Happy First Birthday, John Allen Kelley

It's official! He's ONE! Big sister woke him up saying, "JOHN, you're 1! You can walk now! Get up and show us!!!" He'll celebrate this evening with some family and friends, so more pictures later, of course. We're so blessed to have this little smiling, thumb-sucker in our family!

And She's Off...

Amelia has been riding a balance bike, which is a bike with no pedals for some time now. Thomas has taken her bike over, so we decided to get her a bigger one. We discussed removing the pedals so she could get used to the new, bigger bike, but she flipped out at the thought. She wanted the pedals on it. Guess she knew what she was talking about. This clip was taken after she flew around our block on the maiden journey. She just got right on and rode. She needs a little help doing the "push off" but that's it! No training wheels ever for this gal!

Thomas' New Best Friend

Could it be Esme, the sweet, fun neighbor girl who encouraged him to start using the potty? (Thanks, Meme!) Could it be Charlotte, who was here for several days to play with us while her nanny was away? Could it be Levi or David or Natalie or Will or Lex? Could it be big sister 'Melia whom he loves so much? Could it be little brother Johnny in the next crib over who jumps up to scream and giggle with him?

Nope, none of those...Thomas' new best friend is Quentin, the man who brought a new big boy bed to his very own bedroom! Quentin and Wesley drove the big black truck from Furnitureland South all the way to our house to bring a comfy new place for Thomas to sleep. While they were carrying parts in from the truck, Thomas watched from John's crib. (John was actually napping in Amelia's room, and Amelia was at preschool. No one else knew how the bed got here!)

While the delivery guys were setting it up, he excitedly watched the assembly procedure, especially the use of the cordless drill. He pretended to assemble the crib with his very own toy drill, which he promptly showed to his new friend. They compared tools and enjoyed one another's company. Thomas was SO VERY thrilled about the whole event, that it's hard to explain just how much. Once the mattress pad, sheet, pillow, sleeping bear, etc. were all set up, Thomas gladly went down for a nap in it. Of course, he woke up completely upside down with his feet by the pillow, but whatever...he napped happily! Quentin and Wesley, thanks for bringing little T a bed of his very own! He thinks you the bed is a gift from you guys, just because you like him! Here he is having sweet dreams in his very own big boy bed. Awww...

Amelia Turns FOUR!

Yep, it's official. Our baby girl has now grown big. Here she is sleeping on the night before she wakes up older. Amelia Grace Kelley enters a whole new world on May 18, 2010. And, she's ready for it...with pigtails and her "ballallet" shoes. She loves "all thinks pink" but her favorite pink is what she calls "that very light, most beautiful pink!" She loves items that are soft and cuddly, like the pink dotty blankie Aunt Amber made or the pink, blue and yellow blanket from Nana (Gran's mom in KY) at the bottom of the picture, and Dolly, a gift from Grandmama when Thomas was born. You'll see Dolly's legs curled up at her belly. Sparkles, the furry pink poodle handed down from cousin Allison, is probably in the bed somewhere, too.

She loves going to the 3's class at preschool two mornings a week, to Sunday School and to Children's Church. She prays beautiful, heartfelt, and practical prayers for others. Tonight, she ended her prayer with "Amen...And Mom, it is now time for you to leave my room, please." You'll often hear her saying things like, "Dad, when you make my plate for breakfast, please remember to put all the things I like on it." Sometimes, there's even things like, "Thomas, you should not do ______. Go to time out right now." We remind her that she needs to eat food to grow, to put away her dolls, to put a bow in her big hair, and NOT to pick up John and carry him around the house. She loves pumping her legs and swinging by herself, doing anything to help with John, aggravating and/or playing with Thomas, making up her own (off-key) songs, and riding in strollers (while we have to wear or carry little brothers!) Often she will ask the most interesting questions, and we're not sure if she's really wondering that or if she just likes to hear herself talk.

She's really good at hitting baseballs on the tee, kicking soccer balls in the yard, riding her balance bike, and yelling. She's so good at yelling that Uncle Caleb recently dubbed her "Amelia Megaphone." She wakes up early (6:30) and waits patiently to announce, "Good Morgan (morning) brothers!" as she climbs into their cribs to give a hug and a kiss. When there is the slightest hint of rain, she will quickly don her raincoat and boots, then grab her fairy umbrella. Of course, if she can't find it, she will tear the house apart looking. This is in total contrast to Thomas, who could only find one rainboot, so he stretched out on the floor, grabbed the zipper on his raincoat, sucked his thumb and kept asking ME to find the other boot. Another strength of Amelia is her amazing ability to sniff our a grandparent from over a mile away. The shrieking and dancing let you know she has detected one.

Here she is explaining (for the third time that night) a new game she learned on the big playground at preschool... Duck, Duck, Goose!

Just have to share this...

Amelia just brought me a picture. You'll notice the T over Thomas, the A over Amelia and the J over John. Awww.... I'm so proud of her!

Happy Birthday, Michael Charles Kelley!

Tonight we celebrated Michael's 40th birthday with three friends named Mark, plus their families. It was great to see them all, since we VERY rarely get to actually sit and chat. The children (all 5 - one had to stay home) enjoyed the festivities and cake. Thomas was especially entertaining when dancing to the musical card. It sang "Bow Wow Wow, Yippee I Yippee Ay" which caused him to wiggle his behind, stomp and squat in perfect rhythm. Notice the open window in the picture. Forty candles may be a little too many to actually put on a cake. They created quite a bit of smoke! Come back later to click on the picture and see more fun...

It was uncertain this morning, but I think Michael IS going to move gracefully into his 40's. I'm proud of the man he is and blessed to be his wife.

Uncle Luke Did NOT Show Up :(

Today Amelia got in the van after preschool, and sadly said, "We did Balentines today, but Uncle Luke did not show up. He wasn't there at all." I had to hold back my giggle as I buckled her in and shut the door. Here's the backstory...

Last week, we were having lunch after preschool and she was telling us (Thomas, John, and me) how they were making valentine (with a "b" if you are 3) bags in her class. I was feeding John, giving her 1/2 my attention, and trying to maintain sanity during lunchtime. After she explained the preschool activity, we talked about how we saw Uncle Caleb on Skype the night before. I started to explain that he and "Uncle" Chelle were getting married in a couple weeks, and that we'd start calling her "Aunt" Michelle instead. :)

The conversation then went something like this:
Amelia: "Uncle Clalob"
Thomas: "Uncle Lewk"
Amelia: "Uncle Clalob"
Thomas: "Uncle Lewk"
etc., mostly in a really loud I-can-shout-louder-than-you set of voices.

Then, Amelia went back to the Valentine Party conversation, and finally ended up telling herself that Uncle Luke would be coming to the Valentine Party at her preschool class. I just smiled and laughed at the series of conversations, knowing that I'd need to explain to Luke that he needs to make an appearance on Feb. 11 around 10 am at her preschool in order to not disappoint his loving niece. Unfortunately, Uncle Luke lives a couple states away and will not be able to make it, I'm guessing. We're hoping to spend some time when he comes to town for Uncle Caleb's wedding in a couple weeks!

The rest of the story...I broke the news to Amelia finally. She was very sad, but she came up with an idea. She hopes to take Uncle Luke over to her preschool playground on the weekend when he visits!