Swimming star

Keelin has had a great week at swimming class. She does lots of different moves now, including: sliding through the water being held, float face first among Dad, Angela, and Natalie, 'elevator' straight down into the water and back up, and she's liking it.

Keelin Movies!

Check out some Keelin Movies! We finally put together a few short clips from all the video we've taken, hope you enjoy them. The quality isn't great, so if you'd like to see a better version just let us know and we can mail a CD or DVD with the full-length high-quality versions.

Keelin, 7 months!

Check out her Picasa Album for pics of October 20 through November 19. We'll take a few more between now and then too, and the traditional on-the-19th shots.

Keelin Warrior Princess is changing so much! She's really talking now, and dada is her favorite thing to say. On Friday November 14th she slept ELEVEN hours, and when she woke up she rolled over on her tummy. She's been rolling over for awhile now, but that was the first time she did it first thing in the morning. She's eating all kinds of fod now, and she and Kim have a great time with meals. She's sitting up nice and strong, and even pulling herself up to a sitting position (if she is reclining). Her swim instructor claps each time Keelin swims with her, so now K is clapping. Sometimes she can make a sound, but she's still working on it. Tonight Mike threw her a ball and she CAUGHT IT! I thought it was a fluke, but she did it several times. She and Mommy clapped like mad at that accomplishment! She has a great sense of humor, and laughs all the time, gives hugs and kisses, and smiles at you as if she knows what you are thinking. We're so in love!

Rock the Vote!

Miss Keelin was a big hit at the polls, they were hoping she'd stay with them and pass out 'I voted' stickers. She helped her Dad vote (directing him from her perch in the backpack), and even got her own sticker. Only 18 more years and she can do it herself!

From Rock the Vote

Teeth!

It is hard to see, but we can definitely feel a tooth poking through! Last Friday, Halloween, she was chewing on my finger and I suddenly got jabbed. Sam has been very concerned that she doesn't have teeth, so we made sure to tell him immediately. He decided that she can eat spiders now.

All about texture

Keelin is very open to trying new food, but she definitely has opinions about texture. Banana and avocado have not been well received, they almost make her gag. But peas, which didn't smell great to me, went over really well. So I think she has trouble with the slimyness of bananas and avo. We'll keep trying though.

Now she's had rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, yams, peas, banana, avocado, and apples. We're still mushing everything up, but she tries to chew it anyway so I think it's time now to start offering her chunks of the softer stuff so she can gum it.

Happy Halloween!

Keelin had an amazing Halloween weekend! She had a great time on her first Halloween night, watching the neighborhood get ready and then seeing some of kid's costumes. She has a pretty early self-imposed bedtime, otherwise we would have kept her up to greet more of the trick-or-treaters.

We had 2 pumpkins carved and lit up, and sat on our porch to give out candy and watch the fun. Our friends across the street (in my old house) had their house all done up, with ghosts and a fog machine. The kids loved that, and some of the younger ones were pretty scared.

Keelin has really changed in the last few days, sitting up and playing with her toys, carrying on conversations, drinking from a cup with more skill, and inch-worming around the floor. We have all heard her say 'hi' before, but now she's adding 'da' and 'ma' (we've all heard it). She's babbling a lot now, which sounds much more like words than the sounds she's made before. And kisses! A Keelin kiss is the best, she grabs your ears and plants a big one on you. I think we should offer Keelin therapy to unhappy people, because she makes you feel like dancing with joy!

Check out her Picasa Album for pictures taken on Halloween. She's having carrots, one of her favorites.