Kestan's World

November at a Glance

2009-12-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

Trick-or-Treat!

2009-11-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd better get these photos up before Thanksgiving rolls around! Kestan had SO much fun on Halloween. Well, we all did! We started out the morning at Deanna Rose petting zoo where Kestan, obviously dressed as a cow, got to see the real dairy cows and play with the baby goats. Later that evening, we visited all of our neighbors and Kestan really got the hang of putting candy in his basket. Poor kid, since he has never had candy he used the ends of the suckers as drum sticks! We did let him enjoy his first taste of kettle corn and that was a major hit. "More pop pop?!" I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Creative Time

2009-10-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Kestan LOVES to paint. He has a little table and chairs that are his size (and used to be his aunt Lindsay's when she was little) and he sets out his paper, watercolors and crayons and goes to town. He usually requests music when he's painting, and the way he asks for music is by snapping his fingers and bopping his head to one side.

Yesterday he explored with coloring on the floor. Do you know the magic formula for getting crayon off hardwoods? Just a little toothpaste on a damp cloth and the crayon disappears!

Kestan is a very serious painter.

This one is going on the fridge!

Fall Fun

2009-10-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Little Helper

2009-10-14T09:31:00.000-07:00

Kestan's First Wagon Ride With the Neighbor Kids

2009-10-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

What did he say?

2009-09-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

The big Kestan news: This morning at breakfast he said "pam cake!" "Baby pam cake. Mommy pam cake. Daddy pam cake." Pretty exciting stuff going on around here.

Messin' Around with Daddy

2009-09-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

Mommies & Kids Playing with Paint

2009-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Kestan, and his buddy, Ella, experienced their debut at making Halloween art. My friend, Cathy, came up with the idea of letting the kids help us decorate our homes for the fall season. What a spontaneous adventure we embarked upon!
We started out by letting the kids color to their hearts delight. We found that using Crayola oil pastel sticks worked great because they are vibrant and bold on white textured sketch paper.

Then, we set out large, orange construction paper, and let the kids go crazy with fingerpaints. (The messier the better!)
This painting adventure also turned out to be a great recycling program. The orange paper plates that we used as paint palettes made simple pumpkins! Once the paint dried, we used a green oil pastel stick to draw the pumpkin face.
Then, we cut out leaf shapes using their finger painted paper and drawings.
Attached the leaves to strands of yarn.
And made beautiful leaf garlands for the fireplace. This idea turned out to be easy, inexpensive, and a great shared memory.
We all had SO much fun making art together and Cathy and I are now inspired to bring these kinds of art projects to mommy and baby playgroups in our area. What a special way to spend time with our own children, and an added bonus to be able to share the joy of creative play with others.

Doggie and Moo

2009-09-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

Kestan has two new best pals, doggie and moo. These are his bed mates and he loves to snuggle with them as he's falling asleep.

What was your favorite toy or snuggle companion when you were little?

-- Posted from my iPhone

Bye Bye Summer

2009-09-07T19:42:00.001-07:00

Grandma Ootah & Papa Tom Visit

2009-08-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

Chris' mom, Carole, and step-dad, Tom, stopped by to play for a few days on their road trip from Park City, Utah to Madison, Wisconsin. As you can see, Kestan had a lot of fun with his grandparents! Along with riding scooters, we visited the Old Overland Park farmer's market, played at the yarn shop, ate daddy's homemade pizza and ice cream, and just loved catching up and being together. (Click here to enjoy Tom and Carole's fabulous website.)
Kestan warmed up to them instantly - he LOVES holding hands.

Oh the love of a grandmother - up and down the steps with baby and a broken ankle!
Yummy things to smell at Penzys Spices.
Kestan discovered this school bus at the store Ten Thousand Villages. It kept him VERY busy. Anything with wheels is pretty much a winner in this little boys eyes. And of course we love handmade wooden toys.
Come back soon, Grandma and Papa. Kestan misses you. (We do, too!)

A Bunch of Random Photos

2009-07-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

One Cool Dude

2009-07-19T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last night we took a summer drive to a new park to play tennis for the first time all year. Chris and I got to hit some balls and, of course, you know who our ball boy was!

At a stoplight we turned to see what Kestan was doing in the back seat and this is the site we saw. Eventually he added a hat to his costume - quite the performer!

The Roller Coaster Slide

2009-07-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

Check out the new video of Kestan going down the slide, by himself, on our video link. He is so full of excitement, but halfway-down he gets that tummy-drop-sensation we all feel when you travel down the first steep hill of a roller coaster. His face of complete fear and joy mixed into one emotion is so super funny.

We enjoyed an absolutely brilliant day out at Shawnee Mission Park for Kestan's second bike ride. This time he stayed awake the whole way. When I was riding behind him I'd hear "mom, mom, mom." Then, when I'd ride along side him I could see his hand up against the mesh, looking out at me with the biggest smile I've ever seen. I will never forget that look on his face - the pure satisfaction of feeling the wind on your face and being out in nature with the ones you love most.

Here are some more pics from the playground that we stopped at along the journey. Our little independent boy had to show us how he can climb up and down on his own.

But he didn't mind an occasional helping hand from daddy.

Felting With Mommy

2009-07-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

What a great activity to do together! Playing with soap and water with mommy is THE best!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2009-06-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed a family outing at the KC Royals game recently, (thanks uncle Jeff!) and I have to say, Kestan really had no interest in watching the game.
His new discovery was the POPCORN!

I've never seen anything like it in my life. Seriously, this kid was shoveling handfuls into his mouth. For those of you who know us well, we are pretty particular about the food Kestan eats. So getting a small taste of salt and butter was complete heaven for him.
In addition to the popcorn, Kestan also found great delight in sitting in his own chair.

He caught me eating popcorn since the game and, of course, he dropped everything, ran my way and said, "nana nana nana" (his word for food). I acted quickly and exchanged my popcorn with Kashi puffed wheat cereal and the trick actually worked! I know it's only a matter of time before he discovers that puffed wheat is a far cry from the yummy tastes of baseball popcorn, but I'll try it for as long as I can!

Playing at the Park

2009-06-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

Summer in Shawnee

2009-06-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

We are trying to keep our weekends as open as possible so that we can enjoy family "stay-cations" around the KC area. This past weekend we discovered an annual carnival that celebrates good ole' fashion Shawnee Days. Funnel cakes, tea cups and the Ferris Wheel were in full force. We didn't actually ride any of the rides this time around, but Kestan sure enjoyed people watching.

He is a very social, friendly baby and loves being around new people (especially with mommy and daddy close by). When he's in new situations with lots to study he gets very serious. You can see his little brain taking it all in. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we're all screaming our way through the roller coasters. (Chris is already training him for that...you should see how high he gets in the swing!!)

Family Canoe Trip

2009-06-11T13:10:00.000-07:00

We took Kestan on the canoe this past weekend. At first he did not like wearing the life jacket. He put his hands up to his neck and repeated, "no, no, no, no".

Once he got used to that part, we pushed the boat in the water and he did really well. He stayed near daddy the whole time and as long as he got a few snacks along the way he was generally content. I think his favorite part was paddling by the dog park where he saw all the "dog dogs" swimming in the water.

Playing on the Trail

2009-06-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

All In a Day's Work

2009-06-04T18:02:00.000-07:00

Kestan is a very busy boy. He loves to play independently, as long as one of us is nearby. He enjoys playing around the house, dancing to music, reading books and he can't get enough of being outside!

Here are just a few of the things Kestan did today:
Played with dominoes, ran around naked, (but he wanted his shoes and socks on)
put toilet paper in the toilet,
swung, and swung, and swung, (hence the sick look on his face!)
and one of his new favorite activities - feeding the dogs.

Kestan Visits Weston

2009-06-02T21:21:00.001-07:00

Well it's hard to tell exactly where we went today from these photos. My mom and I took Kestan to the darling historic little town, Weston, Missouri. We didn't make it inside many shops since most of them were closed, however, Kestan had no interest in shopping anyway! Here are some of his favorite hobbies: Pushing the stroller,
walking up and down ramps, smelling flowers,
and sitting on steps.
How fun it is, watching him grow.

Thank You Aunt Lindsay

2009-06-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

Kestan's Aunt Lindsay has been his nannie for the last 10 months and it has been an amazing experience for both of them. Lindsay has gotten to watch him change and grow on a daily basis, Kestan has received oodles of love and learning while we're at work, and they both have created a lifetime bond.

Lindsay started a new job this week as a Youth Crisis Intervention Specialist. Although Kestan's a pretty easy kid, I'm sure being with a toddler day after day has been great training to add to her years of experience working with youth.
We have found a small home daycare for Kestan that will be a nice spot for him while I work three days a week, but of course NOTHING can compare to the love and care from the most wonderful aunt in the world.

Thank you for EVERYTHING Lins.

A Day in the Sun

2009-05-31T20:13:00.000-07:00

We all had a fun family outing this past Saturday. First, we started off at the downtown Kansas City farmer's market.

Then, we took Kestan to Shawnee Mission Park for our first family bike ride together. At first, he was very interested, and enjoyed seeing all the sites around him. He even liked wearing his bike helmet, but we didn't get far before it completely covered his eyes. His head has some growing to do.

We rode for quite a while and after about 30 minutes Kestan got very sleepy. It must have been the 80 degree weather, the fresh air and the peace that comes from being out in nature (...and the fact that it was 2 hours past his nap time!).
We enjoyed some rests on the park benches, too, while Kestan slept.

Ah...the sweetness of summer.

Mommy's Little Helper

2009-05-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

As all of you who have children know, it truly is the simple things in life that make our kids happy. If it resembles a box, a pan, a bottle cap, or a broom, (and looks nothing like a purchased toy), then Kestan loves playing with it. Just as he likes the everyday household activities - who needs Gymboree when you can help mommy clean out the refrigerator?

Kestan helped me clean out each shelf. His favorite part was throwing the grapefruit, putting the mustard and ketchup in the trash and of course...getting inside. (Don't worry...I was there the entire time!!)

Weekend Road Trip

2009-05-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

My dad, sister, Kestan and I ventured to Omaha this past weekend to see the zoo, and then went a little further north to Sioux City, Iowa to visit my grandparents. We have fun photos and memories to share. Here's just a few until we have time to download the rest.

Kestan is an AMAZINGLY easy and fun traveler!

Mother's Day

2009-05-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hope all of you mother's had a wonderful day! I certainly did. Chris, Kestan and I enjoyed a great brunch at Blue Bird in downtown Kansas City and then we spent the afternoon hanging with Mom and Jeff. It was a rainy day, which was a perfect backdrop for eating sweet potato soup and watching Jim Carrey's "Yes, Man".

We have started this new blog as a way to document all of the changes and special, everyday moments that we get to experience now as a family of three. Kestan's website is down for a bit, so until we figure out those glitches, this will be the new link to his photos and videos. I'm excited to have this blog up because everyday I say, "I need to write that in his baby book" and for some reason I never do. So I'm hoping that keeping up with these day-to-day happenings will be easier on the computer.
Our sweet boy is growing up before our eyes!

Kestan's World

2009-03-29T10:56:00.001-07:00