Keeton sings Happy Birthday

11 months

Hello my little puddin'!

You are 11 MONTHS OLD! Wowzer! That one for sure snuck up on me.

It may have been the fact that you spent your 11th month pretty much SICK! If it wasn't a fever, it was puke. If it wasn't puke, it was a severe sinus infection. You were pitiful. Poor baby. Being a daycare baby has definitely taken a toll on you.

It all started at Thanksgiving. We made the long trip to KC to see Nana, Aunt Kristin, Uncle Aaron, Ethan and Ansley. On the way there you tossed your Cookies and continued to lose it everyday until we left. You managed to get Nana, your cousins and Dada sick too! Daddy barfed in a target sack on the way home. Lovely huh? We did manage to have a little fun though. You loved following your cousins around the house and playing with them.



Another mention this past month besides your mammoth sickness was your

HAIRCUT!




Daddy and I put it off long enough but when you started to have a rat tail we realized we were borderline bad parenting and whisked you to a salon. You were great! You sat in Daddy's lap and let the girl trim and cut. What a handsome little man!

I can't believe you are almost a year old. Your communication skills are starting to really form and I can see your personality blossoming. You point at everything that interests you. You love Mickey Mouse, Santa, and eating puffs. You wear a size 3 shoe. You mimic Daddy and I when we shake our heads back and forth, you love to clap and dance. You are Awesome!

Truly Truly Awesome!

I love ya,

Mama

10 months

Keet,

You are 10 months old today!

My baby-not so much a baby these days! As I type this you are walking around the living room with my flip flop in your hands just searching for something to get in to. This is your M O these days. You are either hitting buttons on the DVR, Changing channels with the remotes, trying to tip over the floor lamp, chewing on cords, pulling on blinds, opening cabinets and pulling things out, putting your hands in the toilet, eating the covers of books, banging on the computer keys, unrolling the toilet paper...

and the list goes on and on.

I love you dearly but this has become frustrating. Especially now that you are an official walker. I definitely thought I would have more time before having to chase you around the house but during your ninth month you just took off. Don't get me wrong, I am sooo proud of you. I love it when people comment about how advanced you are. My heart swells with pride:)

I am noticing that you are getting a teasing personality. We are introducing the word NO to you lately but you don't care at all. All we get is a little grin and you finishing what you started all the while saying "no no no".

You went through a big eating transition this month. We are trying to give you more texture and solid foods but you would constantly gag and refuse to eat. I think it may have been due to either sickness or teething because just in the last few days you are letting us try more things. What a relief.

Honorable mentions:

-You have 2 bottom teeth and I can see the little tips of both top teeth.

-You must dream about Mama at night because you say my name all night long in your sleep.

-You have started dancing (marching) to songs.

-You love when I brush your little teeth.

-You got a big boy carseat and fall asleep everytime you are in it.

-You kick the soccer ball around the house like a prodigy. It's weird!

-Visited a pumpkin patch, did a vision walk with daddy, spent the night with Nan and Pop

-Tucker is your best friend at daycare

-Enjoys Mickey Mouse clubhouse

-You rub your belly when we take off your shirt.

Keeton you are an amazing son. Again, I am so proud of you and all you've accomplished in the last 10 months. Daddy and I find ourselves, on a daily basis, talking about how amazing you are and how lucky we are. There was once a point when we didn't know if we would ever have you in our lives and we would daydream about having a child. I want you to know that you are so much more than we ever dreamed about-so much more than ever imagined.

I love you and so much more,

Mama

Monster Mash

This was Keet's first Halloween and he was too cute! This has been the year of the monsters for him being that his nursery is monsters and he has clothes with monsters on them and monster toys. We thought it was only fitting to dress him up as a little monster!

The past couple of Halloweens, Jason and I have been in KC and celebrated over at his brother's house where they have massive amounts of kids come to their neighborhood and we sit and watch our niece and nephew run around handing out candy and being cute. Last Halloween I was pretty preggo and I think I ate more candy then handed out;) We definitely missed hanging out with them.

Since Halloween fell on a Sunday this year, my sister's town celebrated trick or treating on Saturday. Jason made me promise him he could watch his precious MU tigers football before we took Keet trick or treating. (obsessed??) My sis made chili and it was sooooo good! My nephews were batman, robin, and superman (baby). I just love being around my family. The hustle and bustle of the kids running around and all that yummy food. Keeton love being around his cousins. I feel like his mind is working and learning the whole time we are with them.

So we thought My brother in law's neighborhood was bad...at one point I thought I was in a horror movie where all the zombies are walking up toward you. It was CRAZY!!!!! So many kids were brought in by the truck load. I wish I had taken a picture. My 4 yr old nephew Griffin definitely takes after his aunt coco and jj. He was in character the whole time. He would fake punch innocent kids and lift up lawn chairs and tell everyone how strong he was. It was hilarious.

I think Keeton had a good time walking around the yard and just staring at all the kids. I was glad I picked that costume because it got pretty cold. My little monster was a hit!

First Halloween...Success!

Holy Cow...

IT'S A GIRL!

Isla Marie Harper

Walking in Memphis

7, 8, 9 months old!

Dear Keet,

Oh boy! Since my last post for you, so much has happened in our lives. I guess that is why it has taken me so long to update.

I will give an abridged version of your 7th and 8th month:

Living with your Nan and Pop was awesome and overwhelming at the same time. You really learned to love them during that time. I was proud of how well you seemed to adjust to all the craziness.


The countdown was on to moving into our new house and I was looking for a job everyday. It was so difficult and daddy and I were STRESSED!

It's so crazy though how things just work themselves out. A job seemed to fall out of the sky about a week before we moved that was a perfect fit for mama and was close to where we would be living. What a relief. We packed up and moved to Southaven, MS.

As soon as we moved in, you just started growing up too fast! You sat up from laying down into a sitting position, then started pulling up to anything you could. You realized you wanted to MOVE so you began hopping on your bottom across the floor. When you decided that wasn't good enough, your hopping turned into a "crawl". You drag that right leg behind you. It's weird but you are really fast. During your 8th month, daddy propped you in a standing position and you stood there...on your own. From then on you would stand for longer and longer each time then plop down on your rear. It was so exciting to see. Occasionally you would try to take a step and we would cheer and clap! Daddy and I are watching you everyday get braver and take more steps between us. I love how you take risks and love to learn. It's obvious that your motor skills are advanced. You must get that from daddy;)

Not only are you on the move, but you are talking up a storm. Mama, Dada, NeNe, Byebye...those are your faves.

I can't believe how you have gone from little baby to little boy- Like a flash before my eyes!

Other Happenings:

You started daycare! (Not only does mama miss you everyday but this daycare is not ideal-we're looking for something better)

You had strep throat! (You were pitiful and had to go through 2 rounds of antibiotics)

We went to the Memphis Zoo!

Nana came to visit from KC for daddy's white coat ceremony! (boy were we proud)

and the biggest news of all...

You are going to be a BIG BROTHER!

We were STUNNED with this news. This surprise seemed to come at the worst time that it could. I cried and cried and worried and felt so sorry that you would be robbed of your babyhood. I couldn't believe that I had just become a mom and now I was going to be a mom of two. I never imagined that this would be our lives. But ya know, again, life just works out the way it should sometimes. You and your sibling will be 14 months apart. I am beginning to feel this little one move in my tummy and it reminds me of your little jabs and kicks. I didn't know you then like I do now. You are what your daddy and I live for these days. A perfect gift. I am excited to add to our family. I am sure you will be a great older brother. Things will be a little crazier, louder and I will add to my list of worries. These challenges are becoming the norm in our life and another hurdle to overcome. It's tough but I say BRING IT ON!

I love you Keeton,

Mama