Little Smarty Pants

It seems that lately I have been really amazed at how observant our little Keido is. As he was helping me put my face lotion on, it dawned on me that I should write down some of the little things that he does.

Since Keido became chubby, a few weeks after he was born, he's had this persisting heat rash under his chin. We tried all kinds of things to fix it, however, it wasn't until a couple months ago that a pharmacist recommended calamine lotion, which worked. We took a Q-tip, dipped it in the bottle of pink liquid, and then smeared it under Keido's chin. Well, one day when his neck was bothering him, Keido picked up a Q-tip, brought me the bottle of calamine, I unscrewed the lid, he dipped the Q-tip in, and he proceeded to smear it under his chin on his neck.

In the morning, I have a routine of taking out my night mouth guard, yes I'm a grinder (teeth grinder that is), washing it in water, and then putting it in it's case. Most of the time Keido is with me, and he must have noticed my routine. I had him on the counter while I was getting ready for the day and he was playing with my mouth guard and case. H

e took my mouth guard out, turned on the faucet, washed it off, and then tried to put it in my mouth.

While in Idaho, my sister purchased a bunch of sippy cups because Keido kept drinking the twins drinks. We ended up with a lot of dirty sippies, so we were frequently loading them into the dishwasher. Keido had a couple dirty sippy cups one day and the dishwasher just happened to be open. He loaded them in the bottom rack, pushed the rack into the dishwasher, closed the door, and then pointed to the buttons to turn it on.

When Keido meets someone, the first thing that they do will become Keido's personal sign for that person. His first one was for Boyd's dad. Upon meeting him, Boyd's dad nodded, so from then on whenever Keido would see him, he would nod at him. Then, when he met my mom, she blew him a kiss, Keido picked it up and would really only blow kisses for my mom. He would stick his tongue out at Bob, lean back when he saw my dad, and run away when he sees Boyd. That last one is because Boyd plays a chasing game with him.

Last night, we went to Yogi Berry for frozen yogurt and there were a group of cute girls there that Keido was watching. Keido loves to observe people wherever we go. He walked up to them, gave them his best cheesy, toothy grin, and then continuing to observe them, started walking back to us. He turned around just as his face hit Asuka's chair and knocked him over. Thankfully he was okay, but the next time he walked up to see them, he made sure

he turned around to see where he was going. This is a case where his observation went a little too far.

Just today, I was squeezing the last of the ketchup out of the bottle and it was making those well-known sounds, and Keido laughed and then tried to mimic the sound.

There are many other things that Keido has learned how to do by watching us, such as talking on a phone, brushing his hair, flossing his teeth, doing squat exercises, and kicking a soccer ball. He is so smart and we are excited to see what else he does in the future.

How to eat an Olive

As a child, how did you eat your olives? Did you simply just pop an olive in your mouth? Or did you strategically place an olive on each of your fingers so as to imitate being an alien? Duh, of course you stuck olives on your fingers! That is the only way to eat olives!

Well, apparently placing olives on your fingertips is not just a desire you have to be cool but rather an inherent decision. Keido, our 11 month old baby was given (sliced) olives for the first time this past week and without us showing him, he chose to place the olives himself on his fingertips. Can you believe that? Wanting to have alien hands is apparently a desire from birth. I love my little alien.

First they’re sour and then they’re sweet

Boyd: Have you seen those commercials for sour patch kids? The one where the life-size sour patch kid does something mean -- like setting up a wall for a boy to ride his bike into -- and then does something sweet like giving that same boy a band aid. Well, I totally just had one of those experiences.

The other day, I had just gotten home from work and I went downstairs where Charlotte and Keido were playing. I was kind of tired from work so I just collapsed on the floor, staring at the ceiling. After lying on the floor for a couple of minutes, it was only natural for me to close my eyes while I talked to Charlotte about the day’s events as Keido puttered around.

Without noticing, Keido snuck up on me, stood by my head without me noticing, and just decided to slap me right in the face! (Keido is so a ninja). Keido caught me so off guard that I died laughing despite my face being in pain. While I lay there, hands clutching my face, Keido then leans down and gives me the sweetest kiss ever. Gosh, is that not totally a sour patch moment?! Despite the fact that Keido hit me, I love him so much.

What a good Eater!

I've been really impressed lately with Keido's ability to stomach whatever we put on his plate. Today's menu consisted of blueberries, Japanese pumpkin, brussel spouts, peas, broccoli, veggie crackers, a noodle dish, raisins, rice (his favorite), and a few cheerios. Not too bad for an 11 month old. We've been getting more and more adventurous with the things we have given him and have found that he'll pretty much eat anything he sees us eat. Keido just loves food! However, no matter how many times I try, I still can't get him to eat bananas. Something about the texture I think.

Here's one more example of Keido's food love: We went to the sto

re a couple days ago and there was a little girl with a doughnut walking around. Keido followed her all over and kept trying to take her doughnut. Needless to say, she didn't really appreciate it and ended up running to her mom crying. We definitely know that the way to Keido's heart is through his stomach; what a boy.

(It's hard to say who won, Keido, or the Blueberries)

HALLOWEEN!!

Gerry, Irmy, and Ocean City

Charlotte:

This past weekend we went to Ocean City to visit my Grandpa's Cousin and his wife: Gerry and Irmy Dunn. The drive to the East Coast was absolutely Gorgeous!! Maryland in the Fall is pretty amazing. We also ended up driving over the Bay Bridge, which made me kind of nervous, but I loved it. It's a six mile stretch of a tall bridge with not much over you,

and a lot of water under you. It kind of felt like I was driving on the Rainbow Road in Mario Cart. When we got to the Dunn's home, we were surprised to find that they had a boat dock for their back yard. Cool!

Gerry and Irmy were so kind! Irmy is from Germany and she made us a wonderful German dinner. Gerry worked for the NSA before he retired and he told us that in his career he was able to engineer over a hundred communication devices for the govern

ment. Some of his work is top secret, but the gist of it is that he created things to try to decipher radio signals from other countries and keep our communications a secret. We also talked family things for a while. They both thought that I looked a lot like my Grandma Jean. After chatting for a while, we retired to our hotel for the night. Keido had a great time in the big bathtub and being

able to walk around the room where ever he wanted.

The next day the weather was HORRIBLE!! However, we went back to the Dunn's and had a great time chatting some more and eating lunch with them before heading out. The road's were flooding and the wind was pretty stiff, so just before we left, we stopped at the shore and just took some quick pictures. I can't wait to go back to Ocean City again on a better day. I could definitely retire there one day:)

Toothbrushes, Toilets, and other Tasty Things

There is no doubt in my mind that Keido is a BOY! Even if I didn't have the fact reaffirmed to me every couple hours when I change his diaper, I would still know for sure. I have said many times lately to myself as I've watched him, "Only a boy would do that." Let me expound:)

In the mornings when I am getting ready for the day, Keido sits on the bathroom counter and plays. He started out liking the toothpaste because it was shiney, then my hair bands because they stretched, and now he loves toothbrushes because, well, he has great oral hygene of course. It has come to the point that he has three of his own toothbrushes, one of mine (not going to use that thing now), and confiscates the two that Boyd and I actually use as well (I don't let those ones go far though). I used to think it was cute that he looked like he was always brushing his teeth. A lady at the grocery store even commented on it. However, it has morphed to a whole new level.

Boyd and I took Keido out for a walk. and of course, he brought his toothbrush along. At first it was only in his mouth and waving around in his hand, but then, he started finding out that it was fun to brush things, everything! He would brush the sidewalk and then stick it in his mouth, the grass and stick it in his mouth, the side of our car and stick it in his mouth, pretty much whatever he saw he brushed and then tried to stick it back in his mouth. GROSS!! I finally had enough when he went for the tires on our car and the toothbrush came back black. I went straight inside and soaped that bad boy up (the toothbrush... and Keido). Yet, it continues. At church today he brushed the person's chair that was sitting in front of us, the hymn books, and the floor. That little toothbrush is the most unsanitary item in our whole house now. I think to myself, "Only a boy would do that and enjoy putting it in his mouth."

The other thing that worries me is Keido's obsession with toilets. Keido is going to the bathroom at least 20 times a day, but not like a normal person. All he wants to do is lift up the toilet seat lid and see what's going on in there. If his little arms were longer, he would be swishing those hands in the water and then putting them in his mouth. As it is now, I still am able to control his feddish, but I'm worried about when he is a fully independent walker. Do they make toilet seat locks? Pretty sure that only a little boy could fall in love with a toilet.

The other boyish things that he does are grunting, trying to pick up dog poop, loving to eat meat, picking people's noses, wanting to watch football, and chewing on rocks. However, there is one girly thing that he does lately that I just love. Keido has learned how to help me brush my hair. He grins as he gently pulls the brush through my tangles every morning. He has also learned to brush his hair, but just guess what he uses...His TOOTHBRUSH!

We sure do love our little boy and can't help but smile when we think of all the little things he does to warm our hearts!