Ok, I am finally starting Kellen's blogging! It has been a long time coming, but since our first family vacation ended, I have been excited to update everyone on how much Kellen is growing and learning. We spent almost two weeks in Naples, Florida, and had an amazing time, gorgeous weather, and much-needed family time. Our trip included a morning boat ride, on which Kellen fell asleep, a drive to Ft. Lauderdale and visit to their beautiful public beach, fishing, swimming at the pool and beach, eating good food, and relaxing as much as possible. Kellen is definitely a little boy now, and seems to understand just about everything. He is as blond as blond can be, and such a sweet boy. He has a new obsession with cars and trucks (especially match-box cars).
Kellen did pretty well on his first plane ride (and so did Courtney!), but started getting a little antsy by the end of the flight. We met Grammy and Papa in the airport as soon as we got off the plane in Naples, and enjoyed lunch with them before they got back on to fly to Cincy. Kellen saw the beach for the first time on July 4th, and we watched fireworks on the beach with my cousins Jonathan, Christy, Amanda, and Scott, and Aunt Kathy, Mike, Aunt Margie, and Uncle Jon. It was a great first night! Courtney and I managed to find a few great babysitters in Naples, and got to spend a few nights out by ourselves. Kellen really enjoyed the babysitters, and even got invited to swim at one of their pools next time we are in town.
During our trip, I was amazed at how much Kellen was growing up- he seemed to learn all kinds of things, and I was excited to experience them all with Courtney! Kellen started learning to count (up to 6) and also started reciting the alphabet (which I sing to him each time I brush his teeth- guess its paying off!). He also started recognizing numbers and letters when printed (like on the side of the pool). Kellen did an amazing job at swimming, and each time he was in the pool, he became more and more comfortable in the water. By the end of the trip, he was jumping in by himself, wanting to get as far underneath the water as he could! He thought it was great to go all the way under, and never once got scared or started choking. Kellen also did a lot of kicking, blowing bubbles, and "swimming" back and forth from Courtney and me. He enjoyed playing with his boats and balls in the pool, climbing up the ladders, and chasing the lizzards and bugs around. Kellen was also amazed at Courtney riding the bike down there, and every time he saw the bike, he would say "Daddy's bike".
Speaking of Kellen speaking, a few weeks ago he made a big advance in his language- he started putting words together to form sentences, and also adding adjectives and verbs onto words. His favorite phrase is "BIIIG truck" (emphasis the word 'big')! He has put up to three or four words together at once, like "Mommy eat yogurt", or "Daddy come home". His vocabulary is pretty much unlimited now, and each day he learns many new words. Kellen learned about rhymes, thanks to reading the same "Goodnight Moon" book over and over, and can tell you a few in particular (what rhymes with 'doggy'; what rhymes with 'brush'). My favorite experience with Kellen talking happened when I put on a dress to go out one night, and Kellen looked at me and said, "OOOOHHH pretty Mommy!" It was the cutest thing ever, and made me feel good :) It was SO much fun to spend quality time with our little man, and teach him new things each day. In Florida, he also did a lot of talking about his aunts and uncles- we can't wait to see each of you sometime soon! Check back for more updates soon...
Love,
Jenny, Courtney, and Kellen
