GOT IT!

Mwa ha ha! I got it! It can only hide for so long. Enjoy the smiles.

I'm a Survivor

So we all survived mommy's return to work. It was tough on everyone the first day, but seemed to go smoother day two. Then I am off the rest of the week. All in all this return to work went much better than after Maggie, but of course I was working 12 hour days before and after Maggie was born. The one thing that was a bigger struggle is that I didn't return to work with Maggie until she was 3 months old. Miles was only 7 weeks, and still at that age where sometimes the only thing to stop the crankiness is just being with mom. But Jeremy did well with both of them, and Sam didn't even cry. Maggie was happy to see me go back to work, and she didn't seem to care at all. I hope things continue to go smoothly with this transition. Extra prayers are welcome.

Big Sister Skills

First of all, as you most of you know, yesterday was the coldest day since 1996. Jeremy didn't have to go to work because of the cold, so we got to bunker down in the house and eat leftover soup. About mid-day, Jeremy decided to take a nap, and Maggie and Miles were already sleeping, so I thought I would read a bit. After reading a bit, the house started to feel chillier and chillier. I check the thermostat and its blank. Apparently the battery died in the digital thermostat, but I didn't know what it was. So I had to wake Jeremy up to figure it out. I felt so bad. He never takes naps. Once the battery was replaced, the temp was about 63 in the house. Felt way colder than that! Luckily it was only a battery. I can't imagine what furnace guys were doing yesterday. I'm sure we would not have been able to get someone over here to fix it, had it actually been a broken furnace!

Now for Maggie:

What's This

Maggie came up to me the other morning with something in her hands that I could not see. She kept saying to me, "Mommy, what's this?" I told her I didn't know, because I couldn't see it. She persisted, "Mommy, what's this? What's this?" Finally I told her to give it to me so I could see what it is. She places said object in my hand, and to my disgust it is a fresh booger. Not that a stale one would have been any better. So I told her it was a booger, and she says, "Oh, a booger. Boogers live in my nose."

A Mess

Today Jeremy had a hard time getting the car started with all the cold. So, he came in and out of the house several times this morning. He ended up having to jump the car using the Ford, and eventually got it started. In his wake he left a trail of salty water marks on the front foyer floor and the kitchen floor. When Maggie woke this morning and came downstairs, she was quite perturbed by the mess. I quote, "DADDY, what did you DO?! No no no! Clean up this mess!" At which point she grabs a dry dish towel and tries to clean up the floor. She continues to talk to herself, "Naughty daddy. What did daddy do?! No no no daddy!"

Scary Clowns

At one point, we had the dvd The Dark Knight sitting on near the TV. Maggie, being the curious child she is, picks it up. She looks at the back, where one of the Joker's henchmen has a picture on it. She asks, "What's this?" So, Jeremy tells her, "Its a scary clown." For at least a week she walked around with that DVD case saying, "Look, a scary clown." She would wake up in the morning and from naps asking to see the scary clown. So Jeremy decides to look up scary clown masks on the internet to show her more pictures. She loved it! She would look at the thumbnails and say, "Hmmmmm, how bout that one? No, too scary? How bout that one? No, too gross. This one? Perfect." Eventually we tired of having to get the computer out to show her scary clowns, so we told her that the scary clowns are gone, they went to Texas. Still, to this day, she asks once in a awhile, "Scary clowns back in Texas?"

No for pictures!

We've been super busy here at the Keen household. I wanted to share some pics of the kiddos as well as some new Maggie stories. Miles is still pretty boring, but cute as a button.

Smiles

Miles smiled for the first time for real yesterday. Of course I can't get him to replicate it, but my next goal is to catch one in a picture. I was talking to him and he was cooing back at me, and he just grinned. It was awesome. It couldn't come at a better time since I am exhausted from getting up with him ever few hours at night. I guess thats why God times it when he does. As soon as I catch one in a picture, I will share it.

So this year has been eventful for the Illinois Keen clan. I suppose as bloggers must, I will review the year and reflect on the journey of our family.

Jeremy- This past year Jeremy has had some great successes both professionally and musically. At work, they re-evaluated his position and deemed that it was worth more money than he was making. Not a bad thing for us at all. His store relocated to a bigger building, and his boss continues to support his creative ideas for the future of the Elgin Habitat ReStore.This year Jeremy connected with alot of new musicians and played quite a few shows all over the Chicagoland area.

Sam- I have continued to work part-time for the YMCA, well if you can consider 36 hours a week part time. This position remains a challenge for me, as it is difficult to recruit so many staff and keep them through the school year. It pushes me to new creative lengths for ideas of how to gain staff.

Maggie - She turned 2 this year, and has not stopped talking since she figured out how. She is very creative and never ceases to make us laugh. We laugh even as she is getting in trouble. Towards the end of the year she took to singing with frequency, and we encourage her alot in that area. We are hoping that she is a future musician for the "family band."

Miles - Miles was born. He eats, sleeps, poops and pees. I'm sure the next year will bring much more interesting updates for him.

As a family we have continued to get more involved with our church. We joined a new small group this year, which has been a great encouragement for us. Jeremy even accepted a volunteer position with the worship team, and now organizes and recruits musicians for the worship team. We have added to our family with little Miles Jay, and while we are challenged daily by the complications of another child in our family, we couldn't be more thankful. Its been a pretty good year, but I'm hoping 2009 will be even better.