Thunder and Lightening Very Very Frightening....

Last night we had a doosie of a storm blow through. It went on for hours and had lots of very vivid lightening and booming thunder. Around 11pm the storm woke Keegan up. Lyle went in to console him and give Keegan back his nook. Shortly after Lyle came back into the bedroom Keegan started screaming in terror.

I went out then and the poor little boy was shaking and pointed at the window. Every time lightening shot across the sky he would say "Uh Oh". He was absolutely terrified of the storm. I realized that this is the first time he had been awake at night when it was storming. So I sat in the sun-room with him for awhile. Every time it would lightening I would tell him that that was lightening and every time it thundered I would say "boom!". Pretty soon Keegan was calm, no shaking, and everything it thundered he would say "boom!" with me.

I tried to put him back in his crib but he started to get scared again. So I brought him into the bedroom and set him on the bed between me and Lyle. He sat on the bed perfectly still and watched the lightening with rapt attention. Every time it would lightening he would say "woah!" and when it thundered he would yell "boom". He was very attached to me and Lyle though. When we first got into the bedroom he panicked because he couldn't see Lyle (Lyle was under the covers). He started yelling "Daddy, Daddy!" Then at one point I got up to get some water and he got concerned and said "Mama, Mama!" He wanted everyone in one spot with him so that he knew we were all okay.

As time went on Keegan finally propped himself up on a pillow and quietly laid between us watching the storm out the window. After awhile the storm calmed down. Then Keegan got restless and pulled Lyle's hair and tried to steal the remote to play with it. Then we knew it was time for Keegan to go back to his crib. Keegan went right to sleep after the storm went through.

It was interesting to realize how scary the storm was for Keegan. I guess it makes sense, I mean think about it, you wake up in the middle of the night and lights are flashing and big booms are sounding. It would scare the stuffing out of you; especially if you couldn't figure out what was going on. Hopefully Keegan will be calmer about the next storm.

Now That's Using Your Head

Last night Keegan had, yet another, collision between his head and an inanimate object.

We were walking to the park and Keegan was kicking his ball down the sidewalk. This works pretty well because it keeps Keegan moving forward at a decent pace. Last night though Keegan decided to bring a small plastic ball instead of one of his normal play balls. So, the trip to the park went well. Keegan could kick the ball remarkably straight. He was actually running up to the ball and kicking it, then chasing the ball and kicking, on and on and on. I was amazed that he was so coordinated.

Then on the way back the inevitable happened. He kicked the ball, ran up to it and kicked it. Unfortunately this time he missed the ball and when he put his kicking foot down he stepped on the ball and rolled a little bit on the ball before doing a very impressive flip/fall right onto his forehead on the black top. He now has a equally impressive goose egg that is black and blue, with lots of accentuating scrap marks. There was a lot of screaming. From both Keegan and me; I thought he had cracked his head open.

Apparently this kid is one tough cookie. After about 30 seconds of holding him he wanted to get back down and kick that ball some more. Unfortunately I winced every time he got near to kick it because I was sure he was going to fall again. So, he was carried the rest of the way home along with his ball. Luckily he was pretty tired so he didn't mind all that much.

On a side note we had a great camping trip up at Crow Wing State Park this weekend. The campsites were wonderful, it was quiet, no bugs, the weather was beautiful. It made me really want fall. We ended up turning the heater on in the tent trailer for the first time ever; it got to 45 or so the second night. I just can't wait for fall; I am so sick of the hot weather. This was probably the best camping trip this year. Nice hiking and quiet. I would highly recommend this park! And little Keegan walked a good couple miles too; he really wore himself out.

Toddler Property Rules

Our Healthy Start Newsletter that we get from the Anoka Early Child and Family Education had a list of Toddler Property Rules in it that was funny; so I thought that I would share:
- If I like it, it's mine.
- If it's in my hand it's mine.
- If I can take it from you, it's mine.
- If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
- If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
- If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
- If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
- If I think it's mine, it's mine.

That is sooo true. Keegan isn't quite that bad yet, but I definitely see the potential there :-)

The newsletter also had a recipe for bubbles that looks like it would be easy to make.
1 Cup of Water
2 Tbsp Glycerin (get at drugstore)
4 Tbsp Dishwashing liquid

On that note, I will conclude my post for the day!

Yellow makes the world go round...

Keegan has been starting to learn colors recently. He knows yellow, red, and blue pretty darn well. But when asked what color something is, he quickly responds yellow. If you say point to the blue ball, he points to the blue ball. If you say what color is the blue ball? He says enthusiastically "YELLOW!"

Keegan is very good about pointing out the yellow flowers and the yellow grass, the yellow playset and the yellow balls. When I point to the tree and say "Keegan what color is the tree?" Keegan yells...you guessed it "YELLOW!"

Apparently if Keegan had any say at all in the matter, everything on earth would be yellow. I guess yellow isn't a bad color. It's usually denoted as a happy color. I mean the sun is yellow, smiley faces are yellow, and cheese is yellow (at least the yellow-type is). Lyle and I are surprised he likes to say yellow so much; wouldn't red or blue be easier to say?

Hopefully Keegan will expand his knowledge of colors soon. Until then I guess his most favorite of all colors in the world is yellow, yellow, and more yellow.

18 month check up

Keegan had his 18 month checkup last week. He ended up being 24 lbs 6oz and 32.5 inches tall. That makes him 30% for weight and 50% for height; so basically he is still trending towards the tall and skinny build :-)

The appointment went okay. Keegan decided to sleep in later than normal, then he didn't want to take a nap before we went to the doctor's office. By the time we got to the doctor's office he was getting tired. He was pretty good, except that at one point I took a travel pack of wipes away from him (that he had found in my purse) and he absolutely lost his mind. He threw himself on the floor kicking and screaming. Of course, right then the nurse walked in. I was trying not to laugh at Keegan because he was just being *so* dramatic about it all. The nurse laughed and said "Oh, my there's just so much drama going on at this age". I am convinced we are now starting the terrible 2s.

Keegan and I also got into a disagreement when I was brushing his teeth last night. Usually I brush them and then he brushes them. This time Keegan jerked the toothbrush out of my hand and said "Mine!". Then he got upset when I tried to take it back. Finally I explained that this is Mama *and* Keegan's toothbrush and we need to share it. He was okay with that and let me brush his teeth (as long as we took turns at it). Keegan has really been grasping what things in the house belong to what people. He is constantly asking "Mama's ___" or "Dada's ___" or Mine?

On Friday Keegan helps me fold the wash, as such he is learning what cloths belong to which people. For example, Dada's shirts and Mama's pants, etc. Well on Friday we were grocery shopping at Target and we were going past the intimates section. Keegan got all excited and pointed at a bra, he then shouted "MAMA's!" He looked at me to make sure that he had got it right. I was like, "Yes Keegan, mama wears those." I was again trying not to laugh and trying not to be embarrassed...I supposed everyone knows I wear a bra but still... We then had to go down the whole aisle with Keegan pointing at each bra and saying "mama's, mama's, mama's". You get the idea, at least he didn't shout it again after the first time...

The other neat thing Keegan did on Sunday was that he said his first sentence. We had just gotten out of the car to do some hiking at Bunker Hills Park. Keegan grabbed my hand, turned to point at the car, and then very clearly said "That's mama's car!" I was pretty impressed :-)

So this talking thing is going pretty good. I am also amazed at how much the boy understands. He can go and get his shoes for us, help with basic chores around the house, and follow even slightly complicated instructions. It's cool to watch him learn all of this stuff!

Almost 18......

Months that is. Keegan will be 18 months on Wednesday this week. Man have things changed in 18 short months. Keegan is walking, running, and kinda jumping, and is pretty stable doing all three, though he really has to get his arms moving to be able to accomplish any movement for some reason. Also as mentioned in some previous posts, Keegan is of course talking up a storm, we don't always understand what he is saying, but the fact that he is talking a lot hopefully means he will learn how to talk and read without too much difficulty. I guess we will have to wait and see on that one. As a matter of fact, Keegan has taken to saying entire sentances that we have no idea what any of the words are. I am sure that he knows all about what they are, but for us, we just try to catch any words that we can. Of course he gets frustrated when he says the same thing like 50 times tring to get us to catch on. When we don't he usually just gives us a look to let us know he is done trying to communicate, and goes to do something else.

Over the weekend we went to the art fair with another couple, and Keegan had a really good time. We tried to keep him away from everything breakable, but of course every glass item there, he had to make a B-line for. Most of the time we were able to get him away without making too much of a scene, but Keegan did get his hands on one fountain, and I have a feeling the maker was not entirely thrilled with us, as he mentioned that it was a three piece fountain, and if it fell over on top of Keegan he would probably be hurt. We just muttered sorry and pried Keegan away the best we could. We did bring along the backpack carrier that we normally use for hiking, and he did ride in that quite a bit, so that did keep him out of trouble.

We also met my parents on Friday night for dinner for Karissa's birthday (0nly a couple of weeks late...). We met at an asian place near our house, and Keegan and my parents had fun together. After we were done eating we went outside, and Keegan was running around like a wild child with his mohawk up and making sure that people noticed him. My parents played with him, and they seemed to get a kick out of how much fun Keegan can be! Keegan was of course hamming it up, since it seems that attention is always awesome in his book. Anyway he was practicing jumping, and doing "booms" which is when he keeps walking lower and lower till he falls to his knees and throws his hands up and shouts boom. Karissa is the culprit in this instance, since she was encouraging him to do it. Of course it was also on concrete and after the first couple we had to make him quit so that he didn't scrape up his knees any more.

Well happy 18 months buddy!