Enjoying the snow...

Wow! What a gorgeous few days we've had... The snow is incredible and hasn't turned to mush yet (although we'll see where things are at by this time tomorrow!) Keith was out in the white stuff in full force and gave himself a few face washes while we worked on getting a mini snowman rolled for him. Let the goodtimes roll! New pics are up of all the snowy fun :-)

Hmmm... Why hasn't there been a post for 3 MONTHS???

Good question. First (and before I make too many excuses as to why I have been such a nasty slacker with posting), it is necessary to provide a window into our lives these past 3 months... Right around the time of our last post, Keith was in prime Superbaby mode- he was starting to sleep longer at night and was doing some awesome 2-3 hour naps during the day. Then, somewhere around 3 1/2 months, it all went to hell in a handbasket. The whole downward spiral began at the same time the munchkin learned to roll over, thus resulting in numerous unintentional nighttime rolls, frantic crying from a stranded baby, and the subsequent spatula-like flip from either Jay or myself to get him back onto his side or back. We, in our infintite wisdom, decided we did NOT what to be spatula parents for the next year and so helped Keith learn to sleep on his tummy, which seemed to give us all a more pleasant night's sleep for about a week. Now, those of you without babies need to appreciate that the little ankle biters don't always see bedtime as a time of R&R. Following Keith learning to tummy sleep, we entered the next phase of sleep hell, the movin' and shakin' phase which has lasted up until now (yes folks, that's 3 months). It seems our little guy discovered at an early age that there were places to be and things to see that he just. couldn't. quite. get. to. yet... The solution? Learn to get to those places of course! How did he plan to do this? We aren't certain, but what we do know is that he has used almost every waking moment and every sleepless night working on it. From the bum in the air squirms to the full plank push-ups, Keith has been on a movement mission of sorts, a mission that has FINALLY got him doing the crazy caterpillar crawl across the floor to get where he needs to go. Hooray!! Let's hope the nighttime kalesthestics are a thing of the past and that we're moving onto a little more sleep during the wee hours!

The moving thing being the most notable project Keith's been working on, there have been other huge changes going on with our little guy since Hallowe'en. He can now sit all by himself and (as mentioned above) can squirm his way around on the floor to get where he wants to go. Our favourite nickname for him now is Little Bear- he's got this awesome bear outfit compliments of cousin Maryann (sorry no pics of him in it yet although we dress him up in it all the time) and, exceptionally biased though we are, he is just too cute in it! It's also a heck of a lot easier to get a smile and a laugh out of him than it was a few months ago- he's got an infectious giggle when dad blows on his tummy or we spin him around the room. He is such a pleasant and happy goofball most of the time, it's just so neat to see his personality start to shine through.

Keith has also started swimming lessons with Jay and I at Canada Games Pool and is really enjoying his time in the water. His favourite part of the lesson is hanging out in the warm kiddie pool and playing with the loads of toys floating around in the shallow end. He loves the colour yellow- yellow boats, yellow trucks, his yellow blanket, and his yellow duckies in the bathtub!

Most recently, Keith had an epiphany of sorts when he finally learned to use his Jolly Jumper for JUMPING rather than standing and looking at his toes (yes, Ernie, we are certain it was partly because Mateo showed him how it's done!) He bounces and bounces and bounces and laughs and laughs and laughs to himself. It's a blast to watch him go to town in it now.

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by and how much has happened now that Keith is getting close to the 6 month mark. He's gone from a helpless, sleepy, crying little blob to an alert, strong, interested, happy, and exceptionally determined little guy. Sometimes I look at him and have this strange feeling that he is wise beyond his years (some of those looks he gives us are just priceless!)

Take a look at the most recent pics :-) You might even catch a glimpse of some toothy additions to Keith's smile. He has a full 8 teeth in now and is working on numbers 9 & 10!

Here's to an easier few months of sleep ahead (and subsequently more posts!)

3 month update... sorry for the wait

Whew- what a crazy few weeks... Mom and dad have been super busy with work and (what a surprise!) looking after me! This will be a short post and I'm sure it won't do the last few weeks justice. So, here goes!

I went on my first longer road trip a few weekends ago to Summerland and Oliver to go wine tasting- OK, I didn't taste any wine but mom and dad sure looked like they had a good time. I was awesome on the trip and slept for most of the car ride there and back.

Here are the latest Keith stats:
- I weigh in at a hefty 16 lbs now
- I can sit up if mom or dad helps pull me up from lying down... I'm still working on staying up by myself but I get better every day!
- I'm holding stuff and starting to reach for things now- everything is so new and exciting, you can tell I just want to reach out and touch it all, I'm SO CLOSE (but not quite... incidently, I think mom and dad are quite glad about this for some reason)
- I can pull myself up to standing with a little help and I've started taking little steps to go towards things that look cool and interesting (this is not something mom and dad seem too keen on- they seem to think I'll be just a wee bit of a pain when I start walking on my own... as if!)
- My first Hallowe'en- I was a frog! Not overly impressed with wearing the costume (check out my pics on the photo site). I wasn't too sure what was going on when all those kids started coming to the door and when the fireworks started going off. I'll be looking forward to next year when I can probably toodle along on my own to visit the neighbours!

That's it for now- there are probably a ton of things I (aka mom) is forgetting. Please forgive her, she has been experiencing "baby brain" as of late :-)

10 Week Update

Holy smokes, has it been a busy two weeks! We had relatives (Gerald & Ilse) visit from Austria and I loved every moment of it- my aunt Ilse couldn't get enough of me... she called me her Schnukiputzi... screw Keith (boring!), this is going to be my new name!

I went on my first overnight trip to Sechelt last weekend with mom, dad, Gerald and Ilse. I got to hike into Skookumchuck narrows with everyone in the baby Bjorn. Mom and dad said what a good job I did for my first hike- I even managed to fall asleep for awhile on the walk in. There was so much to see though, I couldn't catch any z's on the way back to the car.

I had some BIG events happen over the past 2 weeks. I had my first two teeth come in (yes, already!). I was drooling like crazy and knawing on my fist and voila- up they popped. I am practicing reaching and holding now so I can munch on a teething ring if they give me any more trouble and for when the next ones show up! I also had my first shots a few days ago- ouch! Dad held me, but it still hurt and I screamed for a bit, until I got lots of hugs to help me feel better. My leg swelled up later on that afternoon and I wasn't happy at all. Mom and dad gave me some awesome meds and I felt WAY better after that ;-)

I am practicing standing and am super strong. I don't have a bobblehead any more- I can hold it perfectly upright... hooray! I also like to play sitting games with mom and dad where they pull me up to a sitting position and let me try to hold myself all on my own- I can almost do it! Mom and dad keep mentioning how chubby I am. I like to think I'm more "big boned"- a guy's gotta eat, you know. I weighed in at 14 lbs 3 ozs at my 10 week doctor appointment. That's 95th percentile for weight. Woohoo!

I'm slowly sleeping a little longer at night which mom thinks is great. My record is a 7 hour stretch, but I usually will do between 5-6 hours for my long nighttime sleep before waking up. Last but not least, I've started pooping once every 6 days (now, I realize you probably don't want to read about this, but it is noteworthy). I don't think mom and dad are too crazy about this, seeing as they treat me like I'm a hazardous materials spill when I finally let fly- the last time I pooped, I ended up being hung in the shower for a rinse off. What's the big deal anyways?? Even better, mom and dad have to rinse out my cloth diaper afterwards (tee hee). Suckers! I've got them wrapped around my little finger already!

Later guys... I've got some serious jungle gym time I've got to put in before my next nap. Until next time...

I'm 8 Weeks Old Today!!

Hi everybody! I'm officially 8 weeks old today- yessir, that's 2 months old! I can't believe how much I've changed just in the last couple of weeks. Mom and dad think I'm just the bee's knees with all the cool stuff I can do now. Take a look at this list...

1. I can roll over from my tummy to my back. Now, hold the press for just a moment, it's not like I'm some kind of super genius, but if mom or dad puts me in just the right position, Bob's your uncle- I flip right over! Cool!
2. I make all sorts of neat sounds now. Dad especially likes my ear-piercing scream. They haven't figured out yet what it means. Ha, suckers! Hang on... I don't even know why I do it... Oh well, it's probably because I'm ravenously hungry (just a guess, of course).
3. I smile LOTS now, although I'm pretty quick about it, so mom and dad have trouble catching it on camera, as you'll be able to see from my recent photos.
4. I have NEW DIAPERS! This is pretty cool- hooray for saving the environment! My bottom does look a tad big in them at this point, but who really cares if my bum looks like the Goodyear blimp anyways?
5. I'm a big boy now- the weight is unofficial yet, but mom is pretty sure I'm close to 13 lbs now, maybe even heavier!
6. I rock at tummy time! I can hold up my head now and support my upper body... I'll be crawling before you know it!
7. Everything around me is so cool... I am starting to reach out at stuff now, although I'm still not sure what these things are at the end of my arms. Hands you say? OK, whatever- it's pretty neat that I can make things move all by myself.

Well folks, there you have it! I pretty much do something new and amazing every day. Not like I'm saving the world, but the way mom and dad clap and cheer every time I do something, you'd think I'd found a cure for diaper rash :-)

Week 5 already- boy, time flies!

Wow! It's hard to believe that Keith is already 5 weeks old today! So much changes in such a short period of time... He's now way more alert during the day and is enjoying time in his swing and in his jungle gym. He's also doing way better now with making it through the early evenings before bed- no more freak out screaming- hooray! (although he's begun to cry for different reasons, not just food now, so it's tougher to figure out what's bugging him). He's a pretty good sleeper and has had a few stretches where he's let mom get almost 3 1/2 hours sleep at once (yipee!). He still HATES being swaddled and will struggle like crazy to get out of his wrap until he eventually just gives up and flakes out. Once he wakes up again, you can hear him from our bedroom grunting and complaining until he manages to get his arms free... then the "I'm hungry, dammit" screaming starts.

Best of all, we've had our first smiles- or is it just gas? It doesn't matter to us, we'll just say it's smiles and leave it at that. We're getting out and about a little more now too and have been on some pretty lengthy shopping trips and visits with the little guy. Hopefully just a few more weeks and we'll be heading out for our first hikes!

New pics are posted on the photo site- enjoy!

And what's baby thinking?...

Hi everyone! Mom and dad have given you the run down of my first few weeks at home but I wanted to give you an idea of what a typical day with me is like. Enjoy!

6:00am: Wake up mom- it’s breakfast time
6:30am: Rats! A diaper change- I hate these, especially when mom changes my outfit too. Scream through diaper change.
6:40am: Resume eating.
7:00am: Whew! I’m tired of eating… Time for a nap.
7:05am: Wait! I wasn’t done eating- I need more!
7:15am: Now I’m done… Time for a nap.
7:20am: Wait! I wasn’t done eating- I need more!
7:30am: Still eating…
8:00am: Still eating…
8:05am: OK, now I’m done. Let’s have a nap.
10:05am: Wake up mom- it’s time for second breakfast
10:30am: ANOTHER diaper change?!!! Curses! Scream through diaper change. Repeat as per 6:30am-8:05am for the duration of the morning and afternoon.
6:00pm: Dad’s home! It’s time for the Witching Hours. Mwahaaahaaahaa! Mom and dad are going to love this! Alternate eat-burp-scream-diaper change-eat-scream for the duration of the evening.
11:00pm: Witching Hours over- time for bed. Mom and dad wrap me up in a tight swaddle. I am not impressed. Give mom and dad dirty looks. Now, if I could just work my arms free of this blanket… Scream.
11:05pm: At last! I’m free of the swaddle! Ha! I showed you! Hey- you’re wrapping me up AGAIN- you guys never quit, do you? Scream.
11:15pm: Feeling sleepy… very sleepy… very sleeeeee… zzzzzzzzzz.
1:00am: Time to eat- why is mom always falling asleep on me here? I’m wide awake! Party at my place!
3:30am: Same as 1:00am.
6:00am: Wake up mom- it’s breakfast time

Well, that’s about it folks. I’m enjoying myself a lot here and putting on some serious
weight. I’ll keep you posted on what I’m up to over the next few weeks- stay tuned :-)