Dear Keaton,
When someone asks "How are you?" your usual reply is "I'm two!" If they laugh, you join in with your full head tilt back cackle laugh. Both of those things pretty much sum you up right now. You are a passionate two year old and that is 'how' you are feeling. You are always up to be out and about. You liked visiting the Mantua Made fair and being friendly with the neighbors and eating their cookies on a stick. Whenever I shake the hands of someone new, you want to shake their hand too. You love shaking hands with your teacher at the end of the goodbye song too. Such a little silly gentleman.
You love your school and your teacher. The first day you gave me a quick snuggle and said bye mom without a blink. You gave us the absolute best huggie greeting when your brother and I came to pick you up. You are usually already engaged in something fun as I head out the door. Like one day you helped me add a bag of flour we brought in to the sensory table and then went to town clapping, pouring and sifting it. You loved the chance to cut up party supplies with party hats on! You went to town on the shaving cream activity and pretty much every day you need a shirt change.
You really notice and point out smells lately. Not sure where this started but it's sometimes amusing. Like when you walked into a shop and said, "This hall tastes like peanut butter!" It was funny because it really did have a pungent peanut smell and you could almost taste it. You love trying to smell our new fresh cut Christmas tree.
Going to pick out a Christmas tree was a new experience for you. Pulling out of the driveway to head to the country farm, you were already asking to go home. I think you were tired and car naps are not your schtick (unfortunately). You weren't too sure what we meant by cutting on down our own tree. You were super bundled which made it hard to bop around like you usually do and you were pretty peeved your boots were getting wet in the field.
You still like costume make believe time. You sometimes run around like a little Shakespeare character - "I, your Keaton beaver!" Your finger pointed in the air for extra effect. You love playing with the baby ninja turtles. They apologize to each other a lot for the "bad bumps" and then say that they are "all set!" You get super excited when you find matching toys just like you did at school one day.
You went to the matinee Planes movie at the theater (which caused you to add eyes to any coloring page vehicles) and promptly fell asleep on your dad's chest. But the front row seats at the Kennedy Center play for Elephant and Piggie kept your attention. You laughed and watched them dance right in front of you, while your dad kept your seat from folding on you (even the booster seat didn't keep the seat down). When the show hadn't started yet, you were quietly chanting, "Piggie and Gerald where are you?" You were ready for the show after reading every single book in our collection of Elephant and Piggie books.
"Can I listen to your heart - I think I a nice doctor - very gentle!" You love your doctor. Seriously, you guys are buddies. She loves your good cooperation, and you are even a good sport about going back to the doctor when you got a shot the last time. Your favorite feel better treat when a cold has you down, is a bath tub popsicle. Those rosy bath tub cheeks are so darn cute, I just want to get you out and cuddle you up in your towel.
You could play piggie back horsey all day long. I'm convinced that you would love nothing more than to have someone ride on your back too. Soon enough you and your brother will be trying to carry cousin Cameron on your back.
"Hi Cameron, I your families!" You loved having your baby cousin come visit at 'Keaton's house' for turkey lurkey week. They arrived late one night while you were already asleep and when you woke up and your cousin was there it was like xmas morning toys were already out. You love your baby cousin and you wre sweet with him when you aren't trying to poke his eye or sit on him.
"Can I have my yours water?" Everything is sorta in the "my yours" category for you. You do manage to share most of the time with your brother and you are learning to share with friends at school and play. You have a tendency to explain with your hands, although sometimes you get those hands right in another kids' face. You try to give nice hugs to your friends or family, but you growl while hugging.
Your brother decided he likes Chicken Teriyaki. You caught on and now like to call all chicken, Chicken Naki. When you aren't insisting on eating pepperoni, you eat a decent amount of fruits and some veggies. You eat way more during snack at school, like edamame and broccoli, but no dice at home.
You love exploring with flashlights (ever since Halloween and searching for bunnies on a night walk in AZ) During the day I can usually get you to nap easily on dreary, rainy dark days. You want to sleep in a room as dark as it can be. I love when you randomly sleep later on darker mornings. I'm hoping that we are pushing our morning wake ups up a little since the horrible, no good time change.
You love to imitate, and it's funny that I hear you imitating your brother, who is imitating one of us. "Mom, we have a really big problem, there is a superman in the bath tub!" You love to say, "Come on kokemos!" Your tendency to follow your brother's lead helped you get super excited to meet Santa. You were giddy in his lap.
You sometimes say the funniest little things:
I took my coat off and you said, "Oh good, I can see your cuddly parts!"
"When I grow up I want to be a bouncy house!"
KC: Look the moon!
Mom: Hi moon!
KC: No, the moon do not talk mom!
Keaton: Hey Aiden guess what time it is? Forty ten dollars
Aiden: That is a dollar amount not a time, do you mean 8 o'clock?
Keaton: Don't say that, Aiden it's not funny! I tell jokes!
Daddy: Look at that shrimp under that rock at the Carribean restaurant - we ate that!
KC: I don't eat that, I eat food!
Then later, you go on to ask, "Can I eat my body?"
"Aiden your head hurt or are you thinking?" as your brother scratched his head. You still love to make your brother laugh the most. You will giggle as you tell him silly things, like "Don't spill your underpants!" You got excited at all the turkey hands you and your brother made to march along the window in the kitchen. You both laugh and call each other "rocket ship boys" - "I goed and then Aiden go!" while you take off running. You were just as excited as your brother to go to the bookstore to meet author Tom Angle berger. He has a really distinctive loud voice and when he first came in before starting his show, you quietly told him he needed to be quiet and use his inside voice. Good thing he has a good sense of humor!
Your brother picked out this little cookie notebook with a post that holds it closed with a tiny pencil, because he knew you would love it. You did and covered a ton of pages with your classic little squiggles. You love painting and gluing at school. Your feather gluing page even had dried bubbles of glue. You routinely count up past 15 and finish out the whole alphabet over and over (you used to occasionally stop after S-T-U-V). You love singing along with your ABC instrument wee sing book before bed.
You love to sing songs like "I think I'm a bunny" and the hello song that Aiden used to sing at school (you love watching that video over and over). You have a certain way of enunciating when you sing that is pretty darn cute. Looking forward to another month full of songs and fun. Love you, Mommy
