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)