Santa

We thought it would be fun to stick a one year old Everett on Santa's lap and see what he thought. To me, his hands say it all. They are "let me outta here" hands. Personally, I thought a screaming picture would be both hilarious and memorable, but Santa was so nice, that was not HIS goal. :)

Look Out!!! It's the Milk Monster!

I'm sorry - I know the video is sideways, but it takes forever for me to get it right.  I'll work on that and edit later.  For now, enjoy.

Quick Update

Loyal blog followers - I have not forsaken thee!  I apologize for my lapse in posts.  I have been working on making the first year's posts into Everett's baby book.  Not a quick task.  While I await the procurement of the pizza by my husband I shall give a quick update.   (The procurement takes awhile as we cannot agree on who makes the best pizza and must order from two places.)

Everett is saying more and more things.  It is so interesting to watch him verbally communicate, whether it is intelligible by us or not.  The funniest thing lately is that he calls little yellow stuffed animals "ducks".  This really only includes a bird other than actual ducks, but I think yellow animals fit the, um, bill.  I've been doing the "what does a ____ say?" game for awhile now and just recently he's started to respond.  To the duck one only, but it's a very cute start.  "What does a duck say?"  To which he responds a very funny "khekh khekh" like he's clearing his throat.  There is a lot of language that is there that we just don't get as well.  But we're starting to.

Temper tantrums.  Fun.  He's started protesting more than he has in the past.  He has a very determined personality, so we're going to do our best to direct it toward perseverance and away from stubbornness. 

Still no walking.  But sooooo close!  I know, I've said that before.

I'm feeling pretty good.  We go to the OB on Friday, so we get to see some new pictures of baby #2, or "June bug" (due in June).  I'm really excited about these as they are at 13 weeks, and Everett's best ultrasound pictures by far were at 12 weeks.  Hopefully we'll get some good ones to share.

Hope everyone is doing great!

My Giggling Dance Machine

I think Everett is just the cutest little boogie machine.  Not talking about his nose this time.  Here is him getting down and giggling at his baby keyboard.

Pflugerville Pfall Chili Pfest

My Dad's going to love those Pf's.  That's really the name, I swear!  Today Everett and I, while Dada was working, headed out to the Chili Pfest.  We met our friends Aida and Julian and had high hopes of sampling lots of chilies.  The boys must have slept too long because we didn't make it before the chili ran dry.  :(  So sad!  We did buy them some from a non-competitor however (we could have made much better), and got them in a baby bounce house and petting zoo.  Here are some fun photos from our day.

The boys were so brave

He was so interested in the animals and didn't want to leave them.

This was really yucky.  I did it for the boys.

Feed for the animals.

We had a great time dancing to the live music.

Hey brother!

All tuckered out.  What a great day!

One Year Well Check

Everett weighed in at the doctor's office this week.  Here are his measurements:

Height: 31.5 inches 90%tile
Weight: 21 lb 15 oz - 25-50%tile
Head Circumference: 46.2 cm 25-50%tile

We had an insurance change, so we had to switch pediatricians.  I loved our old one, but I also really liked our new one, a colleague of Eric's.  We learned how to discourage picky eating, and we are instructed as he gets closer to 15 months old to encourage him to "use his words."  Currently his words are momma, dada, ki ca (kitty cat), and sometimes he says ba (ball) and ca (car).  He is starting to mimic our words a lot more lately.  For example, he likes to hold up this toy corn on the cob he just got.  I say "corn!" every time, and he just started responding with "co, co, co, co" (always 4).  haha!  It's so fun to watch his language develop.

He's doing really well.  Even with the 4 shots he received.  Proud of our little guy.

Big Brother

By now you've probably heard, we are expecting our second child!  We are so excited.  I wanted to give you a little more info.  We are 8 weeks, 5 days pregnant at this point, which puts the due date as June 16th.  Everett and baby #2 will be 19.5 months apart.  Perfect in my book.  :)  My sister and I are 18 months apart, and we've been close friends all our lives.  I'm sure that's due to good parenting in addition to the 18 months, so hopefully we can help these kids be close as well.  When pregnant with Everett, we did not find out his gender until birth, and it was really fun and exciting.  This time we're going to try it the other way for fun.  So we'll find out the gender the first week of January.  I have absolutely no preference either way.  I want a healthy, happy, fun-loving, sleep-loving baby of any gender.  :)  And I can't wait to see Everett as a big brother.  :)

Mini Birthday Party

This weekend, Everett's Grandma and Grandpa came down to celebrate his birthday with us.  We attempted to go to the Gypsy Picnic Food Festival, but it was just madness.  Think really long lines for a $3 sample.  After getting some lunch at Torchy's Tacos we came home for presents and cupcakes!  He got some really fun toys and some cuddly winter clothes.  We are going to purchase him a balance bike for his birthday, but he isn't walking yet, so that plan is put off just a bit.  When it was cupcake time he tentatively played with it before smashing it frosting side first into his mouth.  It was so funny because he just held it there for awhile smelling it and perhaps trying to figure out what to do next.  Needless to say, he figured it out and devoured it within a few minutes.  My mom has a great video I'll have to get from her.

It's been a fantastic year.  Everett has brought so much to our lives, and parenting has helped us grow in many ways as well.  We are so grateful for this happy, constantly laughing little dude.  

One Year!

Oh my goodness, where does the time go?  Seriously!  I have such a hard time believing that one year ago at this time I was in labor.  I had really thought at 7pm last year that we would be holding a baby.  But instead it was at that time, 19 hours into labor, that I said "epidural please!"  (and wow - good idea)  And 6 hours after that we met our precious son.

This year feels like a blur - from feeding every hour and a half and finding great accomplishment in 3-4 hour stretches of sleep to now really playing with and interacting with him and relishing the 13 hours he sleeps at night.  And so many changes in between. 

Tomorrow we shall celebrate Everett's birthday with a trip to Rudy's BBQ.  He loves that place, so it seems fitting.  My parents will visit this weekend at which time we'll have presents and the first cupcake. 

Will post more soon!

So Dramatic

Our eat-anything boy turned a little picky today.  Perhaps it was my mistake feeding him blueberry pancakes for breakfast and a blueberry coffee cake muffin as a snack.  When I put rice and vegetables to his lips he very dramatically scrunched his face and clutched his chest with both hands as if to say, "how dare you!  What are you trying to feed me!?  Where is my blueberry pastry!"  Despite the frustration of slaving over the stove to have him turn his nose up at his food, it was pretty hilarious.

We attempted to catch it on camera, but this is as close as we got.  It doesn't really fully capture it, so you'll have to use your imagination.  He couldn't clutch his chest with BOTH hands because he had a cheerio in his right hand at the time.

Cheerios, Mom.  Only Cheerios.

ACL: Day 3?

Nah!  Hope everyone had fun!  We stayed in, did mundane errands, and took naps. :)

ACL Festival: Day 2!

We made it through day 2! We biked there and back (after driving within about 2 miles from the park), and this time Everett did fantastic. The difference this time: his magical Grandma-made blankie came along for the ride. He sucked his thumb, held the blankie tight, and enjoyed the great ride. :) Thanks Mom, for making that blankie and weaving all the love into it.

I will say though that our chosen path to get to the park, in an effort to avoid cars, involved carrying the bike trailer over streams, rocks, and sand. Oops. Thanks to strong Dada it all worked out.

One cool thing that happened - a lady came up to us and said she saw us yesterday, and Everett was so cute rocking out on his Daddy's shoulders. With the 60,000 people there, that's pretty amazing that we saw an E admirer the following day.

I'm exhausted! Will the third and final day of the festival see the Keahey family? We will see!

Our little guitar monkey rockstar

Dances with Wolves

Wolf Blitzer that is!

Mommy's Garden Helper

From crawling into the sprinkler, to digging in the dirt, I can't keep this boy out of nature.

Helping with a little weeding and bed prep.

Having fun.

Austin City Limits Festival: Day 1

ACL Fest is a huge Austin live music tradition attracting tens of thousands to the city and the festival.  I got a smashing good deal on some tickets last year, so we took Everett down to his second ACL.  Second, you say?  He attended last year in utero.  8 months in utero!  :)

Getting to ACL is always a challenge with the tens of thousands descending on Zilker park.  We always try not to kill each other and vow to never go again when trying to get out of the place to go home.  Rather than tackle the crazy shuttle buses this time though, we packed up the bikes and the bike trailer, drove downtown, then biked a few miles to the park.  I thought it was great fun, but Everett cried the whole way.  And the whole way back.  *sigh*  BUT - at the festival, he was a rockstar!  Strangers were taking his picture.  Several people came up and said how awesome he is and how great it was that we took him.  Yea!  I thought so too!  :)  He danced, he clapped, he watched the stage.  He even took a nap during the first part of Vampire Weekend, which was an amazing show. 

Don't let this face fool you.  He cried hard when this thing was in motion!

Waiting patiently for Dad to lock up the bikes.

Our bike lock-up.  It was hard to get the lock around everything.  ha!

We weren't the only ones that chose to bike there.

Enjoying his first concert (Spoon).  Like the ear handles?

That's My Jam!

Canada, Part 3

There is nothing more glorious than coming home to 70 degree weather with a sleeping baby.  Everett came back from this trip with leg rolls.  And here's why: HE EATS LIKE A GROWN MAN!  For breakfast every morning he ate (voraciously) a half a bagel, a waffle, and yogurt.  There may have been more in there.  It's all a blur of mountains of food at this point.  I split most of my food half and half with him, and I was full way before he was.  It's startling sometimes.

Our trip started off with time spent in Detroit.  We first met my sister who flew in from Denver.   Then we got to see a long time high school friend whom we haven't seen in many years.  It was so good to see you, Matt Rudy, and meet your wonderful wife.  Then we got to have brunch with a good friend from Dallas, Arash, who is doing his residency in Detroit.  These visits were so wonderful. 

Then we drove to Canada, where the border patrol man wanted to know how we could possibly be related to someone in Canada.  How strange, I know.  Our trip to Canada was for my cousin, Marna's, wedding.  (Part 3 because it is the 3rd visit over the last few years to Canada for a cousin's wedding -- not the same cousin, don't worry.  Sisters.  And also for the theater theme...hang with me one minute.)  Marna's now husband, Paul, is fantastic.  We got to spend a little time with them both when we visited Sturgeon Bay a few months ago.  They both are entrenched in the theater world, and therefore, fittingly, they had a theater-themed wedding.  The ceremony was held on stage.  There was a narrative about how they met and the things they enjoy together while objects to symbolize the story were placed in a suitcase on stage.  Tables had to sing for their dinner at the reception.  Oh, and my favorite part was that Marna and her dad walked down the aisle while one of her bridesmaids sang so beautifully, "'Til There Was You" from The Music Man.  When I say "sang beautifully," I mean give you shivers and make you wanna cry beautiful.  But I'm a sap at weddings and usually have to think about something else a few times during a ceremony to keep from weeping like a baby.

We met my parents in Canada, and it is always wonderful to see them.  Everett was so happy to see his Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lauren.  And I think it was mutual.  :)

We Made It!

Ahh, home sweet home.  It's always nice to make it home after a trip, but when you're traveling with a baby, the words "we made it!" mean so much more!

Walking through an airport with a baby, I usually feel like I'm carrying a bomb or something equally offensive.  Most people look at you, not with the "your-baby-is-so-precious" eyes, but with the "you're-not-on-MY-flight-are-you?" eyes.  And once they've realized that you are, it's the "you're-not-sitting-next-to-ME-are-you?" eyes.  Everytime he starts fussing, my inner voice hears everyone else's inner voice saying "oh no, heeere we go."  The woman behind us on the flight today asked the flight attendant for aspirin.  Even though Everett was sleeping I just knew it was her preparing for his commotion.  Ok, maybe I jump to conclusions, but I just hate inconveniencing other people that don't think my baby is just too adorable for words.

We attempted to cause less of a commotion putting Everett to bed at the hotel after the wedding.  We had a genius plan to change him into his pajamas before we leave, and then just sweep him from the carseat to the crib.  Everett peed all over those plans.  Literally.  And on his Dad too. 

Here are a few not helpful things that commonly happen on a trip.
 - In the hotel, there is almost always a person that says sweetly, "Oooh, hello cutie pie.  I heard you this morning."  I don't think they realize how much that makes me feel like crap.
 - Turning to look when Everett is crying on the plane.  That doesn't help.  But thanks for your concern.  Was that concern?  Hmm.

Well, it was a great trip.  Sorry for the negativity.  But as a friend pointed out - it's about being real not about always showing the perfect side.  I'll blog more about that later and include some pictures, but now I'm going to relax.  Everett has been sleeping for hours.  Poor baby - we disrupted his sleep schedule big time.  But he still wins the "award for good travel" according to a man on our flight.  Yay!  THAT was a very helpful thing to tell me.  :)

Born to Ride!

Before you ride you must wrangle the dino and earn his trust.

Baby's First Haircut!

 I don't even feel right calling him a baby anymore!  He is one ounce of confidence away from toddling.  *sigh*

Yesterday we decided we should trim the hair covering Everett's ears.  That little change made such a big difference that we decided to trim the whole thing.  Eric did the trimming, and it looks so much better.  Though we would have liked it a little longer, he at least won't need another cut for awhile.  Here he is clean cut and looking like a big boy! 

 BEFORE

 AFTER!

Nooooo!

Everett did so many new things today! The first of which started at the very beginning of our day. I got him up in the morning, put him on the changing table, and he promptly shook his head "no". Oh really? This is not his most favorite part of the day. This is when he's anxious for some food and doesn't care what's been sitting in his diaper for the past 13 hours. Eww! While learning to say "no" is not going to be my most favorite thing in the world, I am still so proud of the ability to express himself like this.

The next new thing was climbing up onto the fireplace hearth! Great new skill for our monkey boy. I'm just worried about how in the world he'll get down if I'm not there to do it for him. (not walking yet)

And another thing. He has really been hating his bath lately, so I bought a bathtime book. It's waterproof and involves washing the animals with a washcloth. Eric has been reading it to him for the past few nights, and tonight when I opened the book he grabbed the washcloth and started to "wash the duckies" with no prompting. Amazing! He's learning things so fast, and it is so fun to watch.

And finally, what I am most proud of. From the day we brought him home, it has been a goal of mine (among others - I'm not crazy) to give Everett the gift of rhythm. I have no idea if this is an innate or learned quality, but I feel like it's vital to the fun things in life. Music, dancing, coordination, etc. I've had music on, danced with him, sung to him, drummed with him, etc. If there is a song on, I'll try to drum a simple form of the rhythm for him to hear. Today while watching Sesame Street, he actually started dancing in rhythm to the music. And earlier in the day he was drumming (he does that a lot) on beat with some music. I love it!!! And I really love to see him shake it! It's so cute. :)


Ooh, ooh, just one more thing. Lately Everett and Frankie (the cat) have become buddies! They started out ignoring each other. Then Frank was not that interested as Everett's interest grew, though he was always concerned if Everett was crying. And now, despite Everett's attack hugs and tail death grips, they actually enjoy being near each other. So sweet. I really enjoy watching Everett get excited to see Frank every morning.

Of course all this new stuff happened while Eric worked a day shift today. At least he didn't start walking.