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Keegan is growing up in a Mac and PC household so he has a 50/50 chance of choosing either platform. He is however, an Apple fan at heart: he has been sleeping and relaxing at the sound of the IPod, and he even has a onsie to prove it, gift of one of mom’s coworkers, Brad. He looks stunning, doesn’t it?

dad tried the pause button with no luck

In other news, Keegan has been doing a lot better. His mood has improved, and he has not been quite as clingy. We are wondering if Tizi’s friend triggered more of his separation anxiety. He has been eating a little more, at least at dinner. In fact he has been enjoying scrambled eggs and really loves fruit, especially pears. He has been eating them quite a bit, showing off his “pincer grasp” skill. He still rather have us feed him, even if he is perfectly capable of feeding himself, and he still does not like chunky food much. He tried cow’s milk, and he didn’t seem to mind, but he does not drink more than a few sips. We mixed in also with his cereals, and that worked out well. To Tizi’s great disappointment and surprise he has refused to eat pasta and tortellini…what kind of Italian is he?????

I don’t know about this stuff

 Take this away from me

As for night sleeping, he has improved a little in that area as well. We did let him cry when Meggie left: he woke up at 4.30 and he cried for about an hour before he fell asleep. We checked on him, and comforted him very ten minutes or so. The next night, it was 5.30, and he cried a little less. And last night, he woke up around 5.3 and then went back to sleep almost right away and slept till 7am! We know that it is probably a fluke, and that we are not out of the woods, plus with another change in routine at the horizon we hve no illusions, but we are still enjoying it while we can.

Keegan has been growing at his own pace, and rarely doing things according to baby books and “standards”:  however, there is one thing our baby is doing by the book: he has hit, apparently,  separation anxiety. The description of the phenomenon and the pictures from the book they could have may as well used his name. Discovering this it made mom and dad feel a little bit better: at least we have a name for all the madness.

Keegan has started a couple of weeks ago being very clingy, and whiny, especially when Matt was leaving himat daycare in the morning. He has been also crying suddenly and without reason, especially after waking up from his naps. You may also know that we have been struggling, AGAIN, with his sleeping. For a good two plus months he has been waking up very early, breastfeeding extensively, and mainly for comfort.

In the past few days we reached the apex. After catching a bug last week, everything precipitated. Last night, he woke up at 2.30, crying, and did not want to get back to sleep. Matt stayed with him and got his to snooze off an on, so Tizi could get a couple of hours of sleep. We were surprised the doctor did not mention separation anxiety to us, since we told her about his sleeping issues, but I guess we are glad we found out on our won it is somewhat common. Of course not all babies experience it in the same way, or quite as dramatically, but I guess we still haven’t appease the sleep gods.The ironic part is that most book mention that is it a difficult (duh!) time for both parents and babies, but also and “exhilarating” one. Quoting directly from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

In some ways, this phase of your child’s emotional development will be especially tender for both of you, while in others, it will be painful. After all, his desire to be with you is a sign of his attachment to his first and greatest love – namely you. The intensity of his feeling as she hurtles into your arms is irresistible, especially when you realize that no one – including your child herself – will ever again think you are quite as perfect as he does at this age.

One other article encourages parents to:”enjoy the sweetness of knowing that to your child, you’re number one.” Those writers obviously do not have a child at home that wakes up crying in the middle of the night, and won’t go back to sleep, and that would cling to their legs a lot during the day…Tizi would probably settle for being number 2 or 3 on his favorite persons’ list if that meant getting a good night’s sleep. More realistically, though, they also add that parents may be feeling a variety of emotions, including tenderness, resentment, anger, and of course exhaustion. I can subscribe to that.

The good new is this phase will pass…by the second year. At least the acute phase, as separation anxiety can continue all along preschool and grade school. Something to look forward to, right?

Fortunately, Tizi had some help in the past few days: Tizi’s friend Meggie drove from San Francisco for a visit;  unfortunately for her, she had to bear the brunt of it; this was a great support for Tizi, though, as Matt was out of town for two days, so she was able to keep her sanity. Not to mention that Meggie was the first one to figure out that Keegan may be going through this phase, or excuse me, “emotional milestone”. THANK YOU MEGGIE!

The bad weather we have been having also is not helping, as he seems the happiest when he is playing outside. Tizi is seriously considering busting out the stroller  rain cover and go out anyway. Not sure it will work, as his moods seems to be somewhat affected by the weather, just like mom.

So, is there anything we can do? Apparently not much. Most articles recommends the “crying out” method for night waking, which we could not really do so far as he was sleeping in our room. So, tonight will be the night…we are also a little worried about the Christmas vacation, when Tizi’s sister and her family will be staying with us. While we are happy to see them, we really hope they are prepared  for a whole lot of crying and fussying. (-:

We took Keegan for his 1 year check up. We were hoping to get some wise answers and miracle solution for Keegan sleeping issues… but no luck there. Nothing too new, mind you, but he has been waking very early, and most importantly, he often wakes up quite upset, and it takes a while to calm in… No food or cuddling would do it. The doctor had no suggestions, beside what we have tried already. So we are just hoping that he has been having a LOOONG toothing period. he still only had 4, after all.

He also got most of his shots, including a flue shot (which really didn’t prevent him from getting the annoying vomiting and diarrhea bug  that was going around). He did all right: he actually cried and screamed louder when the doctor was trying to look at the inside of his hear or mouth. Funny little guy.

Other than that, he is in great health. He perfectly on track for each major milestone. He is not really talking yet, as he has been focusing on his motor skill but everything else looks great. And…he has grown “immensely”. He jumped from 5% to…

DRUMROLL…

25%. You have heard right. our little guy jumped 20 points on his growth curve. He gain 1lb 1oz in a month. He is still on his 50% for height and 25% for head size.

His measurements:

weight: 20lb 14oz
height: 30.25 in

Some of his milestones so far:

He walks quite well by now
He now how to turn around while walking
He can climb oh his stroller wheels
He can pick up objects from the floor while he is standing, without falling done
He uses his thumb and forefinger to pick up stuff
He is picking his nose (well, not exactly a milestone, is it?)
He puts objects inside each other
He is a lot more vocal, even if he has not used any real words yet
He is starting to do some gesturing, mainly waving bye-bye, even if not always at the right time
He can feed himself from a spoon, hitting his mouth at the first try: he does not like doing it though
He can drink little sips form a regular cup
He wants to eat whatever someone else is eating (and not his food)

Some of his favorite things are toys that make noise and books: he likes to turn the pages, but he is not too patient: he would not sit on your lap and listen to a story. He still loves baths, people and playing outdoor: good thing he lives in San Diego.

The big birthday party!

DISCLAIMER:  This post contains 15 pictures. We have officially gone over the edge. And this is just a selection of the best pictures. The party lasted only a few hours, and we have too many pictures to count. So sad…the mutation from normal human being to parents has occurred…

The big day arrived: Keegan’s first birthday party. Of course, the party was mainly for mom and dad, but Keegan loves company, and he especially likes other babies, so it was great for him too. This was our first party as parents, as well as our first party in almost two years. It was an afternoon affair, of course, and we were lucky that, despite the forecast, the sun was shining, so we could relax outside. Matt did a great job trying to tame our jungle (that it has not been touched since Keegan’s birth) and we got some yummy food…from Costco. Well, I guess we have a good excuse this year for not cooking and baking ourselves.  And did we mentioned we had adult beverages???? Luckily too, we have finished most of our babyproofing, so the house was clean and safe for everyone.

the guys,Eric, Torin, Steve, Matt and Keegan looking cool

We didn’t want a huge affair so we only invited few people that know Keegan, and don’t mind baby craziness: Krista and Eric, with little Torin, Jennifer and Dave with Hannah, Lena and Chuck with Mila and Sharon and Joon with Jada, and Steve. Daniele and Gaia arrived later in the afternoon. We had a nice blanket and bins of toys for the kids to play with and we brought out the exersaucer for Torin to play with.

Keegan and Torin, playing it cool in front of the hot babes

The Chicco bilingual book was a big hit, especially the Italian songs, despite the blown out speaker. Tizi’s favorite, the bat and wobble penguin was also a crowd pleaser.

 Keegan, Hannah and Mila and moms Jennifer and Lina

It was great to see the kids together; well, not really playing together, but side by side. The girls were getting along well, and Keegan was, of course, everywhere, showing off his new walking skill. He was a little cranky as he missed his afternoon nap and his tummy was hurting a little, but we were able to soothe him with Cheerio’s and lots of attention.

Keegan,  Jada and Hannah witn mom Sharon

Krista and Torin, having a good time 

Keegan got his first taste of sweets: we got some cupcakes at Costco: they were HUGE. Do you expect anything else from Costco?  We put the candle on one of them and sang Happy Birthday, a song that, by now Keegan knows very well: we have been singing it to him every months, both in Italian and English. He loves it! He gets all smiles when he hears it.

Proud mom and dad, with pensive birthday boy

One big candle for one big day

blowing the candle

COMING SOON

We blew off the candle and let him lick the frosting off…he was not impressed.

We gave it another try, and place a huge cupcake on the tray of his chair. He was suspicious at first: he dip his finger in the gooey stuff…not bad. So he dove right in…yes, not bad at all. He finally relaxed, and really went for it, covering his whole face and onesie in chocolate…He didn’t even  get to eat the actual cupcake. Despite our fears, however, he didn’t get more hyper than usual, and still slept fine (as fine as it can be expected from him) that night.

Humm, what is this gooey stuff?

it deserves a closer look

Ok, not too shabby

Ok, why am I not getting this sttuff every day? 

finger-licking delicious

With Jennifer after some major face clean-up

When it started getting dark, we moved inside for a little bit, til, one by one, the little ones “crashed”. Lucky for Keegan, Gaia, who is a little older, had more resistance, so he had someone to entertain him till his bed time.

He was too tired and excited to open gifts, but the next day he got to see all hiss wonderful new things: he received some very nice books, cool overalls and a fun stacking boxes game. he is more in demolishing right now, but he will learn. He also got some fun building blocks, and Matt is looking forward to create cool constructions with him, again once he is over his destroying phase.

 Thank you everyone for coming over and celebrate this special day: we had a great time!

So we made it to the very first birthday: they say the first year it is always the hardest, so we are looking forward to next months and years.

December 3 happened on a Wednesday, so we both had to go to work, but we planned a small party for the following Saturday (we will have a post just for that). Tizi was giddy, almost as it was her own birthday…well, in a way it is, after all. Tizi has been doing some shopping, and researching some cool toys,since Keegan is now a big boy: something educational, safe, and obviously cool. While the process is ongoing— Xmas is still a couple of weeks away, after all—she managed to get something ready for the big day. She bought a small banner, and wrapped a couple of presents since he likes paper and ripping it.

Keegan woke up bright and early, as he has been doing for the past two months. However, we were ale to get him back to sleep an other hour. So he woke up happy and refreshed, and blissfully unaware of being the birthday boy.it was a beautiful sunny day, not quite as warm as the day he was born, but still wonderful.
We dressed him up in some cute new clothes, and used the nice birthday bib, gift of aunt Dyah, and off to day care.

check out my birthday garb

It felt weird to be at work, and Tizi couldn’t help but think how happy she was that she was done with labor. At daycare, they made a nice card with glitter and placed it over his bin, and celebrated the big event.

playing around with his best buddy Erik: he is three months younger, but super precocious.

At home, we have found two nice birthday wish, from Tizi’s sitster and her kids and from Tizi’s friend Loredana. Of course, Grandma and Grandpa also called to wish him: Buon Compleanno! Tizi’s friend Krista sent the coolest e-card. Yes, off the wall, but very much Tizi’s style. Check out their other cards.

Matt was able to get home a little early, so we went to watch a beautiful sunset at Calumet park, where we got married in October 2002. Keegan had a blast: being that late, there were a lot of dogs running around and chasing each other, and Keegan wanted to be in the middle of it all. So he was “running’ and stumbling on the grass, squealing in joy.

nice sunset at Calumet park

After the sunset, we went back home, and took our usual pictures and video. This time, he got a Cheerio’s “cake”, and he even got to eat some.

He was not too interested in the presents, so we waited till the next day. And, as expected, he seemed more interested in ripping and eating the paper than looking at the presents themselves. He did appreciated the Busy Gears toy…mom and dad like it a little less, since we have been picking up little gears everywhere in the house.

cool!!! I got presents…

After such a busy day, he went to bed without fuss, leaving mom and dad to ponder about the miracle we have been witnessing over the past year. Especially looking at the announcement we put up for the picture we couldn’t believe how much he has changed. It has been incredible to watch Keegan grow and mature, and transform from this tiny, defenseless little creature to a tiny, active little guy. It is incredible to realize that kids, even this small, have their own personality and very defined likes (bread, walking, playing, and people and excitement) and dislikes (SLEEP). We have enjoyed the ever increasing interaction, and rough communication with our little guy. Watching him discover the world it is a great gift.

We are definitively looking forward to Keegan’s next year, and we will try to report as often as we can.

No real reason for this post: since we are quickly approaching Keegan’s first birthday, we just wanted to share some funny pictures of the little guy. We got a new car seat for Tizi’s car: after hours of researches, she was able to find a car seat that was: 1) safe 2) cool 3) and fit in her car. It is the same brand as the infant seat, the colors match the stroller (not that it matters) and the fabric feels very soft. The good news is that it can be use rear facing till 35 pounds, and it can recline while installed. It received many positive reviews from other parents (it is too new to be rated in the official books/magazines)It was not even that expensive…The bad news is that, since the seat stays in the car, daddy is getting a new car seat as well. He picked his: not quite as cool, but it gets great reviews, it is small, folds and it is supposed to fit in airplanes.

While Keegan seems excited about trying the new seat, mom and dad are not: lately, he mainly takes his naps in the car, and we easily move him in his car seat in and out of the car. With the convertible seat this is not possible: plus it doesn’t recline as much as the old one…so we will see. Notice how Keegan is sticking his tongue out as he is on his tippy-toes trying to reach the top: well, he learned from mom (who learned from Grandpa) that sticking your tongue out increases concentration and guarantees success. (-:

One of Keegan’s favorite things now is taking a bath. When we are walking to the bathroom is running over to the tub, and squeals in delight as soon as we turn the water on. he loves to splash with his fee, to play with his toys, especially the little squirters, and eat the foam and bubbles. He also enjoys standing up in the tub and reaching for stuff, so we need to be constantly on the lookout.  This particular day, he was having a crazy hair day, courtesy of dad.

Finally, since he is half Italian after all, he figured he should starting with some red wine: you are never to young to enjoy the health benefits of a glass of red wine, right? But, wait, what is he doing with Australian wine????

 What a difference a year makes! Check out our last year Thanksgiving post…crazy! We had a nice time. We didn’t do anything major, but after a brief storm, the sky cleared up, he sun came out and we enjoyed 70’s degree weather (this didn’t change from last year). Also, like last year we went for a nice walk at the beach, but this time the 18 extra pounds were on the stroller, and not inside Tizi’s tummy. Keegan slept through half of the walk, and played in the grass overlooking the ocean, while we kicked back…as much as we can kick back while chasing him around.

Once again, Matt cooked up a great dinner for us: turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, green bean…yummy. Keegan watched out eating: he had his vegetable Turkey Barley dinner early. He has already learned learned the real spirit of thanksgiving: eat too much and then pass out! He was also grabbing the spoon to feed himself, which he usually doesn’t do…were we too slow in feeding him? He devoured the 4oz turkey dinner, 6oz of cinnamon apple oatmeal,4oz of pear, a yogurt and some bread. he did promptly threw up right after…but maybe he was learning for the ancient Romans????

stop teasing me…gimme some food

yummy…but you are too slow daddy

If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself

He did manage to join us quietly during our dinner as well, maybe he was already in ta food coma, and he was looking with great interest at all the goodies. So ehre you have it: our first Thanksgiving as a family, saved for posterity.

The rest of the weekend went well: we enjoyed the 4 days off, and got LOTS accomplished. We did quite a bit of virtual shopping…since someone has a birthday coming up. And we also took care of the yard, and babyproofed the house some more. Since Keegan has been walking, he is getting into EVERYTHING. We will see how long it will take him to get the babyproof devises off. It took Tizi quite a bit to figure out how to open drawers and cabinet, but as you know, babyproofing mechanism are usually more adult-proof than baby-proof.