Neighborhood Goodbyes

On Tuesday night, our Village Way friends gave us a Bon Voyage party! I will certainly miss these girls, their sweet husbands, and all their beautiful kiddos. Our weekly playdates are the highlight of my week (and Keaton's)! Their love, prayers, and support have lifted our family up, and have really helped us through the uncertainty of the last 6 months and the craziness of this move. It is such a gift to have amazing friends like this just steps from our door. It was sad to say goodbye, but I know we will stay in touch! I'm thinking...girls trip to Hawaii??

Keaton Encyclopedia

In the last 2 months, Keaton has exploded verbally! He can mimic about every sound or word that we say (scary!) and surprises us constantly with the things he understands and tells us. However, half the time he is still talking in his own little language. There are words that only people that are around him everyday can understand the meaning. I know this "Keaton language" is probably on its way to extinction, since his verbal skills and ability to express himself are improving daily. So, in an effort to preserve this little snapshot of him at (almost) 22 months, I've created a translation key below for Keaton's current vocabulary.

Bluebabies = blueberries, one of his absolute favorite foods
Brumbra = what he affectionately calls both of his Grandmas
Brumby = Barney
Crowns = specifically crayons, but this is term can be used also for markers, pencils, pens, chalk or anything else that writes
Effant = Elephant, one of his favorite animals to talk about
Faffle - waffle, a breakfast favorite
Hooty Mosto = Cookie Monster, one of his beloved Sesame Street pals
I-heam - ice cream
I wuv woo - I love you (my personal favorite thing to hear)
Mama-hand or Dada-hand = this means he does NOT want to be held, but he wants to walk on the ground by himself and hold our hand
Money = this can mean a number of things, but most commonly refers to his cousin Matthew (who is 8 months older) and macaroni and cheese, his absolute favorite food which he asks for at breakfast, lunch, and dinnertime. "Money" can also mean blanket, but ironicallly does not ever mean actual money.
Ootsy-lala = milk
Keaton came up with "Ootsy" at about 1 year old for milk. "Ootsy-lala" evolved over a few months when he started to associate drinking his milk in the morning while watching Elmo (who he called "Lala" at the time). Even though he does not always watch Elmo in the mornings anymore, nor does he call Elmo "Lala" - the term Ootsy-lala has stuck.
Variations:
(Hot) Ootsy-lala = milk heated in microwave for precisely 30 sec.
(Caa) Ootsy-lala = chocolate milk, or chocolate of any kind, a rare treat!
Papi = can be used for a truck or a cracker (don't ask me)
Pretty = this is what he calls any girl that he sees and does not know her name. He even calls Minnie Mouse "Pretty Mouse."
Titty Tat = kitty cat
Tittos = stickers, a recent obsession after receiving some Sesame Street stickers in his Christmas stocking
Wawa - water
Yeah - he does use this word as an affirmative "yes", sometimes, but it is also what he calls a cell phone. This is because everytime he picks up a cell phone, he puts it to his ear and says, "Yeah... Yeah... Yeah." I guess this is what I sound like to him!
Yo-yo =Yogurt
Yum Yum = this specifically refers to snacks given only in the car for some reason. As soon as he is buckled, he starts in, "Mama, yum yum?" This is bad habit I've created!!

Here's a recent video of him doing random funny stuff:

Helping us pack

Keaton's getting ready for the big move. I guess I better wait a couple of weeks before I box him up and ship him over..

Another Great Soup

I'm really into making soup lately. I think it's all the cold weather and snow that just gets me in mood. Also, I've been trying to cook almost entirely out of my freezer and pantry until we leave for Hawaii, so it's less food I have to get rid of before we leave. I can always count on a good soup recipe to empty my pantry shelves of plenty of cans. I found a recipe for tomato soup on allrecipes.com and altered it according to what I had on hand. Here's what I ended up with. It was absolutely so creamy, delicious and EASY!

Ingredients

• 2 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth (I had some in the freezer from a chicken I cooked several weeks ago)
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 jar alfredo sauce
  

Mix all ingredients in a large stockpot and simmer for 30min-1hour.

Great for dipping grilled cheese sandwiches. Let me know how you like it! I wish I would have taken a picture, but I didn't intend to blog about it because I didn't expect it to turn out so good!