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The time has come: Keegan will move to the bigger kids room, the Ladybug room, starting on Monday. While this is an exciting milestones, we are not too excited about the timing. It feels like he did not have enough time to transition, as he only been over there a few times, for an hour or two at the time, and now, all of the sudden he will be in a new room, without his beloved teachers, and his best buddies. As strange as it seems, it looks like he really bonded with one of the kids, and he is entertaining long conversation with him. It will be sad to separate them. He has been sleeping in a cot and not a crib for the past few weeks, and he seems to be doing OK with that.

Also, the schedule is quite different: all the kids sleep at the same time, between 11.30 and 2.30. He has been doing a single nap before, but he usually not very happy about it. Also, this means that lunch is at 11 am, while we prefer it to be around 12.30.  They do provide snacks, but we can also bring our won: which is a good thing, because they were offering corn dogs the other day!

However, his teachers seem to think he is getting bored over there: which probably means he is getting into trouble. I know that they transitioned many kids so they must know what they are doing, but still, we are a little nervous. When I came to see the new room, of course, Keegan would not let me put him down, and one other kid that moved a few months ago, run to greet his old teacher, like he missed her.

We know he will be fine, and at least three of the kids used to be in the infant room; also, he may learn to talk more, being with the older kids, and may learn new skills, like sleeping on his own and eating more and he will do more age appropriate games and activities. I guess they have art scheduled every day. Plus he will be good for him to learn to deal with change (hopefully he will be a lot better about that than mom and dad)…still we are nervous. Maybe this is more about us than him, and it will be harder on us that him.

To make things more complicated, Monday is also the first day Keegan will see his grandparents again: so we have two big changes happening at the same time. Fortunately they will still stay at the apartment at the beach, so at least his sleep routine will be the same.  And we are sure that the doting and extra attention will help as well.

So we are keeping our finger crossed as we approach this big milestone. Good luck little man!

After the warmest January we could remember, with summer-like temperature, we are now back into winter time. A series of storms has been hitting San Diego, and while we are still blessed with temperatures not lower than 40/50, it has been a bummer to be indoor, especially with Keegan. He is getting a little of cabin fever…and we are not too happy either.

Tizi has been trying to take him out as much as possible, even if it is only a quick stroll in the neighborhood or a grocery store run: he enjoys the diversion. All of us have also been dealing with a nasty cold: stuffy noses, low voices and heavy coughs: it has been two weeks and we are still not out of the woods.

So we are longing for sun again…yes we are spoiled, and we have no rights to complain…we know that, but still… So, dreaming of warmer days, we went to finally get a backpack carrier: better late than never. We are looking forward to do some hiking: it has been a while. We are hoping Keegan will cooperate. He did not seem too crazy about it when we tested in the yard, but I am sure he just needs some time to adjust to it. He did enjoy being able to pull daddy’s hair, though.

pulling daddy’s hair is so much fun

I am not too sure about this contraption: let’s signal to the plane for help

Some new things in Keegan’s life: he has discovered how to turn on the TV, and he is quite fascinated by it. As you may know, we are not usually watching TV when he is around as we are trying to limit his exposure as much as possible  so the TV is a mysterious and intriguing thing, and one of the few things that captures his undivided attention. He seems to be interested by the same shows that daddy likes: Modern Marvels and the like. He has also started enjoying drinking form a straw and recently had his first Jamba Juice smoothie, just like mama’s.

His attention span is still quite fickle, so we are also turning to old school toys, such as wood toys and the one and only Slinky: it is amazing to see how classic toys never go out of style, and still capture the imagination of the newer generation.

what does this thing do?

pretty cool!

Not much progress to report in the tooth brushing or eating: he is still very erratic in his eating habits, and while today he ate tomatoes and pear chunks once again, he still prefers smooth foods to chunky. Could it be the texture? So for now we are still putting everything in soups and mixing fruit, strictly pureed, in yogurt…waiting for Grandma and her miraculous cooking. Tizi’s parents will be here for a month starting in March. We are looking forward seeing them, and showing them how much the little guy has grown in these few months.

I know we are not counting months anymore, but hey, Keegan is 14 months today… we will take any excuse to celebrate him. Plus, he loves the Happy Birthday song: they told us that every time he hears it at daycare, as babies turn one, he starts smiling and laughing and clapping his hands… He does not realize it is not all about him.

So what’s new? Not too much. Some happy notes: he now knows how to sign “Washing Hands”(he rubs his hands together) and he is starting to give kisses. For now he is simply making the sound and puckering up, somewhat, but it is a start. He is also biting a lot less. He seems to understand more and more everyday:he recognizes when we are telling him we are going home, or when we are going out for a walk or outside in the yard. I guess it is time for mom and dad to stop cursing. This will not be easy (-:

He recognizes Matt’s truck’s noise and when he thinks he is coming home he runs toward the door; he knows how to wave goodbye, even if he not always timing it right. And he seems to associate the computer in the living room with calling Grandma and Grandpa with Skype, as he starts waving at the screen.

He now really enjoys playing at the playgrounds (lucky us) and getting in the way of everyone, and of course sliding down. We bought him a small climb and slide for the yard. Another excellent find from Craigslist ($25): we had to drive all the way up to Escondido, but it was worth it. Those things are expensive, and from experience, he will get bored with it soon. Plus he slept all the way though. He seems to like it, even if for not more than a few minutes at a time, and he is getting the hang of it.

 Check me out: I am on top of the world

I can climb all by myself

I am all ready to go

no activity is more important that signing for EVERY passing plane.

He also loves to climb, and now he really enjoys being on the couch, or side tables…good thing he has learned how to get down, after a couple of spills: not head first, but feet first.

Keegan is also really set in his ways…already, and very stubborn (someone suggested he is taking after mom… Tizi says she is determined, not stubborn, and that it is a great quality to have). This brings us to a slightly less positive note: a lot of things are still a big struggle with him.

His sleep is a little more erratic, but he is still sleeping at least through 5/5.30 am, and usually 6/6.30. Naps are a hit or miss: some days he takes two 1.5 hours naps a day (Sunday) others he only has a 30 minutes nap the whole day. This means that he still fights us for every nap, and we solemnly observe the rule: Never Wake A Sleeping Baby (even if we have to let him sleep in the car, inside the garage). Sometimes, when he skips is afternoon nap, he so exhausted that he can fall asleep anywhere…like in his high chair.

Of course  I don’t need an afternoon nap

And the other two big battles: eating and brushing his teeth. He refuses to open his mouth so it is impossible to brush his teeth. We tried to show him how to, to let him try, to give him a finger brush, to play with the toothbrush…nothing worked. We have  few other tricks up our sleeve, but no guarantee they will work. We will take him to a dentist soon, and hopefully we will get some better ideas.

Food is another fun issue. He is the pickiest baby in the universe (again, is he taking after mom? Is he taking anything bad from dad????). He does not like most food. Matt has been cooking delicious meals for him and he snubbed them all. We tried all sort of toddlers recipes, to no avail. His favorite food so far: soup, as in broth, with anything in it (we even tried tortellini and he ate them, with the broth); cheese, pretty much any kind; yogurt, even the disgusting plain one (he ate the yogurt, and spit out the fruit chunks); eggs, with anything in it; pureed fruit (he would not eat most of the fruit in chunks); pineapple; bananas; bread; cheerios and similar; cereals with milk. Oh yeah, and all sort of sweets mommie is eating. In fact, he comes and begs for food ANYTIME we are eating something. He is smart, though: when we try to eat healthy food in front of him, he will snub it.

As you can see no much veggies here. He ate tofu chunks last week, but it may be a fluke. He used to love tomatoes, but that has passed as well. So he does not like chunky foods, he rather eat purees, and being fed (lazy bum)… all we can do is to pack nutritious stuff inside his soups and eggs and hope he will learn to eat more.

He is definitely growing though, so we are not worried, just frustrated. Dinner time is a pain.

Last positive note: the weather keep on being summer-like, with no humidity…which cause quite a few static “problems”. (-:

In fact there has been more days in a row with  temperature above 70 (about 15) in January that it has been last July (4 only).  I know we will be paying for it later on – water rationing is on the horizon for this summer- but we are enjoying it nonetheless. We went to the zoo on Saturday with Krista, Eric and little Torin and we had a great time. Did not get any decent pictures because it was super crowded and when we set the little creature free, he did not stop a second…so here the best we got.

running around at the zoo