some updates

Alright - time for some typing.  I have posted a few videos to show what the little goofball does in his spare time, but perhaps I should fill you in on what else has happened in the life of Keltan.
For Thanksgiving, we took a trip.  Not to Oklahoma or Shreveport, or somewhere else reasonably close.  No, we went to New Jersey by way of Leighton, Alabama...
We left Terrell on Tuesday evening after we both got off work.  That put us leaving town at 6:50 PM with a screaming baby.  And he screamed.  And he fussed.  And he screamed.  And 3 hours later, he fell asleep.  1 hour after he fell asleep, we arrived in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where we were staying the night in a hotel.  And when Keltan woke up as we pulled in, he screamed.  And he fussed.  And he screamed.  All night.  He had no intention of sleeping, nor did he have intentions of us or our neighbors sleeping.  Finally, at 5 AM, I decided that was enough, and we got up, showered, dressed, and left, much, I assume, to the delight of our neighbors.  And Keltan crashed as soon as we left.  Not wanting to stop until he woke up, I dined on beef jerkey and Dr pepper, topped off with a yogurt, and Inga dined on some dried fruit.  About 3 hours later, he awoke, and we stopped for a real breakfast in West Memphis, Arkansas.
The rest of the trip on Wednesday to Muscle Shoals, Alabama was fine.  Keltan was restless, of course, but some toys and videos made the trip bearable.  We met Brandon, Amber, and their little baby girl Laurie in Muscle Shoals for some lunch, then followed them back to their house.
Keltan thoroughly enjoyed his time at Uncle B's.  He discovered that cousin Isaac is a pretty cool little dude, especially when he and Daddy played hide-and-seek against Isaac and Uncle Craig!  He played some football with Issac and Whit, played on the slides and swings, and tried to do all the big boy things they were doing.  I do believe his favorite, though, was the stairs in Uncle B's house.  Up and down, up and down, up and down....
Oh yeah, we had Aunt Glo's awesome, incredible, delicious, scrumptious, slap-yo-momma-kinda-good chocolate and coconut pies....
Friday after Thanksgiving, we headed out bright and early to Nashville airport, about a 2 1/2 hour drive north of Leighton.  Not a bad trip, as Keltan slept most of the way.  Now, a word about Nashville airport - it is AWESOME!  I wish wish wish it was much closer to Dallas, and we would definitely fly out of there every time.  There was a kids' play area directly across from our gate.  There were slides, tunnels, mirrors, padded floor, cars - wow!  This kept Keltan entertained while we waited for our flight.  And that made for one happy Mommy and Daddy!  His favorite was a small slide.  I showed him once how to go down, then where the steps were, and he went round and round on it.  
The flight to Philadelphia was great.  Keltan slept the entire time.  :)
We landed, and, thanks to Southwest Airlines' great scheduling, met up with Aunt Greta exactly as planned.  We got our bags, got in the bus, and went to get our rental car.  That rental car turned out to be a Suburban - a super nice ride, indeed. 
The time in New Jersey was fun.  We were staying in a room next door to Grampy and Nana, and Keltan got to stay with them quite a bit while Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Greta did some running around.  They had a nice efficiency room, complete with a bed room and living room, so Keltan had lots of room to run around and play with his toys (which we bought while out there since we forgot to pack any).
We were out in New Jersey for Inga's uncle Andrew's wedding (Uncle CW to Keltan).  Keltan did not at all dig being in the ceremony, so after about 5 minutes, I headed off to the play room with him.  There he found 2 other little boys, and they all had a good time together.  After the wedding, we went back to the hotel, where Daddy and Keltan took a nap.  About an hour and a half later, we headed across the parking lot to the reception.  Now, Keltan was dead asleep, but we had to be over there.  So, I got him up, got him dressed, walked across a 30 degree parking lot, and got in the door before he ever woke up.  He was just a tiny bit groggy, to say the least, as we made our way to our table.  After about 15 minutes, he finally got woke up good, and that was about the time they started serving food.  First a roll.  Then he had some lime sorbet to "cleanse his pallet."  Then the main course - for him, chicken fingers and fries, which he was uninterested in.  His main interest?  Oh, just Daddy's asparagus.  
After dinner, the dancing started up.  This intrigued little Keltan, so Mommy took him out to the dance floor.  This was something that he could not get enough of!  Poor Mommy was worn out, but Keltan was not eager to leave the floor!  He kept pointing, and she took him back.  
After a bit, however, it was bedtime for the little man.  So, Daddy packed him back to the room, and he went to bed while Daddy got his heart broken by the OSU Cowboys losing to the blasted sooners...
So then, on Monday, it was time to fly home.  Again, the flight was great - Keltan slept the entire way.  We landed in Nashville, loaded the bus, and headed to our van.  We drove that evening to Forrest City, Arkansas, and fortunately Keltan was much more cooperative.  The room in Forrest City was incredible, and we all got some better sleep.  Tuesday, we made the 8 hour trek back to Terrell.
Speaking of sleep - Keltan did not sleep a single night on the vacation out of our bed.  We tried a crib and a pack and play, but only Mommy and Daddy's bed would work.  I was so glad to get home where I could put him in his crib and stretch out on my own bed...then we went that next weekend and bought a king sized bed!


This weekend has brought trauma to our little feller.  We determined he was most likely getting another ear infection, so Friday afternoon I took him to the doctor.  Sure enough - ear infection.  Since he had just finished a really strong antibiotic, which didn't kill his infection, I opted for an antibiotic shot.  I did not know it was administered in his thighs (notice I said thighS, as they put one in each leg).  About the time the nurse told me it was going to be painful, I was wishing I had opted for the oral.  It broke my heart to hear him screaming like that, but it was over quickly, and I did my best to distract him while we waited the 20 minutes after the shots to check for reactions.  Then I scheduled round 2 for this morning at 8:45.  More pain.  But, the good news is that his ears were looking a lot better!  Round 3 is Monday afternoon, but hopefully his ears will be clear and he won't need it.
So, trauma all over, we enjoyed a day doing some shopping and just messing around the house.  Then Daddy needed a haircut, so we all took off to Procuts.  We decided to see if we could get Keltan's hair cut.  Trauma round #2!  You would have thought we were cutting his little ears off!  But, he made it through, and we took him to Braum's for ice cream, where he flirted with the Braum's worker who was on break by playing peek-a-boo with her.


He is really starting to say a lot of words.  Some of his favorites are "dog, that, drink, bird, moon, star, cloud, ball, yes, no, bath, and eat."  He loves to make the sounds of animals, "baa, moo, woof, meow, neigh, cockadoodledoo, whatever you call an elephant noise, and roar."  He may not be able to remember the names of the animals, but he knows their noises!  Speaking of animals, we have an annoying  Chihuahua  rat-dog next door to us, that, of course, won't stop yapping at us.  Keltan gets annoyed by it, and stands there and barks at it.  Way to go Keltan!
He also likes to toss his food to the dogs when he is done eating.  One night, Inga swatted his hand for it.  After he fussed a little, he started to throw some more food down.  She asked him," Keltan, didn't you just get your hand swatted for doing that?", whereupon he pumped his fist in jubilation and said ,"YES!"  Kind of hard not to roll on the floor laughing at that one!


Anyway, that about fills you in on the life of Keltan.  We intend to be at Grampy and Nana's before Christmas, then spend Christmas in Tulsa at Uncle Craig's.
Merry Christmas, everyone!

Dancing MONKEY

December 7, 2010 8:38 PM

December 5, 2010 5:33 PM

Video about "The Talk"

This is a video sent to me by a fellow parent of a young child (who is only about 3 months older than Keltan).  This is something that I will need to deal with a little later.  It is good to see a video that gives some guidance on such a matter.

November 15, 2010 10:26 AM

November 15, 2010 9:58 AM

Feeding himself again

More Keltan Chao in the Dr's Office

If you turn up your volume, you can hear him talking to his shoes...

At the Doctor's Office

Keltan visited the doctor's office today.  While we waited for the nurse practitioner to appear, a little bit of Keltan Chao ensued.  More video forthcoming...enjoy!

Cutest sleeper ever!

Keltan feeding himself

Jibber Jabber

Keltan is absolutely the cutest sweetest smartest baby in the world!  Just thought I would throw that out there....


Since he was just a few weeks old, he has been intrigued with Baby Einstein films.  We started showing him the sign language DVD (Baby's First Signs), where they show baby, daddy, mommy, milk, drink, eat, more, and other simple sign language words.  We had gotten him to do "more", or at least a version of it, but he never seemed too interested in any others.  Then, Wednesday night, as we were all sitting in the den (Grandma was here then, too), he started doing his version of the sign for "baby" and started saying it!  It was pretty much one of the cutest things ever seen, but, of course, once we turned on the video camera, he was done.  Since then, we have gotten him to do "eat" and a version of "daddy".  


We got him a sandbox a couple weeks ago.  I will say this - he is definitely the stereotypical boy.  He loves loves loves dirt!  At first, he was a little skeptical of the sand in the box, but now he loves it.  He has learned to remove the top by himself (now we need to get him to replace the top), and he loves to scatter the sand all over the yard.  As if I didn't already have a sandy enough soil!  


Keltan had his first real experience in the life of an LSU fan a couple weeks ago.  In their game against Tennessee, Daddy was getting frustrated.  For anyone not keeping up with college ball, LSU is clearly a better team than Tennessee, but were playing horribly, and were allowing the Volunteers to hang around instead of getting the score out of reach.  Well, Tennessee had the lead, and the Tigers were going down the field to try to score to win.  I was quite anxious, and was telling the coach, Les Miles, what he should be doing and telling him what I thought of his coaching skills at that point.  Poor Keltan made the mistake of handing me a book right about the time that LSU was near the goal line, with 24 seconds left, and they decided to start subbing in some players.  So, Keltan is expecting me to read the book, I'm yelling at Les Miles, the clock is running down, and with mere seconds left, LSU fumbled the ball and lost it!  The game was over, and at that point, frustrated Daddy jumped out of the chair, "gently" tossed the book on the ground, and in my quietest whisper, was telling Les what I thought of him and what he could be doing next season.  Somehow, my quiet  whispers scared poor Keltan, and he could not understand why Daddy was so upset with him.  I had to explain that he was introduced to being an LSU fan, and it was his lot in life to have strenuous moments on Saturdays in the fall.  I think he understood, because he quit fussing....


Speaking of books, the kid is crazy about books!  He is always bringing a book to us to read, and sometimes we catch him in his room reading the books himself.  


You know, I really enjoy this daddy gig.

The fair

The fair's in town!  The fair's in town!  So we went.

The first thing we did was go to the petting zoo.  All kinds of animals including goats, pig with piglets, camels, sheep, cows, ostrich, emu, kangaroo, and tiny horses were there.  We started with the goats, and Keltan enjoyed petting them.  As we moved into the bigger animals, though, he decided it was not such a great idea.  He wanted absolutely nothing to do with a camel, but at least was intrigued with the big birds.  He almost was enticed to pet the tiny horse, but I guess it didn't look enough like Raleigh to make the decision.  After a bit, we took him out of there, and went in search of the greatest dessert food on earth (aside from Aunt Glo's chocolate and coconut pie) - the strawberry waffle balls! 

These, for those unfamiliar, are this:  a big, juicy strawberry dipped in an amazingly sweet chocolate, then coated with belgian waffle mix, deep fried, and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  This was the whole reason I agreed to go to the fair.  

So, we sat down on a shady grassy area to eat those desserts sent from heaven.  Keltan liked them at first, then decided it was a lot more fun to run from Mommy.  He would take off, and look back with a little evil grin on his face to see if she was chasing him.  The little stinker....just like his mommy.

Fortunately for us, he fell asleep after that in his stroller, and we had an easy hour and a half.  

We took him to the pig races.  This had the promise of being a very entertaining event.  He was pointing at the pigs and jabbering, so we thought we had found something fun for him.  Turns out, though, that the speakers were so loud, they hurt his ears.  I could understand, since they were hurting mine as well.  So, we had to exit.

We went down the way and bought a $5.00 ear of corn.  FIVE DOLLARS!  Let me tell you - I could buy a lot of corn for $5 and make it taste a million times better!  But, the lemonade was good.  Anyway, since Keltan loves corn, we knew we couldn't lose.  It took quite a while to cool it off, but when we did, he was munching that corn!  He had an incredible time running up and down all the steps where we were sitting.  Of course, this kept Daddy busy - but what else are we for?  

On another topic - he is starting to form some words now.  He has "da-da", "ma-ma", a variation of "five", and what sounds like "off", though we can't figure that one out.  We very seldom say "off" around here - we always tell our dogs "down" as opposed to "off", so who knows where he got that one.  At times, he will say "daddy", or a loose interpretation thereof, and Inga said he said "thank you" where it was words as opposed to the sounds he makes when imitating my tone of voice.  So, he is moving along there.

Keltan gave up.  The fair was too much for him.

Jeff Dickson

Chik-Fil-A playground

Keltan on the Chik-fil-A play ground

Keltan eating corn on the cob

Playing in the dirt!

September 27, 2010 9:40 PM

Ramblings and Memoirs

   My dad used to tell me that he regretted some things he did/didn't do when I was a kid.  I could never figure this out.  Dad was a very attentive father, I had no doubt that he loved me and wanted what was best for me.  We had our battles, but we always managed to make up, and I never hated him for anything.  So, I just couldn't understand.
   Now that I have my own son, I am beginning to understand.  Sometimes, believe it or not, Keltan will have a rough night, and things won't always be agreeable to him.  It is at these times that my patience grows short (now there's a stretch!).  I spend the next day feeling horrible, and feeling that I have failed, and make the determination that I must handle the situation differently.
   Lately, I have been reading "Uncommon" by Tony Dungy.  In his chapter named "Fatherhood," he addresses this very issue.  "Just because you've erred doesn't mean you're out of the running to be a good dad.  The Bible wasn't written for those who have it figured out, but instead it is God's word to those of us who are muddling through life.  We must remember that 'all have sinned and fall sort of the glory of God,' but we have been given the freedom through Christ to forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead as we 'press on to reach the end of the race.'"
   As I read this, I realized that, fortunately for me, I don't have to be perfect every time, everyday.  I just have to recognize where I messed up and strive to improve.  But, it is easier to realize this than it is to embrace it and live it!  
   
   A story on the bright side:
   I also read this in the same book and chapter, "When was the last time you did something really silly with or in front of your children?  When was the last time you did something totally unexpected and spontaneous that your children remember to this day?  Like jumping the swimming pool with your clothes on, or 'accidentally' spraying whipped cream all over your face, starting a pillow fight in the bedroom, or splashing in the puddles after a summer rain?"
   This brings to mind a story I have always remembered, and one that brings out the character in my dad.  I don't recall how old I was, but I would guess 5 - 7 years old.  When we traveled on vacation, Dad did not like to stop at a hotel early enough that we could use the pool.  For some reason, this particular time we were at a hotel and the pool was open.  My brother and I were in the pool enjoying ourselves, when suddenly, out of nowhere, here comes my father at a sprint, leaping into the air, and landing with a "SPLASH" in the pool!  To make it more interesting, he was fully clothed.  We thought this was pretty crazy!  Then it was discovered, much to our delight, that he had forgotten to remove his wallet from his pants!  


   I would love to pull these rambling thoughts together and make some grand ending to this blog posting, but I don't know that I will be able to do that.  I do know, however, that I had a wonderful example at being a father.  I do know that I miss him, and I hope and pray that Keltan will be able to look back on his childhood and know that, despite my shortcomings and my errors, I have loved him and intended only good for him.


   One more thing to end with....One thing I recall and miss so greatly about Dad is the huge hugs!  Whenever we met - at his house, my house, a restaurant, wherever - Dad always had a huge hug for me. When Keltan runs into my arms and I give him a big bear hug, I remember how great it felt to get a warm hug from my dad.

Drummer boy

keltan blabber

My Digs and Don't Digs

Now that Keltan is growing up and exhibits his personality, he definitely has some likes and dislikes.  I thought I would share some of those with you here...

Like:

• Climbing on anything that shows a hint of being climbable.
• Related to the first, STAIRS!
• Milk
• Anything Daddy or Mommy is snacking on
• Books - our days are now filled with a book being shoved in our lap time after time
• Tomatoes!  This was a surprising discovery
• Daddy's Macbook.  If he can't play with it, he tries the "stealth bomber" move - he hits the keys as he runs by.
• Daddy's Blackberry.  In fact, I gave it to him after I switched to the Evo
• Chasing Asher (our sheltie).  Asher doesn't find the same thing to be entertaining at all
• Building with blocks
• Riding his little bike Grandma gave him for Christmas in March
• He tries to ride his Wonderhorse, but has trouble making it bounce.  Stiff springs and short legs don't mix (He has his Granddaddy's legs)
• Cantaloupe
• Sleeping between Mommy and Daddy
• Biting Mommy
• Playing in the tub
• Hanging upside down
• Playing in the toilet
• Eating cat/dog food
• Feeding the dogs treats - it's only fair since he eats theirs, right?

Dislikes:

• Sleeping alone
• Naps
• Watching Daddy leave on Saturday evenings to work at the SMU football games
• Getting his nose suctioned
• Having his nails trimmed
• Getting a shower (and being scrubbed in the tub)
• Running out of bottle
• Being told "no"
• Getting stuck in whatever he is climbing into or on
• Being still for more than 3 seconds
• Having his diaper changed - hey, he made it, shouldn't he get to keep it?
• Having to go inside as opposed to staying outside

Speaking of the little STINKER (edited for the sake of my neck), I have had to pause this 3 times to read The Foot Book repeatedly to him.  I love it!

2010-09-18 (by Eye-Fi)

Keltan has finally started to build with blocks, as opposed to just tearing them down. It is really fun to build with him; of course he will only let it get so high before he starts tearing them apart again! He is the smartest kid I know!

keltan enjoying the outdoors

2010-9-11

Keltan thoroughly enjoys being out in the backyard.  As you can see in this album, he also loves to play in the mud!

Jeff Dickson

2010-09-08 (by Eye-Fi)

But when he is asleep on my chest there is nothing like it.

Sometimes Keltan wakes up on the grumpy side of town.

The Beginning of Fear

The other evening, Keltan and I were in the front yard, between the driveway and the front porch.  I forget what i was doing, perhaps rolling up the hose, but I finished and started to walk up the steps.  Keltan was about 15 or 20 feet away.  It was dusk, with a little bit of light left, though not much.  Keltan realized that Daddy had left the spot where he was standing, and panicked.  He started fussing - not the little fuss of someone walking into a different room or putting him down.  No, this was an all-out "I'm out here alone in the dark in a great big world and I have no daddy here to protect me" type of cry.  I had to step back down and get him, and it took a couple of minutes to get him calmed down.  I had hopes that he wouldn't go through this phase, because previously he had not demonstrated any kind of fear about anything.  
Another instance he has exhibited some fear is with Raleigh.  Now, for anyone that doesn't know, Raleigh is our 75 pound lab/chow mix dog.  He is very docile, patient, and the sweetest dog you will ever meet.  He is only ferocious to those that meet him on the other side of the glass door as he charges it full speed with a crazy-loud bark.  That bark is the subject of this story.  Keltan likes to play chase, though he is not very good at the concept.  He will go running off through the kitchen as I follow on all fours.  About halfway through the kitchen, he forgets that he is supposed to be running, and turns around to chase me!  We will turn around and run back into the den, where I will attempt to dodge him, bowl through Raleigh who is most of the time blocking my path, and go into the kitchen.  Keltan will come running after me, laughing like crazy.  Of course, Rals thinks this is great fun, and wants to join.  His way of joining is barking with all his might, directly behind Keltan.  
Now, I wish I could describe the look on Keltan's face when this happens.  I want to capture it on film, but as these things go, the camera is never there when he does it, and when I have the camera, he doesn't do it.  But, his face will go from pure laughter to wide-eyed, pursed lips, and the most serious face you will ever find!  He kicks into high gear and chugs into my waiting arms full speed.  I grab him, give him a big hug, then we call Raleigh over and give him pettings.  Then we proceed to do it all over again.
He loves to be read to.  He brought me a book as I was sitting in his bedroom rocking chair a few nights ago.  We generally try to read 3-4 books each night before bed.  I think his favorite is a silly little book called "Pajama Time."  While reading this book, I do my best to imitate one Stanley Dickson - all the energy and excitement I can muster, and with little thought to being quiet.  I often imagine Dad reading this book to Keltan and think of the fun that could be observed.  Needless to say, I try to not end on this book.  I have to bring him back down with a book about the two nutbrown hares - "Guess How Much I Love You."  After I get him in bed, I ask the question "Why bother?  Shouldn't I just put him in our bed, since that is most likely where he will end up in 4 - 5 hours?"  That's right - he hates to sleep alone. Now and then, he will actually fall back asleep after crying and screaming for a few minutes, though most times he will scream and/or bang on his crib for a couple hours until Mommy finally can't take it anymore.  You know all that expert advice from the experts on child-raising?  Yeah, go ahead and throw the section on bedtime in the garbage.
Yesterday (sunday), we went to Rockwall to eat lunch and run an errand.  In between, we stopped at Lowe's to get some windows ordered.  Keltan was a little energetic (what a surprise!), so we found a rather deserted aisle (the bathroom vanity section), and I let him run up and down the aisle.  I think he logged over 2 trips to the moon during his time on the floor, but that still wasn't enough!  He was not very happy when I had to put him in the buggy, though I was able to keep him a little distracted with my NASCAR style driving - 2 wheel cornering, squealing wheels, motor sounds.  He thought, in fact, that it was quite funny.  While Mommy was checking out, I took him outside and let him wonder around in the outdoor grills display.  Quite the little handful, he is!  But I wouldn't trade it for anything in the whole entire world!

Vaccinate?

http://www.infowars.com/finland-suspends-swine-flu-shots-after-vaccine-linked-with-neurological-disorder/

This article illustrates the reason I hesitate and even refuse to vaccinate Keltan. This vaccine, like so many others, was rushed out and injected into people without proper testing. Recall that the CDC and other government agencies were pushing this hard along with most doctors. I said all along that we didn't have enough information on the vaccine. The same is true with the accepted traditional vaccines. While the vaccine may be safe, we have little to no information on the suspension material of choice - aluminum. Remember that it was not too long ago that Mercury was thought to be safe. Turns out that was absolutely incorrect. And while not used in vaccines, we used numerous products daily that exposed us to lead. Turns out that was a bad idea, too.

Well I hate to say it, but I'm afraid Keltan is beginning to show his likeness to Mommy. He has decided it is time to exert his will on situations and to pitch a big ole screamin' fit when we have other ideas. I say he is showing Mommy's side because I KNOW I never was hard-headed about things! Speak of the devil, he has awakened yet again and it is his will to be out of his crib.
Yes, that is right. He does not at all sleep well in his own bed. He awakens and will not go back down for anything. We wonder if he is having night terrors. Even in bed with us he will become wide awake, sit straight up in bed and wimper or scream. Hopefully he will overcome this problem.
He loves to pick up pecans in the backyard. He began by carrying them around, then decided it would be good to have one in his mouth - shell and all. Mrs Margie has him convinced now that it is great fun to put them in a bucket. Much better in my opinion.
Mud. What boy doesn't like mud? Put a little water on the bare dirt and VOILA! Instant fun for the Kman!
Well, I must go fight wills with him. I'm afraid he will win because I'm tired.....

In the shower

Keltan loves to get on the shower - after it is turned off of course. He had some dirty little tests yesterday when he got in there.

Ready to Swim - swimming lessons 2010

Late update

     Wow!  I didn't realize it has been since sometime in June since I updated this blog.  But, as predicted by my wise Aunt Glo on June 15, 2010, we have been crazy busy keeping up with our walking and running baby.....
     So, what has happened since June?
     Keltan had his 1st birthday party on July 3.  I was reluctant to have a big party, desiring instead a small gathering of family and a small cake.  Inga persisted, however, and, like my dad, I gave in to my wife.  We planned a rather big gathering of family and friends (28 guests in all).  Grandma came down early and helped us get the house and yard in shape.  To that, we owe her a HUGE Thank You!
We decided to serve fajitas as our meal, so I bought a whole side of beef and a semi full of chickens, along with a farm of veggies.  We got all the tables and chairs set up, the citronella candles lit, the fans out and plugged in, the drinks in the huge cooler, and the guests started to arrive about 5:15 for the 5:30 start.  Mind you, this was July 3.  July is a month of drought in Texas.  It never rains.  It never gets below 90 degrees.  We never get a puff of cloud in the sky in July.  Except for July 3, 2010 at 5:45 PM in Terrell, Texas.  It POURED!!!!  We had to move the party inside.  30 people in our house was a bit tight, but we made it work.
     Then it was time for cake.  Keltan (mommy) blew out the candle, and we got Keltan a huge slice of it.  He knew exactly what to do!  He grabbed a humongous handful of it and shoved it in his mouth.  Of course, it wasn't messy enough for Grandma, so she helped him smear some more on his face and in his hair!  Silly Grandma...
     As I mentioned before, Keltan is now mobile.  He walks and walks and walks.  He thoroughly enjoys walking in the yard, so much that, if I carry him into the back yard, he wiggles and squirms until I put him down to walk in the grass.  He has also discovered the great fun in running from Mommy and Daddy when he his putting a forbidden object in his mouth.  Oh yes, that is GREAT fun, and ends in loud giggles.
     For some time now, Keltan has loved to tear down blocks as I build them.  A few weeks ago, he discovered that, if he replaces the block, he can tear it down as well.  So started the building phase.  We're still working on it, but he likes to put blocks together, only to tear them down immediately.  This has also phased into attempting to put lids on bottles, and basically anything on anything.
     Which leads to the toilet....
If it can be carried, it needs to be in the toilet.  That is Keltan's creed.
     Our little guy has been fighting an ear infection.  We thought he was just being fussy with his teeth and not sleeping well.  Turns out he had an ear infection.  We gave him the 10 day dose of antibiotics, and thought it was cleared.  It wasn't.  He just finished his second strain of antibiotics last night, and we hope we got it this time.  He goes in on Friday to see the doctor and find out.  He also successfully defeated Pink Eye.  It took eyedrops to fight that.  If you have ever tried to give a cat a bath, you understand what we went through to give him eyedrops.  Funny thing is, with the very last dose, he just let us put them in with no fight.  Figures...
     We traveled a couple weekends ago to Guthrie to see Grandma.  On the way home, we stopped in Oklahoma City to see Inga's Grandpa and his wife, Betty.  Since they are both in declining health, we were a little concerned with how Keltan would behave while we visited. Turns out we needn't have worried.  I took his little Spider Man ball in with us, and he had a great time showing off with that.  He chased it around the living room, and then started throwing it into the small trash basket, which thankfully was empty.  When Betty sat down, he decided to play ball with her.  This brought out a side of her I hadn't seen before.  She had a great time with him.  So, he entertained us all for a while.
     We took him to swimming lessons at the city pool last month.  The lessons were only 2 weeks, and consisted of nothing more than acclimating them to the pool.  He really enjoyed it, as did his mommy and daddy.  On the last day of class, I took him down the big slide.  This slide is a really nice one, for kids.  It empties into about 3 feet of water, and has twists and turns in it.  Well, it turns out that big boys don't go down it so well.  I had to push us most of the way.  It was my plan to stand up at the end, and not get the little guy's head under water.  As we were going down, I was thinking that would be a very easy task.  HAHA!  At the very end, it suddenly decided that I needed to MOVE!  We got jetted out, and, as I was caught by surprise, My bum ended up on the bottom of the pool, and Keltan ended up with a face full of water!  He only gulped in a couple gallons, however, and survived fine.  I didn't take him down it again.
     It is incredible to watch his little personality grow, though frustrating at times when he attempts to exert his will in a situation.  This makes you sit back and think about how to best handle some things, and I do a lot of figuring out a better solution than the one I presented.  There is, for sure, a learning curve.  I hope the things I mess up on won't scar him for life.
    
For pictures and video, visit http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffrey.n.dickson

Closer....

I had to do a little work in the backyard today, so I asked Inga to bring Keltan outside with us. She was sitting on the ground with him, and I soon joined them when my work was done. He did the usual - using Mommy and Daddy as human jungle gyms, pulling grass, and laughing at the dogs as they wrestled$. Then it happened. He was sitting in the grass by himself, and I guess he decided he didn't want to sit anymore, so he tried to stand. BOOM! On the tush he fell. Undeterred, he attempted it again. With a little shakiness and wavering - SUCCESS! He stood totally by himself for the first time. He stood for a good 10 seconds before he fell on his bum again. But, this was the first time he had stood totally on his own.
But then another thing happened. He was holding onto my hands, and I was sitting about 4' from Inga. He started walking towards her, holding onto my hands, the he let go and took about 3 steps alone to finish the journey! That's right - his first steps!

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Walking?

Yeah, not quite!  He has been crawling like crazy for a while.  Lately he is doing what I refer to as the "gorilla crawl", hiking his rump in the air and crawling on his feet instead of his knees.  Now, he is standing quite well on his own, for about 3-6 seconds at a time.  He walks pretty good while holding onto our hands.  In my opinion, he needs to slow down!

Toilet

Keltan was mostly dressed for church. Mommy was figuring out the clothes, Daddy was in the dining room. Keltan was crawling around. I got up to start getting ready for church, when I hear water splashing. There stood Keltan in the hall bathroom, hands in the toilet bowl just splashing away.
This was our first toilet splashing incident, one of many to come from what I hear. I guess we need to be vigilant about closing doors and lids!

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1 year

Friday, May 22. 2009. I remember it clearly. The times are not 100% accurate, but I can recall within an hour the timeframe of that day.
11:30 AM. Just started on some dessert pizza at Mr Gaddy's in Frisco, Texas. Had a pretty good size job going on the roof of the Sports Authority just across Preston Road. I got a text from my brother Craig - can you talk?
I looked at my helper Randy and made the comment that this is bad news, as Craig seldom initiates an opportunity to chat on the phone. I stepped out of the noisy dining room and called Craig. The message was that Dad had taken a turn for the worse, and we needed to make our way to Guthrie.
I cut our dessert short, and took Randy back to the job. I left him there, with all my tools still on the roof. I called my boss, told him I was leaving and let him figure it out from there.
I never knew the cumbersome service van could handle so well. I threw out the company policy of driving courteous and within the speed limit. I had to get home and get Inga so we could get to Dad's.
12:30 PM. I was just East of Forney. Craig called.
12:45 PM. I walked in the back door of our house. Inga, 7 months pregnant, was there to greet me. I embraced her. She made the comment that my heart was racing. I delivered the worst news I have ever given anyone. Dad had died.
At that moment, while I was still shocked and sad, I fell deeper in love with my wife. To see the way her heart was broken and how she wept at the news was, incredibly, a great comfort to me. Holding my pregnant wife while she wept and I could only stare into nothingness is a moment I will never forget. Our world was shattered.
We held a great level of excitement to see Dad with his grandson. We imagined all the laughs that each other would get from the other. And we realized we would never see that dream fulfilled.
As I have thought about this upcoming day, I have tried to compose some way to put my thoughts and feelings into a written form. How do you write of the sorrow? How do you write of the disappointment? How do you write of the loneliness? How do you describe your world crashing down? How do you describe the mixture of immediate sorrow and the impending joy soon to follow? I cannot. There are no words I know to describe how I am filled with joy as I watch my son, yet I feel a twinge of sorrow that my parents will never know him. I am saddened that he will know his grandaddy only through stories and pictures.
There is no doubt this has not been an easy year without Dad.  I miss our conversations on my drive home.  I miss the opportunity to call him and share the newest goofy thing his grandson has done.  I wish I could talk to him and find out more about my babyhood.  But, as I struggle with the emotional, physical, and spiritual aspects of losing Dad, I also realize how extremely blessed we were to have such a wonderful role model for a parent.  I look back on how he was always capable and willing to admit he did something wrong.  I admire the fact that he never backed down from hard work, yet he had time to play with and teach Craig and me.  I am extremely thankful for the short conversation we had after hi s heart attack when I was able to look him in the eye and honestly say that there was no unresolved issues between us.  Dad taught us how a man should be strong, yet not afraid to show affection to his family.  
There are 3 items, however, that I will always be incredibly thankful for.  The first is that Dad patterned how we should be as Christians, and taught us the importance of having Christ in our lives.  He taught us how to pray, and why.  By being the attentive and loving father he was, he was able to demonstrate the way that God loves us, His children.  
The next 2 are contained in a repeat of an early post, from July 6, 2009.  It never hurts to recycle.  On July 6, 2009, I wrote:

I think every man in the world wants to leave a legacy to his children. The question is - what kind of legacy will we leave? In a church bulletin recently, there was a quotation about what we leave our children, and the best thing we can leave is a good name. Dad left us that good name, and now my son can carry on that name with no shame. He can proudly say to people that knew Dad "My name is Stanley Keltan Blaine Dickson, grandson of Stanley Elbert Dickson" and never have to hang his head or want to hide. Thank you, Dad, for that legacy for Keltan. It is truly the best gift any grandparent can give.

Dad also left another legacy, perhaps without realizing what he was doing at the time. Inga and I were so deeply in debt that it was affecting our marriage. He introduced us to the The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey, and our world changed. We can now say we have changed our family tree. We paid off our debts and put our marriage back on track. Now we have a beautiful result. God truly does reward those that follow His will. We can now pass this way of living down to Keltan, and hopefully one day he will pass it down to his children. May he nor any of his descendants be plagued by the curse of crushing debt! Again, thank you Dad.

Dad, on the 1 year anniversary of your passing into Eternal Life, we say a prayer of thanksgiving for your life, and we continue to grieve at your absence.  We love you, Dad.

Messy mouth

The result of eating ice cream from a cone.

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Ice cream!

Keltan loves ice cream! This is actually some no-fat yogurt, but close enough to ice cream.

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YUM

Keltan is enjoying all the tough bread heels we have encountered on our trip.
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Mobile

Keltan is officially crawling now. No more scooting or sliding. He is 100% mobile now!
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At Grammy's

Keltan made it to Grammy's in Spring Lake, New Jersey today - finally! He is on full show-out mode now.

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Keltan On a Plane

First off, Keltan is better. He has (had) the croup, and still coughs some, but is better
Today was Keltan's first plane ride. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I haven't been too kind in my thoughts of babies on planes, so I figured I had it coming! I imagined 4 hours of nonstop screaming. I imagined angry passengers. I could see the pilot pulling over and pushing us out onto a cloud to wait for the next plane through. I could see the carry-on luggage pummeling us as he annoyed them with his incessant wails.
But nothing of the sort happened. He slept for the leg to Houston, then continued to sleep into the Philly flight. After waking, he drank a bottle, ate some food, then played. He got bored, but there were no issues. And we got the bulkhead seats!
.
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He's Sick

It was bound to happen. 8 days shy of 10 months, and Keltan hasn't been really sick yet. His teething has presented challenges to him and us, but no real sickness. Even the stomach virus Inga and I had bypassed him. This time around, however, he got it!
I have had a pretty bad cold for a week now, Inga picked it up 2 days ago, and Keltan came down with it last night. Needless to say, it has been a miserable time for him and us!
Rare for him, he hasn't been interested in eating solids. This is a very obvious sign that he isn't well. He normally gobbles down his food! He isn't even interested in a bottle! So, trying to make sure he gets plenty of nutrition and liquids could be a challenge if he continues.
Sleep was a precious and rare commodity last night. I stayed with him in the recliner till about 1, then Inga took over. Of course, I still couldn't sleep because he was crying so much - another rare thing (he is not a fussy baby). I did get up once and help calm him down, I shut the ac vent above the sofa so it wouldn't blow on him, and he slept decently. Inga was forced to stay home from work, and will be missing our Financial Peace University class tonight.
She called the pediatrician, and they recommended saline nasal mist, and let it sit in the nose for 30 minutes before suctioning. That seemed to help a lot, and he has been having a better afternoon.
Our first bout with a sick baby has been tiring. The part that is the worst, however, is the helpless feeling. We know he hurts, but there isn't much we can do other than love him and try to keep him from making it worse by crying. My mind and heart has been at home with him and Inga all day. I think we will make it through this pretty good though, and hopefully it will be over soon. I also hope we don't have this for another loooooooooooooong time!

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Coming home

Today, I got the most incredible welcome home. I worked late, and Keltan and Mommy were home already. When I came in, my hands were full of groceries, computer, and ice chest, so I had to go to the kitchen first to unload. Keltan was VERY unhappy that he had to wait. He started fussing and looking at me. I unloaded and went to him, and he just about jumped into my arms! Then he proceeded to give me a series of incredibly tight hugs! Wow! I could get used to that!

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Keltan playing with his farm animal magnets on the fridge.
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Twice as Fussy

The little man is cutting TWO teeth in the front.  Poor little guy has been extra fussy the past two or three days.  Lots of Orajel and Infants' Motrin.  Lots of patience for Mommy and Daddy!  

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Cheetoh mouth
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First Easter

Today was Keltan's first Easter.  Of course, he was (and is) super-cute.  There was an Easter egg hunt at the church between Bible class and service, so we let Keltan partake.  He was very gracious and did not hog all the eggs to himself.  Actually, he got a little candy for Mommy and Daddy, but that is just an added bonus, right?  :-)

There are a couple of videos of him in his crib "exercising" at my Picasa Web Album page.  Just click on the title to this blog, and it will take you there.  Look in the 2010-4-4 folder (or just click on the date here in this text).  

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Keltan was helping me mow.
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I was out mowing yesterday, and Keltan wanted to watch.

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And he walks

Keltan took some steps tonight.  Really - no joke!  I would post the video here, but apparently blogspot doesn't have the video capability anymore, so just click on the title and it will take you to Picasa webalbums.  Click on the 2010-3-21 folder.  
He stood behind his walker and, even though he had no control over where it went, he followed it and managed to move completely across the room!  It is looking more and more like he just might skip crawling and go for the walking!

First day of spring

Keltan's first ever first day of spring was cold (40 degrees and worked on down to 33). That night it started to snow. This morning, we woke up to this. It's about 3" on the ground.

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Easter PIctures

Keltan had some pictures taken with the Easter Bunny yesterday (Friday).  As always, he is absolutely adorable in them.  Click on the title of this blog entry, or, in the case it doesn't work, follow this link to see them all.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffrey.n.dickson

Keltan has now figured out how to stand up by way of pulling up on the crib sides. Guess what Daddy gets to do tonight? You got it - lower the mattress! He is growing up too fast.
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Keltan signed his first ever autograph - a birthday card for Grandma! The way I see it, hopefully she should keep it for many years. It will turn out to be so valuable she will be able to retire and travel the world!
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Christmas in March for Keltan!
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Daddy pushing Keltan on the swing

Swinging Keltan

Keltan got a swing from Greg and Shannon Klaus, Craig's brother and sister in law, before he was born. It needed new ropes on it, so today (3/10/10), I got it all done and put him in it.

This was something I had been anticipating greatly for several weeks now, but it has not been very good weather to get him out there. Saturday, I went to Home Depot and bought everything and started on it, but I had to go on a service call (I was on-call for work), and did not get to finish it. Sunday and Monday it rained, and Tuesday we had Financial Peace University, so today was the first day I had to finish it. All day, I kept thinking about how great it was going to be, and I could picture his big grin as we would push him in it. Well, he did not disappoint! As you an see from the photos, he had a HUGE smile, and he laughed crazily as we swung. We had a phenomenal time with him! It could not have been more perfect!

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So, after he got tired of standing, he sat down and started playing with the tags. He LOVES tags!
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Today, I stood keltan up by his car. He grabbed onto the back of it, and was able to hold himself up without my help. He thinks it is the coolest thing! He is growing up too fast!

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Breakfast of Champions!

Keltan has been feeding himself some. Of course, most of it ends up on the floor for our little 4-legged vacuums to pick up, but he does ok. For sure, it is fun to watch!

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Breakfast!
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A little pre-church snack
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Fun with the magazine.

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More waiting on mommy in the van...

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We were waiting for mommy to shop in Old Navy, so Keltan wanted to read a magazine.
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Keltan LOVES pancakes. But, while we wait for them to be served at IHOP, he dines on an appetizer of animal crackers.

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Re: VID 00005-20100225-2030

my sweet buns --- On Fri, 2/26/10, Jeffrey N Dickson <jeffrey.n.dickson@gmail.com> wrote: From: Jeffrey N Dickson <jeffrey.n.dickson@gmail.com> Subject: VID 00005-20100225-2030 To: "Craig Dickson" <s.craig.dickson@gmail.com>, "Kim Dickson" <kim_dickson@cox.net>, "Jessica Dickson" <aegirl16@cox.net>, "Inga Dickson" <ingabug_01@yahoo.com>, "Rosemary Nixon" <missbruin@aol.com>, "Keltan blog" <jeffrey.n.dickson.keltan@blogger.com>, "Aunt Gloria Martens" <gloriamartens@aol.com>, "Karen Dickson" <karenok1953@yahoo.com> Date: Friday, February 26, 2010, 2:31 AM Really good moonshot! Jeffrey N Dickson 214-934-0367

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Really good moonshot!

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You have been MOONED!
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