Keira's First "Why" Question

As we were eating dinner last night, the 3 of us were having our usual conversations about the day, what we did, how the day had gone, etc. Thankfully, Keira had taken a nap this day, which means she was still awake when Noah got home and he was even able to join us for dinner!

Keira told me she was finished eating, so I began to clear her tray. I moved her milk cup off the tray and set in on the table in front of me. A few seconds later she exclaimed, "Why'd you take it away, Mommy?!" Noah and I just looked at each other and started cracking up!

This is the first time we had heard her ask a "why" question and she actually used it as a contraction too (why'd). The funniest part was her expression and tone of voice. She was very animated and had raised her voice. Then, when she saw that we were surprised at her question & laughed, she repeated the question and giggled too. It was a fun moment!! I wonder if this is the start of the barrage of why questions soon to come?

Grammy

During Thanksgiving week, my mom came to visit & Keira got to spend lots of quality time with her Grammy. It was an unusual Thanksgiving holiday for us because Noah's family was not with us (they came down here the previous 2 years). So, we had a very low-key holiday with just the 4 of us and we broke tradition and didn't even cook a turkey! Instead, it was BBQ steak with some of the usual Thanksgiving sides.

On Thanksgiving Day, Keira got to open an early Christmas present from Grammy!

Helping Daddy put it together!

Taking it for a spin!

Thanks for the new ride, Grammy!

We also took the opportunity to go to Sea World.

That's Keira's version of a smile...or maybe she's trying to imitate the shark jaws??

Up close with the turtles

Giving the turtle a kiss

Reading books, always a favorite activity!

At the end of her visit, we drove my mom up to Riverside so she could stay with her BFF, Sherri, before heading back home. We had lots of fun hanging out a Sherri & Allen's beautiful home!

The upper deck overlooking the backyard

Keira was NOT into taking pictures that afternoon!!

Thanks for a fun visit, Grammy!
We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

What I am Thankful For

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but it's never too late to take a moment to stop and reflect on things to be thankful for. Most of all, it is never too late to give gratitude to God who blesses us so graciously and abundantly.

Here is a list of things I am thankful for this year (not necessarily in order!):

Life & Health!--Never something to be taken for granted, something especially sobering since my cousin recently died from a stroke right after his 37th birthday.

My little family (Noah, Keira, and Jack)--Words cannot express the joy in my heart for this family that God has blessed me with.

My mom--So thankful for new beginnings.

My in-laws--Seriously, I could not have asked for a more AWESOME set of in-laws! Thank you, Lord!!

Jesus--Enough said.

Freedom--It is not free.

New Hope Church--Our San Diego family. So dear to us.

My Mom Friends--I don't know what I'd do without these awesome ladies.

Sleep--It was a looooooooong time before Keira slept through the night & now that she does so regularly, I am so very thankful for a good night's sleep each night.

Hmmm...the thought of sleep is making my brain start to shut down...this completes my list for this year, but just in case I've forgotten something, I will post an update later!

Keira is Thankful

I am posting this list mainly for my own record-keeping purposes. It is cute too. It will be fun to compare this list with next year's list and see how much more she understands the concept of "thankfulness" when she is a year older.

For 2011, these are the things Keira is thankful for (in no particular order):

Leaves

Trees

Buttons

Presents

Food (popcorn)

Love Elmo

Teddy Bear

Snoopy

Pluto

Bed

Pillow

Boots

Oliver

Significant omissions from this list include Mommy, Daddy, & Jack...hmmm...I wonder if we'll make it onto the list next year??

Thankful Tree

I have been waiting a year to introduce the Thankful Tree to Keira and I was so happy when November finally arrived! I got the idea for this from a friend of mine (thanks EP!) and now that we have done it this year, I hope to do it again every year!

Basically, the idea is simple: talk about things you're thankful for, write those things on the leaves, and place the leaves on the tree! The concept of "thankfulness" is a bit abstract for Keira, but as we've continued to talk about this throughout the month, I think she may be starting to get it! Today, when I asked her, "What do we say to someone who gives us something that makes us really happy?" She thought for a second and said, "Thank you!" Then, when I asked, "What are some things that make you really happy and thankful?" and she was able to say, "Love Elmo" and then she proceeded to name the other stuffed animals that she sleeps with (This was an improvement from looking around the room and naming items in sight, such as stairs, door, etc.)! :)

Here are some pictures...

Keira helping build the tree

Let's put on a leaf

What are you thankful for?

Wow, the collection of leaves is growing!

My thankful little girl

(notice the "smile")

These are some things Keira is thankful for:

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nana!

Last weekend we had a special treat when Nana came to visit for the long 3-day weekend. The day before she arrived, Keira kept saying, "I guess what, Mommy? Nana is coming over our house!" She was so excited!! Keira got to spend lots of one-on-one time with her Nana, Mommy got a break (yeah!), and we had lots of family time together too.

One of the great things about Nanas is that they'll let you do funny things, like put silly hats on their heads!

Thanks, Nana, for the new book!

Let's make Willy (Nana's dog)!!

There's Willy, eating his dog food

On Saturday, it was rainy and cold, so we went to The New Children's Museum downtown for some indoor fun!

Flipping light switches is the best!

Let's build a tower!

Concentrating very hard

This was some sort of shadow-box room.

Not too exciting, but it made for some cool pictures!

Drawing on the chalk wall

Placing her sticker as high as possible!

Thanks for the boost, Daddy!

The girls

The climbing wall was super fun!

More, more, more!

Peek-a-boo, Nana!

Where'd you go, Nana?

After 3 hours of playing, do I look tired to you?

Not a chance!!

Dear Nana,

Thanks for the fun weekend!

Love,

Keira

Where is God?

My daily & weekly schedule has been rather full these last few months and lately I've been questioning how I spend my time. When evaluating my schedule, I realize there are so many GOOD things we are involved with (playgroup activities, preschool 2x a week, MOPS, playdates with friends, Jazzercise, etc), but I question whether it is a good thing to always be running to and fro to participate in so many activities. I am actually a homebody and prefer to have quiet time at home, so it's ironic that my schedule is so busy and full of activities out of the house.

To my point...yesterday Keira and I went to Mommy & Me preschool, ran an errand, and then came home for lunch. After lunch, she went down for a nap. I had been contemplating squeezing in a trip to the library (which Keira LOVES!) after her nap and before I had to meet Noah for our dinner date to celebrate his birthday (hence, this is exactly the type of "to-and-fro" I was referring to above).

After Keira woke up, she asked about the library (we had stopped by to drop off books, but they didn't open until later in the afternoon), but I just didn't have the energy to make the trip, so I told her we would stay home and play together instead. Because we always seem to be running around, we don't have much time to relax at home and play together, so it was nice to do exactly that.

As we played with play-doh and munched on popcorn for a snack, I started talking about the thankful tree on the wall (that post is still to come). We had already gone over this topic, but I reminded her what it means to be thankful and tried to get her to tell me what things she is thankful for (popcorn was one of the things she mentioned!). Afterward, I mentioned that when we are thankful for something, we need to say "thank you" to the person who gave it to us. So, we might say, "Thank you Mommy for the snack" or "Thank you God for the food we have to eat and the house we live in."

Then she said, "Where is God?" This question opened the door for me to introduce new words/concepts to her like heaven and to also tell her that God is right here with us, He sees us, He loves us, He hears us, etc. Then she said, "Hugging!" and I said, "Yes, God can hug us and we feel it in our hearts and He is with us."

I can't begin to express the joy in my heart over this conversation. I really felt like Keira was listening and trying to understand what I was saying. Even today, when we were driving to the grocery store, we saw a big construction crane. We were talking about how it was way up in the sky and Keira said, "Heaven is way up there!" WOW!

I am so thankful I took the time to slow down yesterday, which resulted in some precious one-on-one time with my Baby Girl. Thank you, Lord. :)

Apples!

The theme at Mommy & Me preschool was apples! It was another fun day!

A huge doll-house with all the furnishings

Can you hear me now?

Homemade chocolate-scented play-doh!

Does it get any better than this?

Glitter paint!

You mean, I get to rip up paper AND use glue by myself?!

Awesome!

Those are flax seeds in the sensory bin!

Snack time--apples!

Such a big girl sitting with her friends!

Circle time!

She loves sitting on the red line!

Fall Festivities

We have had a very FULL and FUN fall season so far! I have lost count of the number of times we visited the pumpkin patch during the month of October! Keira enjoyed each pumpkin patch outing, particularly the ones that had rides! Here are a few pictures from our fall adventures!

Our first visit to the pumpkin patch with our playgroup

Can't believe we actually managed a group picture!

At Oma's pumpkin farm, picking out the perfect pumpkin

At yet ANOTHER pumpkin patch--these rides were a HUGE hit!

Daddy is normally the pumpkin carver, but he had too much studying for his midterm, so Mommy filled in.

So many pumpkins!

Halloween morning

Getting ready for another trip to a different patch!

This one had a HUGE swing ride that Keira LOVED!

Trick-or-Treat!

Eating her first lollipop!