So prior to Keaten's arrival, we were constantly asking ourselves if Brianne would continue with her excitement for the baby. It is now nearly 2 weeks after Keaten's arrival and we are glad to say, yes she is still very much excited. Much in the same way that Spunky used to come running to us and then to Brianne when she was crying, Brianne runs to Keaten's aide when he is crying (for a short while, any time he cried, she cried, and any time we picked him up, we had to pick her up; thankfully that stage passed quickly).
Not only does she look after him when he is upset, but when sleeping (she will occasionally go over and ooh and aah over him) and when he needs his diaper change, she is right there to give a helping hand (primarily handing you a diaper and then standing there and watching you).
Prior to Keaten's arrival, Brianne and Daddy had a game where she would ask him for his hand, walk him to the middle of the room, and then go steal his chair. Once she had stolen her chair, she would say "lap" and pat her knees, wanting Daddy to sit on her lap. Now with Keaten home, "lap" takes on a whole new meaning. Sure, her and Daddy play this game from time to time, but more often than naught, she wants Keaten on her lap, not Daddy. It is truly cute and we are enthusiastic that she is showing such excitement for Keaten (we plan to remind her of these things when they are older and going "at it").
Kami and I couldn't be more proud of our daughter, or should we say disciple. The other day, she ran off to her room and came back with a picture of Jesus preaching to the children, took it over to Keaten and said "This Jesus." To say that we were shocked would be an understatement, but if that wasn't a reminder to be child-like, I don't know what would be. There can't be much that is more clearer than that.
Last week Grandma and Pop-pa Wilkin were here and Brianne got lots of attention. They took her to the park to let her play, then to Graeter's (a local ice cream factory, where there was a tour and a "snack"). Graeter's has egg free sorbet and cones so Brianne was able to eat her snack and then proceeded to play on their playground. Then at home, there was a lot of ball playing, block building/smashing, etc. There was hope to go to the zoo, but by the time our Membership cards (we had ordered them prior to my parents arriving) arrived, the weather became too cold (plus it was raining).
However, today, we did get to go to the zoo and it was a blast! Keaten, of course, slept the whole time we were there, but Brianne was wide awake. We got to see a Black Bear (yes, our zoo has one; Knoxville on the other hand has imaginary ones*), Polar Bear, Brown Bar, an Arctic Fox (of which Brianne called it a "doggy"), a Puma, a Rhino, and several Elephants. So guess which animal was the big hit of the day? The Elephants. Now I know what you are thinking... Matt, that isn't nearly enough animals listed for visiting a zoo. I agree it isn't, but that is what we achieved in 2 hours. It ends up the Columbus Zoo is HUGE and we just couldn't take it all in during a single trip (hence the membership). So we completed North America and the initial section of Asia (of which we will continue at our next trip).
On the way home, we decided to show our appreciation for Brianne for being in such a wonderful mood (considering she only had a 30 minute nap for the entire day), that we bought milkshakes from Steak n' Shake (they're egg-free!). Mommy got Strawberry and Daddy got Chocolate, and Brianne got a little bit of both.
Keaten, Brianne, Mommy, and Daddy are all doing fine. Kami is starting her first week alone tomorrow with both kids (so start praying). Then later this week, my work place wants to meet Keaten (and the rest of the family).
Love,
Matt, Kami, Brianne, and Keaten
* When visiting the Knoxville Zoo, we went to the Black Bear exhibit only to find it entirely empty. So we tried back again, still empty. It was quite funny. You might be able to see black bears out in the mountains or Cade's Cove, but you can't see them in the zoo...
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