Teagan is 21 Months Old!

Teagan, I look back at pictures of you from last Valentine's Day and am amazed at how much you've changed in such a short time! Gone is any sign of that little baby who tentatively pulled herself to standing, looking over her shoulder to make sure Mommy and Daddy were checking her out! The past twenty-one months have been such an adventure and a gift. I so can't wait to see what you will be up to this time next year!
This is a picture of your very first Valentine's Day party where you helped make your first craft, this cute hat!

Today you weigh 24.4 lbs

You wear a size 18 mo - 2T. In pants the waist is huge while the length is perfect!
You wear a size 7 shoe
You are in size 4 diapers (exhausted mommy has put off potty training but you are so ready, running to sit fully clothed on your big girl potty several times a day)

Valentine's 2010 - we were ready for our lunch date with Daddy!

Your favorite things this month are your rocking horse from Nana Betty and Gerry, any form of a purse that you can put your "yis-tick" in and taking a Dora the Explorer bubble bath in Mommy's garden tub with your new Toy Story 3 bath toys!

I'll never forget the day last month when we got those bath toys. We ventured into The Disney Store where I so expected you to run to any of the many princess displays or at least the tower o' Minnie Mouse stuffed animals...but you ran straight for Buzz Lightyear and friends! You went so bananas that you had the staff and fellow shoppers in stitches! This has to be cousin Kade's influence on you so I can't wait to see what happens when you go to his Buzz-themed 4th birthday party this month!

Speaking of, you love singing the Happy Birthday, old version of The Mickey Mouse Club theme, and My Name Is songs. And even though you will only watch 3 seconds of each episode you are besotted with Yo Gabba Gabba...which you call Go Go Gabba.

You continue to become an independent little miss and tell me often, "I do'd it!!!" And you've added the lovely phrases, "Share Mommy!" and "No Mam!!" Which is hilarious. Until we are in public. Or they are combined with a full blown toddler tantrum.

We've been ever so busy with fun activities and I am so cherishing these last few weeks we have together, just our family of three. You know there is a baby in mummy's tummy and you'll even give him/her a kiss...but you are quickly distracted looking for my belly button which you give a tickle before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

Speaking of, you love tickles from Daddy and when he gets home you both end up in a giggle fit of silliness just before bedtime. I always think this will no doubt keep you up for hours after but each time you fall into bed exhausted and happy. You also love to give Daddy "noses" which is what we called an Eskimo kiss when I was a kid. You find those kisses so much fun! And at night you always ask to "Rock-a-bye-baby-in-the-tree-top" which means you want us to rock you in your rocking chair. I so love your little Tea-isms! As one mom pointed out, soon you will grow out of saying these in lieu of proper English - and I know I'll miss them.

We love you ever so much, Little Mouse! You are just a few months away from your very special second birthday! But before then we have playdates, a Valentine's party, cousin Carrington, Kade and Daddy's birthdays to celebrate this month! So hang on to your hats Buzz and Woody...here we go!

Tripping into the Third Trimester

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great few days and got up to something fun! We just wrapped up a super busy time here. It was Sanctity of Human Life week so we had a great service at church on Sunday where we heard from amazing families talking about how adoption and foster care has transformed their lives. It totally made this pregnant mommy tear up I tell you!

Also, I hit the third trimester this week, hurrah!!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 28 Weeks
Size of baby: Baby Kelly is the size of a Chinese cabbage
Gender: We are waiting for the surprise
Movement: He/she has become super active especially in the afternoon and at night
Sleep: I'm getting bits here and there!
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach and a good cuppa Kona coffee!
Cravings: I've lost my appetite at night especially and am eating more small cups of granola for dinner (usually in the wee hours after everyone has gone to sleep)! I think maybe my stomach is running out of room! With Teagan I only gained 15lbs and hope this will be the case with the new baby.
Symptoms: Much more nausea

Best Moment this Week: Everytime I feel the baby move I get so excited that we will have a new addition to our family in just a few months!

In addition to this excitement I had so much fun helping our local Christian radio station with the "Largest Baby Shower" where we took in tons of diapers, wipes, clothes and more in donations going to area crisis pregnancy centers. I have to take a moment to give a shout out to Chick-fil-A. Kudos to this incredible company! Not only do they offer hand sanitizer packs for little, busy hands, plastic table mats for toddlers to eat from when a plate just can't and won't stay on the table, have mom's helpers to get high chairs and refills for you, but also fresh flowers on the tables ...and get this, employees who aren't snarky at all and instead seem genuinely happy to be there! These traits make it my first choice when eating on the run. But in addition to all of this they have a great, big heart for helping our communities. At Christmas they hosted our Samaritan's Purse table collecting boxes for Operation Christmas Child and this week they allowed our station and crisis centers to accept donations for newborns and their families. Awesome job, Chick-fil-A and keep it up!!!

On Friday we had a Soup Swap night at our house where a few friends came over for a bowl of our potato and leek soup, cheese, breads and fruit tart. At the end of the night we swapped soups to freeze or have for later! It was great fun and I can't wait to try everyone's delicious soups! These women can cook! But I was so distracted by all the fun that I took not.one.single.picture. Bummer!

Saturday I had a girl's night out where I went to the cutest French bistro and had the best time catching up with some friends that I haven't seen in a long time. These are girls that Melissa and I have known since our college days in Texas and since we moved here over four years ago. They are super special women to me. They were getting together to as an intro for some newbies going on the big girl's weekend trip in April where they will run a 10k. I ran with them last year and am so sad to miss out on the fun...but baby Kelly will be due in mere days and I don't want to risk being too far away from Brian and home. I can't wait to see their pictures...especially Brianne and Jen's who have vowed to walk at a leisurely pace capturing all the firemen and those dressed in funny costumes!

I'm off to another busy few days and promise to capture more pictures for the next post- not of me, mind you. I feel huge and it is getting harder to find a decent angle...:)! Until then my friends...

Pains, Trains and Automobiles

We are off to a new week here! I love this picture of Brian and Teagan after church on Sunday. It was nap time but she was full of beans and ready to play.
The weather was nice so all the kids were out and about. Tea is calling her buddies over in this shot. The big kids are SO sweet to her and one of the reasons I love our cul-de-sac. We ended up with ten kids -bikes, soccer balls and motorized cars in tow at our house in seconds. They played for about two hours before Tea took a very long nap. Twin Lindsay let Tea sit in her mini Mustang! Both the girls look tired but were having fun!
Brian took her in for a quick clothing change as it got chilly. I love how he paired the jeans with the dress...(hadn't thought of that) and he even has the matching hat going. Good job, Dad!!!
Olivia took Tea round and round on her bike which just made her day!
Alas today we have colds. When I sneeze she says, "Bless you, Mommy." We spent the day indoors and just taking it easy. She got her nail clippers and file out so I am thinking she wanted a mani/pedi in this shot?

Bummed as we were supposed to go to bible study this morning but I feel guilty exposing more families to our germs. This has been a very long month and I am ready to move into some spring weather with lots of healthy Kellys!

Hopefully we'll be well enough to host our Soup Swap/Game Night party on Friday and I am meeting my girlfriends for dinner on Saturday! What are you up to this week?

I so hope you guys can watch this video. I took Tea to a mall last week and they have a super cool train for the kids. She waited all day to ride it and here we are waiting for it to start. She was beyond excited as she is all about trains at the moment!

Technically Challenged

I'd love to say I took a break from the computer for 48 hours ...and 27 minutes by choice. That I embarked on an adventure to refocus my priorities, clear my mind and gain some sort of organic enlightenment. But that's just not the way it happened my friends! My husband doesn't call me "Click-Click" for nothing!

With my laptop officially fried and no idea what we should get to replace it, I knew I would have to break away from minute-by-minute access to the internet when at home. But it wasn't until Brian made a last minute trip to Seattle for a client, taking his laptop with him from Thursday through Saturday morning, that I began to see that perhaps I need to step away from the small screen a tad more often? I can't imagine what I would do with serious high tech functionality at my fingertips!

The timing actually worked out well as we had a ton of fun activities planned for the week! Here are a few of my favorite moments.
I love this sweet picture of Teagan in the kid's boat at our local library. We had so much fun meeting Krissy and Jackson for storytime which include singing, dancing, books, bubbles and more! Can't wait to join them again next week.

She shared toys with the other kids but her yogurt melts? Not a chance!
On Wednesday we had a gorgeous dinner with our neighbors, The C Family! We love them so much and are so happy they moved in next door! On this night Olivia, Madeline and Landon put on a play for us!

Venturing out to collect the post. It's not the same without Nana Betty here!

We hosted our Thursday playgroup this week. I thought this picture of Teagan waiting at the window for Caleb, who had just arrived, was so cute!

The smile says it all!

Sweet Jackson loved his snack and sitting at the table, albeit pink!

Quiet possibly Teagan's first double date?

She has snack on her face but I had to include this because the coat Nana Mo gave her matches her outfit perfectly! Thanks Nana!We had a great play date on Friday at Natasha and Lera's house, a kid's paradise!

Caleb loved the slide!

Isn't this pink poodle rocker so cute? Soon we will redecorate Tea's room with a pink and black Paris theme and this would fit in perfectly!

It's Saturday morning...and what do I hear??? Daddy's home!!!

Hope all are having a happy Saturday! Today Brian and I felt the first signs of a beautiful, sunny springtime headed our way! Spring is the time of year that I feel so renewed, hopeful and excited about new beginnings. Perhaps this is a carryover from my days in Japan when all started anew in spring including the school year just as the cherry blossoms began to bloom?

I am already thinking about the next stages for this blog and expanding it to include giveaways. So for today's comments, tell me what sort of giveaways would interest you? And also what blogs do you like to follow? I look forward to hearing from you and promise to answer each response!

Be Mature

Be Mature....it can be a daunting task for me, even on the best of days my friends! Teagan and I had a blast this morning as we started a new mom's bible study called MOMS: Making Our Mothering Significant. We are reading one of Warren W. Wiersbe's "BE" books. This one focuses on James.

I was a bit nervous going in not knowing anyone and not at all sure that my late little self was indeed in the correct classroom. This is a HUGE church ya'll...as in 3,500 people attended service last Sunday huge. So as I navigated through the various halls filled with other classes meeting at the same time I found a room that seemed to be in the right spot, snuck in the back and bent down low to ask a woman with her back to me...and to my surprise it was a friend of mine, Stacey T!

Stacey and I have been in bible studies at another church together over the years, met for play dates with our girls and had a lot of laughs. She is gorgeous and also one of those people whose sense of peace and optimism just radiates from her. I always walk away from a conversation with her feeling a little happier, a little lighter. Isn't that an amazing gift to be blessed with? And how crazy is it that we ended up in the same class???

I loved meeting all the women and so can't wait to get to know them more. This is going to be such an awesome few weeks taking me right up to the delivery of baby Kelly. Tea had a great time in the class as well though a few tears were shed in the beginning. She loved having lunch at Auntie Melissa's house after and thought it was too funny when we Skyped Nana Mo and Poppy! She'd been asking to go to their house all morning so this was a nice way to wrap up before naptime!

More adventures tomorrow...and this time I'll not forget my freshly charged camera! Be organized, Mommy! Cheers everyone.

All's Well!

Hello friends! We've been missing in action for the past week because I jinxed us with my last post!! After I declared us well and ready to tackle the New Year poor Teagan, Gerry and I came down with the dreaded stomach virus that has made its way 'round the south.

I feel terrible about it because we kept Gerry and Betty in the US an extra week in an effort to keep them from being stuck in Newark due to all the snowy weather...and then promptly exposed them to the worst virus ever! Oops. What can I say? I am The Hostess With The Mostess to be sure! Last week was long and included more doctor trips, pharmacy visits, loads of laundry and multiple sterilization hits around the house.

This was followed by my laptop's hard drive crashing this weekend which has me snagging bits of time on Brian's computer at night until we figure out what to buy to replace the one we had. What a crazy start to 2011! If you have any recommendations for what we should buy or must-have features/programs I'd love to hear from you so post a comment! It has been ages since we've shopped for one of these.

Then just as I was starting to have a serious case of cabin fever we made a full recovery, saw Gerry and Betty to the airport for their flight back to Ireland and the sun came out over a long, beautiful weekend. We went for walks and visits with the neighbors, who flooded the cul-de-sac as happy as we were for the chance to be outside! Today we celebrated Martin Luther King Day and as Brian was off work we took a trip to the local kids science museum where we met up with friends.

This week Teagan and I start a new mom's bible study and I am excited for both of us! I look forward to meeting some more mom's of preschoolers in the area. While I am in the study Teagan will have story, crafts and playtime. Then on Wednesday I have my monthly check-up on the baby (and another chance to predict the gender based on the heart beat rate) and that night we'll have dinner with our sweet neighbors next door. Thursday and Friday we have more playdates planned with the Thursday play date group and at Natasha's...I am feeling kinda spoiled here having so many fun things packed into the week! It's gonna be busy but so welcome after the past few weeks! What fun things are you looking forward to this week?

Here are a few pictures we captured from today.

Nothing makes my heart happier than to see my little girl well and looking so happy! She had too much fun today! She loved the various puzzle tables.

She and Daddy conducted an experiment to see what would float or sink. This included shells, balls, corks, boats and more. She had a blast!

Her friend Lera gave her a BIG hug! They hadn't seen each other since New Year's

And she and buddy Caleb had a kiss which made Daddy nervous! Ha! Teagan calls him "K-yeb"

It was so great to have Dave and Brian join us as it's usually the moms who get to have all the fun on these play dates!

Saying good-bye to Lera but not looking too happy about it. See you on Friday, Lera!

After a great day out we got home to find Olivia and Landon from next door had made the cutest snow woman and man in our backyard from the tiny bits of snow left. We shared a cup o' Barry's tea with them and their Dad. So glad their family moved in next door!

Mom's Best Friend

....is a sterlizer as it turns out! Teagan started out the first day of the New Year with a fever close to 105 that scared the bejaysus out of me and hung around for four days despite a cocktail of antibiotics, Tylenol and Motrin. Thank goodness for her amazing pediatrician who recognized an early ear infection and diagnosed her with roseola which we had never heard of! True to her prediction, the fever broke after a few days and was followed by a mild rash which signaled a return to her sweet little self!

But this meant it was time to break out our Seventh Generation while sending the washer and dryer into overdrive! I spent a good part of the day sterlizing all toys, books, pacis, bed linens, cuddle toys and more. This is just some of her stash from downstairs waiting to dry. As I went through each toy and book I remembered where they had come from and was struck by how sweet her family and friends have been to her and us. Thank you guys so much!

On the second day of the year (and while we were trying to get Tea's fever down) Brian's dad Gerry went to the emergency room with heart attack symptoms. They ended up keeping him in the hospital for two days. Poor guy came back to us so exhausted that I made him some Poppy Soup, always a great healer!

But before all this drama we rang in the new year! We had Game Night at home with friends and it was pretty hilarious! Much better than taking my preggos self to an overcrowded bar or restaurant. We can't wait to do it again! Here's a picture of Dave and Shanna, looking cute per usual!

And I got a great picture of sweet Scott and Natasha! He's one amazing Cranium player....must remember to get on his team next time. One thing is for sure: Twins never need to be on the same side! Poor Dave, Melissa and I kept messing him up!

Natasha is simply one of the most thoughtful people I know. I am so thankful that I met her last year. She came over a few days ago to say goodbye to Gerry and Betty before they head back to Ireland..and brought all kinds of goodies for us in the form of a coveted recipe for Russian Winter Salad and a cool dicer! She knew Tea had been sick and brought her some special cookies. Aren't they cute? They are huge, the size of my hand. Teagan was finally getting her appetite back and became an instant fan! I love the shirt Caleb wore on New Year's Eve that read, "Never 2 Sleepy"He and Teagan are so much alike. Still, neither made it to midnight!

Little Lera always has a smile and giggle for me!

Now isn't this a picture? Thank goodness Brienne remembered Baby Alive got the milk, not the vino! I'll always remember the awesome cheese danish she made us for breaky the next morning! You can spend the night anytime, luv!

2011 is officially underway and we are so looking forward to it! There is nothing like a bit of illness to remind us of all our blessings and what is really important as we kick off a new year. With that in mind we are still praying for our friend Aileen in Colorado and my stepmother Shirley in Texas. They had amazing news of recovery in 2010 and we raise a toast to both of them! And we recently began to pray for my friend Michelle Green who was in my group of moms who met for bible study on Wednesdays over the last few years. Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer right before Christmas and has tackled this news with amazing faith and courage. Please remember her in your prayers and if you'd like to follow her updates they are on http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mecgreen.

Our family is also saying prayers for little Jacob Helvey, a three year old boy we have never met but who has touched our lives all the same. One of my favorite blogs, Kelly's Korner, first brought his story to us after an accident very nearly claimed this three year old's life on Christmas Eve. He and his family are in the midst of an enormous challenge and can use all the prayers possible. Follow his progress at http:///www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacobhelvey.

Thanks for reading everyone! Let me know, what are you most thankful for or looking forward to in 2011?