Dogs, Dolphins, and Doors

I had mentioned in my last email that Kegan had toothe number 4 coming in...well here is a picture of it. What a shot, huh? Look at both of those chompers! With the new teeth did come a little habit of grinding his teeth (ahhhh) that seemed to only last a few days...thank goodness. I don't hear him do it too often anymore!

I took this picture after lunch one day. I looked over at him, after taking off the tray ,and it took me by surprise by how BIG he looked...like a boy and not a baby! If you look closely, you can also see one of his top front teeth through his smile.

Dogs: Kegan has found a new favorite pass time at the house. If I put him down in the living room/dining room/kitchen area he usually will now head straight for the back door. He LOVES to look at the dogs outside.

He will pull himself up to his knees and sit there for a good while (especially for a babies attention span) and laugh and squeal at the dogs (who are not usually as amused as he is!). He will then look at me, grin, and then look back at the dogs. Like, I said, this will go on for a while, but he loves his doggies! When I do let them in while Kegan is up, Kegan will crawl all around the house following the puppies, who are very good with him, actually. Roo, who tends to lick a lot, will try and lick Kegan till I tell her no, but Kegan seems to actually enjoy the slobbery tongue on him. When ever she passes by he sticks out his little neck and grins real big, like he is anticipating a slobbery kiss. YUCK! Anyways, Kegan has really started to enjoy the dogs these past couple of weeks. It is cute to watch him! I think he also likes the fact that they get around on all 4 like he does!

Wednesday night (the above pictures were taken Wednesday) Kegan and I hung out at the fields with Matthew, Mr. and Mrs. Setliff, and Aunt Stephani and Uncle Josh for the last night of harvest. Kegan, of course, enjoyed himself. What wouldn't he enjoy - he had BIG machines to look at and stayed the center of attention most of the evening...haha!

Thursday, Matthew officially finished harvest...Kegan and I went out tho the fields to take Matthew lunch and got to see them finish up! In honor of finishing Matthew and I went out, so Kegan got to spend the evening at his Grandparents house where he discovered magnets on the refrigerator. Loved them...so now we have some fridge magnets for him to play with. He loves pulling them off the fridge...but has not yet mastered putting them back on. Friday morning I went and picked him up and we headed to Corpus to go to the aquarium with some other moms and their kids. Before going inside to look at the fish we all went out onto the playground and played and had an early lunch. Kegan enjoyed the little toy below...all the shapes would spin...and well, we know how much he likes to spin all the wheels on his toys, so these were great...nice and big and they could spin very fast!

After we all ate we went down to look at the dolphins swimming below the water. It is a great area...we could let the babies out to crawl around while they looked at the dolphins...or while the dolphins looked at them (picture to follow to explain). There are alot...I went a little crazy...but it was so cool and so many great photo ops!

Dophins:

Up close and personal with a dolphin.

He is looking at a dolphin swimming above. Doesn't he look like he is facinated!?! Oh...do you see how close he is to the tank? On his first attemt to crawl up near it, I don't think he realized there was glass between him, the water and the dolphins, becuase he crawled streight into the glass...boom. He didn't cry, so I don't think it hurt...he just sat back confuse for a second. It made me laugh...new things to discover!

Sitting back, relaxing, and just watching the dolphins swim around.

Now, I must admit, after a while of dolphin watching he did start getting a bit distracted by other things around him...like the very interesting wheels on the stroller that was seated next to him. He does not even seem to care a dolphin came swimming by...not when there are wheels to investigate.

I loved this...the dolphin came down to look at Kegan. It was sooo sweet to watch. However...I don't think Kegan thought it was as great...after a few seconds of this...he turned to me and cried. I guess the "big fish" scared him. Then...on top of that, Cason, one of the other little boys, went up to the dolphin after Kegan started crying and moved...and after a few seconds, he too, started to cry. I don't what it was...but they did not like the dolphin staring at them!

Maybe it isn't as scary to have a dolphin looking at you when you have friends by your side! (from left to right:Kegan, Cason, and Riley)

With Matthew being done with Harvest, he had time to come home and work on his truck some...this is Dad's version of watching Kegan. Nice...yes...those are two dirty clothes baskets (one for work clothes and the other for old towels used in the garage) Very classy...I know. But hey...it doesn't look like Kegan is bothered by it...he looks very content actually.

Kegan is riding his rocking horse that Grandpa Bruce made him. He is still getting used to the feeling of holding on and not having his feet on the floor. He does enjoy the back and forth motion of it...of course he would...he is moving...haha!

Doors:

I don't have any video that I have taken yet, but I will try to in the next few days, but Kegan has discovered the greatness of doors and how they open and close over the past couple of weeks...really taking interest in them last week. If we are in a room with a door, you can pretty much bet that door is going to be shut and then he just startes at the door knob waiting for it to be opened, so he can shut it again. He is still working on how to open it fully if it is partly open and he is on the inside of it...he can't get his body out of the way at times.

Well, Kegan has woken from his nap, finished his sippie of milk and has been trying to type on these keys for a while, so I will let him type and make his first, very own, entry on his blog. Here we go! (I went back after he "typed" and marked in red words he spelled...such a genious - ivy and the sound a cow makes are the two I found!)

eeg xwlkxl ,jbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb..............,m,
>.,,mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb , moooook87v8obbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbkbbbbb9jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj iv y vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvy bzt m ,, g ybnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnjuuuuuuuuuuu7hhhhhhhhh nffkmmmmmmmmmmb hhhhhhhhhh--m7hcv77 - n77777777

What a FLIRT!

Kegan turns 10 months old and all of a sudden hormones!!! Haha...j/k...well, sort-of. Sunday morning when I went to go pick Kegan up from the nursery all the ladies were telling me that Kegan had been flirting with all the girls that morning. One of the lovely nursery workers then proceeded to tell me that there had been three little girls sitting on the floor around her, then Kegan went over to them and gave each one a kiss! It was even like he stuck to just one girl...but three! Hahaha...oh... I am going to have my hands full!

Now, back to the rest of the week. There were not any mid-week updates last week, because, well...it was a pretty slow week, especially the first half. Matthew is still busy with Harvest so Kegan and Mommy spent a lot of time playing at home. We did take a few trips out to the farm to see Matthew and to get out of the house. The end of the week, was a bit more exciting, though! Thursday afternoon, Kegan got to spend a few hours with just him and Matthew on the farm (first time on the farm without mommy there) while I went to the dentist. I think both Matthew and Kegan had fun that day! On Friday Kegan turned 10 months and with that came a 4th tooth (2nd tooth on top) that finally pushed through Saturday morning! Kegan got to take his first trip to the Texas State Aquarium on Saturday and he seemed to really enjoy it! We went with Julie (I taught with her) and Cason (who is 3 weeks younger than Kegan).It was fun to watch him stare at the tanks of big fish! Sunday - well you already heard about Sunday. Then today he waved, at the right time, for the first time. Kegan and I had walked over to talk to some neighbors and when we were leaving Rodney waved goodbye to Kegan and Kegan reached out his hand and opened and closed his fingers...I was so proud!!! We have been working on that for a while. It was so cute to see those pudgy fingers open and close.

Below are some pictures from this past week.

My home-boy Kegan on the farm Saturday, visiting Matthew.

He still LOVES to look at all the big machines (this is a view of the front of a picker).

Hanging out around the house.
Being a teacher I had to put this in here...already picking up books himself and looking at them. (Ok, usually they end up being shook up and down or slid across the floor...but still, he does go and pick them up with out me having to give them to him...that's a start!) Doesn't it look like he is saying, "Mom, read this one, please."

Tuesday I was just having fun snapping pictures of him and Kegan got a bit curious about the camera.
"Hey...what...what did you do? What is that in your hands, mom?"

"Ooooo...let me crawl closer and get a better look!"

'There we go, I will just reach out and take that from you, Mom, if that is alright?"(Those are his little fingers covering part of the lens)

More play time. This is a new hinge puzzle I just got him. I will open the doors and he then enjoys going back and closing them all. It is fascinating to watch him problem solve while doing this. Not all the "doors" close the same, some are side closing, some are top closing, and some bottom closing...and as he works on it he will try different ways to close the door till he figures out the correct way. He is already getting smarter and it takes him less time and thought! How smart!!! (Side note, I TOTALLY recommend this type of puzzle to anyone with a child too small for a "typical" puzzle...or if you would just like a good alternative to they "typical" puzzle. The parts can not be put into his mouth nor can they be lost!)

Now, this is the way to take an afternoon sippie! (Oh yes, Kegan did great with stopping the bottle. Kegan has not had a bottle since Saturday, September 8...he did it...cold turkey. He has about 4 different styles of sippie cups and he does fine with either of them.)

Kegan was able to crawl out of his bumpo on his own the other day...eek! One less way to contain him...haha....

Spending time with his daddy on Thursday afternoon. He looks like he his concentrating real hard on figuring out how to get to the Cheerios inside!

I tried to take more pictures than this, but the battery went out...but here is a cute one of Kegan enjoying looking at the fish in the big fish tank!

9 month chuck up and a good Labor Day Weekend

Kegan has had a busy week!

First, I would like to show how little man is pulling to standing. In the previous post I mentioned that Matthew and I were going to have to lower the crib, again...well it was lowered...and this shows why! I had heard him fussing and moving around in his crib (he was supposed to be going down for a nap), and this is what I saw when I walked in. Isn't that such a mischievous face! He gets that from his father!

Saturday, September 1st Grandad and Madeline (one set of Kegan's Great-Grandparents) came in to visit everyone for Labor Day weekend. They stopped by our house on their way to the Setliff's. It worked out well, though - Madeline got to feed Kegan his lunch before the rest of the family met us at our house and we all headed for lunch. Below is a picture of Grandad (nice shorts!), Madeline, Matthew and Kegan, and me. Sorry the picture is blurry - my camera was acting up...as you will see on some other pictures from that day.

Saturday evening we all headed for a Hooks baseball game. Kegan did great - stayed awake the ENTIRE time...till we left WAY past his bed time. He only cried once, when some loud music played and people were cheering...otherwise, he did great! It is nice to go to these events with lots of people - that means a lot of different laps and entertainment for Kegan. Here Kegan is playing with Madeline before the game started.

I know - not the most friendly face...but it makes me laugh! He was screaming or anything...he just made a face at me. Perhaps he was hoping that if he did not smile, I would stop flashing the camera at him...no luck baby boy!

This picture does not do the look on Kegan's face justice, but he has one eyebrow raised - just like his daddy looks at me sometimes!

Confused, anyone?...haha...again, I just thought this picture showed one of the other million facial expressions this little boy has.

Matthew arrived late (he had some work to do), but when he got there Kegan spent a lot of time in his lap. Here Kegan is clapping for his daddy. Clapping is one of Kegan's favorite things to do now - it is so cute to see him just start clapping...at times, for no reason at all. But...like silly adults do for kids...we all start clapping along!

Look at our big boy sitting in his own seat and watching the game. He really looks into it...doesn't he!?!

Toward the end of the game we got to move to some front row seats Mr. Setliff had. WOW - what a view...watch out for foul balls, Kegan!

Sunday (I forgot the camera) we went to church, had lunch with the family (Kegan got to try some mushed up lasagna and loved it!), and then went to church that evening.

Monday morning, we went to spend some more time with Grandad and Medaline before the left. We had breakfast with the Setliff's then drove around looking at the beach and different things. Kegan offered good entertainment through-out the day.

At the breakfast table with his Grandpa...chewing on a washcloth. He did not want to let that thing go...I guess it felt good on his gums.

After playing hard...again...it is time to rest hard. Both him and Grandpa, crashed out.

There had been a lot of rain the past couple of weeks, so things have slowed down at the farm till the land and cotton dry up. (Matthew actually started going again today - thank you Lord!) During the few slow days this week Kegan and I would go out and meet Matthew for lunch, and Matthew would show his son off to different farmers at the Cafe. I know Kegan always enjoys seeing his daddy - so he had fun this week getting to spend extra time with him. Matthew got to come home early, too, because of the rain. One night we were doing some odds and ends around the front yard and this was a picture I snapped of Kegan while he was out there. Doesn't he look so grown up sitting up on the steps like that?

Again, just some extra time he spent with daddy. Matthew realized that if Kegan could clack on some keys he stayed more content sitting at the computer. Aunt Wendy...Uncle Nolan...do you see him on the calculator (he was having fun)...perhaps he will want to be an accountant one day like his aunt and uncle. Hmm...I don't know...I think he enjoyed the sound's made by the keys more than anything...but you never know...ha!

Below is a picture of Matthew and Kegan being silly while Mommy was putting up the iron. Matthew had Kegan moving around like he was surfing...it was rather funny to see!

After surf lessons were over, Kegan and I headed to his 9 month check-up. I know, he is almost 10 months, but this is the soonest they could get us in. Anyways, Kegan weighed 20 lbs 3 oz (50%)- I was very shocked at this...I thought it was going to be more - anyone who has seen him eat understands why I was shocked! He was 29 3/4 inches tall (75%). The doctor said he looked great and was right on track. He even called Kegan a charmer - naturally!!! He was surprised that Kegan smiled at him when he walked in...and only fussed a little during the exam - way to go Kegan! He did say that we needed to start weening him off the bottle - give the formula to him in a sippy cup instead. At this moment in fact, I am trying it out (Kegan just woke up from a nap). He is doing pretty good - just drinking it a little slower than normal...dribbling a little more than normal...but he took to it pretty good. The true test will be tonight and in the morning...eek! The appointment ended with one shot - he only cried a little - I would say for less than a minute.

After the doctor's appointment we headed to a baby shower...lots of kids everywhere. I think Kegan's sippy cup was used by about 3 or 4 different kids - so at least he is still getting exposed to all the germs...no matter how you try to hide those cups, the kids seem to find them - we all thought it was rather humorous!
Tooth update - the top left side is in - as of Sunday (3 teeth now)...we are waiting for the top right side to push through. He did get a runny nose this time around, teething, but the doctor said it looked like he was on the downhill side of it, which is good he hates the nasal aspirator.

One more cute tid-bit. Matthew and I showed Kegan how to click his tongue the other day and he will now mimic us sometimes, if we do it to him. It is amazing how fast they can pick up on things.

2 Weeks of Rapid Development...and rapidly going...

Well, the word rapid really does describe Kegan's pace in life now. The last week and 1/2 we have been BUSY GOING places and Kegan and been busy crawling...getting better and better EVERY DAY and FASTER...yeah...I think! Ha! Kegan is definitely getting crawling down. Pretty much now - if he sees something he can go and get it...this includes cords...any kind of cord. Needless to say I have tried to hide a lot of them (all sockets have been covered up for quite a while) and I have become a good a good sprinter. It really is a lot of fun to have him crawling...to see what his eyes have been investigating the past 9 months and now he can finally go and see it close up.
Kegan is getting curious about the world around him and noticing things he has never taken interest in before. An example: the light switches. Just yesterday I walked about the light switch and turned off the light. The next thing I new a little hand flew up in front of me and was trying to push the switch up and down. He loves to stop and try them out, now, every time we pass one.
New things he has learned to do, besides improving his crawl: Pull up on things to stand (We are going to have to lower his crib, again, because he likes to protest his nap by pulling up in his crib and standing...it will be lowered tonight.), claps to music (He now claps with open palms and not his fists. Kegan will also now start clapping is you sing "If You're Happy and You Know It..." and "Patty Cake" - so cool!), and he sort-of has fed himself with a spoon (Yesterday while I was taking the food to his mouth he reached up to take the spoon in my hand so I let him help me take the food to his mouth, then I just let him have the spoon. He actually kept putting it back in his mouth, so I helped him rake up some green beans and he would take the spoon into his mouth. Granted this was all right before he started using the spoon as a drumstick, but I was still proud. He repeated these skills today...so I think it is a skill that will stick around.).
Oh yes - he is about to get 2 more teeth. This process seemed to start at the middle of last week with very swollen gums, then at the beginning of this week his gums started to open where the teeth would be, so we should soon see some teeth poking out.

Ok - on to pictures and a review of the past few weeks. Last Monday, Aug. 20th, Kegan got to go for his first cotton picker ride. He was, once again, fascinated with everything going on and stayed very content and happy for a long time. Below is a picture of Matthew and Kegan up on a module builder. There is a piece on top that goes up and down, and back and forth to compress the cotton and Kegan LOVED watching it move around. He stared and stared whenever we were close to it.

Daddy and Kegan standing on the picker - so tall!

Ok, Kegan is ready to drive!

"See Dad, I can work the orange lever with lots of buttons!!!" (Kegan was so excited about the buttons he saw - too bad none were for him to push.)

"I could help you drive, dad."

"Or, I could just drive it by myself!" (Doesn't he really look like he is concentrating?)

"Second thought, I think I will just sit here and look out this BIG window!"
(This is what kept him entertained the longest. He enjoyed looking at the cotton and all the moving parts to the machine, right below him.)

Mathew and Kegan sitting down in the cotton. It was a VERY hot day out there. Thank goodness for air conditioned tractors!!!

Before I start telling about our travels, I wanted to play this video of Kegan's car song. He has been singing this tune in the car, for the past few weeks, right as he drifts off to sleep...only in the car though, not at the house.

Tuesday morning Kegan and I drove up to go see his Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Kyle. It was so great to see them and I could tell they really enjoyed being about to see Kegan...even though he did spit up, multiple times, on their new carpet. Thank goodness Uncle Kyle was quick with the cleaner! We had a great time with them. I do believe Aunt Lindsay spoiled him though - she loved to hold Kegan whenever she could, and he gladly let her, when he was not showing off his new crawling skills! Uncle Kyle even got in on the action - I forgot to get Kegan's bumpo to feed him in, so Kyle held Kegan while I fed him his dinner - so sweet! The next morning we had to head out, to come home and repack for the next day. We had a great time with them - too short - but nice visit...and I wish I had pictures to show, but did I remember to get out my camera...no....

Thursday, we headed up to Pasadena to spend some time with my Meme and Poppa before heading to Houston for Karsyn's birthday. My meme is just getting over surgery and I think Kegan was the best medicine and therapy for her and the best pick-me-up for my Poppa who has had to be "nurse" while Meme recuperates. It is wonderful to get to see him interact with them - such a blessing!

Kegan had been smothering Meme with lots of "kisses" when I snapped this.

Kegan and and Poppa are chatting about something.

Here is a short clip of Kegan crawling for Meme and Poppa, at their house.

Friday afternoon Kegan and I headed over to Aunt Wendy, Uncle Nolan, and Karsyn's new house. Kegan and Karsyn were so excited to see each other. They just talked and squealed back and forth- Wendy and I were laughing. It really seemed like they were having a conversation about something. Below is a picture of them continuing to talk and laugh about whatever they were saying.

After eating we headed to the play room while we waited for Grams to arrive. Here Kegan is crawling RIGHT UP TO his momma!

Cousins playing together. This toys has some buttons that you can push to play different music and they were really enjoying that feature. Karsyn was even dancing some!

Grams made it so Both kids had to share her lap while they played the maracas. I think I am going to have to get Kegan a set of these. He loved them!

Playing at the play center, again. Look at how he is standing! Grams is not holding him...he is doing it all himself.

Here is a cute picture of them playing in the bath. I know, neither of them will be very happy with this when they are about 12...but it is cute now!

Saturday morning bottle times two!

After their bottles we packed up the cars and headed over to Debbie Rutherford's house for Karsyn's birthday. (Since Wendy and Nolan moved they did not have a house, per say, that was party ready so Mrs. Rutherford offered her house for the party.) It was a swim party, so Kegan of course thoroughly enjoyed himself!

Below is a picture of Kegan, with my Aunt Betsy, playing with some balloons. He is still so fascinated with them.

The birthday girl enjoying her YUMMY cake. Happy Birthday Karsyn!

The birthday girl and her guest (minus 2 infants). Do you notice something in this picture? Kegan is EXTREMELY out numbered!

We had such a great extended weekend getting to celebrate Karsyn's 1st birthday with her and getting to see some of our family!

Sunday evening we headed home and went straight to visit dad in the fields. Kegan was SO excited when he saw Matthew. He started smiling and squealing - too cute!
Back up for a ride in the picker.

After spending some time with Matthew, we headed home to unpack and sleep! It was a great week, but it wore us out!

Monday, (the last day I took pictures this week - till I took the time to save all my pictures and clear my memory card today) we did have some interesting excitement - an impromptu field trip. We were at the park with some other mommys and babies when a fire truck came rolling up. (It was there because someone had called in 911 when they saw a drunk man sleeping in the park - hmmm...not such good news. Anyways, they got the man to leave.) After they had handled the problem they let all the kids look around at the fire truck and take pictures in it. This is one picture a friend of mine snapped for me. SOOO CUTE!!!

As I stated at the beginning of this entry...things have not slowed down this week and Kegan has quickly discovered new talents and new things to discover. I will try to get an updated video of him crawling and clapping to his songs, a little later.