with lots of toys and kid-friendly folk. Despite this we were both expecting lots of screams and flowing tears, but it actually went very well. Here are a few photos.


BEFORE:
DURING:




AFTER:

Pumpkin Patch

We tried to do a pumpkin patch outing a couple of times earlier this fall. The first time Kieren was sick, the second time it was raining and as Halloween got closer I'd all but given up. BUT on the day before Halloween, it all came together. Jeff had the day off, we were both tired of working on home projects and the weather was perfect!
The setting by Smith Rock was spectacular and Kieren had a fabulous time pointing out every pumpkin. Most things in our world these day are formally known at "DAH!" Here are a few favorite photos from our day.

How big is Kieren?

SOOO Big! And this was officially confirmed at his 9 month check up last week where he weighed in at just over 23lbs and almost 30 inches long. These put him in the 80-85th percentile though his head is still in the 90th. As Jeff said, "It's because he's so smart." :)
Over the last month Kieren has mastered crawling and is pulling himself up to his feet. He cut his bottom 2 teeth and from the recent gnawing on his crib I'm guessing that the top 2 are on their way. He's waving and saying "da-da" and "ma-ma" for Jeff and I (and most other things too.) :) But the biggest change, in my opinion, is that he's understanding more and responding. Just last week he started responding by smacking his mouth when I ask him (& sign) if he wants food. And this morning when we were reading his "I Spy Bunny" book I read the line "...a bunny so big & a bunny so small" and up went Kieren's arms to show me how big he was!
The big change for ALL of us, is that we've moved. We're all adjusting to our new space and we continue to plug away on updating it. We've had lots of help from my dad & brother Jason in the remodel/updating process and Jeff's parents have come to help unpack & cut wood for the winter. There's still LOTS to do but it's starting to feel like home.
I've been a bit delinquent in posting videos & photos and I promise to post some new images of our little dude as soon as I track down the box that the cameras are in... hmmm.