Hungry Man

After noticing that JT is consistently eating about 40 ounces per day, I started wondering when we should introduce some rice cereal. I had thought we would wait until six months, but our pediatrician reminded me that six months is usually the latest for breastfed babies. On Monday, I sat down with a bowl of organic brown rice cereal and breast milk and offered JT a little taste. Sure enough, he was ready. It took three times offering the spoon before he figured out there was food on the end of it, and the rest is history. By the fifth spoonful, he was opening wide as he saw the spoon approaching, and by the tenth spoonful he was reaching for the spoon with his hands. We’ve continued with rice cereal at dinner time all week long, and he loves it.

We had a great weekend in Portland visiting some family. JT’s Great Grandma Hall turned 80, and we were there for the party… along with the 12 other great-grandchildren she has! Check out the impromptu picture with 10 of them piled on the couch: ages 3 weeks to 8 years. (Soon to come, number 13, Lucy, will arrive sometime in the next month!)

We did our Christmas shopping in Portland sans sales tax, and got to relax a little too. The most exciting part of the trip for me was when JT finally ROLLED OVER from his back to his tummy. He has been so close for so long, and he finally did it! After hanging out on his belly for a moment or two, he rolled back onto his back… so he is officially mobile. Looks like I’ll have to start moving the bleach out from under the kitchen sink soon!

My friend Emrie was finished with her excersaucer and gave it to us for free. We weren’t going to buy one, so JT is lucky to have friends like that. He loves it! Every evening while I eat dinner, JT kicks back and plays in it. He is so smiley that I couldn’t resist making it Flip Clip 2 this week.

Post Number Four

I had to post four separate blog entries today, since I missed last week (first time in over a year) due to our big trip. Read on for more exciting stories, but I had to include these last two.

JT reaches for books now and helps “turn the pages,” which I absolutely love. I’m determined to turn him into a reader like me.

Jim has been working on JT’s “Hit it!” for next summer’s water skiing. If you don’t think a one year old can ski, check this out. Meanwhile, JT pushes all by himself to standing and is working on his balance! 🙂 He finally got into swim lessons (can you believe there’s a waiting list?) and should start soon.

The Big Game

It was the moment we’d been waiting for… Two years ago, Jim said “Wouldn’t it be fun to go to the Alabama-Auburn game in 2008? We could go for Thanksgiving and maybe we would have a son to take with us by then!” Sure enough, it all happened. Thanks to a great amount of effort from the Alabama Keenes, we were there for the big victory. It was awesome. We had so much fun yelling ROLL TIDE ROLL with the other 92,000 fans while the Crimson Tide stomped all over Auburn. We made sure to have all the Bama gear we needed before the big day.


Family pictures pre-game

Quite a few people voiced considerable concern over taking JT to the game. It was going to be loud, cold, and wet. Well, it was very loud, not too cold, and just a little wet. And JT continues to awe us with his flexible, happy personality. Not only did he sleep through the first quarter and conveniently get hungry right around half time, he sucked down a cold bottle and fell asleep right on schedule for the evening… then continued to sleep right through the victory noise, complete with air horns, screaming fans, and the Rammer Jammer song that the entire stadium sings together. Just in case no one would believe us, we took pictures for proof!


Before the game


First quarter nap


36-0 on the scoreboard!

Thanksgiving

Since we were so close to my brother’s family for Thanksgiving this year, Jim’s family graciously invited them to spend the holiday with us. Aunt Donna cooked up a storm and served dinner for 18 people! We got some nice family pictures while we were waiting for our tummies to make room for dessert. This one is of the whole Keene family.

Earlier that day, we went for a walk on the River Walk in Tuscaloosa. The weather was lovely. JT fell asleep in the stroller while my two nieces took turns pushing. (Side note: Jim and I took my nephew and nieces to see “Madagascar 2” while they were visiting… it is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while!)

The Big Trip

We spent the last nine days in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with Jim’s dad’s family. It was so much fun! We ate ribs at Dreamland and breakfast at the Waysider, walked around the University of Alabama campus, and spent a lot of time watching football. JT’s Great Grandma Keene was sure happy to finally meet him!

JT’s first plane ride
Reading Roll Tide! with Great Grandma Keene
JT was a dream baby: traveled well, didn’t even notice the time change, slept on schedule, and let everyone hold him and smooch him without complaint.


So happy to be in Alabama!

Four Months Old

JT turned four months old this week. He is starting to blow raspberries, and once laughed so hard that he snorted. He can grab toys, burp cloths, and other things with his hands and put them in his mouth. His 4-month check up at the pediatrician’s office is on Monday, so we’ll have a height and weight update then. I took a couple of pictures on Saturday, partly because he was so handsome in his Harley attire, and partly to mark his age.

This week JT got to spend a day with Grandpa and Grandma Keene, and a day with Grandma Cole, and a dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Cole. What a lucky guy. This next picture is of him and Grandpa Keene. Grandpa Keene taught him “race car” this week, which he apparently enjoyed very much.

JT also enjoyed playing with the bath duck at Grandpa and Grandma Cole’s house. He got the bill into his mouth all by himself and sucked on it like a binky. It was pretty funny. Of course, I didn’t get the camera in time to capture that moment, but I got pretty close.

Flip Clip this week is of JT laughing at me. We think the best moment is the last few seconds, when he realizes that he’s on camera. 🙂

Team Bama in 2026

Grandma Keene found a shirt in a box of Jim’s old clothes that was perfect for JT to wear this Saturday for watching football. He looks so handsome in crimson! We think it’s a little odd that Jim had a shirt that has “team of 20??” when he was little, since he would have been 21 in the year 2000 and almost done with college. Anyway, I still can’t believe JT slept right through the yelling in our house when the game went into overtime today.

JT loves to look in the mirror. He’s been spending time sitting in his BebePod checking out his reflection. Apparently it can take a long time until a child discovers that he is looking at himself. Meanwhile, it’s great entertainment.

Two more cute pictures… one of JT and his friend Asher, who both fell asleep in their car seats on the way home from their mommies’ haircuts. The other is called “Got Milk?” JT sure loves to eat: about 8 ounces at a time now. Good thing his mommy “got milk” too. You might need to click on it to enlarge it to see the detail. 🙂

A Haircut and Fall Pictures

This Friday, JT got a hair cut. The top hair on his head was a few inches long and everything else was short, making him look a little funny. Jim had been saying we needed to cut it, so I finally conceded. JT was a good sport about it until the very end (below right). It looks much better.

This weekend, we visited our friends Einar, Stephanie, and Liv in Naches (near Yakima). Jim and Einar went elk hunting, and Steph and I got to hang out with the kids. Liv is six weeks younger than JT. They looked at each other a little… but mostly weren’t very impressed with each other. JT was more interested in looking at Einar’s sister, Kjel. What a flirt!

We took some family pictures at the Agledal’s house since they live in a beautiful spot and the fall leaves were gorgeous colors. We got a couple of framers in the bunch.

Flip Clip of the week: JT’s haircut, of course!

Sleepy Head

This morning Jim worked an early shift, so I didn’t get up with him to make breakfast (I don’t cook before 6 AM). I didn’t set an alarm, because I figured JT would wake me up around 7:30 like usual. Instead of waking up to his gurgles through the monitor, I woke up to Slider “announcing” that the milk man was leaving our milk in the milk box… at 9 AM! I couldn’t believe it. He slept from 10:30 PM to 9 AM without a noise. When I went in to check on him, he was just waking up – probably from Slider’s barking – and was in a great mood. Needless to say, I was in a great mood too. I haven’t slept that long in about a year!

I have had several comments about my late posting this week… that’s what I get for being so regimented and posting on the weekends. But we were busier than usual this weekend and I just didn’t have time. Yesterday after church and lunch, we had a nice boat ride in the sunshine and Jim and I got to ski. Then we left JT to play with Cole at the Skagen’s house and took a quick Harley ride. By the time we got home, it was time to make dinner and settle in for our movie night. What a great family day. (For those who don’t know, Sunday is “family day” at the Keenes’ house… no chores, errands, or commitments!)

JT has realized that he can grab a toy and get it to his mouth. This is great because he loves to put things in his mouth, especially his fist. He has also figured out how to twist his body over from his back so he can see the television. Sneaky guy. I think he will roll from his back in the next couple of weeks. Sometimes Slider lays next to him with her nose within prime whacking distance. Since he’s so active reaching for toys, he’s more apt to hit her now. Saturday morning she laid down and I told her, “Slider, he’s going to hit you in the nose.” She didn’t seem too worried about it, but sure enough, he whacked in her the nose with his little fist. Slider sat up and looked at him in surprise. I said, “See, I told you.” She looked at me, looked at him, and then rolled over to go back to sleep with a “hmph.” Funny.

Pictures from this week with captions… Flip Clips at the bottom!


Daddy teaching JT to shave. 🙂


JT sitting on the big cuddly chair bear in the kids’ shop in the Crossroads Mall.


He is starting to enjoy “naked time” in his crib, and loves to play with a blanket. Jim wanted to see if his Harley do-rag fits now, and that’s how this little picture came about.


Trying to get the WHOLE THING in his mouth.


Look what I found? This little deli is in Redmond.


Watching television while Mom folds laundry… just for a few minutes, I promise!

Flip Clips… the first one is of Jim’s fun game with JT. I’ll call it “Drummer Boy.” The second one is of a tiny laugh of JT’s. Sometimes we will have a laugh-a-thon, where I laugh and then he laughs over and over.

Three Months Old

JT turned three months old this week. He got the other half of his two-month shots and got weighed at his appointment. He weighs 14 pounds and is 25 1/2 inches long. We took some pictures at home to celebrate.

My son has become very talkative. He makes noises and looks right at me with significant intent. I say, “Yes, JT?” and he makes more noises. It is pretty adorable. It is amazing how even small children can learn the art of conversation. JT has also started to grab things on purpose. He looks at the dangling fish on his play mat and then reaches to get them. He has become more interested in books lately, too. His favorite “book” is his family album. It is hard to believe, but he actually squirms and makes happy sounds when he sees the page with Jim’s picture on it!

We are on the waiting list for swim lessons with KinderSwimmer. Apparently the infant class is full, so as soon as there is a spot we can start. Meanwhile, JT enjoys bath time very much. This week’s Flip Clip is from bath time. I also recorded a quick look at how Slider spends her day when JT is playing near her. She is truly a nurturing female dog!