Say what??

An awkward thing happened to us last night at dinner. We sat Keaton in a high chair, and a man and woman sitting across from us started waving and smiling at him. They told us how their 6 year old looked 'exactly' like Keaton when he was his age, and then showed us a picture. (I couldn't really see it, but smiled anyway.) Then the man started having a conversation with someone on his phone, saying, "There is a little boy here, probably a year to 18 months old, who looks just like..." Wait, what? My kid, 12-18 months old?? I corrected him, and then he proceeded to tell me how "huge" Keaton was for his age. Ugh... sometimes I really dislike people. I shouldn't care too much, but it's awkward and I really don't know what to say. I find myself justifying his size, and feel bad about doing so. He's in the 60th percentile. He's not 'huge'. He may wear 12 month clothes and be half my size, but he's not a giant. (Remember, I'm the size of a 4th grader!)

Anyway, enough of that. We went to IKEA last night, in search of a couch to replace the old, ugly, huge one that is currently residing in our living room. We found one that we like, but realized that even with the Cyber Monday sale, we would not save much money on it. We're going to wait it out and see if it goes on sale in the following weeks/months. After IKEA, and the awkward incident at dinner, we headed to Bed Bath & Beyond, a store I haven't been to in over a year. I forgot how much I enjoy it there. We found some really cute stocking hangers... now I just have to search for stockings for the 3 of us. I haven't found any I like, so I think Keaton and I are going to run to Hobby Lobby this afternoon and get some plain ones and some fabric paint so I can put our names on them. The only ones we have right now are 3 stockings for Charley Brown (which made me tear up when I found them) and one for "Peanut" that Grandma Harding made for him last year. We are trying to decide what traditions we are going to start this year. Next year we may do Christmas at our house, and then drive back to Topeka afterward. I guess we'll decide in time.

Another upcoming event is Keaton's first birthday. It sounds like both sides of the family want to come up for it, so we are going to start thinking of ideas... we may have one party for friends and another for family. Either way, Keaton will get his own cake and I plan to take a ton of pictures!!

Mr. K is fighting sleep again... (sigh). I'm trying to stay strong, I just liked it when we could put him down when he was sleepy and he'd go to sleep on his own... it was a good month. Now we're back to square one. I hate Cry It Out!! I hope this stage is over soon!

That's all for now. I need to hop in the shower whenever he finally decides to take a nap. More later!

-Ash

That's gonna leave a mark...

Much like Humpty Dumpty, Mr. K had a great fall yesterday. Into the Christmas tree. He now has a Harry Potter-esque scratch on his forehead, which looks much better today, thank goodness. He is so curious these days, and is rather fearless... he has started diving for things he wants and doesn't seem to worry about the consequence. Soooo... of course, right before pictures with Santa, we have a battle wound. I'm just glad it wasn't horrible because it could have been a LOT worse. At least it didn't scratch his eyes, or anything. Hopefully it heals quickly!

In other news, we have officially decorated the house for Christmas. It's the most decorating we've ever done. Now I'm kind of in decorating mode and feel like I need to put up pictures and make the house look better. I blame the cold, crappy weather for making me a bit restless in the house. I hope the snow and ice stay away so Keaton and I can go out and do things instead of being stuck in the house for long periods of time! I think I need to move back to the South.

I guess that's about all for now. I'm trying to get Keaton to nap (he's been awake since 6:30 so we're going on 4 hours now...) and am trying to have energy myself. The house is a mess from unpacking our Christmas stuff yesterday so I have a lot to do to make it look decent again!

-Ash

Thankful

Yesterday was Keaton's first Thanksgiving. I think he enjoyed it- I know he enjoyed having the Hetricks here. He ate turkey and rice, green beans, and tried mac and cheese for the first time (and loved it!). He has been pretty vocal, and has not slept well at all (I blame teething, as usual, but it's been kind of rough the last few days and we think it is probably from over stimulation). The rest of the family watched him on Wednesday night while Casey and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Pt. 1). Good movie by the way. When we came home, we found out that Keaton woke up at 8:45 screaming, and would not go back to sleep. Everyone tried to help calm him down, but it took about 45 minutes to really settle him down and get him back to sleep. Ugh... I feel bad (not that I could have done anything to make it different) but it's the first time he's woken up like that in months, and of course it would be when we aren't home to calm him down. I'm kind of worn out right now, mainly because we have tried feeding him with a bottle, sippy cup, etc., and he won't take anything but the breast right now. I feel like I need to be around all the time and am nervous about having anyone babysit until this phase is over. Hopefully that will be by December 3rd when we go to Casey's office Christmas party.

Enough complaining from me! The title of this entry is THANKFUL, and I'm not expressing that very well right now. I am thankful for my amazing family and friends. I have a ton to be thankful for, especially this year. A loving, hard-working husband. Beautiful, intelligent baby boy. Wonderful, supportive parents, in-laws, and friends. Cars that work, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. And so much more. I am very thankful for all the people in my life that make it as blessed as it is. When times are tough, or things aren't going quite the way I would like them to go, I can step back and think about what I have, and be happy.

The Hetricks are going home this afternoon, and of course, their time here has gone really fast. We got some shopping done on Wednesday, tons of cooking (and eating) and game playing done yesterday, and more shopping today. (I stayed home with Keaton so he could take a decent nap.) It has been a good visit, and I'm looking forward to our trip home in December. Hopefully those of you reading this had a great Thanksgiving as well. :) Less than a month until Christmas!! (That is insane.)

-Ash

PS: Another random note- Keaton tried pancakes this morning (without syrup, of course) and really liked them. He is starting to eat different types of food now and not gagging quite as often, so that's a great sign! Woo hoo!!

Love this kid

I've written quite a few short entries lately, but now for the good stuff... pictures of Keaton. Enjoy!

This face brings me joy every time I see it!!

Love his eyes in this one... and you can see his little bottom teeth!

It looks like he's saying, "Mommy, please stop taking pictures..."

FOUR

It's official- Keaton has four teeth! I was tickling him this morning and took a peek on top while he was laughing (because he won't let me feel around in there with my fingers right now) and to my surprise, there was another pearly white on the upper left. For all I know, it could have come in yesterday- he was drooling a ton and had things in his mouth constantly. Wow.

That's really about all for today (so far)... we had breakfast and Casey's raking the yard. Soon I have to get my butt in gear and start cleaning to get ready for Thanksgiving and the arrival of the Hetrick family. I've got a lot to do! PS: Keaton tried scrambled eggs for the first time this morning. So far the jury's out on what he really thought about them, but he did put them in his mouth and chew a little. Then gagged. (As usual.) We'll try again later.

-Ash

Toe-riffic

Well, I broke another toe. At least, I'm pretty sure I did. And it was pure and simple clumsiness. I now have one toe on each foot that is colorful and a little less straight. Awesome.

In other news, Keaton is super close to crawling now. He is rolling all over the place- over toys, laptops- anything that could get in his way. I wouldn't be shocked if he were crawling by Thanksgiving at this rate! Let the baby-proofing begin!

I had a nice day today with my boys. We went to Schaumburg to visit our friends Melanie & Eddie that had a baby girl named Amber four weeks ago. Keaton did well and smiled at her when he saw her sleeping in her crib, which was super cute. He also really enjoyed the company of Vivian, our friend Dongxia's little girl. He loved watching her hop and skip around Mel & Eddie's apartment. Whenever she was near him, he couldn't take his eyes off her. He loves watching older kids... especially girls. :)

I guess that's all for now- Case and I are watching Dexter. I'll try to update again soon!

-Ash

No means... ?

I'm currently listening to my 9 month old cuss me out via the baby monitor. He got woken up by my neighbor after only about 10 minutes of sleep, and now he won't nap at all... it's been almost 4 hours now. So I put him in his crib, hoping he'll do it on his own. He's not crying, just sort of yelling syllables at me. Funny to listen to, as long as it doesn't turn into a meltdown.

This morning we met up with our friends from Cradle Talk at Barnes & Noble for Storytime. It was fun to have the four boys together again, and I think we need to do it again soon because we had a ton to talk about and didn't listen so well today. Oops. We didn't get kicked out or anything, which is good.

So this afternoon I had an interesting phone call from work. They asked if I wanted to work one day next month. This is strange because I thought I had told them that I was finished... so I'm not sure what to do. I also don't know who would watch Keaton from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day. And if I say yes, does that mean they'll think I can do it again? I hesitate because I would like for no to mean no. But I'm a pushover, and I'm not sure how to say no to people (a second time). I was proud when I did it the first time, so I'm sure I could do it again... I just wish I didn't have to. Ugh.

I guess that's all for today. Keaton's still chattering (although the 'cussing' has switched over to giggling and excitedly sucking in air, which is equally hilarious)... hopefully he'll decide to nap soon. I am tempted to as well. :)

-Ash

Charley Moments

I absolutely hate writing sad blog entries. If I could, I would never write one. But over the past 29 years, I have found that writing is by far my best therapy. So although it hurts, I've gotta write about Charley Brown.

Today I was doing laundry in the basement and stumbled across a few old pictures. The one that got to me was the very first picture I took of Casey and Charley Brown, the day we brought him home. Punch to the gut numero uno. Then I saw his costume from Halloween last year... punch #2. It made me think of our Christmas stuff this year, and Charley's stocking. I guess these are just things that will come up over the course of the year, but sometimes I feel like everything hits me at once. I am not sure what I would do if he were here now- I know it would probably be crazy with a baby who will be mobile VERY soon... but I can't help but think about how much fun they would have had together. I am so glad Keaton likes animals as much as he does- we are thinking about getting another one sometime in the not too distant future. No one will ever replace Chuck, though.

So I guess that's really it for today. I have done pretty well with the Charley subject for the most part, but it still hits me every now and then when I find his things around the house. Glad I have a place to go to let it out.

-Ash

29 (for the first time)

My 29th birthday was yesterday. The first one, at least. My boys took me out to Joe's Crab Shack for lunch in Schaumburg, where I proceeded to eat the largest amount of crab I have ever consumed in my entire life. We're talking three huge clusters- every last bite. It was kind of ridiculous. And 100% delicious.

We then went to the Woodfield Mall and walked around for a few hours while I attempted to find something for my birthday. I guess indecisiveness does not get better with age, because I couldn't find anything and left empty handed. I had fun hanging out with my boys, though, so it was an enjoyable afternoon. We stopped by The Cheesecake Factory before heading back home, and grabbed a few slices for the road. I am enjoying the second half of my Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake as I type this. YUM. So I guess I can say I ate well and had very good company for my birthday. Not bad for the big 2-9.

Casey took Mr. K with him in to work* this afternoon so I could have some alone time, which I haven't done in forever. *(He is having problems connecting to his work server from home and went all the way there, only to find out that he has to go back in later because there is a problem with the connection that can't be solved today and he has to get things done for a meeting tomorrow. Suck!) I drove to Target to try and find something for my birthday, and walked all around the place for almost an hour before giving up and coming home. Now I'm waiting on the boys to get back. I hate that now that I have some money in my pocket, it is burning a hole there and I'm anxious to spend it. Hopefully that will subside soon.

It's also amazing to me how lost I feel when Keaton's not with me! I think that actually means that I need to do this a little more often so it's not as strange. It is good for him to spend time with his Daddy and good for me to do my own thing once in awhile. I'm thankful that Casey thought to take Keaton along so I could feel refreshed mentally. :)

I guess that's about it for now. Not sure what else is in store for the day, but I know tomorrow Keaton and I have the fun task of taking in my car for maintenance- hopefully it won't take a long time and he'll be a happy camper.

-Ash

3 Quick Things

A few things... sorry for the short post, but I've got a lot going on!!

1) Mom just spent 6 days here. They went way too fast. Keaton and I already miss her! Our fridge is stocked with food, Keaton is enjoying his new toys and wardrobe, and I spent some quality time relaxing with Mom and enjoying her company.
2) Casey's on his way back from Salt Lake City right now. He should be home in the next hour!! Woo hoo!
3) Keaton got his 3rd tooth today! It's also his 9 month 'birthday'... and he attempted to pull himself up today- using my shirt. Thankfully we were not in public. He started waving this past week, too. I'm sure I'm forgetting other things but I will hopefully remember them in the next post.

I know there are plenty of things I should write, but for now I'm going to pick up the house a tiny bit so it looks decent for Casey when he gets home. And finally, tomorrow I turn 29... for the first time. ;-D Looking forward to spending it with my boys!

-Ash

What I Like About You

If you click on the picture, you might catch a glimpse of the little teeth again!

Mr. K continues to amaze me... here are a few of my faves:

1) He has started patting me when I feed or burp him.
2) He sings now. It's hilarious. Okay, not so hilarious when we're out in public and trying to listen to other things (i.e. Storytime, my counselor, etc), but pretty great at home or in the car.
3) He likes to cuddle, especially when he's tired... he gives little hugs and sometimes open mouth kisses. He also cuddles with his stuffed animals- especially Ernie!
4) The belly laughs are the absolute BEST. He has such a cute laugh, and I think Case and I do anything and everything just to hear it.
5) He smiles when we go get him out of the crib. This is especially nice after he's had a good nap. Sometimes it's even highlighted by a big, excited squeal!
6) He thinks it's funny when I wear a hat, and likes to pull it off my head. This should make the winter months entertaining...
7) He rolls and rolls and rolls now, and when he gets to a place where he wants to be, he gets a HUGE smile on his face. Especially if I notice he's done it and acknowledge him. Too funny.
8) He peeks around things now.It's especially cute in the high chair when he peeks to see the toy he dropped.

There are probably a bunch more, but those are the main ones of late that are noteworthy. Such a fun kid. :-D

-Ash

Refusing the bottle...?

[Hey, fair warning- this first paragraph is about breastfeeding. Please skip to the second if you aren't interested.]

When Keaton was first born, he would not latch. He would either scream because he was hungry, or fall asleep as soon as he latched, but it took awhile for him to get the hang of it. Now, though, we have the opposite problem- he won't take a bottle! I thought at first that the milk from the freezer was old or something, because he wouldn't take it. But yesterday I pumped right before we left for an appointment, and he refused the bottle completely. I wonder if his teeth are bothering him? I never know for sure. But I do know that with his top tooth coming in, nursing is getting more painful every day, and I need to find a way to get him to drink out of a bottle or sippy cup. Any helpful hints? I'm at a loss right now.

He also slept a lot yesterday and I am a little surprised that he has not gotten up for his normal feeding yet. I am wide awake. I wouldn't mind if he skips a feeding during the middle of the night, but my body has gotten used to it now so this morning I was tossing and turning for over 30 minutes before I decided to get up and write. I can always nap later.

I guess that's about it, just a little unsure of how to go about the whole bottle thing. Suggestions are appreciated!

-Ash

November Milestones

In 8 days, Keaton will be nine months old. In 9 days, I will be 29. Oh, November... so much in store.

So far this month, Keaton has learned to say "Dada" (November 1st) and is working on his 3rd tooth. We ended up taking him to the Pediatrician yesterday because the night before, he was pulling on his right ear. I was sure he was getting an ear infection. I'm happy to say I was wrong- she said his upper right front tooth was about to pop through at any time. He should have his two front teeth by Christmas... which means we have to ask for something else this year. ;)

He just took an amazing 2 hour nap, which doesn't count the hour nap he had earlier in the day. Sleeping is starting to get better around here... although I hesitate writing that because I know it could relapse at any time. They say that any time babies reach a new milestone, usually their sleep is affected. He is on the verge of crawling now, and who knows what else. Every day he does something new. This week (and pretty much since we went to South Carolina) he's been talking. I think if he's "behind" his other friends on the movement front, he's definitely going to be an early talker. But I was, too, and I haven't stopped. Maybe Keaton will have a blog of his own one of these days! ;)

Our doorbell on Halloween.

I can say now that he is 'sleep trained'. Sometimes I wonder if they are really training the parents instead of the kids when they talk about sleep training, because it took a lot of will power for me to put him down in his crib to take a nap. Now I can put him in when he's wide awake, and 9 times out of 10 he will fall asleep on his own. He's been sleeping longer at night most nights this week, too. Last night he slept from 7-7, only waking up once to eat. I hope we're on to something here!

I just got one of his big toys out so he could play, and a spider crawled across it... I screamed, and he thought it was funny. Then he imitated me! He's done that a bit lately, too. A girl squealed on a commercial, and he squealed back. One of the kids in our neighborhood made a loud 'Woooo' noise and he did it back. It's so fun to watch (and listen to) him learn!

So I'm sure I'm forgetting other things he's doing right now, but those are the main ones I could think of and I wanted to write them down before I forget anything. I may have to print this blog out into a book instead of keeping track of his baby book- I think I've done much better at writing things on here than I have in either of the books we have at home. I made the Japan blog into a book, so I may as well do the same with this one some day.

That's about all from me- I'm going to go play with the dude.

-Ash

And then there was one...

Somewhere on this planet, along with all our missing socks, lies a large pile of Soothies pacifiers (commonly referred to as "Bink" in our household).

It is ridiculous how many of these we've purchased in the last 8 months. The things are huge, so you'd think they'd be easy to find. Wrong. They bounce and roll for yards at a time. Once during our Mother/Baby class, Keat's Bink fell out and rolled all the way across the classroom. Someone 20 feet away from me said, "Did someone lose a pacifier?" and I raised my hand in awe.

It wouldn't be so terrible that we are unable to find what has to now be a double digit number of them if my son were not addicted to them. He learned to put Bink in by himself at 5.5 months. If I hide one in his toys, he seeks it out like a bloodhound on the trail of an escapee. If he could crawl, I might send him loose to track down the fallen brethren that have got to be somewhere in this house. Alas, I can now account for ONE Bink, which is currently in my son's mouth as I type this.

If I were smart, I would have either 1) bought stock in the company that makes these things, or 2) taken them away before Keaton's addiction started and before he found comfort in them while teething. Now I panic in the wee hours of the morning when he wakes up to eat and I can't find one. Just this morning I was crouched on the floor of the nursery, yardstick in hand, fishing the one that fell underneath the crib during the night.

My hope is that one day he magically wakes up and no longer cares for them anymore. Until then, I hope we stumble upon their hiding places so this mid-morning 'panic' can subside.

-Ash