Helping Mommy

Mommy was looking for a certain can of something, and pulled out every can in the cupboard.  Keltan was helping to organize them.

Of course, we are talking about a 2-1/2 year old's attention span here:

Christmas Cookies

Mommy and Keltan were making Christmas Cookies (and Keltan was enjoying himself a bit too much!).

The finished product!

Big Ole Sucker

The results of some serious big-as-yo-face-all-day sucker enjoyment!

It is interesting how the things we said and/or did as a child will come out in our own children.  One of Dad's favorite memories from my childhood was when we would "rastle" and I would charge at him, whereupon he would falk over and I would loudly proclaim, "I knocked you down!". Without any prompting, Keltan does the same thing.  He loves to knock Daddy down,  (And anyone else that is willing to play along) and then excitedly holler out that he has knocked you down.

One of the things we do that we both enjoy (Keltan and Daddy) is to go to Braum's for ice cream.  He loves the ice cream (ok, I admit I might like it, too), and I live how the people in there - both customers and workers - make comments about him and flirt with him.  So, the other day I decided to take him to Whataburger for breakfast.  Whataburger has quite the senior citizen crowd, so I was looking forward to all the hoopla they would make over my awesome son.  Well, aside from the lady at the register, not one single person made a comment or even winked at him!  I was highly insulted, and have decided I am not at all in favor of the Whataburger crowd.  In fact, I have decided I am so not impressed with their patronage, I will no longer bestow my gift of money upon their establishment, at least not until they get some new regulars.  The nerve of those folk!

Christmas!

Christmas Eve, we told Keltan he needed to stay nite nite bed so Santa could bring him presents.  Well, he got up one time, but Mommy put him back in bed, and he stayed there until 7:15 AM!  Of course, it was then time to see what Santa brought him, and he was not about to let us sleep in any longer!  Daddy stalled, quite purposefully antagonizing the little guy, but eventually his "come on, Daddy" and "hurry Daddy" cries of agony worked, and we went to see what he got.
We had also told him if he didn't stay in bed, the Grinch would come take everything away.  Turns out, he was so good that the Grinch actually left him a present under the tree!  He opened gifts with great gusto, and was excited about them all, even the jacket he got!  He had to try it on, and, with his feet snugly in his warm, bright red Elmo Monster slippers, he was ready to step out on the front porch to try out his new jacket.  Daddy stepped out with him, but with only a light weight hoodie sweatshirt on, I was quite ready to go back inside!  Keltan, however, was not ready, and stepped between the door and me, and said "no no, Daddy.  Stay out here!". So, of course, I stayed and chilled out a little while longer.  Finally, his coat must have proven to be quite warm, and he started taking it off.  At that point, I was able to convince him it was time to go back inside where the heat had it a comfortable temperature. 
He enjoyed his presents, and was ready to play with his new Hot Wheels and the Hot Wheels Trick Tracks he got, when we told him there was a stocking hidden behind the chair.  It was at that moment that nothing else mattered as he found the Big-As-Yo-Face-All-Day-Sugar-Coma-inducing sucker!  He didn't care about the coat.  The Hot Wheels were yesterday's news.  The train set?  Bah...it all paled compared to the dentist's dreamsicle!  And so he commenced to licking the sucker while we opened our gifts to each other.  After a few minutes, we decided the little guy had consumed enough sugar and left enough food dye on his face, and we pried the delightfully sugary treat from him, and washed him up.  And, what do you know?  He was ready to play with his toys! 
We played with his cars for a bit, then we all got dressed and went to Ihop for breakfast.  He picked out a smiley face pancake with strawberries, bananas, and whipped cream, and requested, and received, chocolate milk.  He entertaoned the server, and enjoyed looking at people through the glass (his words, not mine). 
When we got back home, we took all his cars and tracks upstairs.  He played with them for a looong time, and eventually came back downstairs, looked at the tree, and said,"me want open more presents.". "well, there are no more, Bugs", I told him.  "Get me more presents" was his reply. 
I got him to go with me to his room, where we laid out his new train rug and train quilt.  Of course, I couldn't help but crawl under the quilt, and before long, I awoke to being measured with his new tape measure from his contractor's tool kit!  Not sure what the measurements were, because before he told me, he had his hammer and was wanting to go upstairs where he could bang bang. 
Merry Christmas to you!  I hope your day has been at least half as enjoyable as ours!

LIGHTS!

     Keltan is crazy about Christmas lights (actually, he is crazy about lights)!  Everywhere we go, he talks about "look at that light!", so, tonight we loaded him and the dogs in the Jeep and went looking at Christmas lights around town.  Normally, I would not have been too impressed with Terrell's array of lights, but with a very enthusiastic 2-1/2 year old in the back seat, every display of lights looked like the top tier of professionals hung them.  Santa was saying HI, Mickey and Minnie Mouse were around, the penguins were singing, snowmens were everywhere, and the blue lights were beautiful!  Every corner brought more lights and more excited chatter from the back seat.  Every poorly hung rope light display was a cool new invention, exciting the senses beyond containment.  We ended up driving down many more streets than I had originally planned, all just to hear the wonderment of a kid who has come to notice the lights of this Christmas season for the first time in his life.
     In other news, Keltan had a small surgery yesterday to repair a hernia.  We arrived at the hospital at 6 AM, and were home by 10 AM.  He was sleepy, but otherwise no problems.  Towards the end of the night, however, he started walking like an old man because he was sore.  At one point, he was laid back in a chair, and when I walked back into the room, he was saying, "help me, help me."  I asked him what he needed help with, and he told me he couldn't get up.  Guess his little ab muscles were sore.  On the lighter side, however, he was (is) fascinated with his black belly button (the doctor made an incision in his button to put his scope into).  He was thrilled to show his little buddies Trey and Gage this morning when I took him to Mrs Margie's!  He is doing very well today, and should recover quite nicely.
    We are looking forward to Christmas this year!  He gets so excited about things, and I can only imagine how excited he will be to have all those gifts to open!

    Tonight, I taught Keltan how to do a headlock maneuver.  What a great time he had putting Daddy into a headlock and knocking him down!  It is so much fun to "rastle" with him - he certainly loves the rough housing!  It has pretty much become a routine when I get home in the evenings for us to go to his room where he proceeds to whoop upon poor ole Daddy.  Which brings back awesome memories of wrestling with Dad when Craig and I were little and I enjoyed "knocking Daddy down."  In fact, that was one of Dad's favorite things to remind me of, and Keltan now says it the exact same way I did when I was little.  Funny, since I never once said those words to Keltan.
    He also has discovered the fun of helping Mommy cook.  He loves putting things in order or straight lines, and the other day she was putting pears into a breakfast dish.  He was having a great time putting them in, and placing them in just the right spot.  Of course, he snuck a few bites of the yummy crust every so often...I thoroughly enjoy watching him work with Mommy.  This, too, brings back incredible memories of my childhood where I enjoyed doing things with Mom.
    Another one of his favorite songs is "My Hope is Built on Nothing Less".  It was rather surprising that he started liking that tune, as it is not particularly a kids' song, but it is ok with us.
    In the not-so-fun category, Keltan has an appointment Tuesday morning (December 6) to have his hernia repaired.  It is supposed to be a quick in-n-out procedure, but we are still nervous.  Again, I am always so terrified when it comes to someone being "put under."  But, hopefully everything will be ok, and this problem will be solved.
    To leave with high spirits - Keltan likes to blame things on trains.  (Used to be tractor)  Ask him how he got hurt, and he will tell you "train knock my off railroad track."  "Train knock Mommy off railroad track", and on and on it goes.  The other night, he had me talk to the train because it kept knocking things off the railroad track.  So, I had to call it on my phone and discuss the issue.  Hopefully I cleared things up and the train will settle down...

Add to the Old MacDonald song...."on his farm he had a COMPUTER!  With a look look here, and a look look there..."

Jeff Dickson

Singing and Peers

    Keltan loves to go around the house singing.  This is rather funny, however, since he will not sing in Sunday school or Bible Hour at church.  He soaks the songs up, though, and blesses us with them here at home.  His favorite at this point is The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock, or, as he calls it, The Wise Man.  He also loves Do Lord, and God Our Father.  With help, he loves to sing about the Little Boy Named David.  The Alphabet Song is a song you will hear multiple times if you were to hang about the house for any time at all, and he can sing the entire alphabet without messing up - been doing this for quite some time now.  In fact, at times I will attempt to mess him up, but he just keeps on going like nothing happened.
    He also loves to sing Zacheus was a Wee Little Man.  This morning (Sunday), we skipped church due to Keltan and Daddy both being less than 100% healthwise.  So, as I was hanging out with him, he started singing Zacheus.  I was playing with him, asking him questions about the song - what was Zacheus? (wee little man), he climbed in a what? (sycamore tree).  Why? (Cause he want to see Lord).  And on and on, until we got to the part of Jesus saying he wanted Zacheus to come down.  Why?  (Because me love you).  Enough said, enough said...
    And then there is Old MacDonald Had a Farm.  Keltan and I will often sing this song, and I ask him what was on the farm.  We go through the chickens, cows, dogs, skunks, porcupines, etc, and at times get to Mommy, Daddy, Keltan, Raleigh, Asher being on the farm.  Friday, he was singing the song himself.  He did a couple animals.  Then he sang, "Old MacDonald had a farm, EIEIO.  And on this farm he had a uh uh uh uh um uh.....JAMMIES! EIEIEO With a *pause* wear wear here and a wear wear there..."

PEER INFLUENCE

   

 His little daycare buddies have taught him "Hook 'em Horns", along with the finger signs that go with it.  Now, I despise the Longhorns, being a devout OSU/LSU fan.  Grampy despises the Longhorns even more than do I.  So, when he comes up in the house making the signs and saying "Go Longhorns," my head starts to spin and projectile comes forth, as if he his conjuring up evil spirits (which I firmly believe he is).  I have been trying to work this out, and get him to understand that saying "Longhorns" is the same as saying despicable four-letter words, but that doesn't seem to register with him.  So, I tried making him understand that saying "Go Longhorns" makes Grampy sad and makes him cry.  I try to get him to do the "hook the horns" sign, where the Longhorn hand gesture is turned upside down.  I tell him that Longhorns up makes Grampy sad, Longhorns down makes Grampy smile.  You know what?  It doesn't matter.  His little buddies have him saying it and doing it, so the best I can hope for is to keep influencing him in the good ways of Pokes and Tigers, and make sure he hates Burnt Orange as he grows up.  Peer influence.....don't underestimate it!

Wanna fix it

Jumping logs

Making Breakfast

Granddaddy would be proud.  "watch this!" was one of his favorite lines, and his grandson has no lack of affinity for the phrase.

Jeff Dickson

Keltan's favorite song at this time is "the wise man." The wise man built his house upon the rock....
He loves to hear the story of david and goliath.  And for some reason he has changed the story so that david knocked goliath off the railroad tracks.  I am not certain that part is in the King James version, but I am still looking.  

Jeff Dickson

Everything tastes like bubble gum

Jeff Dickson

Driving down the road.  Me: "look, keltan!  There's a tractor!"  Keltan: "sure enough!"

trick or treat practice

Wink

Watch "Wink" on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si0K3ilzEgQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Jeff Dickson

Jeff Dickson

Keltan in Bible Hour, the chikdren's church service.

Jeff Dickson

As you most likely know, the great innovator Steve Jobs died this week.  This is a great loss to the tech world, and us Mac lovers are sad to see him go.  He was a great man and meant a lot to his company and the tech world.
But I read something tonight that made me stop and think.  He was a very private man - he didn't do much talking about himself or his family - but he had a biographer.  The reported reason?  So that his kids could know him, and understand why he "wasn't there for them". This made me stop and look at my wife and my wonderful son sleeping in the recliner next to me.  I keep thinking of the Sanctus Real sing "Lead Me", and I think about how many things pull at me on a daily basis, trying to take my focus off my family.  Work, education, the yard and jome remodeling, the job, the stress of life and decisions to make, and selfishness.  I think about Mr Jobs.  He meant so much to so many, yet he apparently forsook the one thing that really mattered.  
In the article I read, when he was asked if he was happy he had children, he stated it was 10,000 times better than anything he ever did.  That, my friend, sent a real shockwave through me.  Am I doing anything greater than Steve Jobs did in terms of changing technology and creating great companies?  No.  But, according to him, I am doing something greater than Pixar and Apple.  I am enjoying my time with my son, and playing an active role in his life.

"Lead Me", by Sanctus Real:
I look around and see my wonderful life Almost perfect from the outside In picture frames, I see my beautiful wife Always smiling, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear her saying

Lead me with strong hands Stand up when I can't Don't leave me hungry for love Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight That I'm still the love of your life I know we call this our home But I still feel alone

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes They're just children from the outside I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine They're independent, but on the inside

Oh, I can hear them saying

Lead me with strong hands Stand up when I can't Don't leave me hungry for love Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight That I'm still the love of your life I know we call this our home But I still feel alone

So Father, give me the strength To be everything I'm called to be Oh Father, show me the way To lead them

Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands To stand up when they can't Don't want to leave them hungry for love Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight And give them the best of my life So we can call this our home Lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me 'cause I can't do this alone

Jeff Dickson

Grammer

Our little Texan.  How many other nationalities do you know can make "there" a 2 syllable word?  "Mommy, Raleigh right 'thay-er".

Other "Keltanese" words: nake (snake), treeee (three), nooby nack (scooby snack), nack (snack), "no, my do it" (no, i do it), Teltan (Keltan), mypi face (smile face - don't know, but he has been saying this way for months now).



Jeff Dickson

Inga sent this picture to me today.  Apparently, Keltan is trying to learn his escape route from the backyard.  This could be interesting in the near future...
In other news, he counts to 30 pretty well, skipping 13 and 15, and calling 21 'twenty twelve'.  He has his ABC's down oat, save for 'L'.

Jeff Dickson

At the Carnival

This is an old picture, but we just recently found our camera with this one in there!  This was at a Terrell Heritage Jubilee carnival last year.  I thought Keltan would love to ride the horses.  Well, he didn't!  He cried the ENTIRE time we were on the ride!  I ended up giving my other tickets away to another family!

   Inga was gone last night (Thursday), so Keltan and I had a "boys' night out."  We went to Braum's, where he loudly told the young man at the counter, "Gween I'cweem," translated to mean "I want some lime sherbet."  Instead of them giving him the junior size, however, he got a full-bore scoop of green ice cream, and ate every bit of it!  At some point in the process, he crawled out of the bench, and onto the floor underneath the table.  I told him to get up, and as he was struggling to get up on the bench, I pulled him up.  That was not what he wanted, and he told me, "No, no, My want to do it!"  So, the next time he ended up down there, I let "my" do it all by himself.
   I did not want to put myself through the torture of him going and STAYING in bed without Mommy home, so I just let him sleep in my bed with me.  At about 9:15, we crawled in, and I turned on the last 12 minutes of "Coach."  As I was chuckling at the show, Keltan looked at me, with his covers tucked up under his chin, and his little fists holding it up there, said "People funny."  Yes, Keltan, they are...
   At 3:37 AM, I awoke to a loud "THUD" and then "WAAAAAAAAAAA"....Keltan had fallen off the bed.  Not sure how a kid that is barely 3' tall can manage to use enough of a king size mattress that he falls off, but he did!  I picked him up, and he promptly went back to sleep with no further issues.
   Inga and I are working on finding Keltan a brother.  We have decided to adopt through the state foster program.  We had our 2nd and 3rd home study finished Wednesday, and they will come out sometime in October to "certify" the house, and hopefully the home study stuff will be finished.  At that point, we will be waiting for Keltan's new brother.  Every night when we have Keltan say his prayers, we pray for Keltan's "new brufver."  Not sure he understands yet, but it is sure fun to hear him say brother!

  Mommy put Keltan to bed last night.  He was a little restless, and wouldn't go to sleep easily.  Finally, he gave in and went to sleepyville.  About 2 hours later, he was up.  Back to bed, up, back to bed, up.  Mommy took him in there the 3rd time and asked him, yet again, what was wrong.  Apparently, he was afraid the trolls would get Mommy.  (he is a huge fan of Three Bilky Goats Gruff). So, Mommy had him ask Jesus to not let the trls get her.  That seemed to satisfy his .little mjnd, and he slept until about 8:00 this morning.
  He has a toy that is a set of 3 ramps with 3 cars that race down the ramps.  He was setting it up this morning, and was saying, as he set the cars up, "wait for it, wait for it..."


Jeff Dickson

  I watched the presidential debate, aka the joint press conference, last night.  I was holding Keltan some of the time while he was eating his ice cream (loaded with Prevacid for his reflux).  Now, you may or may not know this, but I am about a big a Herman Cain fan as anuone can be, so I got Keltan to say "President Herman Cain.". Ahhhhh music to my ears.  :)
  Speaking of getting Keltan saying things...my father in law, bless his heart, is a Sooners fan.  Other than that, he is a really terrific guy.  But, I guess we all have our faults, and thaf is his.  Anyway, besides bleeding purple and gold (Geaux Tigers!), I am an Oklahoma State Cowboy, so,of course, I have taught my son 4 blessed words - Geaux Tigers and Go Pokes!  Talk about making a daddy proud!  So, last Saturday, Grampy and Nana were down, and I had to go on a call.  Grampy was watching some football game, and Keltan was playing on the floor.  Suddenly, he looks up, sees the game on, and proclaims, "go pokes!".  My poor father in law, I can only imagine, must have turned Sooner red upon hearing his grandson say that!  Good job, Keltan!  Go pokes, indeed!


Jeff Dickson

Oatmeal via car

Keltan ate his oatmeal with his cars.  This is the result.

Jeff Dickson

Beginning the update

  I have decided that, perhaps instead of one long update, it may be easier on both the writer and the reader if there is a series of short blog entries to bring the readers up to date.  Most people don't sit down to read a ling blog entry, and I also end up writing a lot of this on my phone.  As you may know, typing on a phone is not the easiest way to type, so shorter notes are just easier.  So, on to the updates...
The last major update left you, the reader, with finding out that Keltan was having nightmares.  That continued for a while, and we continued to have many sleepless nights.  We finally decided to try going through a rigid routine when putting him to bed, hoping that would help things out.  We set up a specific time to bathe him.  We set up a specific time to get his jammies on.  And then we made a routine of 1 book and 5 minutes of rocking.  After a few days of this, we got the bedtime thing under control.  We even skipped out on a couple of social gatherings because we wanted to fet over the hurdle.  It worked!  He has gotten to the point now to where he gets up maybe once during the night, but Mommy is able to put him back to bed rather easily, and he stays there until about 5:00 or 6:00 AM.  At that point, he comes to our bed hntil we get up, which we all enjoy.
  It is comical, however, to watch him come to our room that one time during the night.  We have, for those that may not know, an OLD house with creaky doors.  He will start to slowly open our door, creaking it mere fractions of an inch at a time.  He will finally open it just enough to slip in, whereupon he then has to make the big climb onto our bed.  The whole process may take about 5 minutes, with Daddy doing all he can to keep from laughing.
  Keltan is quite the talker these days.  He reoeats absolutely everything.  And I mean everything!  A few days ago, he was riding in the van with me, and started saying "people big dummies."  Thinking I heard wrong, I asked him to repeat.  "people big dummies.". It hit me at that point that one of my favorite driving phrases had been heard and remembered by my little parrot!  I explained, with very limited success, that even thougj Daddy said that, it wasn't nice and he should kot say it.  That seemed to work.  When I went to get him out of jis car seat, Keltan, being the little stinker he is, whispered "people big dummies".  
  Another funny story about Keltan talking and being a little mess is one of my favorites.  He likes to crawl under our tabke during supper to chase Asher, our little Sheltie dog.  We have put him stabding with his nose to the wall more than once over this matter, but he seems to forget this every night.  Well, one night, Mommy got up to get him to put him in the corner, since he had gone to the living room when he got out from under the table.  When she got to him, he took off running past me and through the kitchen, en route to the den.  As he went running past me, he hollered, with much glee, "she's chasing me!". Mommy came walking behind, more than a little frustrated (and Daddy's laughter was not helping that feeling).  As she got to the den, he again took off back through the kitchen, past me, and into the luving room.  As he ran by me, again he hollered with much joy, "she's chasing me!". Again, I could only laugh harder as Mommy came back in after him.  At that point, even Mommy had to start laughing.  Keltan still had to stand in the corner, but at least we all had a good laugh!
  One last note for now:  Keltan cintinues to receive shots for his fire ant allergy.  Apparently they are working.  We noticed what we believe was a fire ant bite on his finger one morning, but it looked like a normal fire ant bite.

Jeff Dickson

Update Coming Soon!

For all the ones that have followed this blog in the past, I apologize for leaving you hanging.  I pretty much forgot about this, what with Facebook being so easy to post pictures and short updates of the One and Only Keltan.  I am making a commitment to get back on here and post the updates of my little fella.  I am currently working on a huge blog entry to catch you up on everything that I can that has gone on in his little life, and I hope to have it up by this weekend.  Be looking for it!
The picture below was taken tonight (Wednesday, 9-21-11).  He was playing with his cardboard blocks - stacking them so that he can knock them down!  That stack was made entirely by him, with the exception of one block that Daddy put up there.  

Jeff Dickson

Jeff Dickson

Watch "May 27, 2011 5:35 PM" on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_CTMqd1teQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Keltan allergy update

We had bloodwork done on keltan to determine his allergy issue, and have been good he is basically highly allergic to fire ants.  I'm just glad it wasn't something that is abundant in Texas and easily controlled.  (insert rolling laughter here).  We are setting up a time to go in and talk about options.  Personally, I understand Minnesota is fire ant free...

Jeff Dickson

update on allergies

Keltan went to visit the allergist Tuesday morning.  We were hoping to have an allergy test done, but Inga had given him an antihistamine the night before, and he has to be free of those for a week before the tests.  So, he goes 2 weeks from then to have his test done.
Meanwhile, the doctor ( a very good man - he went to Oklahoma State University - GO POKES!) prescribed us an Epipen for any future reactions.  He did say that we need to stay on top of it, as it could become fatal.  Yeah, I love hearing that.  Ant bites in Texas are so rare, and all...
Anyway, he is doing ok right now, and Daddy is fighting fire ants like CRAZY!  DEATH TO ALL FIRE ANTS!

Update

Keltan slept well last night.  The rash is still present, but has receded a little bit more, and he is acting like his normal self today.  Inga talked to the pediatrician's office, and they recommended we take him to an allergist.  So, we now have an appointment on Tuesday morning to see if we can determine what course of action we need to take.  

Trip to ER...

What should have been an enjoyable, routine night was anything but on this Thursday night.  As of late, the routine is me playing basketball at the church, and Inga having a hen party bible study, and Keltan gets to play with Mrs Margie a little while longer.  Tonight, as we were about to ramp up a 2nd game of hoops, I turn to see Mommy bringing the Kman into the gym.  I thought it was a "Hello Daddy" thing, but quickly I discovered it wasn't.  The little guy was broken out head to toe in a rash, or maybe small hives.  The index finger on his right hand was swollen, and it was obvious something had either bitten or stung him there.  We decided to take him to an emergency room, and upon recommendations, used the new facility in Sunnyvale, just a few miles West of us.
We checked in about 7:15 or so, and the nurse took Keltan's vitals.  Nothing out of the ordinary there.  Up to this point, he had been acting a little lethargic.  As we waited, that began to wear off.  Pretty soon, we were up and down the hall, asking for Grandpa (Inga's grandpa is in the hospital in OKC, and he had been there to see him).  Soon after, we were outside looking at flowers and stars and airplanes and walking around naming all the various vehicles in the parking lot.  Time moved on, and we didn't.
Finally, as Inga and Keltan were on a journey looking for Grandpa, the girl across from me in waiting room said she had been there since 6 PM, and it was now 8:30 PM.  Not good...then, after they returned, Keltan and I went outside again.  It was then I observed an ambulance coming in, and I knew our wait just got longer.  His rash was receding, and he was acting normal, so we made the decision to leave about 9 PM.  He is now in bed, and seemingly fine.  We will call the pediatrician in the morning to see if he needs to go see her.
Emergency rooms - so much fun!

April 24, 2011 6:46 PM

Well, in one sudden adjustment, Keltan is out of his crib and into a "big boy bed."  After he made his grand escape from the crib, I made it into a daybed, and we put a twin mattress on the floor in his room.  I tried to put him down to sleep in his newly remodeled crib, but he wanted nothing to do with that.  Instead, he likes to sleep in the twin bed.  Si, that is where we put him.
Last night was a successful night, nightmare-wise.  He got up about 2 hours after going to bed, and Inga brought him to me in the reclined, where we both slept for a bit.  I took him to his room, and he slept ALL NIGHT in his own bed!  This is the first time since his surgery, and we were so thankful.  Maybe it had to do with the new prayer I helped him say where we asked Jesus to help him not be scared.  
He is so much a daddy's boy lately.  If I am around, he will hardly let Inga do anything with him.  He just refuses and wants Daddy to do it.  Of course, Daddy eats this up, while poor Mommy has to wait for Daddy to be at work for some Keltan time.  I keep telling her it will change soon...
Tonight, while taking a bath, he kept pointing at things and asking "what this."  I had fun explaining the difference between a towel (we dry with it), and a wash cloth (we scrubby scrub with it).  And he discovered all the screws that hold the bathroom together, and showed me every one of them.  
The little guy is an absolute pleasure to be a daddy to, and I hope and pray it gets even better.  

Jeff Dickson

April 17, 2011 12:15 PM

Night Fears

Saturday night, we put Keltan in bed, and he was sleeping soundly.  About 2 hours later, he woke up and started crying.  We let him go for a while, thinking it was the normal little "I want to be around Mommy and Daddy" cry, but finally I looked at his monitor, and noticed that his feet were no longer touching the mattress!  I hurried into his room, only to find him laying across the top of his crib, wanting to make the drop to the floor, but rather nervous about doing so.  By the way, this was the 2nd trip into his room.  Mommy had gone in to sooth him a few minutes earlier, and he was asleep when she left the room.  
Well, I picked him up, and he was shaking, and had a wild look in his eyes.  I knew it wasn't the normal night time upset, so, after I got him calmed down, I sat him on the changing table to talk to him.  I asked him to tell me what was wrong, and he said "bug, bug."  I asked where the bug was, and he pointed to the ceiling.  I looked on the ceiling with him, and showed there was no bug there.  He kept saying "shoo, bug", and hitting his leg like he was trying to squash a bug.  Normally, he would laugh when he did the "shoo bug" thing, but this time there was no laughter.  Apparently, the kid had "seen" a big bug on the ceiling that he was afraid of.  After we talked and I got him calmed down, I attempted to put him back in his crib, but he kept trying to climb out.  Finally, exhausted and nothing else to do, I relented and took him to our room.
Sunday night:
At bath time, I decided to try something I had read on the internet.  I turned out the bathroom lights, and got a flashlight.  At first, he was apprehensive, but when he saw how cool his various toys looked sitting on top of the light glowing, he started having a good time.  We put all his toys on top of the light, and saw which on glowed and which did not.  It was my hope that, by doing this, I could help him realize the dark could be fun.  When I put him in bed, I also left his door open and turned on the closet light to increase the light in the room.
2 hours after putting him in bed, he woke up - screaming.  Inga went to check on him, and he was kneeling in the back of his crib, hiding his face against the wall.  When she picked him up, he was again shaking.  She had to finish her work, so I took him, and rocked him and talked to him about what was going on, and how Daddy wouldn't let anything hurt him, and how Jesus would take care of him, but I don't think he was too much listening to that.  There was surely a bug on his ceiling, and it wasn't going away.  My bum got tired of sitting in his rocking chair, so I finally took him and laid him on our bed while we were getting ready for bed.  I then took him in to his crib, and laid him down.  Crisis averted!
Until 2:39 AM.
I woke up and heard him making noise.  As I listened for him to cry, I heard a little "pitter patter, pitter patter", then our door flew open, and there was a little noggin running around the bed!  He spent the rest of the night with us, and Daddy gets to convert his crib to a toddler bed tonight.  Oh, and we are in the market for a twin bed with storage underneath so that we can sleep in his room with him when he has his night terror episodes.


In other news, Uncle Craig was down this weekend.  Keltan had a blast with him!  At mealtime, I allowed Uncle Craig to take my spot next to Keltan in order for him to have the FULL experience!  By full experience, I mean the food from Keltan's plate being systematically transferred to Uncle Craig's plate, the hands being covered in cheese and ketchup being wiped down his arm, and the climbing up behind in the chair to put his ketchup-covered arms around him.  Needless to say, you wear short sleeves when sitting next to Keltan!

Carnival!

Today was the grand day!  The Terrell Heritage Jubilee was in town, with all the smells of BBQ, the horrible traffic, the cotton candy, and the carnival rides!  And, for the first time in the 6 years we have lived in Terrell, we were, simultaneously, (1) home, (2) doing nothing!  So, we decided to roll down there and check it out.  I was going for the BBQ, and I wanted to take Keltan on a ride or two.

Well, we walked right up through the middle of the BBQ pit, with all the wonderful smokey smells.  I was all mouth-watering and slobbering everywhere, only to find out they don't sell the BBQ there - they only cook it for the contest.  Bummer.  But, wait...what is that I hear?  A man on the P.A. system announcing they need more BBQ judges?  Ah, I am an expert on eating BBQ, so I headed that way.  When I arrived, I found out that I did not have time - Craig was coming to town, and I had to pick him up at 3 in Dallas, and the actual ribs and brisket judging wouldn't start until 1:30.  So, I was once again bummed, and settled for helping the Boy Scouts with their fundraising by eating their catfish plate.  Not bad, could have used some more spice - cayenne pepper, creole seasoning, something like that would have been grand - but, for a $5.00 catfish plate, I will drown it in ketchup and enjoy!

So, you say, what does this have to do with Keltan?  Surely he is somewhere in all this, since this is his blog...well, glad you asked...

You see, I was excited about taking Keltan to the carnival.  He is crazy about slides and swings, loves animals, and just generally loves having fun.  What better place to have a great time than some kiddy carnival rides?  I couldn't wait to get him to the carousel, with all the horses, giraffes, monkeys....so I bought us both tickets, because the sign said adults riding with their children must have tickets.  Turns out I didn't need one, but, oh well.  I could just use that extra one when Keltan had so much fun he couldn't stand to leave the ride.  

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Keltan cried the whole ride.  He refused to sit on the horse once it started going up and down.  He clung to me like a tick on a fat hound.  He screamed for Mommy.  Yes, my dear friends, Daddy was disappointed to find that his son didn't want to be on the carnival rides.  I think I felt my heart fall into my shoe at some point.  At least I wasn't alone - as we were leaving, another couple was having the same experience.  Misery loves company, so I mentioned to the mother that our son did the same thing.  I like to think I made her feel better....

I gave the other ticket to a family that had a son that looked like he couldn't wait to get to the rides.  Maybe next year...

Surgery News

Ah, the much anticipated surgery day!  Here is the story of how it went:
Keltan could not have anything to eat past 1:30 AM, and nothing but clear liquids until 4:30 AM, nothing at all after that.  So, we made sure he got plenty to eat before bed - banana, strawberries, orange, and, of course, thin mints.  At 1:15, we woke him up, and stuffed him full of formula.  Just in case you wonder about the sanity of doing that, we thought it best to get his tummy full, since he wants his milk daily at 5:30 AM.  Since his surgery wasn't until 8, we figured that would be a long time to keep him otherwise occupied.  Our ploy worked - he only asked for crackers once.  Before we left the house, Inga and I said a prayer for our nerves.  I, especially, am very skeptical and paranoid about anesthesia, particularly when it is my little man involved!
We arrived at Medical City Children's at straight up 6 AM.  He was all kinds of excited by the lights on the outside of the building - purple, orange, and blue.  When we walked in, and he saw all the butterflies hanging around from the ceiling, he was impressed.  The large blue ant on the front desk was awesome!  But nothing compared to the clouds on the walls upstairs!  Oh, those clouds were incredible!  And the blue, purple, red, green, and orange lights on the ceiling just made it that much better!  Clouds everywhere!
After we checked in, we had to go back to get weighed, measured, and look at the fish.  Wait, no, not look at fish...yes, look at fish.  After we finished looking at the fish, we moved to the holding pen.  In there, the nurse wanted to put a monitor on his finger to measure his vitals.  At first he was reluctant, but when she produced Thomas the Train stickers, well, that convinced my little Keltan that she was alright. So, he got a "sticker", AKA monitor, on his finger.  Now, this monitor had a glowing red light on it, and that was a pretty cool deal!  Fortunately, the nurse was observant enough to realize that a blood pressure cuff on this little fellow was not going to be conducive to a calm about the room, and she opted out of it. Good to see common sense still exists!
While Mommy finished up with all the details, I took Keltan to the play area.  We got to see the fish again, but, even more importantly, we had all kinds of toys to play with.  Then, to top it off, in walked little "Peanut", AKA Grant, a 15 month old that was there for the same procedure.  Turns out Peanut's Mom and Dad were Dave Ramsey Kool-Aid drinkers as well, and Keltan thought Peanut was pretty cool!  After Peanut had to go (he was first in line), it was just Keltan, Mommy, and Daddy in the play area again.  After a bit, he grew tired of the toys and wanted to see the clouds again.  So, I took him out to the lobby so he could look at the clouds.  And the lights.  And the zebra.  And the pig.  And the tree.  I would ask if he wanted to go back to see Mommy, and he would reply "no no no Mommy."  Boy, those clouds were amazing!
Anyway, after quite a spell of looking at the clouds, I took him back to the play area where Mommy was, and there was Andrew, a 2 year old boy that was there for another procedure!  Keltan had someone else to play with!  Until the nurse came to get Keltan.  This is the point where Daddy's heart went to his throat - it was serious time now.  We went to the holding pen, got his bed, and we went to the 3rd floor.  There, we walked into the 2nd holding pen.  They asked the same questions for the 6th time, and we gave the same answers for the 6th time (next time, I will have all the answers on an index card and just hand it to them).  After a couple minutes, in walks the nurse with some "goofy juice."  This was some kind of Tylenol PM or something that would relax him, so he wouldn't freak out when he was taken away.  I ended up getting most of it down his throat, some on my shirt, quite a bit on his shirt, and some in his hair.  But, in the end, he got some goofy juice!  Then it was a waiting game.  And it was funny!  He was floppy, smiley, goofy.  He kept squeezing my cheeks between his hands, putting his nose against mine, and trying to give me sugars, but I guess his mouth wouldn't work right.  Then, we played bumblebee, where he was trying to grab my hand while it buzzed into his chest.  He had about a 50% success rate.  He was laughing at everything, so the nurse decided it was time.  We told him bye bye, and he must have been feeling alright since he did not fuss at all as they walked away down the hall.  We went to the parents' holding pen to wait.
After what seemed like 6 days, but was really 15 minutes, they came to get us.  I thought the nurse was walking really slow - I was ready to sprint down the hall to get my boy.  As soon as we got in the vicinity of the recovery area, I heard him crying.  They had warned us he would be grumpy for a few minutes, and, boy was he!  Dr Chung was standing there, and started to hand us some drops, but I figured that could wait.  Papa Bear had to rescue his baby bear!  And that baby bear was a bear!  Still not fully conscious, he was flopping and crying and fighting.  The nurse brought some Advil in, and I ended up just taking it from her and giving it to him.  About 99% of that made it down the hatch!  After that kicked in, he was much better.  I held him till he quit fighting so hard, then Mommy took over.  He downed 15 ounces of "purply juice", AKA cran-grape juice, and settled down.  At that point, we were able to move downstairs to the discharge holding pen.
In discharge, we turned on some Disney Junior, and drank some more purply juice.  We hung out there for about 30 minutes, and by that time, he was eating some Teddy Grahams and feeling much better.  We got our papers, and were freed!  (about 9:30 AM)  We stopped at Whataburger for some food, and got him a "tia" to eat.  I think he fell asleep mid-chew about 5 minutes down the road, and, as I type, he is sleeping in the bed with Mommy.  
Anyway, my fears were not realized - everything was fine, Keltan is still himself, and the world didn't stop.  I am thankful for the prayers of everyone.  
The picture of him at the play table is in the play area of the hospital, before his goofy juice journey.


I forgot to add - when we were going to leave the hospital, the nurse went to remove the "sticker" from his foot, but he refused.  So, we wore a lead home.  And it is still on his foot.  Daddy is going to have to try to make it light up with a battery - but there are a LOT of pins in that plug!

Jeff Dickson

A Day at the Zoo!

Today was Keltan's first trip to a zoo (other than the Terrell Zoo, aka Wal-Mart).  Mommy was crazy excited about taking him, and Grandma was here for the excursion.  We decided on the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas for the trip.  
Since Keltan is having ear infection issues (more a little later on that), Inga got him a little safari style hat, and sewed on some ear flaps to keep the wind out of his ears.  The little flaps had elephants on them, so he was ready for his safari!  This morning, while I was getting ready, I heard a knock knock on the door, and opened it to find a big-grinning Keltan in his new hat!  He was very excited about it, and ready to visit the zoo!
When we arrived, he started calling it the "farm."  Not sure where this came from, as there were no animals visible from the parking lot, but that is what he was calling it.  We started with the birds, where we saw colorful pairs of Macaws, flamingos, ducks, and a swan!  The kid loves birds, so he was in awe of the bright colors!  We moved on to a display of some very small monkey, but he was unimpressed.  I think he never did really see the monkey in branches, as it was so small.  Next, the anteater!  This animal was very intriguing - it was lumbering around, using it's 24" snout to sniff everything.  We stayed in front of that exhibit for quite some time....
Then came the cheetah!  This was an even more intriguing exhibit!  One came up to the glass, and he was able to see it up close!  Of course, as far as he was concerned, it was a "dog."  Although I got him to say "cheetah", he insisted on it being a dog.  Of course, this exhibit paled when compared to the next exhibit...
The RHINOCEROS!  I think this, in his book, has to be the most interesting animal in the world!  We talked about it, he learned how to say it a little better, and we watched it.  And watched it.  And watched it.  And watched it.  And watched it.  And watched it...I think you get the point.  Anytime we tried to leave this exhibit, he would start saying "more rhino more rhino..."  So, we stayed there for some time, moving around the area to get different points of view.  Finally, we convinced him we needed to see some other stuff.
He loved the giraffe and elephant area!  We were very close to the giraffes.  There was a body of water about 10' wide, and there were the giraffes right on the grass on the other side!  There were benches there, so we took advantage and watched the giraffes and elephants for quite a little spell.  We also saw zebras, which he liked as well.  
After we moved on from the giraffes, we entered the meerkat manor.  He had fun watching those little critters run around and be silly.  One came up to the glass and posed while Grandma took pictures.  He learned how to say "meerkat" while we stood there.
The snake house - oh yes he loved the snake house!  There were green snakes, brown snakes, and moving rattlers!  "Nake nake" was the chatter from the excited little guy...And the turtles and fish in the same area - he loved these creatures!
After a few more animals that he wasn't as impressed with (he was getting tired), we exited the zoo.  We found a place to eat some sandwiches, and drove to Marshall, Texas (about 75 minutes east) to meet Uncle Ed and Aunt Glo for a late lunch at Cajun Tex.  It was a little funny there - he kept telling us about a duck, and pointing.  We never saw the duck.  He kept insisting there was a duck.  Finally, I had him walk me to the duck, and, sure enough - there on the back of a booth was a decoy!  We showed off his meal time prayer to an audience, and had some awesome food!  Needless to say, we had a very fun day.


About his ears - he has been battling with ear infections quite often lately.  We finally decided to visit with an ENT, and it has been decided that he needs tubes.  So, that surgery is scheduled for this Thursday morning.  Mommy and Daddy are pretty nervous, but we trust everything will be fine, and he will be much more comfortable in the long run.

This morning, while driving in to work, I just couldn't stop thinking how much fun I am having being Keltan's daddy.  He is absolutely awesome!  
We have his asthma under control, so he can run and play outside.  We are still struggling with fluid drainage from his ears, which leaves him susceptible to infections, but we just keep working on that.
I wish I had recorded his prayer last night.  He said it with so much excitement.  I asked if he was ready to say his prayer, and he started right in with "dear Jesus" before I even said it!
He is mimicking just about everything we say now.  We went through a picture book last night, and he repeated every animal, plant, and fruit after me.  I get a kick out of saying big long words to see if he can say them. To his credit, he attempts it!
All I can say is, he is the most awesome baby ever!
Jeff Dickson

Bedtime Prayer

Prayer

Every meal we eat together, we say grace.  Keltan has started to mimic it, by making a whispering noise while we pray, then he follows it with "sh-amen."  So, this week, I have been working with Keltan at bedtime to say a prayer.  I got "Dear Jesus" the first night, then "no no no no", followed by "sh-amen."  Now, where that extra sound comes from, I do not know, but it is there every time he says it.  The next couple nights I got him to say "Dear Jesus keep...no no no no...sh-amen."  Couldn't get him to go any further with it, but it was really cute, and I loved it.  I figured Jesus liked it, too...
Well, tonight, Mommy left the room, but we called her back in there.  I wanted to show her our progress.  We started with "Dear Jesus" then moved to "keep me" then "safe" and finally "tonight", followed by "sh-amen."  That's right!  We made an entire prayer!  Mommy and Daddy were beaming with pride!  
I like to think that Grandmommy and Granddaddy were right there smiling with big bright smiles at their little grandson saying his first prayer!


Oh, then we proceeded to blow kisses to Grandma, Grampy, Nana, and Ms Margie.

Watch "February 17, 2011 6:38 PM" on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=kr_0RKJ-w1A

Jeff Dickson

Growing up

    Keltan is, indeed, growing up way too fast!  It doesn't seem like 19 1/2 months ago that we were in the delivery room, but, alas, it is true.  It has been so fun and exciting to watch him growing up, learning new things, and, yes, even when he pushes the limits it is fun (though irritating at the same time).  
The latest:  Click here to see tons of photos
    He loves to play "scavenger hunt" with the dogs.  He will take his Cheerios, animal crackers, raisins, whatever little snack he has in his cup, and place them in various spots where the dogs will find them and gobble them up.  He will start with putting them in the middle of the floor, then proceed to put them on his toys, then behind the chairs, under the table, and on and on.  He puts them on the end table in the den, and after a few seconds, if one of the dogs hasn't found it, he knocks it off, one of the critters gobbles it up, and he puts another on the table.  After a few seconds, if no desired effect, he again swipes it off.  After a few failed attempts to get a dog to see the snack on the table, he abandons that idea until the next round.  It is an absolutely funny thing to watch!
    I showed him the wonder of popping the lid off a Pringles can last night.  Ok, actually, it was the Lays version of Pringles, Stax, but same concept.  I squeezed the can, the lid flew off with a wonderful SWOOSH and POP!  Since he couldn't squeeze the can hard enough to pop it off, I showed him how to stomp it.  Oh, boy!  That was fun!  He screamed and laughed with pure delight, and danced several jigs. Over and over we did this, until it was supper time.  Somehow, I think we will be revisiting this activity :)
    His favorite book at this time is "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss.  "Left foot Left foot, Right foot Right.  Feet in the morning, feet at night..."  Yes, it is committed to my memory now, as we read this book each and every night before bed.  He calls it "foot feet."  
    I have introduced him to S'mores.  He delights in eating the messy treat, getting chocolate all over his mouth, hands, and everything he manages to touch.  I have been working with him to say "marshmallow", and this is a real entertaining thing to listen to.  Somehow, it comes out with 3 or 4 extra syllables, sometimes with a bunch of garble at the beginning.  Apparently, 19 month olds aren't real proficient with multi-syllable words!  :-)
    Keltan loves to tell everything "bye-bye" now.  We were leaving the kitchen last night, and he saw the box of Junior Mints on the counter (which he LOVES), and it was "bye bye mints."  Bedtime brings "bye bye car, bye bye Mommy, bye bye Raleigh, bye bye Asher, bye bye moon, bye bye bear..."  
    He also has been into cleaning up "mess mess."  When he sees some water on the floor or on a table, he likes to wipe it up with a rag.  Along these same lines, he loves to throw stuff in the trash.  Sometimes, even his toys will end up there - have to watch what he tosses!
    We desire to teach him about money, and how to save it.  We have 3 piggy banks for him, and every night he gets a quarter, and either a nickel/dime and a penny.  He gets to put them in the banks.  We were trying to keep him putting quarters in the big piggy bank, but he just wants to put the money in whatever bank he desires.  So, we let him, and he has a blast, especially when Mommy and Daddy cheer him on!  We hope that this will lead to him learning about money, and appreciating the proper technique of saving and understanding how to handle his personal finances in order to avoid the mistakes we made.
    The other day, we went walking in our back lot where the RV is.  I had to go to the garage next door to put some tools back, so he and the dogs went with me.  Of course, he wanted to run, so I let him.  He would stay with me for a minute, then go wandering off to see what the dogs were up to.  At some point, he would realize how far away he had gotten from me, and start getting worried.  He would come running to me, screaming, and holding his hands out.  At that point, I would turn, head toward him, and hold his hand, and he was ok.  For a bit....then he would let go, and wander away.  The cycle would repeat over and over.  The irony wasn't wasted on me - isn't that how we do with God?

2011-02-01 (by Eye-Fi)

Running blind

Somewhere along the line, Keltan decided it would be a great idea to cover his eyes and run around.  Why?  I don't know - maybe the same reason his daddy closed his eyes and ran his bicycle off into a ditch. Regardless, it is quite entertaining to watch.  Below, you will find a short video of him doing just that, and below that, there is a video where he was just being plain goofy (a common occurrence).  Enjoy!

2011-02-01 (by Eye-Fi)

2011-02-01 (by Eye-Fi)

Watch "January 30, 2011 2:09 PM" on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=B0jJJW4Ste4

A Fitting Song

A few pictures - click here to see a lot more!

Finally found a dog that could be rowdy enough to scare Keltan!

About time!

Alright, looks like it has been since December 18 since I gave any kind of update on Keltan.  So, here you go...
He had Christmas.
He had New Year's.
He watched the Cotton Bowl.
He watched the BCS National Championship.
















Eh, you know I won't leave you like that.  Here's the more detailed scoop...
Christmas!  We were looking forward to Christmas with Keltan this year.  He has really become aware of things, so we were anxious to see how he would be when he discovered there were cool things behind all that fancy paper!  
We left Wednesday night to head up to Shawnee to Inga's parents' house (Grampy/Nana).  Unexciting trip - Keltan slept, Daddy slept, Mommy drove.  Good times!  
Grampy and Nana had a blast seeing the Kman all day Thursday.  As usual, he did not fail to entertain!  We went ahead that night and opened up the gifts, since we were leaving decently early Friday to held to Bixby to Uncle Craig's house.  Again, he did not disappoint.  We started him tearing a package open, and small piece by painstakingly small piece, he tore the paper off.  He was impressed with the toys, but the boxes - ah, that was something to be totally intrigued with!  Oh, and the "balls", known to you and me as Christmas tree ornaments.  Yes, the kid loves the ornaments!
We left for Bixby about naptime.  We thought this was a brilliant strategy, as he could get his nap while we drove, leaving us for a peaceful drive, and him in a very pleasant mood for the family.  Well, little did we know that he was to veto that plan.  Yes, turns out that Mommy and Daddy aren't too bright, and Keltan decided to let us know how un-bright we are.  For almost the entire trip to Bixby, in fact.  Yes, he berated us rather well.  About 15 minutes from our destination, he decided he had voiced his opinion enough, and went ahead and took a short nap.  We hung out at Uncle Craig's for a short while, then loaded up and went to Greg and Shannon's house (Aunt Kim's brother/sister in law) for some dinner and family gathering.  They have 2 boys ages 9 and 7 (or is it 8 and 6?), and Keltan thought they were awesome!  He had a lot of fun trying to keep up with them.  At one point, he was able to lay his hands upon the microphone for Lego Rock Band on the Wii, and commenced to singing for all the world to hear.  Yes, it is quite plain to me that the makers of the game do not know pitch, for the game insisted that Keltan was not on pitch.  I say they need to rework that game, and get it to be more accurate!  Anyway, after a while on the vocals, he decided to try his hand at drums.  Again, the makers of the game need to be aware that their inaccuracies in tempo knowledge could lead to some confusion in the little people.  I refuse to believe he was offbeat by that much.  Yes, the game was inaccurate...
Anyway, he absolutely wore himself out there, and we took him to the house to get some sleep.  He did ok, until he discovered that Mommy and Daddy were in the bed only mere feet from his pack and play.  How dare we try to sleep comfortably!  Yes, he decided we must invite him over to make things a little less roomy!  So, he slept and pushed while I did a great balancing act on a single thread of mattress. But, I did NOT hit the floor!  Oh, and the next night, as well...
Christmas Day!  I fixed breakfast for everyone (deer sausage omelets - yummy), and then we got around to tearing paper.  Keltan was overwhelmed!  Again, he, piece by tiny piece, opened the gifts to find...LEGOS!!!!!!  That's right - he is a boy after my own heart.  He loves Legos!  We are, in fact, going to have to have a little chat about the way he keeps destroying the things I build and stealing blocks off the creations.  Indeed, it is high time to teach that boy some Lego etiquette!
Christmas night, the boys (Uncle Craig dubbed them Ping and Pong), came over.  They got a couple toys from Uncle Craig/Aunt Kim, one being a Hot Wheels race track.  Keltan LOVED that toy!  He watched the cars vroom in and out, and was delighted when they collided or flew off the track.  Again, a boy after my own heart.  Crashes are cool!!!!!!  We let him stay up till way too late - about 10:30 PM.  Surprisingly, he was not cranky or grumpy, probably because he was having such a great time.
We came home Sunday - nothing great to tell you about there..........


New Year's Eve:
We went to some friends' house for New Year's Eve.  There were several other kids there, ranging from just a little older than Kman to 13.  This allowed for some good times for Keltan!  He ran around the back yard with them, swung in the swing with them, dug in the ice with them, and even boogied down in the "dance hall" one of the girls had set up in her room.  Oh yes, Keltan loves to boogy!  Again, we allowed him to stay up late.  It was about 11 PM when we got him to bed that night.  


The boy is growing just too fast!  Last friday, he went for his 18 month checkup.  The pediatrician asked Inga if he was talking (yes) and if he was saying at least 20 words.  Well, let's see...
rhino, touchdown, yep, nope, yes, no, doggy, woof woof, truck, vroom, door, knock knock, mommy, daddy, plane, moon, star, cloud, cracker, yogurt, milk, drink, eat, more, water, down, up, book, block, horse, neigh (horse sound), sheep, bah, duck, bam, quack, fish (to mean the animal and the crackers), rabbit, frog, ribbit, phone, shoo bug, ouchy, hot, mess, light, outside, diaper, Asher, Raleigh, swing, baby, bye bye, night night, bear, growls like a bear, bath, that, no-no, ball.. that is all I can think of at this moment, but I do believe he is exceeding 20 words at this time, and adding a new one every day!  He has also been attempting to put words together - the other day he said "mommy phone."
I mentioned being alert to things now.  Sunday evening, we took a ride to look at the snow.  Inga had brought him some crackers and a cup of water.  Along the way, he wanted them, so she gave them to him.  After a bit, he started saying "mess" over and over, so Inga looked back to see what was up.  He had some crumbs on his shirt, so she brushed him off and told him it was ok.  When we got home, we found out he had made a mess - he had spilled his water all over his jeans!  Also, he is starting to realize when he potties in his diaper.  He will come tell us "diaper", and sure enough - he is wet or worse!
While watching the Cotton Bowl, I got him to raise his hands in the air and say "Touchdown!"
He has a piggy bank in his room that I have been putting quarters in.  I started showing him how to do it a while back.  Now, whenever he finds a coin, or when I give him one, he runs to his room and puts it in his piggy bank.  This is really exciting for us, considering the work we put into getting our financial lives straightened up.