Keegen Douglas

We recently had an FHE about service. How we can help others. How this includes serving the people in our own family. Yada yada.

Keegen has taken this lesson to heart. He'll often tell me how i can do something for him since "it's service."

Case in point. We take our shoes off in the laundry room and the boys know they are to "hang them on the hooks" (hang their shoes on the rack in the closet). Keegen is much less a rules follower than his elder brother. He came in the other day and said,

K: "Mom, why don't you hang my shoes on the hooks. That's called service."
M: "No, Keegen. Go hang your shoes on the hooks."
K: "But Mom, if you do it, it's called service."
M: "Keegen. Knock it off and go hang up your shoes."
K: "Mo-o-om! If you don't hang my shoes up, i'm going to change my happy face to a grumpy face!"

To which, i had no response because eventually? He makes me laugh. I can only assume that this totally ticks Bode off, who gets/got away with nothing.

Also, a lovely, brief conversation with Keegs in the car...

M: "Keegen! Get your finger out of your nose!"
K: "Then MOM! DON'T.LOOK.AT.ME!"

Oy.

He's fully aware that the above Russian doll is completely off limits, but was unphased and very matter-of-fact when i caught him and asked what he was doing. And my response? "hey! Carry on!" (since he was totally self-entertained which NEVER happens. I need more "off limits" items...).

Christmas Reconnaissance

Chunky Monkey

At 2 months, Soren is:

• 13#1oz (90%) and 22 3/4" (50%)
  
• smiling, sort of laughing (kind of sounds like she's scoffing), making lots of throaty noises. She's trying reeeeally really hard to talk
• still loved by her big brothers--especially Bode
• more interested in things around her. She focuses on the toys when she's in her bouncy seat and under the play gym. She swats at the toys above her
• sleeping incredibly well at night. In bed for the night no later than 7pm and sleeps till 3am (last night i woke her up at 3:45 'cause i needed a little relief)! She's up again for the day by 6 (7 today. Yeehaw!).
• a pro road-tripper. She did awesome to and from our Utah trip (phew!).
  
• a happy, rolly baby and i'm really enjoying her!
  

Halloween

we made balloon bats and pumpkin people

we carved pumpkins...

We went trick-or-treating. This is the one good picture we got of the boys. Soren is in the pouch on my chest. i'm actually fatter now than when i came home from the hospital. I'm enjoying a LOT of kitkats and butterfingers and cupcakes and now the boys' candy!! Mwah-ha-ha-ha haaaaa!!!

Soren One Month

You:

• are a champion nurser. You love it. You live for it.
• weigh 10#8oz. (see above note) and are 21 1/4" long. Short fat proud of that.
• smile! So very fun.
• can focus your eyes on things/people.
• still eat every 2-4 hours. Your longest typical stretch at night is 4 hours.
  
• are very happy in the Moby Wrap. When you won't settle down to sleep during the day no matter how tired you are, the Moby Wrap puts you right to sleep.
• thankfully, can sleep through the noise and chaos of our house during the day.
• love to sleep on my or your dad's chest. I love it, too, and love that your little body fits right below my chin to my waist when you tuck your legs under and stick your bum up in the air.
• will only sleep on your tummy. No back. No side. No swaddling. No tummy? No sleep.
  
• have these luscious rolls filling in all over your cute little bod.
• are adored.
  

the girl and her accessories...

i didn't say i wanted my picture taken!


aaaaaah. binky.


woah! Where'd you come from??!

Party of Five

Here's what's been going on in pictures...As always, you should be able to click on the photo to enlarge it.

Pre-Soren

"she's fresh, she's so fresh...

Keegen meeting Soren

You can almost hear him saying in his high-pitched, soothing voice, "Don't cry, Baby So-Wen."

getting ready to go home.

it's like pink camo. where's the baby?

our welcome home banner. check out Bode's drawing of a hospital!

Yay! We're home!

she has lungs and knows how to use them.

she occasionally opens her eyes...

And, just because. Watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Our Future X-Gamers

Bode got his training wheels off on Sunday and has been riding incredibly well. Later this week Kristen invited me and the boys to meet her and her son at the local BMX bike track. I had nothing planned and I'm always happy to have someone come up with something fun like this to fill our time! So, I put Keegen in the car, picked Bode up from school and took them to the "dirt track."


Oh my holy cow. Bode could hardly contain himself. We couldn't get the elbow and knee pads on fast enough. He took off down this curved dirt hill to get to the bottom of the track (i didn't see it, but saw Kristen simultaneously flap her arms and look at me like "ooooooh noooooooooo!" but he made it to the bottom unscathed!). The dirt track loop starts with a big downhill to a series of "tallest" hills, a curve to the next series of "taller" hills, a curve to the next series of "tall" hills, and finally, yes, a curve to the next series of the smaller hills. Our first day there, the boys stuck to the smaller hills. I brought Keegen's scooter and was surprised at how hard he was willing to work to get up the hills to get the thrill of the downhill. Bode took to those hills, like, shall i say, a duck to water? He loved them. No fear. Just conquered them.


We went on Friday, too, and Bode quickly went from the smaller hills to the taller hills! From level one to three in a day! Kristen and i joke that the boys have found their passion. They just love it. I was really floored at how well Bode handled those hills--with speed and he was able to take the curves for the most part. We had a lot of crashes, but almost every time he just said he was OK, popped up and got back to it. Kristen brought Keegen a balance bike to use this time and he loved it. He even got to take it home for a few days and it's fun to watch him cruise around on it.


I only took pics our first day (which don't give the hills justice), but Kristen got some video on Day Two. The first is Keegen working the balance bike:

Keegen's New X-Game Sport

The second is Bode. He decided to try the start point that goes down a super-steep hill. Turn up the volume so you can hear Bode and Jack's pre-run conversation...

Bode Has No Fear

Bode ends up catching air on the bump after the downhill and bit it. Hard. He was SO UPSET he fell and SO MAD at ME for not letting him try it again that day. When I showed him the video, i was laughing so hard tears were coming out of my eyes. He was quite offended since he got hurt in the process (that's what he told me--said something like, "why are you laughing at me when i got hurt?" NOW he cares that he got hurt?!). I had to explain myself a few times and tell him how incredible it was that he went down it and how he caught some crazy air. Maybe i should have let him go try it again right away, but i like my child in one piece!