Hiking

Anyone who knows Eric knows how much he loves mountain biking. So much so it's almost nauseating. More like, it makes me nauseatingly nervous that he'll seriously hurt himself someday (apparently if he doesn't minorly hurt himself, it isn't a good ride).

But I do have to hand it to him. Mountain biking takes you to the prettiest parts of Austin. He took us to one of those places today for a hike. It was a beautiful day, and the water was clear and gorgeous. People braver than us were actually in the cold water. Barton Creek, shown below, was completely dry 6 months ago due to drought. It's so wonderful to see it flowing now.

Whenever we set out on a hike, my mission is to get the perfect nature shot. I think my perfect shot this time by far is of my boys.

The Texas Stock Show and Rodeo

Ok, so we didn't see the actual Rodeo. That's happening at Everett's bedtime, and we've found out on multiple occasions what happens when we try to do something at bedtime. But I did go to my first (and Everett's first) stock show. I'm assuming Eric has been to one before since he's a "true Texan". I think seeing the lines of cows that will eventually become hamburgers took me one step closer to being a vegetarian. We did manage to get Everett a cowboy hat and some funny pictures. :) I also learned that a sheep actually feels like a wool sweater, and baby pigs, while they probably have better things to do, are adorable when being raced with little numbers on their back.



They're gonna do WHAT to those cows???

I can't bear it!

Zilker Kite Festival

Last weekend, we packed up Everett and strolled to Zilker park for the 82nd annual Kite Festival! I include "82nd" because I think it's fun to imagine people gathering to fly their kites in 1928. It was amazing how many kites there were, and it was great to see how amicable everyone was in sharing their kite space.







Everett did really well. He loves being outside and rarely cries when outdoors. Of course, Eric bragged to everyone that he hadn't cried all day after which he promptly cried for a few hours. :(

Mac Baby

Hold on a minute Grandma! I just need to update my facebook status! "Everett Keahey is having a great time giggling with Grandma."

Note: This was not staged (my mom was using the computer). And he actually opened gmail. haha!

Little Buddies (and big ones too)

I was told I'm not blogging fast enough, so here ya go. I'll try to do better. haha! ;)

Everett and I have had a great time on playdates and have had different opportunities to hang out with other babies lately. It's so much fun for me to connect with other moms, and it's a blast watching the babies interact with each other. I've laughed so hard I've cried watching these kids. Here are some pictures of these little buddies in action.

First, at Square One, a church group for new moms...



Everett and Asher discover each other.



Contact is made!



Then, on a playdate at the park at Mueller with Jessie and Otis and Mandi and Rell...



You are looking lovely, my pet.



I'm not your pet!!!

And finally, at our Bradley birthing class reunion. There are so many great pictures, it was hard to just pick a few. :)



Los Tres Amigos



Everett and Asher



Matthew and Everett

We love the new friends that have come into our lives! Parenting is so much fun. :)

When You Were Born

My plan is to use this blog to make Everett's baby book using blurb.com. Every now and then I'll add entries that may not matter much to my current reader, but are really intended for my future reader. :) Though this trip down recent memory lane might be fun. :)

Everett, here are some of our world's events (in no particular order) surrounding your birth:

-Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President in January 2009. His inauguration is historic as he is the first African-American president. The 2008 presidential primaries were also historic as he ran against Hillary Clinton, who won more primaries than any other woman in history. We also saw a female Vice-Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, running with John McCain. I would not be surprised if this is one of the presidential races you study in history class.



- President Obama appointed the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

- The war continues in Afghanistan and Iraq, which began in March 2003 as a result of the events of September 11, 2001.

- The World Health Organization declares H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as "swine flu", as a global pandemic.

- January 12, 2010, there was a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake in Haiti that devastated the country. There were an estimated 230,000 killed, 300,000 injured, and 1 million homeless. You, 2 months old, attended a devotional gathering with many of our closest friends at your home to pray for the Haitians.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffreygutermanflickr/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

- Ongoing financial crisis and recession which began in late 2007 continues with many calling it the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s causing house prices to decline, and unemployment to increase. In 2009 governments in the US and around the world pumped trillions of dollars into the financial system and into the economies hoping to avert another Great Depression. By the end of 2009 although unemployment had continued to increase, markets had recovered and most thought the worst was over.

- Following the reelection of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there are a series of sustained protests which are stopped by Iranian Forces.

- In Spring 2008, seven Baha'i leaders in Iran are arrested and falsely accused of espionage and "corruption on earth " by the Iranian government. These charges are punishable by death sentence. There is international outcry and support for these seven. Their third trial date is coming up in April 2010. All charges are categorically false and denied, and there is no due process in the Iranian court system. They are represented by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi, and we all pray for their safe release. There are approximately 30 Baha'is wrongly being held in Iranian prisons currently. Because of this case as well as others, the spotlight is being placed more and more on the Iranian government's actions.



- Michael Jackson, King of Pop, dies suddenly after inappropriate use of prescription medicine. His death brought worldwide mourning.

- The #1 song was Fireflies by Owl City.

- The top two selling movies in 2009 are "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs". Mom is a Harry Potter fan. :)

- Dec 2009 cost of bread $1.75, milk $3.10, gas $2.62/gallon, postage stamps $0.44.

Long and Lean

Everett has grown 6 inches in 4 months!!! Here are his 4 month measurements. The length is a whopper, but we're going to "watch" the weight. For now, nothing to worry about as he is healthy and happy - just has a long and lean body type.

Weight: 13 lb 14 oz (25th percentile)
Length: 27 inches (upwards of 95th percentile - in other words, off the charts)
Head circumference: 42 cm (48th percentile)

And for comparison, here are his 2 month stats:

Weight: 12 lb 7 oz! (75th percentile)
Length: 24 1/4 inches! (90+ percentile)
Head circumference: 40.5 cm (50th percentile)

Eric reminds me that these growth charts were standardized in the 1970's, so with each generation getting taller and taller, the average really isn't 50% anymore.

4 months old!!

Everett turned 4 months old yesterday! It seems like this last month has brought the most developmental changes. It's been really fun to see him be able to do more and more everyday. Here are some of the things he's doing...

He is using his hands a lot more and with more purpose. He is able to grab things with both hands; toys are a lot more enjoyable now. He intertwines his fingers, and loves putting them in his mouth and chewing on them.

Speaking of putting his hands in his mouth, I think teething has begun. He has a lot of drool and bites on whatever he can, so I expect a little tooth in a few months.

Ooh, a very cute development you saw in the last video. He's making these fart noises with his mouth constantly. Hilarious!

Today I could almost say he was crawling. He scoots himself across the room on hands, belly, and legs and can get pretty far. It's really cute that he has to stop, put his head down, and rest every few feet. :) Not quite crawling though because he can't lift his body. I imagine it's not very far away though.

He laughs a lot more now. By a lot, I mean once/day. Everyday he seems to laugh more, so it won't be long before it's all day long. Can't wait! :) He seems to be getting a sense of humor because I am able to make him laugh with silly faces and noises now rather than just thrill seeker moves like throwing him in the air and spinning. This has been one of our favorite developments over the month.

He is an avid roller and is very capable of rolling to his belly and is getting better at getting himself out of that position! I still have to rescue him every now and then when he gets stuck on his belly.

Like most kids, he thrives with structure. We have finally gotten a structure to the morning naps. At night he sleeps 10.5 hours, nurses, then sleeps another 2. And now we have a pretty regular 2 hour morning nap. We're still working out the afternoon. The days and nights are smoothest when we don't mess with that structure. When we do, it's a lot of crying and more interrupted sleep. We consider ourselves to be really lucky to have this kind of schedule.

Tomorrow is the 4 month dr visit, so I'll put an update with his weight and all that fun stuff soon.

New pictures are in Picasa! You'll find the link to the left. :) Here's a preview.

Parenting is Forgiving

I ponder lots of deep things these days...

I've realized lately that parenting is forgiving, and it lets us grow into our roles. So many animals have babies that are immediately able to fend for themselves, and can thus run away, get into trouble, get eaten by a lion, etc. Those mommas must be immediately ready to handle that! Human babies, when born, are of course still very much in need of their parents. When it starts out though, they really just need for you to feed them and not drop them. The rest is extra. And then as they learn to do new things, you learn how to parent toward that.

For example, as Everett learns to become more mobile, I am given the time and wisdom to babyproof the house. It's not like we wake up one day and he can walk around (though it will feel like that). I am so thankful for the allowance to gradually learn each new phase. Another thing I get to learn is to omit words I would not want him to say, negative phrases, etc. For now, while he's there for a reminder, he isn't absorbing my every word. So little by little, I become a better person in order to teach him how to be a better person.

So grasshopper - who is the teacher here?

A Perfect Night

Tonight was amazing. Eric took me out for a fancy (30th!) birthday dinner and even arranged for a fantastic babysitter. Thanks Auntie Johanna!!! We then came home to this hilarity. Here he is showcasing his newfound ability. :)



I had a hard time getting it to show up a decent size. If it looks weird to you, then just go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TugWBwINJXA