Kellen is 21 Months! :o)

So I totally missed Kellen turning 20 months!  I just can't believe how much he is changing.  He is really thinning out and is such a little boy!  He has no fear!  Just the other night he dove off the couch onto Daddy (head first)!!!  I am thinking he may just give me a nervous break down one day!  :o)

A while back we went to his Speech evaluation and they said he was not eligible for the program because he does not really show any signs of a speech delay.  At this age there is such a wide range of vocab and Kellen is saying or trying to say at least 5 words.  It was fun to watch them test him.  He was so busy, but as soon as they would ask him a question he would answer it.  The did tell us that his attention span is very advanced for his age!  :o)  They were so sad they were not going to get to work with Kellen.  They said he was a very sweet boy.  They said that if there was not much of a change when he is two then we can bring him back and have him evaluated again!  He is talking more and more these days...still not a lot of words, but he has added "uh-oh" and "oh wow"!  Now when we talk to him he will talk back in gibberish, but he is really trying to talk!
 

He LOVES the outdoors.  I think that he would rather spend the entire day outside.  There is a park that is right down the street that they just finished redoing and he loves it.  I love it too because there is only one way out and one way in so he can run free!  There is also a pond with a lot of ducks and a few geese too!  A couple weeks ago we found a turtle and Kellen didn't want to touch it!  :o)

He is still eating pretty much anything we sit in front of him!  He really likes Grandma Keeta's spaghetti!  :o)  He is still taking one nap and will sleep 2 to 3 hours...BUT we are learning if he doesn't get down by 1 pm then he doesn't go down very easy.  We still have the same bedtime routine.  We have added a few songs here and there, but other than that he will sleep 11-12 hours a night.  He is wearing a 2T now and we finally moved him up to a size 5 diaper.  He is wearing a size 7 1/2 shoe.  I think that he has hit another growth spurt because his new jeans are already getting shorter!!!  Slow down please!

The other day I started to sing Ring Around the Rosie and Kellen started spinning...when I got to "Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down" he sat down.  Matt and I started laughing because we had not taught him that!  I asked the girls at the church daycare that he goes to on Tuesday mornings while I am at bible-study and they are the ones that taught him that!  He really has learned a lot from them!  I think he enjoys playing with the other kids!  I am sad that this Tuesday will be my last one until the winter session starts.

Last weekend we headed to Cagle's Farm!  It was so much fun (besides the event that we just won't talk about).  My mom, Deanna and Charles, The Goodwald Family, and Andy and Ansley all went with us.  We went on a Farm tour which included seeing how they milk the cows (or used to, they are not a dairy farm anymore), then we did the a tour of the processing plant, a hayride, and then we got to feed some very FAT goats, and calves.  We ate some lunch and then walked the corn maze.  Kellen enjoyed just running free!

I will share pictures of all our fall fun at the farm and our Halloween festivities later this week.  

Catch Up! (Includes Kellen turning 19 months)

 

For a while now I have been looking for words to blog, but they don't seem to be coming, but TIME is running away and I know if I don't blog I will probably forget everything that is going on!  :o)  To be totally honest I just didn't really feel like blogging anything.  Matt has often said that blogger's tend to make everything sound so perfect and don't really blog about the hard times.  Maybe that is what it is.  Maybe I am in denial about our "hard times" or maybe it is just that I don't really want to think about them.  I am trying really hard not to focus on the things that we don't have, but the things that we do have.  So here is my attempt of reminding myself of what we do have...because we have an awesome little boy that can light up your whole day with one look.  We have some amazing friends and family that have blessed us beyond belief!  Here is what we have been up to in the last month...


Little Miss Sarah Scott's Birthday ~

We had the honor of celebrating Lil Miss SS's 2nd birthday with her!  It was so much fun!!!  We just wish that the Whitfield Family lived closer (Because we would so LOVE to hang out more often)!!!  It is so cute to see Sarah Scott and Kellen play together!  Of course I got to love on Hampton...He is SO cute...I could just eat him up!  After some coaxing we got Kellen to get into the jumpy house!  He had so much fun!  After the party we headed to the Whitfield house and watched SS open her gifts and then headed to dinner..It was interesting with 3 kids...I got a picture of what it would be like with more than one!  :o)  SS and Kellen kept us busy while Hampton hung out!  Then it was back to the house and Deborah Anne and I played makeup!  It was a great day!  (Thanks for everything Whitfield's)

Life ~
I finished up my Beth Moore bible study and found another one to start.  I am now doing "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World".  It is a lot different than my last one, but very good  all the same!  For a while now I have been telling Matt that I would like to find a Church to attend.  Of course Matt and I couldn't agree on what type...he wanted a traditional one, I wanted a more contemporary one.  So of course I found as many with contemporary services as I could and we started trying them.  Over the last couple of years we have tried several, but nothing that Matt enjoyed or didn't walk out and have "something" to say about it!  So in August I got a magazine that is called "Around Woodstock" and it had an article in it about City On A Hill.  The sermon series was "Issues with the Bible" and it sounded like something that would be awesome for Matt.  They are more contemporary, with a coffee house style setting, a band, and no dress code.  Matt walked out and his comment was "something spoke to me"!  I was so excited!  The band is not the greatest, but they play traditional hymns and contemporary songs.   So we decided (or Matt agreed) we would finish out the series (which was 2 more weeks).  The next week we were all sick and Matt and I were confined to the couches!  But we made the last one and we have continued to go.  The new series is "One Life: Are You Happy with Yours"  We have been welcomed with open arms and it has been wonderful.  It was like we found home!  I am starting a 32 week Bible study this Friday. I am so excited...by the end of it I will have gone through about 70% of the bible.  I am excited to hang with other mom's and hopefully as soon as we figure out childcare Kellen will get to be with other kids!

                                  Where Is Kellen???                                   BOO!

Little Miss Macy B's Birthday ~

We helped Macy B celebrate her 1st birthday!  It was so much fun!  Ashly set up the cutest little pool party in their back yard!  Kellen had a blast!  When we got home he slept for a little over 3 hours!  Kellen had so much fun collecting all the beach balls and putting them in the baby pool and then trying to get in when there wasn't any room left!  Haha!  Thanks Ashly for all the fun!

Kellen turned 19 Months ~

I can't believe it!  I really don't have a baby anymore.  He is changing so much!  He really is imitating us in all we do!  It SO cute!  He really is the reason I keep getting out of bed in the morning!  :o)  Our schedule is pretty much the same as far as naps, eating, and all the fun things we do.  I think I talked about it in the last post, so this might be a repeat...At Kellen's 18 month check up we talked to his pediatrician about the lack of Kellen's talking.  She told us that she was not to worried about it, because he is advanced physically so his brain has probably been spending most of its time developing that.  But she gave us the number of a free GA program called Babies Can't Wait to get him evaluated to see if there really was a speech delay.  Because it is a government program there is a lot to go through.  We first had to meet with a person from Childrens 1st to see if Kellen was a candidate for Babies Can't wait.  So we went to the appointment and filled out paperwork and then she got to work testing him.  She had us look through a book and point out things and ask him what it was and also ask him where something was and see if he would point it out.  She was looking to see if Kellen would even try to talk, but he didn't.  She ask him simple commands, like give the ball to dad (of course he would not give up the ball) and close the door (he did do this).  She also tested him on a few other things, but in the end she felt like he does have a delay and we get to move on the the next step! So This week we have a parent evaluation.  Then Kellen will have to back and get tested again with 3 therapists in the room!  But on a positive note he has added "Ba" for ball to his vocabulary!

So that is what we have been up to!  We are so ready for fall and I am already looking forward to planning the holiday festivities!

18 Months! Really???

 Parade on the 4th of July!!!

 

Where oh where is my snuggly little baby that I had yesterday?  Kellen is growing way to fast and the days seem to be going faster.  I just know the tomorrow I will wake up and Kellen will be asking for the keys to my car or packing up to go away to college.  So I have been trying to just enjoy every minute with Kellen and take it all in and hope that I will never forget a minute!  What is Kellen up to these days...

  4th of July!!!

• He is still on the same nap schedule and will take a 2 to 3 hour nap in the afternoon.  Then he will sleep anywhere from 11 to 12 hours at night!  We have a great night time routine and I love it.  Around 7:30 we head up for bath time or these days he does not mind taking a shower with daddy.  As long as it involves water he is good.  Then it is snuggle time...this is the time I cherish so much, because he is already getting too big for my lap so I know the days are numbered!  We will read and Kellen loves to read.  We usually go through 5-6 books at night before it is bed time.  Then we turn on his music and give lots of kisses and hugs and he lays down and usually is a sleep within 5 minutes!  We do a similar version for nap time (minus the bath)!  :o) 

B

Eating Playing Breakfast!

• He is still eating great for us.  This child can pound away some food!  While at the Dr's for his 18 month check up she told us to not be alarmed if his eating habits change in the near future...this just means his need for that much food is no longer there as his growing starts to even out a little.  

 More 4th of July (Water Fun @ Deanna's)

• He is weighing in at 27 lbs 9 oz and is 33.75 inches tall.  He is wearing size 6 shoes.  Size 4 diapers.  He is wearing anywhere between an 18 month (which is in its last days and it is getting a little small) to a 2T (which is a little big, but is works) in shirts and still wearing an 18 months in bottoms.  I am so ready for fall (I have had enough of the HOT weather), but have no clue what size to start buying.  So I am slowly starting to buy Kellen a few things here and there when I find some really good deals.  I know that he will probably wear a 2T in shirts but bottoms I just don't know.  He is so tall and skinny!  

 Watching Fireworks (WAY past Kellen's bedtime, but he did GREAT)!

• As far as words we are still just on Ma and Da, but he jabbers up a storm.  The pediatrician said that it is due to the fact he is so advanced physically that is where his brain has focused.  She said that any time between now and 2 his language skills will probably blow up!  But just to be on the safe side she gave us the number for Babies Can't Wait.  It is a free program that will come to your home and do a speech evaluation on your child.  From there I am not sure of what else they offer, but I believe they will work with your child till the age of 3.  So I am in the waiting game now to hear back from someone to set up the appointment!  She said it should be sometime in the next week or so!  

 Soft Play area at Town Center Mall (Great for HOT days)!!!

• Kellen will tell us where his nose, eyes, mouth, head, and ears are when he wants too!  He is really starting to imitate everything we do.  It is so much fun to watch.  He learned how to do an elephant imitation too!  He will but is harm up and wiggle his hand like it is a trunk and them make a raspberry like sound!  It is too cute!  He will also tell us what a car says..."vroom, vroom"!  He loves to talk on the phone (everything is a phone or a car).  Kellen is still dancing...any music that comes on he will dance away! 

 Running in the Park with Daddy!

• My hope is to try to get him in daycare two mornings a week just to get some socialization skills going (and to let mommy get some things done around the house).  We will see how that goes and Matt continues his search for a job.  Things are starting to look positive.  There are more calls coming in with possibilities as before there was not much response to the things that he was putting out.  So we will see!

 Daddy Let me play in the sink!

• My favorite thing is Kellen's hugs and kisses!  He gives a tight hug and then will kiss you and make the "mwah" sound while he does it!  I love it and hope he never gets too old to give his mama hugs and kisses! 

 It starts out just hanging out on the couch...then the TICKLE MONSTER comes out!

I can't believe that he is 18 months!  It just is so hard to believe.  I can't imagine my life with out him.  He has the power to change any of my moods!  I can't help but smile when he does or laugh when he does.  We had family pictures taken at Sears with Marquitta while she was here and our good friend Ashly took Kellen's 18 month pictures!  To see Ashly's...

Go to www.jasonpendley.com
Go to "Clients"
Go to "The Portman Family" (near the bottom)
There is not a password!

Family Pictures w/Marquitta

 

Mr Kellen, my Boo-Boo

You are such a joy to your daddy and me!  We love getting to wake up to your jabbering in the morning!  Your hugs and kisses are the best!  Please don't ever get TOO old to give your mommy a hug and a kiss!  Your sweet laugh makes mommy and daddy laugh with you!  We laugh a lot during the day!  Mommy loves being home with you.  Daddy loves it too, but I think he may be ready to head back to work!  I think we wear daddy out!  :o)  I love you Boo-Boo!  

Love Mommy!

(My baby is 17 months, scratch that) My child is 17 months old!!!

I can't believe it!  Where oh were has the time gone!  Some days I am so sad that I don't have a baby any more!  I miss some of the special moments!  Then I look at Kellen and I wouldn't change a moment, well maybe the meltdowns that he seems to be having when we are out in public!  :o)  But I know that is his age and that will change too, so maybe I should treasure those moments too!  Haha!  So what are we up to these days...

 Drawing a picture for Auntie Rara!

Well he is busy, busy!  If Kellen is awake he is on the move and boy Mommy and Daddy are tired at the end of the day.  Can you bottle a child's energy, because I would like some of that???  We have changed up our schedule a little in the last couple of months and it seems to be going good.  He is taking one nap a day and will sleep for anywhere from 2 to 3 hours.  It is a nice quiet time where I have been able to work on my Mary Kay and Matt has been able to play PlayStation look for a job! If we would let Kellen he would LIVE outside and/or in the water.  It doesn't matter if it is 100 degrees or if it is raining, he wants to be outside!

Calling Sarah Scott!  :o)  

 

He still eats really well and I can already see that I am in trouble when he becomes a teenager.  We are not quite sure where he puts it all....maybe in his toes.  He really is not picky, but if he isn't in the mood then he will NOT eat it!  We did get rid of the high chair because he really wanted to be at the table with us, so we know have a booster seat so that he can eat with us!  We have been trying hard to do family meal times, now if we can only do it with the TV shut off!  That is a hard habit to break, but probably harder for me than Kellen!

Come on Daddy!!!

I can tell Kellen is growing because his shorts are getting shorter and there is no more room on my lap, but he is still wearing 18 month bottoms and 24 month shirts.  Tall and skinny!  He is in a size 6 shoe and size 4 diaper.  Man oh man I can not wait to potty train!  I really thought that he would grow out of the I hate my diaper changed phase, but it is only worse.  He really does not like it unless we can distract him from what we are doing.  So we will give him a book or turn on Handy Manny or Little Einsteins (thank goodness for Disney one demand & to Deborah Anne for introducing Handy Manny). 

How can I get in the water???

 

Kellen has started to play a little better on his own, but still is crawling on everything so you have to keep your eyes glued to him!  He is such a little lover and loves to give hugs.  When he hugs you, he will lay his head on your shoulder and say "Awwww" It is so cute!  It is funny to watch him with a camera or a phone, because he knows exactly what to do with them.  He will hold the phone up to his hear and say some mumbo jumbo and then hand it to us.  With the camera he will look through it and then look at the back to see the picture.  He still only says mama and dada, but I know one day I will be at the point I want him to stop talking.  I go in August for his 18 month appt and hope to talk with our Dr about his lack of speech.  When he feels like it he will tell us where his nose, ears, eyes, mouth, and sometimes chin is.  If you ask him where mommy's nose his he will tell you.  BUT this is only when he is in the mood other wise forget it!
 

Throwing rocks in the water!

 

Kellen is really living up to his name (Kellen means "Strong Willed").  He seems to have a lot of my personality, but a lot of Matt's looks!  I can tell you we are in for some trouble!  Haha!  I am trying to come up with more activities during the day to keep Kellen busy, but it is so hard with his very short attention span.  He loves books, but has become opinionated about which ones we read.  So we tend to read the same ones over and over.
 

Playing at the park!

 

Kellen is such a joy and has the most infectious laugh!  I just can't imagine my life without him.  He has been a blessing from the start.  At least once a day I am just in awe of what he can do and how much he has changed!  What can I say?  I love him!

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Yummy Mac & Cheese