My Lonely Apples

I never thought it would be the first thing that Keegan would break. I just knew he would reach for a plate in my console, so I have diligently been waiting for him to army crawl over there and then I would put them up. Even if he did break one it would not break my heart. But the one thing that came crashing to the floor today was my absolute favorite wedding gift that I received. It was the beautiful Pottery Barn vase that sat on top of the console that held the almost real Pottery Barn apples.

Timing is everything and Keegan wanted his first break to be memorable. We are trying to sell our place at Bayou Woods (tear, tear) to move closer to Jonathan's work. We had our first condo showing today to two sisters and one of their daughters. As I am showing them through the house I stop right beside the vase to show them the hallway closet. As I am talking to them, Keegan took hold of it and drug it off. It came crashing down and glass went everywhere. As glass does, it shot down the hall, across my rug, all under my table...everywhere. Shards of glass cut my foot and it was bleeding the whole time they were there. Gross. Poor Keegan was just looking at the floor at all the glass and scattered apples holding tightly to me because I think the loud noise startled him.

Luckily, they were two wonderful ladies that helped me clean it all up and the daughter played with Keegan. (As I am writing this I am still finding glass in my skin.) A good thing is that I have one more of those vases in my bathroom and I am guarding it with my life.

Life with baby just got a little more interesting.

My Lonely Apples


My Vase's Lonely Twin

Cast Your Vote!

We need help in choosing a picture for Keegan's entry into the baby calender. Voting lines are open until Friday, March 30th.
There are no fees to vote...so for all of you blog readers that are shy about commenting...this is can be your debut. (note: you do not have to be a blog member!)

Here are the finalists:
A

B

C

D

E

F

G


If you would like to look at this years 2006-2007 calender, check out this link. I thought only 12 babies make it but they actually choose smaller pics to sprinkle under the 12 that made the big pic. So cross you fingers...I guess we will find out later this year. A special thanks to Aunt Fitine Photography (Christine Mangrum) for all these lovely photos.

Wanted: Earplugs

We are starting all over tonight with the "cry it out" program with Keegan. Can I just tell you that I hate this method? I know it works, but my poor little boy gets so upset that we have left him in his crib by himself. We have really done him a disservice the in the last couple of months. We started out strong and then over time we gave in. We go into his room at least 2 times a night putting his pacee back in his mouth and his lamb (a.k.a. lovie) back into his arms. That did not bother us too much until recently. Now when we put him in his bed he cries so hard that it forces us to pick him up and rock him. 7pm bedtime became a 10pm bedtime last night. My mother says that he can now command us to get what he wants. So after a really hard night last night, we have adopted once again the "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" philosophy. I am not sure that it equals happy parents, but maybe if we stick to it, we will be become that way.

As I am writing this, I decide to go check on him. He cried for 25 minutes then asleep for 30. This is a start. So, as I am cracking open his door, which squeaks now, and the phone rings. Immediately he starts crying. I answer the phone and it is a mom of one of our 6th graders. She asks, "Sorry for calling so late, did I wake the baby?" Holding back the aggravation, I lied and said "no". Not that it is her fault, but just bad timing. We talk on the phone for a while and he is screaming from the other room. I do most of the talking so that she does not hear him. I would hate for her to feel bad, especially after I lied. I was able to tune him out and by the time I got off the phone...silence. Yeah!! Keegan fell asleep on his own. I am proud of him. So will we make it though the night without giving in? I might need to find some earplugs.

Keegan's World

Keegan turned 7 months yesterday and in the past two weeks his little personality has really sprouted! He is full of energy and living up to his name which means "fiery"!
* He has now learned how to roll from his back to his tummy and he has already accomplished the tummy to back trick. In fact, he absolutely despises laying on his tummy, so he learned how to figure that out fast. Everyday he is doing it more and more, and I am finding him in new spots in our living room. His favorite spot is under the coffee table, which is funny just seeing his feet.
* He is easily occupied by all the new sounds he can make. Ba ba ba ba...ma ma ma ma! I am claiming the ma ma ma ma as his first words! If he ever wants something he "mmmmmms". He loves to buzz his lips and tongue, which is accompanied by lots of spit. Screaming for fun happens a lot too...I think he is getting acquainted with his voice! We are working on his vocal cords for his singing career. American Idol, here we come!
* We have our first tooth breaking through and his shirt always is soaked. The poor guy has so much saliva pooling around his neck at all times of the day. I don't think he has enjoyed the new present in his mouth so much.
*We love to tear up magazines and play with the remote control. He chooses that remote control over every toy in the room. I get to watch lots of channels throughout the day!
*He walks backward and not forward in his walker.
*He is a whopping 21 pounds and to me he seems huge! He has gained 15 pounds since he was born. I love my little monster.

New Lid

That's right! We have a new lid. For those of you who are not up with modern lingo think of it as a cool hat or nifty helmet. I'm actually quite proud to have my son wearing the lid out in public. I think you will understand what I mean once you take a look at the pictures. We decided to have Keegan's lid painted by an artist in Humble. The artist actually does custom paint jobs on motorcycles. We had a chance to look at some of the other helmets he's completed and I have to tell you our design is rather simple. But simple is not a bad thing. Take a look and let us know what you think. If you don't like it, too bad, but you have to appreciate the fact that the entire helmet is hand painted.

After we visited with grandma and grandpa Sanders we ran over to Gymboree to return an item that was too small for Keegan. While waiting in line to pay, Michelle struck up a conversation with the lady in front of her. The lady turned around and looked at Keegan and his Lid, but it was not a pity look but an "oh my gosh he is so cute", look. I truely believe God placed that lady in line at that exact time so that she could say those exact words. It was our first time to be in public with Keegan wearing the lid and God made it a great experience. If I wasn't proud already, I was definitely walking taller when we left the store.

The doctor said Keegan will have to wear the helmet for two or three months. Not that long when you think about how fast this past year flew by. In my opinion, Keegan has always been an over-achiever and will be out of the lid in a couple months. I guess we will have to wait and see. Check back every week or so for an update and new pictures. Gig'em! - Jonathan

Keegan's Casting Appointment

We went today to get Keegan's head casted in the Woodlands on the way back from Dallas. The people at this place were remarkable and great with babies. I am so thankful since I will be going back on a regular basis for the next couple of months. It was confirmed more for me today that we were making the right decision. The man took measurements and pictures and pointed out several other abnormalities about his head. Evidently the flat spot in the back was causing his left eye to be smaller, the bulges above his ear that I thought were normal were not, and his slightly cone shaped head is attributed from it as well. He is going to come out looking incredible! The casting was not the best experience but Keegan made it. I think it was harder for mom to watch. I am suprised I held the tears in at one point. Jonathan had to hold him down the whole time and talked so sweet to him. It was precious! You can see the process below...



I hated this part first...


this part was not bad... he did not even cry.


sweet dad


when they sat him up to do the back..he lost it!


casting the important part (in the back)


big sigh...all done (what you don't see is that one second later he smiled and laughed)


mom...really? you just put me through that and now you are taking a naked baby picture??


We will get the helmet in 7-14 days and then the doctor thinks it will only be on for two months! I can do that! Keegan can do that! Jonthan can too! It will be painted maroon to support the Fighting Texas Aggies. Evidently, Jonathan wants it to soak through the helmet into his head and brain wash him. I think it will be cute and take the focus off the helmet. Whooo...what a day. When we got home, Jonathan informed me that at the end he has to do this again! At least I will know what to expect.

The Helmet is Approved!!

I will write later about Christmas...but just had to make a quick post! We were approved for the helmet before the new year and his head gets casted later this week! Below is a picture of his head. I wanted to take a "before" picture so I can see the progress!

Waiting for approval

I feel like I have been on the phone all week with the doctors office and the insurance company. Our request for the helmet was faxed yesterday! It took 4 days to do that!!! Doctor's offices are not always prompt. The insurance company is 10-14 days behind on approving requests so that means we are down to the wire in getting it approved and Keegan's head casted before January 1st. We have an appointment "penciled in" for December 29th at 3 pm, the last business day of the year, to get it done. Crazy! So, please pray that the insurance company does not enjoy their holidays too much! We need approval even if it is 2:45 p.m. that afternoon! It is all in God's hands.

To Helmet or Not to Helmet

Today was H-Day. Helmet or No Helmet. Two months of repositioning Keegan to round out his flat little head and it all came down to this appointment. I had butterflies in my stomach all night and into the morning waiting our verdict. The waiting room was packed with women oohing and awwing at Keegan and all I wanted was an answer. I just wanted to sit in silence but the woman in blue sitting across from us wanted to talk about the durn stroller of all things. We finally were called and Dr. Butros looked at his head and said that it looked better. He could tell that I was working on him. Yeah for mom!! I was relieved and then he switched gears.

It seems that Keegan is one of the cases that us as parents have to decide if we want to put a helmet on him. Even though it has improved, he could not guarantee that it will round out completely without assistance. Cosmetically, if it never rounded out, he could be embarrassed of it. In fact, the later we wait to see if it does round out, the longer the helmet would have to be on him. Then it would be time for hot weather, which would develop rashes under the helmet, and babies can hardly tolerate it. I am sure I would not be able to as well.

I decided to ask him if his son's head were flat like Keegans...what would HE do? He said he would do it. Yuck. Not what you want to hear. We left feeling a little confused and then we talked to our mothers, who on separate phone calls echoed the same advice. "I would do it if it would have been you " they said. "If you never did anything about and he was teased...you would feel bad that you never fixed it." True. It would kill me. So we are going to get a helmet. (big sigh)

I guess the helmet is a small price to pay for 4 months or less to make sure that we are doing the very best for our son...even if is cosmetic. The thing that I will miss the most is rubbing and kissing his cute little fuzzy head.

A few things to pray for:
* We get it authorized and have it made before the new year because we have met our deductible until January 1.
* Pray that we can move past our pride that our son is going to wear a helmet.
* Pray personally for my stress level as I move forward with this and also plan the girl’s retreat.
* Pray for Keegan when they have to do a casting of his head.

This should be an interesting journey to say the least. But one good thing...there is a Harley Davidson shop that paints those suckers and so he will be stylin’! It would be fun for you to comment on how YOU think it should be painted. I could use some ideas. Trust me, Jonathan is already bent on a maroon one. So that idea is taken. Stay tuned... I am sure I will take pictures and write in this process.

Oatmeal on my face...a big disgrace!