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Last weekend we took Keegan to his first puppet show. They have shows all year at Balboa park, and both Hannah and Mila were going, so…how can we say no? The show presented two of Aesop’s fables, and I have to say that Keegan was not too impressed. His attention span lasted only for half the show, and then he started running up and down the aisles and checking out the Elmo puppet that was for sale. Of course the two girls were perfectly still…

Oh well it was worth a try. The best part of the outing, though,was playing around in the grass with Hannah and Mila. They ran around, chased imaginary targets, and played Ring Around The Rosie. They were so cute together I could not resist snapping a few photographs… It is probably one of the first time I see him playing with other kids in a coordinated manner, which also means mom and dad could relax and catch up with their friends too. By the way, the origin of this nursery rhyme seems to be hard to track down, with some morbid interpretation cleverly debunked by snopes.com. In any case,even if it makes no sense whatsoever (and what nursery rhyme really does?) they had a blast. Keegan particularly enjoyed throwing himself down at the end.

Ring around the rosie,

A pocket full of posies,

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down! 

say cheese

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WARNING: Well, this actually may be the most boring post yet, read at your own risk. At least is not a long one. (-:

The first weekend of November we had two incredible, and unrepeatable events that are worth reporting.  Actually two and a half. We started the weekend with yet another bad night…I know I promised not to talk about it anymore, but it is relevant (at least to us). We decided to let him cry out, which he diligently did for a full hour, falling asleep only for an extra 15 minutes. Well, nothing new here, but despite the fact he knows how to climb out of his crib, he decided NOT to, which is obviously great, and our half miracle. In fact, for some reason, he decided that climbing out of the crib alone will hurt him. He never did hurt himself, nor we told him so, but hey, we will take it. He did proceeded to completely undress though: unzipped his one piece fottie jammie, and completely removed it, but we can live with it.

Of course  he was very tired that day, which may explain miracle number 1: when it was nap time, he VOLUNTARILY went in his bedroom, climbed up on the big bed and said he wanted to sleep. In a few minutes he was asleep, and there he stayed for two full hours! WOW…we know it will never happen again, but we did enjoyed it. We had no chance to try it again because we were out the next day, but we will see next week. (Quick update on that: it did not work again, as expected. So we are back to stroller and car seat naps for now).

The next day we have miracle number 2: he peed in the toilet. He has been fascinated by the toilet, the paper, the water flushing and such, so we bought a Elmo toilet seat. He has asked to seat on it a few times, even without diapers, and when he is there he pushes as he was really trying. On Sunday the timing must have been perfect, because as he sat, he had to pee. Again, we are not deluded to think this is more than a happy coincidence, but we made sure to make a huge deal out of it. While he still definitely not ready for full on potty training, we are hoping that this is the first step towards a diaper free life! (Quick update on that: no more success, but he did requested multiple times to sit on the toilet, and he is pushing…)

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Just as we got back from Italy, it was time for Halloween! Fortunately we got Keegan his outfit before leaving, so we did not have to rush at the last minute. And with Halloween displays popping up in August, is really not that difficult. I could have bought Christmas decorations as well at the same time if I wanted to, but that is a different story.

We tried to explain him the whole candy business, but I am not sure he really got it. Fortunately he does not eat candies at this point, so for him candy is more of a fun little thing to play with. We had a couple of Halloween festivities to show his his adorable monkey outfit.

First off, his daycare had a Halloween Carnival on Thursday night. We prepared him for the excitement the whole week, and by the time Thursday came around he know that when is “dak outside…mankeey” (translation: when it gets dark outside, he gets to wear his monkey outfit). We all headed to school, and he actually enjoyed wearing his suit: he even kept his hood on for most of the time.

my little monkey in front of the school

The school was a mad house, with kids everywhere, and lots of games going on. His room was the most popular one because it had coloring stations and stickers galore. I have never seen so many little kids in one room. It took Keegan a good 10 minutes to get acclimated: he was just staying in one corner, watching carefully what was happening.

Keegan really got into the part…at least he did not threw feces around

MacKenzie was wearing an adorable Chargers girl outfit, and seeing her, helped him feel more comfortable. She is very social and determined, just as he is shy and determined. It is fun to see them playing together and battle it out.

He played outside in the big play-house, climbed up and down stairs, and played with stickers, while mom and dad were happily snapping pictures and socializing with the other parents.

you look like a monkey…

He also got more familiar with his soon-to-be new teacher, Ms Ivette.

They sent us packing in about an hour, and we headed home to get some dinner and some rest from all the excitement.

The next morning, Keegan’s daycare organized a trick or treat session with the neighborhood stores. Unfortunately we were not able to go, but he got to wear his outfit again for the Halloween lunch and party. He seemed he enjoyed it a bit…I know he loved the Halloween cookies, since his face was all green from the froating when I picked him up.

On the actual Halloween day, we took it easy. Since it was Saturday, we did not really want to fight our way through the crowds at any amusement parks, so we just played around the house and yard. As the sun went down — “dak outside” — it was time, once again, to don our costume and hit the neighbors for some candy. Just like last year, I wore the same Halloween outfit: the sleep-deprived, overworked mom. Hey, at least I wore orange and black!

And Just like last year, we went with Keegan’s little buddy Jada, who lives two doors down. Check out how much they have grown since last year!

Halloween 2009: Jada and Keegan

Halloween 2008: Jada and Keegan

We only went to a few houses, and while Keegan had learned to say something close to “trick or treat” he did not wan to knock on doors…he did not have any problems accepting candies, though, or running around checking all the fun lights and decorations.

this is fun!

any more houses we can hit?

When we got home he had quite a booty in his bucket…and we added to it all our leftover candies.We always ended up with way more candies we can possibly eat. Fortunately I can bring them at work, where they disappear in a few hours. Keegan definitely had more fun playing with the candy, putting the pieces in and out of various containers, than actually collecting them (or eating them).

check out all my booty (literally)

And no, he did not eat any. Again, he fortunately does not really know what they are, and what is missing, so we decided not to start him on it. I am sure he will learn soon enough, but if we can postpone the inevitable for a few more months…why not?

So, it was a very good Halloween. Keegan still mentions his costume, but he also adds, making a knocking noise, “…no trick or treat”: I guess he just does not like to talk to strangers…hopefully, just like not eating candy, this will be a trend that will last.

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Going back home has always been a bittersweet moment. It is nice to be back in your own home and reality, and it is good to see all the people you have left behind: in one word to get back to your normal life. On the other hand, it is always sad to say goodbye to family and friends, especially knowing that it will be  many months at best before you can see them again.

Since Keegan arrived, however, the bitter part has been push to a whole new level.The whole first week was a nightmare…in fact, I can’t even define it as that, because having a nightmare implies getting sleep and we really did not get much of that at all. Jet lag, hit Keegan really hard: we are talking about multiple night wakings, not going back to sleep without us in the bed, and final wake ups at 3.30am. So here we are , taking turns trying to find the energy to play with him at 3.30 am. Brutal! I guess we had a head start on Halloween and were sporting our ZOMBIE costumes all week.

should I say more?

Fortunately, I had a week off, so I could get some stuff done (never enough) and I am very  proud to say I only napped the first day. Keegan adjusted much better to his daytime routine: he was excited to see all his friends at daycare, and we got to see pretty much all his best buddies the first week. We went to the park with MacKenzie and out at dinner with Jada. The next week, it was zoo time with Hannah.

He also got to do his favorite things: playing at the park and going to the beach. We are still getting some nice, warm days, so despite the fact that fall is in full swing, and that there was a strong wind blowing, Keegan did not think twice about jumping in the water and getting all wet. He had seen videos of his cousins swimming and diving in Italy, so he could not wait to get into the water himself.

Cold? Not me!

Keegan misses his grandparents a lot, and he remembers well all the fun games they played together. So, to help us all keep connected we started again our Skype calls. Keegan is now really interacting with the screen, and respond to his grandparents as if they were face to face. It is really nice to see.

sending a kiss back to Grandpa and Grandma

So here we are, entering the third week since we got back,and he is kept on learning tons of new words. We stopped keeping track, because it would really be impossible to remember them all, but I guess by now he knows probably 100/150 words. And he even know some words in both languages. One word we could not help but keep track of is…his first 4-letter word. Not the passable one (shit)…oh no…my kid went for the f-bomb! Of course it is our fault, but one morning he overheard me saying it (guilty, but I am not the only one) and sure enough he started repeating it, over and over again, laughing, and really enunciating the CK sound. Mind you, this is the kid that had trouble using the C sound or pronouncing his name: but in this case, he puts emphasis on the CK. That’s my son! He repeated it a few times, but we tried to ignore it completely. We are just hoping he will not say it at daycare.

And of course, we are still struggling with sleep issues. I promise this is the last time we talk about it: I get bored myself.  It is not jet lag anymore,  but he still wakes up really early, does not want to get back to sleep, needs assurance…once again we will try to “sleep train” him but we don’t have much hope at this point since he knows how to get out of his crib and room. We get to the conclusion that he is a “difficult to adapt toddler”, as listed in the What To Expect – Toddler years book. I know what you are thinking: stop reading books…but honestly, books are the only thing that gives me hope and make me feel we are not the only ones who are going through this. He will eventually sleep…in his teenage years. Then is PAYBACK TIME!!!! (-;

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