Ked's Flip

Ked got himself into his pack-n-play twice this morning (with the aid of a chair and with the purpose of retrieving his pacifier). I didn't see him either time (though I did hear a thud the first time), and I decided to see if he'd do it again with me watching (and recording).

If I'd known how he was going to do it, I don't think I would have encouraged it. This is definitely not what I was expecting! (I guess it is the same thing he does on the couch all the time, but the couch is a lot more padded!) Notice how he glances at the pacifier, gives a little excited laugh, preps and bends his knees, then just goes for it!

Ked 16 months

In Gratitude

I used to tell my 9th grade students that they were richer and lived better than most of the kings and queens who have ever lived on the Earth. And that even the poorest in the room lived better than millions of people who currently exist. They would look at me like I was crazy, until I would explain.

For example, take into account how long people have been around and how long modern day plumbing has been around (and where it still doesn't exist). Have a flushing toilet? What a great convenience we so easily take for granted. I remember a Filipino teacher of mine (one of my favorites) telling me how amazed she was at the flushing toilets when she came into the airport after first arriving here. I, on the other hand, often lament that I do not have my own washer and dryer in my home. But then I also recognize that I should still be very grateful I can still take it to the laundry room a hundred yards away. And that even if I had to wash it by hand, I still have water running out of a tap with almost no effort on my part. And that water is clean, and it can come out hot! Again, with practically no effort on my part.

How about how long it takes us to prepare our food? Granted that a king or queen may not have to prepare their own food (or wash their own laundry, etc.), but for the vast majority that have ever existed, even they couldn't obtain a fresh orange or head of lettuce from another country in the middle of a frigid winter with the ease we can, or have something heated within seconds of their requesting it as we can with our electric heating conveniences. Most horrifying to me is the thought of not having an electric heater in the midst of frigid winters. And now that I live in what can be the very hot and humid east, the thought of not having an AC in the summer! While being pregnant or caring for a very young one, especially. And speaking of pregnancy and young ones, or any medical condition for that matter, can you imagine what it would be like, not having the security of knowing there are many medical techniques, medicines, machines, etc. that can help you out if something goes wrong?

Well, I could go on and on and on, but instead, I should just try to be more grateful. And what I mentioned here is more on the materialistic side, but what I am most grateful for is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and family. And freedom, which best allows for both of the aforementioned. And if I wrote about having gratitude for those, then you'd really see a long blog post.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ked's First Tear

I don't know if this is common or not, but I had never seen Ked shed a single tear until today--at 14 months of age. I'd seen some moistness just around the eye occasionally, and a small amount of liquid gathering in the corner of the eye, but never a drop sliding down his cheek.

Ked was feasting on his pieces of tomato and peeled cucumber slice. (Somehow, very undeservingly, I produced a vegetable lover! I am very grateful this kid won't have to spend many long nights at the dinner table trying to not gag, staring and poking at the dreaded vegetables as I did!) Seemingly out of nowhere, he suddenly started to cry in agony. I'm assuming he bit down on his cucumber right where his swollen gum is working on a tooth. I knelt down beside him to comfort him, and was surprised to see the liquid in his eyes welling up. I commented to Sam that it almost looked like he might get a tear, and sure enough, one blink later, there it was! A beautiful little droplet sliding down his cheek, adding to the tender-heartedness I was already feeling towards my poor boy's suffering.

You probably can't see it in this small picture, but it's there. I'm guessing that since he's been teething today and already passing excessive amounts of liquid through his nasal and oral orifices, there was also an excessive amount of liquid readily available for his ocular channels. Thankfully, he was happy and content just moments later.

Chutes and Ladders, Ked-style

When an empty chair was left up against the couch, it took Ked no time at all to figure out this new activity. He did it over and over and over again, getting more and more hyper as he went. (This was taken after he'd been going a while and was getting a little worn out.) Sometimes he'd kind of somersault as he headed down. I love how he pauses to squeal into the couch in this shot. (Sorry, Sums, about the abuse to your couch!)

Ked 14 months

Up

I'm trying to refrain from posting too many of these types of pictures, but all this boy wants to do is climb and explore!





















Somebody left a chair out. . .

















Thankfully, only one type of "Fall" was viewed on this occasion.












This was the day that Ked realized he could use his little push car as a portable stool. He took it all over the house to explore new areas he'd previously been unable to reach. Look at those tip-toes! (Sorry this one was right after a diaper change and before I could catch him to get his pants on!)








Ked between 13 and 14 months

Halloween

Wednesday we had a great time at our church's Trunk-or-Treat.




The only requirement I had for Ked's costume was that it involved a stick. My sister suggested Harry Potter with a wand. The blonde and glasses-less Draco Malfoy was easier. Ked only carried his stick wand for a while, but he loved his broom.


















Peanut Butter and Jelly. Sam came up with the idea; I came up with the costumes. We thought about performing the song together. . .












Ked and his cousins Lindy, Paige, and Kaden















It was great to get to see Summer and her family there too!












This is the only full family photo we've had in a while. . . time for a new one!


Ked wasn't into the whole Trick-or-Treating thing (which is fine, since he wasn't going to eat any of it anyway), but we had fun seeing all the costumes and handing out candy.

Can Stacking

For the last few weeks, Ked (13 months) has been stacking cans. (Of course the only place he wants to stack them is on our living room table! I guess it's a good thing it was already dinged up when we got it.) He carries them from the kitchen, one at a time. I love watching him figure out how to stack them so they "connect." He's more successful some times than others.

Three cans had always been as high as he'd tried until I was watching him this time.

Second try success! And he's back to the kitchen for another. . .
The leaning tower of Ked.

This is a split-second before the mean mommy ended the game and the little boy cried. Notice that's a 29 ounce can in his hands.


Before he started stacking cans, he was just "setting the table" from any kitchen item he could reach. He still does this, and I love watching him walk back and forth with different items while I work in the kitchen. And I especially love that he is now sometimes putting things back too!
For a month or so, I've been meaning to put these things somewhere out of his reach, but now I'm not sure I want to (though the heavy cans definitely concern me). The bananas were NOT supposed to be within his reach, though--he got those off the table. And proceeded to take a few bites off the top and spit them out.

10/5/2010: Ked 13 months

Just when I think I've baby proofed. . .

Please don't think I'm a neglectful parent. It's just that every day he can reach something that he couldn't the day before - by growth, by being a little more stable and able to reach higher, by stepping on tip-toes, or from learning to use other objects as a stool. These things happen when he's just around the corner from me or even in my peripheral vision. . . he's just so contented-sounding that I don't fully realize exactly what he's up to.





Climbing monkeys eat bananas.
Getting his own snack off the kitchen table. He chowed down on about half the banana until I finally peeled it for him and put him in the high chair with it. Of course then all he did was squish it and throw it on the floor.













10/11/2010; 13 months

Oat Meal
Quick oats, to be specific. Very quick. This was after I'd removed the package from him.

9/6/2010; 12 months

The oatmeal incident occurred just in time for Sam's arrival home. Nice way to be greeted after a long day at school/work, huh? I love how this picture makes it look like Ked is actually helping. He wasn't, but he did love the broom and dust pan and watching Daddy clean up.
Seeing as how I'm not the best disciplinarian, I figured at least there would be a natural negative consequence to this little crime. Ked is absolutely terrified of the vacuum. Ironically, this was the only time in months (before or after), that he was almost intrigued by the vacuum, and hardly bothered by it at all.

I'll plead guilty to leaving the chair out this time.

9/16/2010; 12 1/2 months

Tomato Leftovers
Picture taken after I realized he'd been standing on the chair, leaning against the table, and chowing down on the tomatoes he'd retrieved out of the fruit basket. At least he's healthy! (And these tomatoes were free--plentiful in our garden.)








Corn Starch
I didn't think he could open it.
I thought wrong.








Baking Soda
The smell in this apartment has bothered me since we moved in. Maybe he's just trying to deodorize?






What else can I say? I love being this kid's mom!

Attachment

The question is, who is more attached to the pacifiers - him or me?!9/6/10; 12 months
The technical rule is that Ked only gets the pacifier at nap/bed time. But there are also "a few" exceptions. . . like when I'm trying to keep him quiet while in church, or while I'm on the phone, or when we have visitors, or when we're visiting someone else, or when he's not feeling well, or when he's unusually grumpy or clingy. . . so, yea, pretty much any time.

For months, Ked has thrown his pacifiers out of the bed to show that he's ready to get out (willing to give them up). My first indication that Ked is awake is hearing his pacifier hit the ground. He usually keeps an eye on where he threw them out and gets one the first chance he can. It's pretty funny to watch him search for one that I discretely picked up. When he realized that I was picking them up before he could get to them, he started throwing them in different spots. Sometimes it works--he can find them before I can. But then he's also pretty good about dropping them in the bed when I ask him to. ("Drop your pacifier" is one of the first phrases that I could tell he at least kind of understood.)

Our Little Mountain Goat Climber

First the toybox, then the cajon and the, "Help, I'm up and I can't get down" cry. Then it was the kitchen chairs, the table (which I don't pause long enough to take pictures of), and finally the swivel chair, which makes me especially nervous!
8/25/10, almost 12 months; 9/6/10, 12 months; 9/9/10, 12 mo.; 10/7/10, 13 mo.

After somehow managing to get the tire off the jogging stroller, Ked climbed into the seat. 9/14/2010, 12 1/2 months

"When's Daddy coming home?" Standing on the heater, holding onto the window sill.

9/5/2010, 12 months

Just like Daddy!

10/7/2010, 13 months

Ked seriously must keep an eye out all day just waiting for me or Sam to leave a chair out. He is always so fast to see our blunder and so fast to scramble up! He is also quick to climb onto the table if the chair is close enough. Sam and are really trying hard to push our chairs in, but we both have a really hard time remembering!

Sharing the Driver's Seat

I watched as Hannah (friend) scooted in between Ked and the steering wheel. Aww, cute, he's learning to share. . . Until you realize that his hand was in the position to help her continue right on through. . . pushing her off. Don't worry, she wasn't hurt and proceeded to go through the whole process once more until I gave Ked a good talking to about sharing.
Ked and Hannah are actually great playing together. Well, parallel playing at least. A few weeks apart and in similar developmental stages. It's so fun to watch them when they interact. (He's not always mean to her.)

On one of the rare mornings that I was supposed to have a babysitter for Ked, he was sick. (Not bad, but enough he shouldn't be around other kids.) So instead of going out, I played with him all morning. He was laughing so much when I decided we should both ride on his car.

The picture doesn't do it justice--I wish you could hear him laugh in delight!

Answered Prayer--Please Return to Sender!

I've noticed a few times in my life that when I dislike a certain situation I'm in, I suddenly realize (and remember) that this is exactly the situation I'd been praying and praying for, and now that I'd finally received what I'd asked for, I was upset about it! Sounds pretty dumb, right? Here's just one recent example. (Hope it's not too crude.)

When Ked was just a few months old, he had serious bowel issues. For months, he would go a week or often two (not exaggerating) without having a dirty diaper. We were worried about it, talked to doctors and nurses about it, and wondered if the resulting discomfort was what was causing him to be upset at random times, especially those times in the middle of the night when nothing we could do would calm his cries. For months we prayed that he would have regular bowel movements and that we would know what to do to help him.

So for months now, every time I have the exhausting diaper-changing wrestle with Ked and then walk his third soiled diaper of the day out to the dumpster, I'm trying not to be disgusted or annoyed, but to recognize that my prayers were answered and that I was given what I asked for. And to be grateful!

Gotta go, I think I smell something stinky. . . again. . . Hurray!

1 Year!

Ked's birthday started out in the morning when he found the present I'd been hiding in my closet for a week or two. I was going to save it for the evening to surprise him with, but I wasn't about to take it away and make him cry.
I was pleased to see that he totally loved it and played with it all day. It's still one of his favorite toys. Not bad for a used item from the 2nd hand store.


We celebrated with my niece Lindy, since it was her birthday too. (Summer made her the princess cake. You can tell she's pretty happy about it!)

You can tell how much Ked likes to be outside by his farmer's tan.

Happy birthday!

just for fun

8/14/2010 At the horticulture garden on campus.

Forward Facing Hazard

I finally understand the danger of a forward facing car seat. How can I focus on the road when my mirror is now broadcasting the show of an adorable little toddler and all the funny expressions he makes?

Mom and Dad

52 years ago, Dad (as a youth) described Mom in this concise phrase: "She's a brat."

11 years later, they married.

11 children and 37 grandchildren later (with more on the way). . . they've decided they love each other more than ever.

This was when they were dating. Disneyland high school grad night 1963; 17 and 18

Here they are lip-singing Lucky I'm in Love With My Best Friend at our family reunion this last spring. But really, we all know it wasn't luck. They've really worked at it to keep "falling" in love over and over again!

On the other hand, I am the "lucky" one--so happy and blessed to be a part of the family they created and have worked so hard for!

Horse Riding

It’s been nice having Sam home more during the summer and having a more flexible schedule. A friend in our ward let us ride her horses last week (and taught us how). The horses were a lot more tame than those I grew up with, and it was really fun riding in the hilly woods, over logs and through branches. Except the mud would scare me when the horses would slip, and it would freak me out in the pasture, where the horses would take off in a gallop. Pretty fun, though! Sam was a better rider and more adventurous despite his more limited experience. We were both pretty sore for a few days after. :)

KeddoBlaster

My phone's memory has room for only two songs, but Ked loves them. He'll hold the phone and walk around and dance. Now if I can just keep him from banging the phone on the table, throwing it on the floor, or sucking on it. . .

11 months old

New Trick

It was before Ked could stand or walk when we discovered him standing on this table holding onto the swivel office chair. While we were praying, leaning against the couch as we knelt, Ked apparently had climbed up the calf of Sam's leg, pulled himself onto the table, crawled towards the chair, and pulled himself up.

Now that he's walking, he's learned to climb on using the stereo or heater vent or some other object. (We now keep the table away from any other object.)

[Note: One day after writing this post, Ked has figured out how to get up without using anything else. Time to get rid of the table!]

As you can see, he's quite pleased with himself.

Angel Moroni imitation?

Aug. 2, 2010: Ked 11 months

Gardening in Unfamiliar Territory

I have to admit, it was kind of humbling moving to the East where I didn't recognize all the trees, couldn't name all the plants, and mostly, didn't know how the gardening would be. Actually, I didn't even think I would get to garden, so I was really grateful to find out that the church had an empty plot where anyone could garden. Summer and I started a 20'x20' plot together and the guys and kids helped out too; Sam especially being the hard-working hoe-wielding weeder (and raker).

Working in the garden became a lot more doable and enjoyable (less back-breaking) once Ked could walk and was happy on his own either in the garden or on the lawn nearby. He especially loved sharpening his teeth on rocks he'd pick up, eating dirt, and playing with the leftover bamboo sticks.

I love this little man! And he loves sticks.

Having Ked free in the garden also provided it's own set of challenges. . . (besides keeping him from eating everything he shouldn't)--keeping him from picking the produce, whacking a plant with his stick, or getting really dirty and muddy. Actually, I gave up on trying to keep him from getting dirty. . . and from some of the other stuff as well. That's the fun of it, right?

eating dirt clods. . .

(Yup, that is pretty much pure clay you see. Adding organic material was another thing I never got to.)

getting muddy. . .

I'm not sure what was happening in this picture, but apparently I was attempting to keep something drastic from happening. . . Ked beating a plant with his stick?

I'm still debating which I'd prefer: so much rain that you never have to water (especially when the spigot is 100 yards away and you have to pull out and put back five hoses to reach the plants) but always have to weed, or so little rain that you always have to water but rarely have to weed. Of course, if the garden were just in the back yard and I could work on it anytime the baby was sleeping, either would be fine. This summer here has had both.

Ked (11 months) apparently likes 'em green. He actually did bite into a green tomato or two.

The harvest so far has been alright--by the end of July we had plenteous tomatoes, way too many green beans (and not the best--I'll try a different variety next time, but the young ones are good), and decent green peppers--some even red and orange in July.

The broccoli which grew so easily (and yummy) in Utah was totally worm-eaten in the beginning, but is getting better. The squash which grows much too easily in the west (so you have so much you don't know what to do with it) gave us about two zucchini and three yellow crook-neck before all three plants succumbed to the squash bugs. So much for gardening so you don't have to use pesticides. The lettuce was eaten by rabbits (which I expected and didn't care too much about), and the cilantro and a few other things never made it to the ground before it was too late--it was kind of hard getting out there with the kids. The onions are growing well (besides several that have been stepped on by kids and adults alike--including me), but were planted way too late, so we'll see.

All in all, it's been a rewarding experience as always, and we're enjoying the harvest. (Although Sam is probably ready to be done with green beans at every meal. And I'm kind of relieved the squash are gone--I was getting sick of eating them after the week they were producing. Then again. . . neither of us would mind more zucchini bread.)