Trying out a New Smile..and Loving his New Fish!

Last weekend, we treated Kellen to some fun new things...first, we got him his first Christmas decoration..it is a plastic ball that lights up, sings and has the snow that flies all over the place when you press the button...Kellen absolutely loves it...especially when you turn the lights out and the little lights inside the ball light up!

We also got Kellen his first pet....3 little gold fish in a baby fish tank! Shawn has been wanting to get Kellen a fish for a while, so when the tanks came on sale-we went for it! It is in Kellen's room and he loves to watch his fish swimming around..he also loves to feed his fish, so everyday when he gets home from daycare, he goes to see his fish and says "eat-eat" which means..its time to feed the fish!

Here is Kellen pointing out his fish to you!

"What's with the new smile, Kellen?"

We aren't sure where he picked this up, but lately if you ask Kellen to smile, he gives a huge grin in which he tries to show you all of his teeth (you know...like your best fake "super happy" smile!). Here he is constantly giving us his new smile that shows off his cute little pearly whites!

Playing with Lita

A couple of weekends ago, Lita came for a nice visit....her and Kellen had loads of fun playing together the whole weekend! Here is Kellen showing Lita how his pirate ship works! He was very excited!! Kellen loves spending time with Lita and cannot wait to see her again real soon!

A Boy and his Chair...

Kellen continues to love books. He is always bringing us a book and asking if we will read him a story. Here is Kellen hearing about The Gruffalo with Daddy.

Kellen's favourite seat on the couch is the one closest to the television...he also insists on sitting on a cushion so that he's extra tall while watching "4 Square"!. He also really likes to eat soy bits...so, if I'm getting a salad ready, he gets a couple of soy bits to snack on..and he uses the cap as his little cup for his soy bits.

We recently got Kellen his very own chair for watching television in...it is an Elmo chair and it's super soft and just the right size for Kellen. He loves it! He drags it all over the place so that he can sit in his new, comfy chair! It's really cute to watch!

Ahhh...now, this is living!

Kellen and Daddy very interested in this particular episode of 4 Square...

...and Kellen still hasn't blinked....

Silly Times with Mommy

Kellen was having loads of fun "styling" my hair the other day. We had just finished his bath and he decided he would puff up my hair. Everytime I would blow my hair out of my face, he would break into a huge, huge laugh (I mean - full out belly laugh!). We were having a super fun time!!!


He also thought it would be fun to tease my hair and brush my teeth...he is super talented!!

A laugh between mommy and baby.

Kisses for all!

Kellen is becoming more affectionate with each passing day. He loves to give kisses to you (or in this case, the flowers and the pumpkin!). If he's not giving kisses, he is blowing kisses! Also, if he really likes something, the moment he sees it, he squats down low and says "hi!" to it with a huge smile on his face! Can you say cute!!


Doing laps around the outside of the house while playing tag with daddy...anytime outdoors makes Kellen a very happy little boy!

"Wuz up...and, "how YOU doin'?" Here is Kellen just giving us a glimpse into his super, ultra-cool, laid-back world!

"No!!!" and "Mine!!"

Well, we have been so happy with all the gains and milestones that Kellen continues to make...he is talking up a storm now, and is able to put a couple of words together. For instance, he can say "Bye-Bye, mama (or daddy)", "Hi, Kitty-Cat", "No more", etc...however, with all of these new words, comes the start of his major independence and I fear, the start of the terrible two stage. Recently, his 2 favourite words are "NO!!!" and "MINE!!!". He likes to use these two words about every 10 minutes. Everything he sees, he will run over to, and say "MINE!"...and he makes it clear when he doesn't want to do something...he says "NO!!". I thank daycare for this! Needless to say, my patience is being put to the test! For the most part, he is still (thank goodness) very good at being distracted so that it doesn't become a meltdown...also, we are teaching him some manners. He has to say "please", "thank you" and more recently "sorry". Ahhh, parenthood!

His new-found independent streak is also pretty funny (when you are not pulling out your hair!). He likes to say "No Night-Night" when he is in his crib...this is what you hear while you're watching television! And, if you are trying to do something for him (like put on his shoes, take off his sweater), he says "NO!" and will insist on doing it himself....which has yet to fully work out!

With all the craziness, I must say, I love this phase! It is so cool to watch him doing all these things and trying to figure out how things work. He is so curious and is amazing at figuring things out. I also just love hearing him talk to you....melts my heart everytime!

Surgery and Halloween

So, last Monday, Kellen had his surgery to have tubes put in both of his ears. We had to be at the hospital super early (6:45am) and his surgery wasn't until 8:40am (actually, he didn't get in for surgery until 9:30am)....it sucks because he wasn't allowed food, drinks (even water) for 5 hours before his surgery....however, he was such an amazing trooper and did great! When we got the hospital, we had to go get Kellen changed into his hospital gown. He was so small that they had to go get the smallest size available. Here he is in the pediatric surgery waiting room playing with all the toys and styling in his cool gown.

Kellen's surgery went very well. He was pretty out of it and very upset/confused for a while, but was okay once he had a long nap at home. Unfortunately, he ended up with a high fever that night, and it all went downhill from there. Kellen ended up with crazy high fevers, chills, aches, sore throat, major sleepiness and lethargy. His temperatures were going up to 103.5 which is pretty high for a baby. It turned out that Kellen had the flu, tonsilitis, strep throat and a viral rash. It was a pretty scary week of watching over him 24/7 and just praying that he get better soon. It is horrible to see your baby so sick.

On a brighter note, Kellen now seems to be doing much better. His fever broke on Thursday night. He has been pretty cranky and miserable still, but he has started to eat food again and drink some fluids again today. And, he has consistently wet diapers again today, so that is a great sign! We need to get some weight back on him, as he lost 3 1/2 pounds this week (and when you were only 30 pounds to start off with, that is alot of weight!).

Lita and Grandpa came to stay with us on the day/night of Kellen's surgery...thank you!!! It was so nice having them visit during this time. Here we all our out for dinner. Kellen had a super long nap the day of his surgery (4+ hours) and was still pretty groggy..he also had to wear his hat to protect his ears...luckily, he had lots of lovings from his grandparents...and a lollipop to get him through it!!!

Kellen loves to run into his room, and do one of two things: Climb up on his chair and read a book to himself...or, open every single drawer in his room (we caught both these actions on camera!).

Reading about how the Gruffalo's Child went into the woods....

...Thankful that the Gruffalo's Child made it home safe and sound.

Kellen was still too sick by the time Halloween rolled around...so, unfortunately, we didn't take him out trick or treating. He did get a chance to hang out with us while we gave out candies (and he even tried to give a kid some candy for me! Here he is sitting on his pumpkin candy holder waiting for some more kids to arrive. Poor kid!

Luckily, Kellen had his new, super cool, Spiderman card that Parker sent him....he loves to open and close the card so that it will play music! Thanks, Parker!!!

Kellen has made some great little friends in our new neighbourhood. When our neighbours heard that Kellen was still not well enough to go out Trick or Treating, Luca (he's 2) brought over some treats for Kellen as well as a truck that he bought him....we were very touched by this kind gesture!! Thanks, Luca!!!

Spiderman rules!

Lita and Grandpa sent us a beautiful basket of delicious fruit along with a really cute teddy bear for Kellen. Kellen loves his new friend and has him in the spare room bed with him all the time. Here he is giving his new friend a kiss goodnight.

...and, poking the teddy bear's eyes...Kellen loves to touch eyes (who knows why!).

My beautiful baby boy.....dazed and approaching my camera!

Kellen, Shawn and I want to thank everyone for all your kind and encouraging words, thoughts, advise, and gifts....it is so nice to have such a great group of people in Kellen's life to support him when he goes through such bad illnesses. Thanks!!!