9 months today and he is up up and away...sort of

Well Kegan has been a VERY busy boy the past week and a half...working on a combine...traveling to Plano...Courtney's wedding...learning how to blow raspberries/bubbles...flying home...and on top of all of that FINALLY starting to get a hang on this thing called crawling!

Let's start back at the first weekend in August where little man got to ride in a combine (it is what is used to harvest the grain) with Grandpa, Angela (one of his mommy's friends who came to visit for the weekend), his mommy, and then also with his Grandma.


Kegan and his grandpa concentrating on their job.


Monday Kegan and I road on a 7 1/2 hour road trip to Plano with Angela. I must say, Kegan did WONDERFUL in the car. He kept to pretty much the same nap schedule he is on and when he was awake would talk to himself, look around, and play with his toys. I was so proud of him. (I have to admit, I was a bit worried about that long of a car ride...he is such a trooper!)
Once we got to Plano, it was go, go, go. One of my best friends, Courtney, was getting married this past weekend, so we were busy going and doing wedding stuff and he actually did very good and just went with the flow of every day. I know I am just so blessed to have such an easy going baby. Below is a slide show of pictures from my mom's camera (I was not good about getting mine out) - it is all the pictures she took, so some are probably not the best...but they are all very cute and you can see all the places Mr. Kegan got to go. You will see some in there at the Herman's pool and you can tell the little man still LOVES the water. Cute story from that night - Mrs. Herman lit some "torches" to keep the mosquitoes away and Kegan was mesmerized by the fire and just stared at it. Then all of a sudden he leaned back, like he was taking a big breath in, and started blowing raspberries in the direction of the flame (he was in the pool looking up at them). It was so funny! There are also lots of pictures of him in attempts to crawl. Enjoy the slide show. (I believe you can manipulate it for how fast you want the slides to go.)


Below are a few pictures I did take with my own camera that are not duplicated in the slide show.
First, a picture of Kegan and the bride, Mrs. Courtney Alford. (She loved Kegan and he loved his "Auntie Courtney" - she had him laughing a lot of the week!)

Next is probably the cutest series of photos of Kegan getting caught in the act of trying to sneak some candy from Gram's candy tray.

Hmmm...what is that up there in the basket?

OOOOO...CANDY!

Now...if I can juuuuuust reach out far enough...

Oooops...well at least I got my piece of candy!

This next one is of Kegan laughing at his Grams as he goes for the candy...again!


The next two pictures were at the wedding in what became the "baby corner". The first picture is of Kegan and his new little friend, Jonathan (I grew up with his daddy, Michael, in the youth group, at church) and Shanna, Michael's very sweet wife, and me. Both boys were looking at the camera. I was so proud! (I think there was about 3 or 4 people holding up toys and making noises to get them both looking...but hey...the kids did great and they both look so handsome!)
I thought this was a cute picture of them - such expression. Kegan looks like he is saying "Please stop with all the pictures!" and Jonathan is hanging in there like a champ...eyes open and facing the cameras...just trying to keep up his pose...haha...too cute!


Monday morning Kegan and I flew back to Corpus - no layovers or lost luggage...nothing...just a smooth flight - yeah!!! Then, Monday evening Kegan actually made some moves that looked like crawling. Matthew had been telling Kegan all week to not crawl till he got home and his daddy could see him...Kegan minded his daddy very well! The first video is vary short. It was was taken on Monday night and I think he was a bit tired.

The second video was taken on Tuesday and is longer and shows Kegan's wobbly, somewhat of a crawl, a little better.


He still is trying to get his method down, but continues to get better and more daring in his attempts. I will keep trying to snatch more videos of him, to post.

Celebrating Daddy's Birthday and a Little More Fun

Saturday was Kegan's daddy's birthday and Kegan got to spend the entire day with him to help Matthew celebrate. That morning Kegan and Matthew played for a while and then layed down for a nap, while I was finishing some stuff for Matthew's birthday dinner. I just thought this was the sweetest picture when I walked into the bedroom...awww!

After a good nap we all went riding around the farms with Grandpa. Kegan has on his John Deere hat and is ready to go! Grandpa then treated Matthew, Kegan, and I to lunch. Well, Kegan had his own special lunch of pureed food...but he did share some ice cream with his Grandpa. Now...what part of lunch do you think Kegan liked most?!?

Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Stephani and Uncle Josh, and even Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kyle came over to the house to help celebrate Matthew's birthday. Now, I know the evening was supposed to be about Matthew...but who do you think got most of the attention...Kegan ate it ALL UP!

Daddy, Kegan, and Mommy at dinner. Doesn't he look like such a big boy joining us for dinner around the table? (Kegan had actually already eaten his meal he just sat there and ate puffs...or whatever he could get his daddy to sneak him from the table.) Doesn't Kegan look like he is giving a goofy grin in this picture?

Daddy and Kegan. Rando -Doesn't Kegan look real tan in this picture? All those swim lessons gave Kegan a nice hint of color.

For dessert we did not have a traditional cake, but rather some banana pudding...which Kegan enjoyed sharing. In the picture below Kegan has some pudding on his chin and the face you see being made (squinched up nose) is his, "I want some food, please...and by please I mean NOW!" It is really quite funny. I will try to catch it on tape some time.

Ok...sorry the next picture is sideways, but I showing it to show the green sheet of paper - Kegan wrote 'Dad"...sort of. I held his hand and made it move, while he held the crayon...close to writing it though...right!?! Kegan also decorated his daddy's bag with this footprints.

Sunday was a good day at church, and like always the nursery ladies bounced out of their seats and rushed over to see who could grab Kegan first. It is so funny to watch those ladies. They literally race over and if one gets Kegan first the other one stands behind her and talks to Kegan and starts playing with him. That little man is such a charmer! After church we went over to the Setliff's to spend more time with Kyle and Lindsay and the rest of the family...Kegan went over to get spoiled some more...haha.

This week we have just been running arrends and getting some things done around the house and yard.

Monday, Kegan did get in some great playtime. Here Kegan had taken the majority of his toys out of one of his toy baskets and then rolled his head in the basket while he was playing - so funny - he was content as could be.

I also got out this bird that flaps it's wings, jumps around, and moves it's beak while it sings, "If Your Happy and You Know It..." and Kegan seem very mesmerized by it. He just sat and stared at it at first then he reached out and grabbed the flapping wing and then went for the whole bird. After a while Kegan even started flapping his wings. I had a good laugh from it. Here are two pictures and 2 video clips of Kegan with this bird! The lighting on one video is better than the other, but they are both funny.

Wednesday morning Kegan joined his mom and dad at floral nursery as we chose some new flora for our front yard. Kegan did such a good job and just looked around at all the flowers - did not fuss a bit! Kegan and I then went to get my oil changed - once again, he did not fuss a bit for the entire hour we were waiting for my car to finish. We just played and he stayed content and happy till the last few minutes, then a new person walked by and waved, and Kegan turned up the charm...again. He is already such a flirt. Finally, poor guy had to wait again while I was getting my car inspected and he made more fans as he sat there and giggled while we played. For what could have been a LONG day he did WONDERFUL!

Today, we played around the house some and waited for some men to come put new grass in our yard. Once that was done, we of course had to go out and sit in it...and play in some of the water being used to water the grass. Needless to say, by then end of all that, we just stripped him down and hosed him off. Kegan loved it!

Look at those dirty feet...

...and that dirty seat!

Right before he got stripped down. He has grass on the face to prove he had been working hard.

One last bit of new news from today. We were sitting on the floor in the living room playing and I had placed my water bottle up on the coffee table. Kegan spotted it and decided he wanted some and he pulled himself up to his knees. Sooo...he is not yet crawling...but he is starting to try and pull up on more things (he has been grabbing on to me and pulling up for a while, but never onto a table.)

Wow What a Wednesday...Thursday...and now Friday

It was a wet week - not good for the fields - but it was a fun one to - Matthew got to spend extra time with Kegan! It poured on Wednesday so Matthew met Kegan and I as we were leaving our last swim lesson and went home with us to spend some extra time with his son! As you can see below both Kegan and Matthew were enjoying playing in the sprinkling rain.
Daddy and son playing in the rain.

Matthew brought Kegan under the porch to watch the water pour off the roof...and stick Kegan's head under the water. Kegan seemed to really be enjoying getting wet and investigating the rain coming down.

Wednesday night we all got to go to our first circus as a family. It was SO much fun. Kegan loved all the lights and all the movement and action going on down on the floor. He stayed awake and fixed on the "show" from 7:30 till we left at 10:00. He only cried once really - it was after intermission during the tiger act. I think the music startled him. The tears were nothing a little bit of cotton candy couldn't handle though...his second time to have cotton candy. He loved it!!! (I think the cotton candy helped him stay awake and ACTIVE till the 10:00 circus ending. The other babies around us that were about his age were all zonked out. Hmm...now we know what sugar does to him! It was a lot of fun though - it was neat to look at his eyes and see them follow the "acts" around the circus ring - so cool that he can be that observant now. There were times however, that he was a little more interested in the lights flashing on the ceiling, but he stayed very entertained none the less! (Now you will notice in these pictures it looks like daddy and Kegan went alone to the circus...but I am in one picture to prove mom went to!)
Kegan and daddy in the rain headed toward the circus.

This is Kegan, fixated on the opening act (in the picture following), but as you can see, with all those lights, why wouldn't he be fascinated!?!


Proof mom was at the circus, too. Kegan was more interested in what was going on in front of us during the intermission...

Here Kegan is playing and talking with one of his other friends, Luke, that went to the circus, also. Aren't they cute!

The show is back on - this time the elephants are performing. He looks like he is really studying what is happening down below.

One souvenir - a hat came with the sugary cotton candy treat we ate! He was not as into the hat as he was the bagged food in it. (Notice the time - 9:49 and not a bit tired!)


Thursday was another rainy day, but another day to get to spend a little extra time with his daddy. We all went and ate then came home and played some. Matthew took these pictures of Kegan standing while I was holding his hands. Kegan was laughing and having a blast. What a great happy smile!!!

Hey dad, what are you doing so far down there?

This picture is kind of blurry, but it shows how close Kegan is to crawling. He is getting better with his stance...he is just not quite sure how to move once he is in position.


Finally, here are some pictures from today(Friday) - this is in honor of all you Aggies out there! Doesn't he look good in all that maroon!?! Do we have a future Aggie here...I don't know!?!


I don't remember what day this was - but it was some time this week. I started taping because Kegan had "thrown" the ball one time and Roo got it and brought it back to him - too cute. I wanted to catch it on tape so I started rolling...what I got though was a great clip of Kegan getting in his crawling stance and trying to move forward to grab Roo's toy. So neat!!! I was very excited - as the commentary will show...haha!

A Weekend with His Granparents and More GREAT videos!

These first 2 videos were taken last week. The first one is to show Kegan picking up his food and feeding himself puffs - we have been working on it and he finally is getting to where he is very good at it. How cool it was to watch this skill develop. I would say he is even better this week. I usually give him some puffs on his tray to pick up and eat while I get the rest of his meal ready - he gobbles them up. Then, if I am not ready yet, he will tap on his tray as if to say (not always with the best manners_ "More puffs, please!" He will even do it while I am feeding him, so I will give him some and let him feed himself, then we go back to the baby food. I have tried different soft fruits, but I think they are a bit slippery for his hands, so we are still working on that!



This next video actually started one morning we had Kegan on our bed playing with him and I was trying to get him sucking his toes, but he decided not to do that, but rather, fuss a bit, roll over, lift his tush in the air, roll, and fuss. Anyways, I included it to show how well he is lifting his back end up now...hmmm...if only we could get the back and front up at the same time!



On Friday, I left to go see some college friends for the weekend, and Matthew was working and planned on working all weekend, so Kegan went over to spend the weekend with his Grandparents! (and get thoroughly spoiled I am sure) I do not have pictures to post from the weekend, but from what I heard and the pictures I saw on the Setliff's camera, it looked like he had a fun time. On Saturday, Kegan was up bright and early with this Grandma and enjoyed playing and watching the doggie outside. That afternoon he went to go get family pictures taken for the church directory, with the Setliffs. (Matthew, Kegan, and I had gone on Wednesday - Kegan did a Wonderful job and shared LOTS of smiles!!!) Back to Saturday, well, the Setliffs took their picture for the directory and then Kegan got to join them for a few special pictures they wanted to take extra, with him. His Grandma had even bought him a new little outfit for the pictures. The photographer remembered Kegan from Wednesday - especially when he raised his little eyebrow - a VERY KEGAN TRAIT! I thought that was pretty special though, all the people the photographer had taken pictures of and he remembered Kegan!!! Saturday night, Matthew went over (after working at the barn all day) to spend time with his son. They swang some in the bag yard (KEGAN LOVES TO SWING) and then shared a Popsicle - both boys ended up red faced and sticky - the pictures I saw on the Setliffs camera were funny! Sunday afternoon I made it home to a long napping little boy - he must have played hard!

This week has started off good. Yesterday I tried to give him a little cheese to pick up and eat. Here is a video of that. (excuse the goofy commentary)



Today we went to one of our swimming lessons make up classes and once again Kegan loved the water. The babies practiced floating today and Kegan was a pro at it (we kept our hands loosely under them to help) - he seemed to enjoy the floating. Oh yes, he also blew bubbles in the water 2 times today (a skill we work on), but I think it was merely coincidence more so than anything else, but I was excited for him! One more funny story - Kegan and I were riding around with Haley and William today and all of a sudden we heard William start to fuss and when Haley looked back -Kegan had taken William's sippie cup and was drinking from it - Kegan LOVED Williams juice. No way will he want water from me now - oh man. Oh yes, Karsyn, be careful it looks like Kegan may now be able to take your pacifier from you - uh oh! Hahaha...

Tomorrow should be fun - Kegan is going to go to his first circus - hopefully - if it is not too loud and we have to walk out in the hallway because he is crying. We shall see. I will try to take pictures while we are there to post!

Trying a video

These are all old videos - still very cute and worth watching, though - but that is just the mom talking...hehe.... I am just trying to see if I have figured out how to post them.

Daddy making Kegan laugh!


Trying unsuccesfully to get Kegan to roll...now he rolls like a champ!

A Fun Weekend

Friday night Kegan and Mommy took dinner out to the guys all working on harvest in the fields. We stood outside the car for a while, but when the mosquitoes started to attack Kegan and I headed back into the car. Kegan, however, does not like to just sit in his car seat, if the car is not moving, so we hung out in the front together. I don't remember why we ended up with me in the passenger's seat and him in the driver's seat, but we did and he seemed to enjoy sitting in the driver's seat.

Saturday morning Kegan and I headed off to Wharton. When we got to my grandparent's house there was an entire crew there - my Grandma and Pappa, my Grandma's brother, Uncle George, my Aunt Betsey, Lynne and two of her girls, Tori and Julianne, Grams, and Karsyn (Wendy had to stay in Houston to work). Wow - what a group to play with and keep Kegan entertained all day! Below is a picture of Kegan with Tori. (There was so much going on he was a bit too distracted to look at the camera.)

Julianne loved both of the babies so much and wanted to help with them on everything - even stinky diapers. She was so cute to watch with the babies - she would give them toys to play with, rock with them in Pappa'a big recliner, help change their diapers, and even fed both babies. Below is a picture of her feeding Kegan. It was so cute. She would put a little bit on the spoon and then take it up to his mouth, then if any fell she would take the spoon and use it to wipe up what was falling out. Julianne did make the comment, however, that Karsyn was a lot easier to feed than Kegan. I think Kegan's head was moving to much (looking from side to side). Either way, she did great and Kegan had a full belly when all was said an done. Notice Kegan still is a messy eater and gets his food all over his face!

If you noticed when you read the list of people at my Grandma and Pappa's house you might have noticed there were not too many men on the list. Only three - that includes Kegan. Below is a picture of the three lone men sitting around the table (Pappa is holding Kegan and Uncle George - Kegan's great great Uncle) is sitting on the end.

With all those people there was lots of playtime all day long. Karsyn and Kegan were cute to watch interact. In the past she could take a toy from him and he wouldn't really care, but now he is learning that just because he does not have it anymore, doesn't mean it is not there, so when she took something away from him, he would lean forward and take it right back - hmmm...family gatherings should be getting more and more interesting - those two cousins will be learning a lot about sharing. I think he is going to have to learn to crawl though, if he really wants to have a chance at getting to toys first.

Now, what is a Gram's to do when she has two young grand babies??? Share her love with both of course!

Grams was holding Kegan, but Karsyn wanted in on the love sooo...

everyone shared a big hug!

Kegan really had a good time and was played out by the time we left around 8 - he fell asleep in the car and did not wake up till the next morning at his regular wake up time.

Sunday morning we went to church and them drove around the farm some and went to eat with the Setliff's and some friends of theirs. What a great weekend of grandparent time.

It rained Monday so Kegan got a nice surprise - extra time on Monday night with his daddy. Now, Kegan has been fascinated with all the tractors he sees in his room and the one on the mantle since going out to the farm these past few weeks, so last night Matthew got down the big tractor from the mantle and he and Kegan played with it on the floor. It was neat to watch - Kegan loved watching it role and would even reach his hands out and push it back and forth.

Here some pictures of Kegan sucking on his big - I believe I had mentioned that this was his new trick. It is so funny. He sucks on it when he is sitting up and bends over or he will suck on it while laying on his back and he brings his foot to his mouth. Now...you would think he could crawl with that sort of flexibly and skill...but no...no crawling yet. We will just have to wait and see when he decides it is time for him to move .
Going for it - bringing the foot to the mouth.

Success - the big toe is in the mouth.

First week of swim lessons and a little more

The first day of swim lessons were not till Tuesday, so Monday Kegan and mommy ran some errands and played around the house. Below are some pictures of Kegan and how I found him after a nap on Monday. That little keyboard has been in his crib for a few months now and he finally noticed it and now frequently rolls down to play with it when he wakes up. I thought the pictures were cute - the second one looks like he is saying, "Oh! I have been caught!" The pictures also give you a good perspective on how big he is getting...too fast...too too fast!

Snack time. Look at the big boy in his chair! Kegan enjoys kicking the tray on his highchair, while he sits in it - never still...he does not like to be still at all.

Tuesday was the first day of swim lessons and Kegan's tooth finally cute through!!!! Yea! He now officially has two bottom teeth.

Here Kegan is greased down and ready for swim lessons - he looks thrilled doesn't he?! Actually, he really enjoys his lessons. Kegan loves being in the water and gets excited and starts flapping his arms when we go into the pool area. Our friends Stacy (the mom) and Gus (the little boy a 6 weeks younger than Kegan) are in the class with us, so the boys enjoy splashing and watching each other splash.

On day one we worked on blowing bubbles and doing a superman float (I hold him under his arms and he would float, belly down. (Most of the stuff we are learning is really just to teach me things to work with him on, more so than him really learning to swim.)

Later that day Kegan and I were headed off, but first, he had a snack. He finally got the hang of his biter biscuit. He ate it instead of using it as a drum stick to hit on everything. He actually ended up finishing the entire thing...although I think the majority of it had dissolved on his hands, face and bib - he was a nice big mess to clean up! hehe...

Wednesday morning he woke up a little sick so he took it easy most of the morning, got in an extra nap and woke up ready to go to swim lessons. On day 2 the class worked on kicking. For anyone who has held or seen Kegan you already know he aced this part of class. Kegan loves to kick so this just came very natural to him. I guess all that kicking wore him and his friend Gus out. We had not even left the parking spot and they were both OUT!

Thursday, the kids got to sit on these things they call lilly pads, while we would hold them, count and then pick them up and bring them into the water (I think to simulate jumping) and move them around in a superman float. Kegan was not to sure about this the first few times we tried it, but he got better. That night we took dinner out to the guys harvesting in the fields. Notice the picture below - I was asked to back up the car, but to leave Kegan with daddy. Matthew loves having Kegan out there. (You are looking at a combine (left) and a tractor with a grain buggy on the back of it (right).)

Mommy is back up near everyone (sorry it is so dark). Kegan was just enjoying being out there watching the machines run. It was so cute - so Matthew told me - when they started up the combine and the engine started roaring and the black puff of smoke came shooting out of the exhaust at the top, Kegan started bouncing in his daddy's arms, and flapping his arms and grinning with his mouth wide open - too cute!!!

Today, in swim lessons we reviewed the week and I found out what Kegan likes to do best on the lilly pads - sit and have the water splashed around him while he observes everything going on in the pool. I will try to get some pictures at the pool next week.

Crawling update: Kegan now will lunge forward, lift his booty...but he can't catch himself on his hands yet and will usually fall forward. Other times he will try to grab something but can't figure out what to do with this feet below him and gets stuck. He is trying and I can tell he is getting closer and closer to crawling.