A happy HALF birthday to our big boy!

I can't believe this little guy is 2 1/2! I'm continuously mourning the loss of my baby boy, BUT I sure do love the big boy this little man is turning into. :)

(These first 2 pictures are from about a month ago- at the end of January.)

10 of our FAVORITE things about Keaton at 2 1/2 years old:

1. Keaton always has been and still is such a good boy. So happy and well behaved almost all the time.
2. He is such a little chatter box! He not only repeats a good amount of what we say, but he can also carry on quite long conversations about just about anything!
3. Keaton says such funny things, some of our favorites are- "I'm so excited about it!" "Boomchuckalucka!" "Hold you, mom?" (when he is sad or hurt) "Mom kiss it." (When he gets a little ouchie) "Wait, wait, I have a question!" (when he is in trouble and wants us to stop getting upset with him) "Couple minutes?! (when he wants to stay up longer before nap time or bedtime)... The list goes on and on...
4. Keaton loves to read books and sing songs- his favorite song is "I am a Child of God" and he knows all the words from the 1st verse and sings them all by himself! It is the cutest thing ever. :)
5. He is finally starting to eat better! Within the last month he has broadened his horizons and finally likes a large variety of foods. It's amazing and makes me sooo happy! (Kinda a funny thing to make someone happy, but it it has been such a stress reliever for me not to worry so much about Keaton not eating enough.)
6. Keaton loves his daddy and wants to be just like him! Daddy coming home for lunch and from work is Keaton's favorite time of the day.
7. Keaton still sleeps in till 8 or 9 in the morning, but doesn't love nap time lately and really struggles taking a nap and going to bed. He just wants to stay up and play I guess! :)
8. Keaton goes in and out of phases where he likes watching TV or movies, and usually chooses to play instead, but his current favorite show is Super Why! and his favorite movie is The Lorax. (We have only watched The Lorax a gazillion times in the last couple of weeks! :)
9. Keaton is such a smarty pants! He knows almost all his shapes and colors and is getting better and better everyday with his numbers and letters.
10. Keaton loves to say prayers. And he likes to say his prayers all by himself. And although they are usually super short, they are completely sweet and genuine and we love listening to him every time he prays.

(Our silly boy on our night out for Valentine's day- after his haircut. He looks like such a big boy now!)

Our friend "the deer"

Back in December, Justin went hunting and shot this deer. Pretty nice right? (I've been meaning to put these pictures up for months...oops!)

And as of a couple of weeks ago, his head is now hanging in our basement. It looks really nice and Justin is one proud hunter. :)

P.S. Keaton is a little bit scared of our new friend. He doesn't like to get too close or touch him too much. Ha, ha. He tries to convince himself that the deer is not scary by telling himself over and over- "Dad's deer is nice! Dad's deer is nice!" :)

A snowy day.

All dressed up to go outside and build a snowman. Keaton was so excited to use a carrot for his nose!

 My dad was here visiting for the weekend and helped Justin and Keaton to build this fantastic snowman!

It was a very fun snowy day. :)

Valentine's dinner date with my boys!

For Valentine's day this year we didn't do anything crazy or extremely special. We didn't exchange gifts or cards. We just drove the hour drive to Grand Island, Nebraska to be able to eat dinner at The Olive Garden. We all had such a great time together enjoying the good food and the great company. I love my cute little family so much!

Happy Birthday and Good-bye to Elder Fry!

Last Wednesday night we had the missionaries over for dinner to celebrate Elder Fry's birthday and to tell Elder Fry good-bye since he has been transferred out of Columbus!

Happy Birthday to you Elder Fry!

We will miss you! We feel so grateful to have gotten to know Elder Fry and are sad to see him leave but know he will do great things throughout the rest of his mission!

12 on 12: February featuring mostly Keaton (like always)

1=> Frantically hurrying to finish this book so I could send it to my little sister Maddie for her 14th birthday!
2=> Lunch with Justin/Dad at the Picket Fence Cafe- YUM!
3=> Keaton enjoying his chicken strip and fries.
4=> A trip to the library to pick up our book club read for the month and a fun book for Keaton.
5=> Oh, we also borrowed Dumbo from the library.
6=> Keaton showing off how smart he is with his shapes. :)
7=> Keaton and his best friend- Todd the puppy.
8=> Finally got him to smile.
9=> Haircut time!
10=> Keaton loved watching himself in the mirror during his haircut.
11=> Some late night reading while cuddled up in our Valentine blanket.
12=> I want some... but even though I bought them weeks ago they still aren't open cause they go hard to fast once they are open and I love them soft!

A trip to the children's museum in Omaha!

Yep, we had a really fun day!