Our First Christmas

December 25, 2009 - Keltan's first Christmas. We loaded up the van with a lifetime of clothes, some toys, and a few gifts and headed North to Oklahoma! Little did we know what an adventure our little man's first Christmas would be....
We knew the forecast was calling for a smattering of snowflakes across Oklahoma. I pondered the advantage of driving our Jeep, since it is 4*4, but Uncle Craig and my Dear sweet wifey talked me out of it. It is quite a bit smaller than the van, and Keltan's new car seat (he outgrew the little car seat/carrier and we got him a car seat/booster seat) does not fit in it. Plus, we had our entire closet, toys, and a few gifts to take. So, I relented and drove the van. UGH...
We left Texas Wednesday afternoon in 75* weather. Sunshine. Ahhhhhh nice.... We crossed the Red River and the temperature started dropping....RAPIDLY! By the time we got to Shawnee, we were at 40-something degrees. The rain started Thursday morning. The temperature continued to fall. About the time it hit the 20's and sleet started falling, I knew we was stuck! After a good layer of sleet was on the ground, the snow started. Beautiful white fluffy flakes being hurled through the air at super-sonic speeds from the hurricane-force winds. I think the only way snow go to the ground was after it got plastered to a structure and slid down. Regardless, Christmas morning we awoke to a calm, sunny, COLD, white Christmas. We were snowed in. The van was stuck in the driveway. All the highways in OKC were shut down, and the highways across the state might as well have been. In other words, it was a great time to be a tow-truck operator! Yes, Keltan has achieved in 6 months what it took me 36 1/2 years to achieve - he got a white Christmas! But, he didn't get to see Uncle Craig, Aunt Kim, Cousin Monkey, or Grandma. :-(
We finally got around to opening gifts in the afternoon. Grampy wasn't feeling too well from his surgery, and it took a while for him to get going. Of course, Keltan's favorite gift was the wrapping paper! He chewed on it like it was a t-bone steak! Then he performed so beautifully on the piano a tune known only to him, but wonderful nonetheless. I will post that video a little later.
I finally got my hands on a snow shovel Friday and got the driveway cleared, and went ahead and cleared walkways. I'm thinking a tractor and front end loader would have been a great idea! We loaded up Saturday and got out of the state before the roads re-froze. The carnage in the ditches was amazing. Oh, to have a tow-truck! I coulda made some nice cash!
We are going to Shreveport for New Year's. HOPEFULLY we will be able to meet up with Craig and family to have a "Christmas" with them. That, of course, depends on the next snowstorm coming into Oklahoma.
So chronicles Keltan's first Christmas....

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enjoyin' his play time

A sneezin' good time!

It's too bad my camera batteries chose this time to die. After the 2nd sneeze, he looked at me and grinned really big, but, alas, no more battery power. BOOOOO!

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Splish-Splash I was takin' a bath!

It wasn't Saturday night, but it was bath time! Keltan was in his jumper and had a little "incident" which required more than a mere change of diaper! He has, fortunately for us, always loved his baths, and this blow-up duck bathtub is perfect for him! As you can see in the video, he loves to splash. By the way, in my most correct of opinions, he is still the cutest baby on the face of this Earth!

Keltan in his jumper - AGAIN!

The Kman sure loves this jumper! He was squealing much more before I turned on the camera (of course!).

Keltan was SUPPOSED to be eating

Keltan was eating his oatmeal, until he saw Daddy with the camera! At that point, he decided performing would be a lot more fun than eating. Enjoy!

Keltan went to the doctor's office today for a little visit. He weighed in at 20 pounds, and he is in the 75th percentile in height and the 95th percentile in weight. Everything came in as healthy, and the doctor said he is perfect - I just don't understand why we have to pay her to tell us something we already knew....

As I type this update, we have his Sunday School CD playing, and he is bouncing away. Since I found out (refer to above picture) that he shouldn't be benchpressing just yet, I figure he can bounce himself to an NFL career!

Keltan jumping around!

As you can see in this video, Keltan is very fond of his little jump-a-round seat! Before I started filming, he was watching Raleigh and Asher play. He was laughing like I had never heard him laugh before! It is obvious he loves his doggy bros, which works out good because they are fond of him as well!

Update on the little man.

As you can see from the picture, we had a full house this weekend. Grampy/Nana/Aunt Greta, Uncle Craig/Aunt Kim, Cousin Jessica, and Grandma all came down to be a part of our "baby dedication service" at church today. It was a very short visit (all arrived at various times Saturday night), but it was a very good and fulfilling visit. The service was really great, with a slideshow put together by our minister's wife. In all, there were 4 babies born this year in our congregation, with Keltan being the baby of the group. After service, there was a mini baby shower for Inga, since there was no chance for the ladies in the church to have one prior to the Kman making his appearance. Afterwards, all the family gathered at the house and I fixed fajitas on the grill....mmmmmmmm....Then everyone left :(

Keltan has been really growing and advancing. He is growing out of his 3 - 6 month clothing and, really, getting close on some of the 6 - 9 month clothing. Like his daddy and granddaddy, missing a meal is not really something he enjoys doing. The little man loves to eat!

He LOVES to sit up. Try to lay him back when he is awake and he will strain to sit up, and will eventually tell you about how he is not enjoying the position. He loves his little car (walker). He will play in it for about an hour or 2 at a time, pressing buttons, and yanking toys and biting on the sides. Ah, yes, he is teething big-time, with all the drool and crankiness that comes with sore gums.

Keltan also LOVES his big doggie-brother Raleigh. Raleigh, in turn, loves him. We will walk away for a minute, and hear Raleigh slurping and Keltan laughing, at which time we know that Keltan is getting lots of big sugars from Raleigh. Of course, we tell him to stop, but it will happen again, and again.....The other day, Keltan was on our bed while I was getting something and Inga was getting ready. He got unhappy about that, and started wailing. After a couple minutes, he got quiet. I went to check on him, and Raleigh was lying on the bed beside him. That seemed to have settled Keltan down. As soon as Raleigh got up, though, Keltan started crying again. It is quite cute to see how much they like each other.

It continues to be such a joy to have Keltan in our lives. There is a card that we were given at the shower today, and it describes the feeling perfectly:

"There's nothing like a baby boy to change the way you see things, to make the world a better, brighter place. There's nothing like ten tiny toes, bright eyes, and little ears, or the sweet expressions on his little face. There's nothing like the pride and joy of holding in your arms the miracle of life, so fresh and new. There's nothing that compares to the love that you will know and the happiness that's wished for each of you."

I couldn't have said it better myself!

Note: I try to link the title of each blog to my Picasa Web Albums. I noticed the last few were not working. I hope this one works. If not, here is the web address: http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffrey.n.dickson. There are HUNDREDS of pictures on there if you are interested in seeing any.