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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

So we thought this day would never come, but it is here. NO MORE BUSH! (at least till Jeb decides to run…). Jokes aside, it is wonderful to have a new President, especially such an inspirational one, that brings with him the hope of change and a new beginning as well as a good knowledge of the English language. Like most everyone else, we are hopeful and excited to see his days in office. Even as memories are starting to fade, we can’t forget the past 8 years of incompetence, fear and repeated assaults to civil liberties. Yes, Barak Obama has to live up to unrealistically high expectations, and yes he will probably fall somewhat short, but this historic election has already accomplished a great feat: after a long time, this country feels united and is looking forward to a new start.

It is difficult to express the palpable feeling of euphoria; and maybe we feel this way because for the first time the candidate we both supported actually won, and we feel that our beliefs are finally represented. Will he be a great president? We don’t know, but we surely hope so. At the very least, we think we will probably not have to feel embarrassed by his ignorance and gaffes. (Tizi hopes the same could be true for the Iitalian prime minister…what would happen to mini-Bush???).

Thank you to modern technology, Tizi was able to see the inauguration live, streaming over the internet (Matt had to listen to it via radio…no streaming allowed at his work). It was very emotional: the whole school, classroom by classroom was connected (which explains some of the choking up of the stream). We also Ti-voed, to see it later, without rush and we made an exception to our “no TV” rule for this special occasion( of course Keegan’s interest lasted only a few minutes, but still he participated to the historic event). Even Keegan got caught up in the excitement. He was banging at the TV and saluting the 44th president on this historic day…

what is going on here?

Who’s that guy?

hail to the chief

O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA, O-BA-MA!

…or was he just pointing out to an airplane? By the way, just to clear any misconceptions, the one below IS his way to signal an airplane (or any other flying object) and no some sinister political gesture. How do we know? He stops in the middle of anything he is doing when he hears a plane, point to the sky, and generally turns in the direction of the noise. What a weird kid…

nobody moves…an airplane is flying by!

And yes, we are the only people in America that still have not upgraded to at least a flat screen TV, let alone HDTV or Plasma…but honestly we probably watch 10 hours a week if that…and we still have the projector for movies.

Beside signing airplane and “I am done”(both pulling on a real or imaginary bib and waving his hands), there is no much more communication from his part, yet; however his understanding has increased: he now understands also yogurt, bread, monkey (he gets his stuffed monkey), Gongolo (one of the 7  dwarfs spelled in Italian, also a stuffed toy), tent (as it refers to his frog tent), say “ciao”, food, come here, not in your mouth (but he does not obey to this one), push, pull and probably others we don’t notice yet. Most of these are spoken in Italian, but he understands some English as well.

Now the holidays are officially over: Tizi’s birthday was on Saturday. It was great to have a whole weekend to celebrate. It was definitely different form any other birthday, since there is a little guy that take all the attention, but we had a great time. The weather continued his beautiful streak, so once again we had temperatures in the 80’s (26+Celsius). No worries all of you in the rest of the world, struggling with cold and snow. Winter is scheduled to arrive in San Diego as well this week, when rain will bring temperatures back to the 60’s (18 Celsius) where they belong.

We started the day well, with Keegan sleeping in till almost 7am. Tizi spent most of the morning on the phone with well wishers. It is a sign you are getting older when all your calls come in before 10 am. In the old days NOBODY would have dared calling us before 11 am! We spent some time at the beach, that was of course really crowded. We took a walk, and then played in the sand. Keegan loved walking around in the sand, and chasing seagulls around.

 Pacific Beach in January

At night time, we had our babysitter come over: it is really surprising to see how Keegan is now in a different phase. For as much as he likes our babysitter, who is wonderful, and he is familiar with her, this time it took a good 15 minutes, before he let her hold him. So, while his worse separation anxiety symptoms are gone for now, he is still super shy when it comes to other people. He did cry a few minutes when we left, but not much. It was soon time for bed anyway.

Tizi and Matt had a great dinner at Island Prime, a beautiful restaurant on San Diego Bay, overlooking the water. It was nice to have some time for ourselves, and Tizi enjoyed the undivided attention. Back home, it was gifts, cake and presents time. Matt bought a beautiful watch from Teno, one of Tizi’s favorite brand. Good thing there is an amazing jewelry store across from Matt’s workplace. Sunday was another relaxing and hanging out day. And today, Monday, Tizi’s getting another birthday gift: it is Marting Luther’s King Day, so her school is closed, while daycare (and Matt’s office) is open…which means 6 hours of free time!!!!!! While having a little guilt for feeling this, she thoroughly enjoyed her day off. And when she picked the little guy up, Tizi got one more surprise:the coolest birthday card. Looking at his foot and hand prints it is amazing to see how much he has grown…

2009 has started with beautiful weather. It is also unseasonably warm, with highs in the mid 80’s over the weekend. We took advantage of this beautiful sunny days and took Keegan to Mission Bay at the playground. Granted, he is more interested in walking everywhere than playing with the equipment, but while swings don’t really do it for him, slides are a big hit. We let him slide on his own this time, with mom or dad catching him as he went down…most of the times anyway. It was hilarious to watch him turning his scared look into a huge grin once he got down. Matt thinks he is a scare-devil, a thrill junkie like mom. Tizi can’t wait to take him skydiving! Just kidding, but zip lines are a fair game.

yeah, this is not really doing it for me

now we are talking…I hope they will catch me at the end of the ride

Another fun event: Keegan had his first kiss on Saturday. And from an older woman! He was kicking back in the tunnel underneath the slides, playing with the sand and minding his own business, when this cute, 18 months old French Canadian girls walked in, looked at him, and very deliberately bowed down and planted a big, wet one on his lips…for a good couple of seconds. Ah, those French women!!! Sign of things to come???

Tizi and her mom were just bowling over with laughter, while Matt missed the whole thing. Unfortunately we could not record this for posterity and blackmails. Keegan seems more perplexed than anything, but he was grinning a lot afterward. Of course another girl brought him quickly back to reality by throwing sand in his face. I guess she was jealous.  Keegan the heart-breaker (-:

He also got the chance to wear his awesome checkered Vans, (gift of Aunt Mary) which  elicited a few positive comments. Hopefully he is not a future Jeff Spicoli!

who is the coolest dude around?

We started the year with a mellow, warm day. Heavy fog rolled in in the morning and afternoon, but otherwise we had a sunny day. We all woke up early: we had a nice breakfast all together, and then aunt Cinzia, uncle Sandro, and cousins Naraiana and Samuele got ready to leave. They had quite a drive: all the way to Death Valley. They wanted to get an early start, so they leaft before 10 am. It was sad to say goodbye, but we are happy we had these days to spend together.

I am ready to play…wake up mom and dad!

The rest of the day was quiet. We took a nice drive up the coast, which was quite beautiful, with the afternoon  fog rolling in, and the surf crashing on the beach. A nice way to test the new car seat: fortunately, Keegan seems to like it quite a bit. He gets very excited when we put him in it, probably because he can now finally see outside the car rear window. Thanks to its deep recline, he also likes taking naps in it, so it is a win-win situation. did I mention it looks awesome in Tizi’s car?

enjoying some sun on our deck

with mom, overlooking the canyon

climbing on furniture is fun

The house was very quiet, and even Keegan noticed it. And finally after he was in bed, we had a nice, romantic, new year celebration, just the two of us. Happy New Year! “Let’s hope it is a good one, without any tears”.

Matt had to go back to work on Friday, but Keegan was very very good. He woke up at…drum roll…7am, and he was in a good mood all day, despite being cooped up home most of the time. The weather really deteriorated, it was gray and cold, and even drizzling. Dad came home early, so we could enjoy a long weekend of family time. And enjoy we did. Keegan slept till 7am every day, and he was in a great mood overall. We set up our frog tent in the sun room on Saturday, since it was gray and rainy, and we had some fun in it…especially Tizi. She loves that thing. She actually drove to two different stores to find it. It is awesome. Fortunately Keegan likes it too.

the uber-cool frog tent

Saturday was sunny again, even if a little windy, so we celebrate Keegan’s 13th “birthmonthday” by going to the beach for some fun in the sun. Keegan slept while we lazily strolled on the boardwalk, but he was ready to play when we got to the sand. He was walking everywhere, particularly enjoying climbing up sand dunes.

We are grateful we had such a good start for the new year, and we are definitively counting our blessings (with all the necessary knocks on wood, to avoid jinxing it), especially after having a close call on the way to the beach. As we were preparing to turn left with the traffic light green for a couple of minutes inour direction, someone came flying through the intersection from the left, running the red light and almost hitting us and another car. Thank God Matt had such good reflexes and slammed on his breaks, and we didn’t have anyone behind us, so we were all OK. But if the car would have arrived a few seconds later it would have hit the driver side where both Matt and I were…it was a big scare, but again made us grateful for all that we have.

In other Keegan’s news, he has been sleeping till 7 am every day since Friday and he has been a good eater as well: he ate tofu, lots of tomatoes, chicken soup with pasta(homemade by daddy), pineapples, some spinach, mozzarella cheese. He does not like melon, for some weird reason, and he would only eat past in a soup. He even started drinking his morning milk from a sippy cup. He is not too happy about it, but it is a start. He only gets one bottle, before bedtime, but other than that he is using his cup, with or without the sippy top. We are cutting down on formula as well, replacing it with cow milk that he seems to tolerate quite well, so far.

Finally, he seems to understand us a lot more. Besides the meaning of NO, milk, food, he now seems to understand some simple phrases. For example, if we tell him to bring us a book to read together, he would go to the books’ box, pick one up and bring it to us. Or if we tell him it is bath time, he will light up and walk to the bathroom. It is really exciting to see.

During the whole vacation, but especially in the past three days he was a “perfect”, happy baby, even playing on his own for a while.

…we thoroughly enjoyed this stage as temporary as it may be, but of course we missed him a lot as we both got back to work on Monday.

“So this is Christmas, and what have you done? Another year is over and a new one has just began” (well we have been listening to a lot of John Lennon, lately, so you will excuse the citation). Well, what have we done? Lots and not much at the same time. This past year has gone by so fast, and i can’t believe how much our life has changed in 12 months…looking at the pictures for our greeting, it is amazing how different Keegan looks now from when he was born.

2008 has been a good year, and exciting one and we are looking forward to 2009, with more adventures. New year’s Eve was pretty mellow. We didn’t have our usual get together with friends (next year guys), but Tizi’s sister and family where spending the last day here, so we just had a family day. Matt had to work, but Tizi and family went for a nice walk on the bay. Keegan was again quite good, taking more than an hour nap in the stroller, and playing around (well, walking around is more like it) in the park.

cousin Samuele

cousin Naraiana

We took the time to take last minute pictures, of course, including the mandatory family shot. Amazingly enough it only took one take, and extreme photoshopping was required.

all together

After all kids were in bed, we had a nice, leisurely dinner, with good wine, traditional cakes, and lots of talking. It was nice. I guess life as a parent really transforms you: Aunt Cinzia and uncle Sandro went to bed at 11, while Tizi napped on the couch till midnight: only Matt  lasted awake the whole time. At midnight, Tizi and Matt opened the champagne and toasted at the new year, and then proceed to bed promptly at 12.30. What a party!!! It was good too, though, because Keegan started the new year just like he ended the last one, waking up around 5.45am.

Tizi and Matt started 2009 cuddling the little “monster” in the big bed and playing around: is there any better way to start a day? It is a rhetorical question, of course, but despite the sleep deprivation, it is awesome to get started listening to Keegan giggle. It makes it all worthwhile.

So, happy 2009 everyone: we hope it will be a prosperous year for all!

The long awaited day is finally here: Tizi’s sister and her family traveled on Christmas day and arrived in Los Angeles, making the drive to San Diego the following day. They arrived around 10.30 am in a record 1.5 hour drive from LAX.

Of course we just put Keegan down for his nap, so the kids were a little disappointed they had to wait more to see their little cousin. Matt baked some delicious banana nut muffins, and we all settled in with some hot tea, set up all the gifts and stockings around the tree, and Nara and Samuele could barely wait to open them.

Keegan woke up shortly after, and he was, of course a little perplexed. His separation/stranger anxiety has been improving but it still took him a little bit to get used to the new visitors. He was quite shy, looking for mom and dad, but very interested and curious about the little cousins. He did not know what to make of his uncle, so tall, but in a couple of days all reservations were gone, and he was happily enjoying all the extra attention.

It was finally presents time: watching Naraiana and Samuele opening the gifts and getting all excited gave us a nice preview of Christmas to come. It was fun seeing them so excited. Keegan’s gifts were wrapped up in newspapers, since he didn’t really care either way: it all goes straight to his mouth.

It’s presents time, finally

check out the stockings

Everyone got many cool gifts, and Keegan was really spoiled. I have to say, though, we have a clear winner in the gifts category: the cheap cellphone from Target. He just loves it! Plus, since it can have a recorded message, his little cousins had a bast recording on it, so he can hear their voices even when they are gone. Now, will it stop him from taking the real phone? The jury is still   out.

and the favorite gift is…the cellphone

Tizi also got some comic relief. Aunt Cinzia recommended a wonderful booklet, “Fai La Nanna, Bastardo”, roughly translated as “Go to sleep, you bastard”;while it does not teach anything, it makes sleep deprived parents laugh.

The week flew by. It was great having them here. We did some tourist stuff together, but they did quite a bit on their won as well: Keegan (and quite frankly Tizi as well) could not match their stamina. (-:

Together we went to la Jolla and Pacific Beach, in a beautiful and somewhat warm Saturday and we took a nice ride along the coast. Breakfast at Kono’s was mandatory. We took a nice walk on the beach and played in the sand. While they visited Cabrillo Point, we went home. They graciously offered us to babysit, so Tizi and Matt sneaked away to watch a movie, “Slumdog millionaire”: while not completely uplifting it was nice to have some adult fun.

 crashing waves in la Jolla

The Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach

Cousin Naraiana is practicing her babysitting skills

Sunday was Seaworld for them, and a quiet day for us. We did some errands, finally installed the new car seat and ordered one for Matt’s truck. Matt cooked some excellent lasagna so we had quite a feast. On Monday Matt went to work: Keegan woke up very early, so were were quite exhausted all day. Aunt Cinzia, helped a lot, giving lots of breaks to Tizi and taking Keegan for a stroll. In the afternoon, they all went to Coronado, while Tizi and keegan stayed home. Keegan was a little cranky, and Tizi really was not feeling well, but fortunately, when the cousins came back, Keegan’s mood changed as well. Some rest and an ibuprofen did the trick for Tizi and the next day she was a s good as new.

Tuesday was zoo day. Another beautiful day in paradise: sunny and warm. We got there around 10, and stayed the whole day…well, Keegan and Tizi left around 3 but everyone else stayed till closing. Keegan was amazing: he LOVED being at the zoo. Compared to a few months ago, when he would not care too much about it, this time he was mesmerized by all the animals and people. He was quite in his stroller and fell asleep without fuss when tired, and slept about an hour and a half. Unfortunately he missed the pandas and the Koala, Tizi and Cinzia’s favorite animals. We are sure glad we have a zoo membership, so we can come back soon.

New year’s day was quite mellow. We spent the morning at home, and called the grandparents, and went for a nice walk in Mission Bay in the afternoon. Again, keegan was good: he fell asleep in the car, and slept through half of the walk. Then at the playground he wondered all over: definitely walking is is favorite game at this point. The weather was changing: thick fog was rolling in and wind was blowing. I guess it is a good thing it happened on aunt Cinzia’s last day.

I am ready to go

playing with his own shadow

walking is more fun than any play equipment

 two sisters at Mission Bay

Keegan was excellent all week, except for the sleeping: he didn’t make it past 5, 5.30 in a good day, and it was hard to keep him quiet not to wake everyone up. We started taking him into our bed , after attempting to put him back to sleep, giving him some milk, and cuddle with him till it was time to get up. We all enjoyed this little ritual, and it really helped dealing with the early wake up. He was a lot better than last month when we had visitors, which made us feel better:maybe he passed the acute phase of separation anxiety. Or maybe just having kids to play with made the difference. All and all he was really very good, in a great mood most of the time, and always smiling and happy.

Even eating was a little easier: he ate a slightly larger variety of foods, and more and more finger foods. He now loves cherry tomatoes (in fact he can’t get enough of it) and mozzarella. he still not liking pasta much, but hey, 2 out of three is not bad. Pears and bananas are still his favorite fruits, and of course he would beg for any food the adults are eating, only to spit it out in slow motion if he does not like it. He has quite a sweet tooth, as he loves croissants.

We were all a little sad by the end of the day. The week flew by, and we will miss each other a lot. They will continue their trip to US visiting the Southern California desert and we will slowly get back to our routine. Matt is back at work on January 2, while Tizi and Keegan are back to their own daily schedule on January 5. We are however glad of the good times we spent together and are looking forward to seeing each other soon in a hopefully near future. Thank you for coming and have a good trip back.

While this is not Keegan’s first Christmas, last year he was too small to understand. This year he was a little more aware, so it was a lot more fun for all of us. Of course, we got to the big day in a total frenzy: despite all her good intentions, Tizi’s was struggling to get everything done in time.: between a demanding class to prepare, Keegan’s birthday to organize, and friends visiting it was hard to find time to get everything done. While we bought the tree semi-early, on December 13, Tizi didn’t decorate it till the 20. We still used a white, silver and blue theme, and Keegan’s initial was gracing the tree this year. Fortunately, Tizi’s vacation was excellent this year. Her last day was the 22 of December, and since daycare was open till noon on December 24, she had the chance to enjoy a full vacation day on 12/23. It was great to have a few hours for herself to get stuff done and just relax. it is incredible how much you can accomplish when you know you only have a few hours.

Most of the shopping this year was done on line, with only briefs stops at the mall. it was an unusual Christmas also because Tizi’s sister Cinzia, her husband Sandro and her kids Naraiana and Samuele were coming to visit on December 26.  So the actual Christmas was pretty low key. On Christmas eve we finished up most shopping and cleaning, and after putting Keegan to bed we had an adults-only celebration: some alone time and an amazing dinner with appetizers, filet mignon, side dishes and cheesecakes, accompanied by excellent wine. It was nice to take a breather.

Christmas day we woke up to a cold and rainy day. Tizi breastfed Keegan for the last time: he is now more than a year old, and her milk production has been steadily decreasing, so it is time to move on. It was definitely a bittersweet moment. While she has been preparing for this for a while, and while breastfeeding has never come too easy, it was still a little sad to close this chapter. We spend the day at home, finishing up our chores. We also wrapped the rest of the presents, and let Keegan open a couple of presents, saving the rest for the following day, for our belated celebration with the cousins. He was wearing his cute Xmas bib, “I have been good, mostly” which of course lasted the time of the picture.

what will it be????

a xylophone bird house…

We called Tizi’s parents with Skype. Keegan has grown quite a bit from when we were last in Italy. Of course he now walks and climbs on stuff, but we also noticed a lot more complex babbling. Also, after months of signing to him we got our first signback. What was it???? AIRPLANE! The least important, and the least used sign. Taking from a family tradition, now every time he hears an airplane he stops and points to the sky.This kid continues to defy any rule. As for the other sign, he created his won. To say he is finished, he pulls on his bib (even when he is not wearing one). To show he is hungry, he pulls on mom and dad’s legs. The sleepy one is simple denial…

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.

 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.