Christmas Morning!

Here I am with my cousins, Rose and Ezra. It's tradition to have to wait in the upstairs hallway until Grandma and Opa say it's ok to come downstairs to see if Santee has been here.



Then we line up, youngest to oldest, and head downstairs.

First thing we do is get our stockings which were hung by the fireplace. Mine was packed full of stuff. A knit ducky, a car, my fourth harmonica, a candy cane, a wind up seal, an apple, an orange, and a bunch of other stuff...WOW! and we didn't even get to the pile of present yet!

Here is Mama on the floor trying to assist me with some of the tougher packaging. Rose and Ezra didn't seem to be having any problems with their stockings and everybody was waiting for me to finish.

Here I am being cute with my new little knit ducky. And you can see my little race car too!

Santee got me a couple of cool shirts too...one has guitars on it (go figure!) and the other is red and has monsters on it and says "HERE COMES TROUBLE!)

Here Uncle Silly Mark is helping me to open a present as Opa looks on.

And here I am with Opa checking out the little computer that Santee gave me. This present was quite a hit, even with my cousins, Rose and Ezra!

TAH-DAH! At the end of the unwrapping extravaganza it is family tradition to throw the youngest member of the clan into the massive pile of wrapping paper.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Special greetings and hugs to Papa ("Pop"), Grandma Shirley, Pa-Pa Tom, and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins in Texas!

As I promised here are some more pictures from Sunday's party. After Santee walked around the room and greeted all the adults and bigger kids, he sat down in the rocking chair and called each of us little kids by name. We each got to get up on his lap, tell him what we wanted for Christmas (if we could), and THEN he gave us each a PRESENT!

Here Santee is giving me a present.

I wasn't too sure about the whole thing...but BOY doesn't Santee look nice in this picture!

Turns out Santee got me a little green tractor with a matching wagon attached on the back. Here I am showing him what he got me...really wanted him to come down off that chair and play, but he was busy giving all the other children their presents.

Here I am with my cousins, Eva, Ezra, and Rose...and of course, Santee!

Haines Family Christmas Party

On Sunday afternoon we all went to this big party. There must have been at least 100 or more people there. Mama said that everybody in the room was a cousin, aunt, uncle, or somehow otherwise related to me...that's a lot of relatives. THEN, to top it off, SANTEE (that's what I call Santa) showed up and I chased him all the way around the room trying to say hi. At one point, Santee stopped and turned around and didn't know I was there. He accidentally knocked me over and I started crying. But Mama was right there, scooped me up, and helped me chase Santee some more so that I could shake his hand. After that, everything was OK. (You'll have to check in tomorrow morning to see what happened after that.)

Here I am with my cousin Cody. He's just a month or so older than I am. He likes to get his picture taken even more than I do!

This big girl was another cousin and she seemed pretty interesting. So I sat down for awhile and admired her hat.

Here I am wearing Uncle Mark's silly Christmas hat. And helping with the raffle tickets for the fun toys and prizes you could win. (The party is an annual event that is also a fund-raiser for cancer research.)

GranSmoky and me checking out all the kid cousins running around having fun.

At last it was time to eat HOT DOGS! And make some really cool swirly "chuppy" art. (That's what I call ketchup.)

At GranSmoky & Opa's House

Mama & I came to Pennsylvania for the holidays this year. We're at Grandma Smoky and Opa's house in Allentown. Here are some of the first pictures from the trip. Mama & I will try and post some every day.

Here I am in the attic playing with Mama's old Barbie Country Camper. What you can't see is that I turned it into a logging truck by stuffing it full of Lincoln Logs.

Here I am in the attic with Grandma and cousin Ezra. There are all sorts of fun things to discover! All of Mama's and Uncle Matt, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Luke's toys are still up there for us to play with...very cool!

Here I am with Uncle Mark...I think we were watching hockey on TV.

It can be very exhausting to be in a new place discovering new things and exploring a new house.

Mama said her jaw dropped to the floor when she saw that I'd fallen asleep on my own in Grandma'a recliner...

World Premiere of My New Video

So, at my 2nd Birthday Rock N Roll bash, we world premiered my new video, Born to be Wild. The fans went wild! Of course they had to choose between the video and my live performance, which was pretty awesome in itself. We had to do a second viewing of the video, for quite a few folks. Enjoy!

My 2nd Birthday

On November 29th, I turned 2 years old! I had a party with friends and presents and CAKE! Mama and Papa took lots of photos and videos of course, but then their computer had some problems and it took them this long to be able to make a video for you all to see...but it will be worth the wait, I promise!

Happy Birthday!

A few days before these videos were taken, I started trying my best to sing the "Happy Birthday" song. This is Mama's attempt to catch me singing the song, with alot of prompting from herself and Papa.

The video was taken at some friends' cabin in Mazama, WA. It's really beautiful there and we got to see cows as well as the horses you see in the video. Unfortunately the cows were not supposed to be there and were grazing on our friends' brand new landscaping. Mama and I were nevertheless so excited that we looked outside constantly the rest of the weekend to see if the cows came back...silly kids that we are!

Happy Birthday GRANSMOKY!

Raking Leaves

The other day Papa and I were helping our neighbor, Jen, rake the leaves on our shared driveway. Papa uses the leaves as mulch for his garden and Jen is happy not to have to cart them away! I do my part though, first with a broom, then with a rake, and finally with both!

Me and My Dancing Kitty

This is some video that Mama likes to call, "good ole simple toddler fun." I don't know what she's talking about, but here you can see me and Kee-Kee coming back from a trip. We're just hanging out playing and then Kee-Kee hears a song he likes and starts dancing. Kee-Kee really likes to dance. And he's very good at it too. You'll see.

My First Pumpkin

Happy Halloween Everybody!
Last night Mama and Papa let me decorate my first pumpkin. Of course it was a chance to take some video to share with all of you. At the beginning of the video we forgot to turn the microphone on, so don't check the volume on your computer. Eventually we got it on and you can hear some of my new talent of trying out new words! I also say "WOW!" quite alot and you'll likely find it incredibly adorable...my Mama does!
Anyway, enjoy! We love you all!

Me & Uncle Luke

When I was in Cincinnati this Summer I got to hang out with my Uncle Luke. He's funny! Here's a short video of us together and a couple photos. Enjoy!

My "first" Tricycle

Back at the beginning of August, Mama & Papa found a tricycle on a "FREE" pile just two houses down from where we live. I had been completely obsessed with bicycles and tricycles ever since I started seeing them back in the early Spring. What a great fortune to have found this free "gift" and so close to home!

Well...when we got the tricycle home, I excitedly hopped right aboard! And that's when Mama and Papa discovered why the tricycle was on the free pile. It had some structural "issues". The main metal "stem" of the bike that connects the seat to the platform on the back wasn't really connected all the way and the tricycle had a tendency of dumping me off into the driveway, as you'll soon see. Mama only videoed me being dumped once, but I was so excited about the trike that I kept getting back on and attempting to ride it some more. I got dumped about 5 or 6 times before Mama decided to bring the trike inside to the carpeted living room. There I got dumped only twice before Mama decided the the trike had to go back to where it had come from.

So, I had my first tricycle for less than 24 hours, but I loved every minute we were together!

Swinging With My Cousins

Back to my trip to Cincinnati again.

Here I am with my cousins Rose (9), Ezra (6), Stella (5), and Lazlo (4). We're in Stella and Lazlo's backyard and I'm getting lots of attention and time on the swing. I was having a blast and the other kids were too, pushing me. And the doggies, Clovis and Harper, were there too and they were even having fun! I think Mama was ready to have a heart attack though the way the swing kept almost knocking people over! Eventually we moved over to the big hammock swing so we could all be in it together! What fun summertime memories!

Here's the whole gang in the hammock together:

My New Guitar

Back on August 16th, before I went to visit my cousins in Cincinnati, Mama finally found a kid-size acoustic guitar for me! YAY! She had been looking for a long time and kept promising she would get me one.

This video was taken just after I opened the box and played with it a little bit. Our cool neighbor, Mitch, knows how to tune a guitar, so he took it in his apartment to make it sound a lot better than it did straight out of the box. Then I took turns playing it with Mitch...I give him a nice green tomato for his services at the end of the video!

Here are some really great photos Mama took of me and my guitar.

Fountain Fun!

Our first night in Cincinnati took us down to Fountain Square in the downtown area for a free concert and LOTS of water fun! There were these really funny lights that squirted water up from the ground in a random fashion and I kept getting hit in the face and all over...but I thought it was fun and Mama didn't seem to care if I was getting wet, so I just kept going back for more. Then there was this wall of water that seemed like it might be fun to lean against, so I did...and then so did Ezra...and then so did Lazlo. Soon we were all soaked from head to toe...very fun! Mama eventually just took all my wet clothes off and I just played in my shoes and diaper until it was time to go. We danced, we laughed, we got other kids to come in and get soaking wet...fun, fun, fun!

Oh we also got to go for some famous yummy Cincinnati ice cream, check out the photos Mama took of Ezra and me!

Trikes, Big Wheels, Bikes and Hoola Hoops - Oh my!

My cousins, Rose and Ezra, hadn't seen me since I was 5 months old, so 2 weeks ago Mama and I went to visit them and my Uncle Luke and Aunt Lydia in Cincinnati, Oh.

This video is the first day we got to town. It was taken in the afternoon after Rose and Ezra got home from school. I've been fascinated with all types of bikes and trikes and wheeled things since I started really seeing them around Seattle this past Spring. Mama kept telling me she'd get me a tricycle sometime soon, but as of this video, I still didn't have one. So, when I spotted this trike I jumped right on and "took off" (sort of, I don't really know how to pedal and these pedals didn't really work anyway...but I was still ecstatic to be able to push myself on it). Then there was Ezra and Rose to play with too! Boy, were they ever fun to be with! And they were so sweet to me and attentive! I miss them lots!

Here's a few photos from that afternoon too:
Ezra and his cool "big boy" bike.

Pretty cousin Rose and I posing for Mama.

On the Phone with GranSmoky

The other day Mama was trying to have a conversation with GranSmoky on the phone when I came around and insisted on taking over Mama's portion of the call. So here I am, chatting (and hamming) it up with GranSmoky. You'll hear me say words like "truck" (very loosely interpretted), and "WOW!" and "Hi!' and then I finish with a "Bye" like you've never seen...I mean heard...before...hee hee!

Cute Cute Photo Shoot

So there are still more movies from our camping trip, but Mama found this set of photos that she took of me back on the 2nd of August and was sure you'd really enjoy them.

From watching my girl friend Mia (who is a month older than me) I've learned to put on my own hat and every once in a while, I insist on it! So on this particular night, I saw my little orange bucket hat (it's a tad bit too small for me) and absolutely HAD to wear it. I put it on and went about my "business" of playing when Mama decided that I looked ADORABLE and started taking pictures. This time though when she asked me to smile, I did, and I did it with a little bit of a pose. I was POSING for Mama's camera...she was absolutely THRILLED. Then Papa got in on the game and had me posing with my hands around my face and my arms up in the air...it was a funny game! ENJOY!

Playing in the Dirt

So we're back to our fabulous camping trip from last month. This video isn't super packed with action, but I'm looking pretty cute as I entertain myself on the dusty path between our campground and the one next to us.

Here's a still photo that Mama says is especially for the Grandparents!

Lehigh Valley Zoo

So this is a video from our trip to Pennsylvania back in June. We'll return to our July camping trip soon!

On our last day in PA, GranSmoky, Opa, Papa, Mama and I went to the Lehigh Valley Zoo. When Mama was growing up it was called the Trexler Game Preserve and she had fond memories of class trips and occasional family outings to see the animals. There's not too much footage of me, but the footage Mama got of Papa and the larakeets (birds) and that Papa got of all the rest of the animals is pretty amazing. We had a really fun time! GranSmoky's penguin commentary at the end (with the help of some kids standing next to her) is especially funny!

Cascade Lake Fun

So the lake where we swam while camping at Moran State Park is called Cascade Lake and it was really fun to play in the water there. I spent quite a lot of time helping bigger kids dig and fill "hot tubs" on the beach next to the lake. At the beginning of this video you'll see me staring down another boy who's sitting in a "hot tub" that I'd like to check out. Eventually he gets up and goes in the lake and I get my chance.

After that though, somebody was nice enough to leave this great plastic red wagon on the beach and let me "borrow" it for a little while. It was fun to take it in the water and watch it float. I thought about getting in at one point, then changed my mind. Also, thought about trying to fill it up with sand one small Kieran hand at a time...but thought better of it. Video isn't super action-packed, but the light was really nice and Mama thought you'd enjoy it anyway.

Working hard with my red wagon!

Tidbits about Me

So Mama hasn't been keeping a written journal about stuff that I'm up to (at least not consistently) so she thought she would take a few minutes and just talk about what I'm up to these days.

First of all, I'm 20 months old now and as of our camping trip to Orcas Island a few weeks ago, I no longer need a bottle of milk to go to bed at night or even at naptimes. I'm pretty much sleeping through the nights as well now. Both of these things are great reliefs to Mama and Papa.

I still wear diapers, but I sit on the little boy potty pretty much every morning and go pee. And during the day I will often ask Mama and Papa to put me on the big potty in the bathroom. It has a special seat on it that is just my size so I won't fall in!

I love to play in all water. I often play in our dog's water bowl which is kept in the bathroom on the floor and if I'm not playing with that I'm trying to turn on the bathtub faucets. I like to get my little tooth brush and use the drips from the tub faucet to imitate Mama and Papa and "brush my teeth". I also have a little step stool in the bathroom that I can climb up to "wash my hands" and get drinks out of the faucet by leaning over and putting my mouth right under it.

I am SUPER into guitars and harmonicas and music...especially live music and musicians and especially harder rock and roll type music. If you say the word "rock" in any context, i.e. rock climber, rocking chair, etc, I often figure you are talking about rock and roll and will get out my "air guitar" and start bobbing my head like a rock star. I have a little electronic guitar that I pull out several times a day and if there is a "for real" guitar around at a friend or neighbor's house, I immediately head straight for it. When we see live street musicians with guitars I usually go straight up to them and try to take their guitars right out of their hands or help them tune it. It sometimes gets frustrating for Mama who really likes to hear the music the musician is playing and which often gets interrupted by my enthusiasm and the kindness (and patience) of the musician towards me. At bigger concerts where there is live music I try incessantly to get up on stage and often impress the crowd around me by my seemingly natural musical talents and enthusiasm and passion and of course my awesome "air guitar" playing and rock and roll stance...people take pictures of me all the time these days. I'm almost as intrigued by the harmonica and actually have started taking up "air harmonica" as well...with the rock and roll, wide-legged, head bobbing stance. Mama keeps saying she's going to get me a harmonica and a kid-sized "real" guitar REALLY soon, but she hasn't yet. :(

I also have my little piano that I got for my first birthday. Often I'll sit down at the piano and start picking out a little tune...then I reach over for my little plastic electronic guitar and grab it in my hands as if I'm going to tune it with the piano. Sometimes I like to bang on the piano and create loud songs, but just as often I will pick out some gentle tunes with just a couple of the keys. The other evening I was picking out a simple tune and rocking back and forth a bit like Ray Charles. Mama tried desperately to catch it on video, but once the camera was on, I wouldn't do it anymore.

I'm still doing most of my "talking" via sign language, but I am starting to say more and more words. I can say "Mama" and "Papa" very well and quite regularly and the dogs names "Bom-bo" for Bongo and "Jek" for "Jack". I am also very good at the dog commands of "OUT!" "GO!" "BACK!" and "DOWN!" which I say with extreme authority and a dramatic pointing of the finger. When I want a cookie from the cookier container I ask for a "Kee-coo" which Mama just adores. Papa tried to get me to say "spoon" yesterday and I was able to get out a good solid "Spooooo". Oh yeah, and one of my most favorite words that I say at least a dozen times a day in different circumstances is "Woooww!" (I'm saying it right now in fact over and over again because I've just dumped some dog food in a cardboard container that I got out of the recycling...very "WOW!")

My favorite books and stories are usually about cats, but I really like animals in general. I know lots of the sign language for many animals and you will often hear me imitating the sounds of the animals I see around me as well as any animals I see on any packaging or everyday object. A new animal sound that I'm really into right now is the one for sheep, "Baaa". Also, the other morning at the kitchen table I said, "mooo". Mama and Papa looked all around to see what I had seen to make me do that...well, there was a picture of a cow on the milk carton that they had never even paid attention to.

Well, that's alot of reading for now...Mama promises to make another video about camping trip really soon. We hope you enjoy this new "text only" addition...we'll try and keep it shorter in the future or at least find a photo or two to add for fun.

PS Mama found some pictures to add to all these words...They are pictures of me "helping" to work on the computer. I'm sure you will enjoy!




We love you and miss you all!