Busy Busy Bees!

I've tried to blog at least once a month, but as you can see, life keeps getting in the way! To catch you up, since the last post we celebrated Keller's 1st birthday. For pictures, click here.  It was an awesome week. Sean and I took off work on Keller's actual birthday and took Bug to the aquarium. We weren't sure how well he would do, but we were more than amazed. He loved looking at all of the "fisheees", and even sat through a 4-D dolphin show. The dolphin show was fantastic. With lots of lights and really loud music/sounds, I was a little worried he'd freak. But not this guy, Keller sat intently watching and clapping when the dolphins would fly out of the water. It was our first experience taking Keller to some sort of amusement place, and it was beyond successful. It really got us excited for his year to come! Though I will of course miss Keller being a little munchkin, I am so excited to watch him experience all of the cool things  he is big enough to do now. We had a Frog Prince birthday party for him that Saturday. It was a blast. We are so thankful to have a huge group of family and friends living nearby that were able to celebrate Bug's big day. Keller was pretty much mesmerized by the cake. No big dive in, just eating slowly in some sort of sugar trance.

The week following his birthday Keller took his first steps, and was on the move in no time. He also had his 12 month check-up where he weighed in at 24lbs 6oz (75%) and 31 inches (80%). He is still in the higher range for size, but does seem to be inching slowly down. Though, you wouldn't know it. Keller's latest tricks include blowing kisses, jumping (on the bed, chair, trampoline, crib, or wherever), kicks the soccer ball (no surprise there), spits out food (not because he doesn't like it, but he thinks its funny….. its not),  feeding food to his doggies (also not funny), using Nala as a step stool to get on the couch (she surprisingly doesn't seem to mind), says "Uh Oh" whenever he drops something, plays "peek a boo" on his own, peeking out from behind corners and laughing, crawls into the dishwasher and uses the magazine rack as his "boat", and can use his feet to move himself on his trucks and cozy coup (finally!) instead of mom and dad pushing and then crying when it stops!
Below is a video of some of Keller's first steps. His very first step was at home, but we couldn't capture it on video in time. Then his first real "walking" happened at Mrs. Sharon's, so we missed that too. Here is a short clip of Keller walking after a few days of practice ;)

Unfortunately, we've had to start using the word "No" here and there. Keller most definitely understands it. He first just looks at you with a sneaky grin and goes to touch whatever it is again, then when you repeat "NO!" with a "you're in trouble" kind of tone, he gets this pitiful frown on his face, cries, and walks over to you for an "I'm sorry" hug. Its the beginning of reprimanding for Sean and I, and we are not excited about it :( But, we are super thankful that we have an awesome kid that seems to be responding appropriately, though it breaks Mommy's heart….

In February we celebrated Valentine's Day. We've started a tradition of Fondu for V-Day, and I'm looking forward to having an excuse to use our 2 fondu pots every year. I also made baked oatmeal shaped like a heart for Keller's breakfast, and he dug right in. Even the little holidays are so much fun with a toddler. Just a chance to get creative and have fun with the little things in life. Also in February we welcomed TWO new cousins to the world. Baby Eli on the 26th and Baby Landon on the 28th. Both just precious :) It is crazy to see Keller next to them and think about how much change happens in just 1 year.  I think we are ready for round 2!