Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Keegan at almost 23 months

Keegan,

Just this week has been one of the first times that I stopped and have been struck by how much baby-hood you have left behind and how much of a toddler and little girl you are! We marvel at how similar and different you are from your sister and how you are so much of an individual who isn't afraid to let people know what you want!

Your eating is all over the place depending on your growth and how tired you are. Friday night we went over to your bestie's house to watch the Aggies and Johnny Football kick bums in the Cotton Bowl and you ate 4 hot dogs (not the buns, just the dog), 6 little smokies, 2 meatballs, half a banana, crackers, and chips. You stopped at the half a cookie I offered you (this was pre hot dog number 3 and 4) as if to say, "No mom, I wouldn't want to be a pig." You don't often eat like this, but you sure can charge through a plate of pasta (noo-noos), oatmeal (oh-meal), or rice and beans. You haven't been snacking much, but you ask for fruit a lot and get very angry if we don't offer you salad at the dinner table. Your sleeping is pretty consistent and you will often sleep several hours for nap and from 8:30 to 7:30 or later at night. I think you like sharing a bed/room with your sister although you girls will fight sometimes when "playing" in the morning.



You have gotten very interactive with your playing lately. You love to play chase with MacKenzie and will participate in her imaginative games of going to work, playing house, or other role plays. You like to play with any type of animals and will tuck them into your new baby stroller or offer them toy bottles or drinks from your own sippy cup. We think it's cute how you want everyone taken care of and will often hand over your stuffed animal or baby doll to Mommy or Daddy when you want to play and will check back to make sure we are taking good care of it. This also leads to attempts to sneak extra stuffed animals into bed and we will find several under the covers with you most mornings. You like to work the little wooden puzzles and will try your hardest to put together Mac's jigsaw puzzles. This often means forcing pieces together and smashing them down on the floor to make them fit!




We have been surprised to find that you are really enjoying books more and more. When you were younger you were less interested in books than Mac so we thought you might be a kid who liked reading ok, but would rather be up and doing something. Over the past month or two that has changed and you frequently sit with us for multiple books and will request several that are your favorite. You really enjoy the Mickey Mouse book we bought you for Christmas, the interactive book where you can tie, zip, and snap the kid rain clothes, and books geared towards learning new words. Mommy is also proud to share that you love Go, Dog, Go and have started memorizing different parts of it. That is a very dear book to our family as your Auntie J loved that book as a kid and memorized the entire thing as a kid...and would then read it to anyone who she could. You love music and love to dance, in fact the music teacher at school loves you because she says you are very enthusiastic in music class. When you hear music you will immediately start bouncing your body and then as the music continues on you will start rocking as well. We can always keep you occupied by singing little songs, especially the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" where you will try to mimic the hand motions with us. You like all songs and I think I might be able to teach you quite a bit if I find little songs to go with it.

You are starting to be more verbal and will actually say a lot. You are still in the stage where Mommy, Daddy, and others close to you can understand you, but sometimes strangers don't. You are getting clearer though and are speaking in more three and four word sentences. If you don't know how to say something though you will give it your best shot and then fade off into babble that sounds a lot like "blehblehbleh". It is your go to safe word much like older people resort to "um" and "like". Mommy loves when you say Johnny, a newer word for you, you started out just calling him "Baby". When you say Johnny you draw it out and add your own little endearing emphasis on it while pronouncing it "don-knee". Your favorite words are still "no", "mine", and "please", but you also like to say "byebye" and "thank you" a lot. The more people interact with you and talk to you, the more you blossom and smile, so we must expose you to that more!!!



Keegan, you are a delight, as I was typing this your smiling face was looking up at me from the pictures and my heart got that extra little Mommy pitter patter that it so frequently does. I am so glad you are in our lives. Daddy and I were talking the other day how, when we first thought about having kids we thought we might like them three years apart. Because Mac and Johnny are almost exactly three years apart, you are like our bonus child thrown in. What a great reward for our lives!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy


A Yoda shirt from Uncle Marty and Auntie Erin
It says, "Judge me by my size, do you?"
Keegan says, "Big Mistake"

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