On a mission

Stephen is out of town for work this week and it requires a little adjustment for all of us. Yesterday, Keaton was crawling from room to room calling out "da." In one of the videos here, he is saying "da" while he looks in a couple of rooms. In the other video, take note of his tongue.

Keaton's Birthday Week

In celebration of Keaton's birthday, I'm going to share some video of his latest activities. Yesterday, he was performing a few tunes from his latest album, "How to drive Mommy crazy with loud banging."

Springtime is finally here!

A duet at the piano, led by Cate G. Martino. Accompaniment by Keaton Samuel, also known as Lovey.

I feel safe going with the springtime title for the post today. We've had a few chilly days, but it's officially spring with the storms, sunshine and unpredictable weather that defines Kansas this time of year.

We've had a lot going on between the kids and work. Keaton had double ear infections about a month ago. He missed three days of day care (two before we figured out something was truly wrong). He's very close to walking on his own. He cruises with ease around the house. He is also getting more verbal. I think we can officially say his first word that he associates meaning with is "da." I will admit, it stings a little, but I'm working hard on ma :)

Cate has been preparing for her dance recital coming up in just two weeks. We lost her ballet slippers so we ended up taking one Saturday off! Fortunately they have been found and we made it to dance class this week to get her costume which we ordered right around Christmas time. It's a green, frilly number that I'm sure she will be adorable wearing. Just last weekend, we took Cate to a birthday party at the zoo for a church friend. It was a great way to spend some time together as a family and also catch up with our friends from church. The weather was terrific and we had a truly enjoyable afternoon.

We celebrated Mother's Day, Stephen's birthday and Pop Pop's birthday (Stephen's dad) just a couple of weeks ago. This weekend, we went to a couple's shower for Stephen's sister. She is getting married in June and both Cate and I are in the wedding. Cate is getting her dress fitted this week and I have mine, but it still needs alterations.

Stephen hits the road on Memorial Day for a month-long travelling stint. He'll be in Reno and a couple of other places before the middle of June.

In between all this excitement, I've become expert at organizing swearing in ceremonies in Kansas government. We've sworn in a new Governor and Lt. Governor in the last three weeks. I also went to Chicago to speak a conference (up and back in about 24 hours) last week.

I think we are all ready for a little vacation, so we've planned a short trip to St. Louis the first week of July. We are looking forward to our first trip as a family. Now I just need to find the time to plan it!


The cake that Cate and I made for Stephen's birthday and Mother's Day -- peanut butter chocolate cakes with cream cheese and Butterfinger icing. Cate was in charge of the candles.

Pure cuteness. Exhibit A.

Pure cuteness. Exhibit B.

Cate performing a few numbers from Beauty and the Beast while we were visiting the zoo. As you can see, she was really into it.