Father's Day

Earlier Videos

While fixing the link to the last post I was looking at older videos from when he first started walking. I thought I'd share them on here too. I didn't realize until now I believe in one of the videos he's saying "Isis" which he says now when the dogs make a racket. That's the name of one of our puppies (whose name gets yelled a lot and hence why Keegan has picked it up as one of his first words).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmD0ea-DnJs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btdS8SFMLdw&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gOGSp593Uo&feature=related

Talking

Keegan is now officially speaking English words. It’s not as cut and dry as I thought it would be. I can’t exactly say what Keegan’s first word was. There have been times I thought he said Kitty first but it only lasted a few days and then he doesn’t say it anymore. So I might have been trying to hear something that doesn’t exist. I’m sure he’s said other words to us but in that unintelligible toddler speak I never picked up on it. But last week he has begun to say ‘all done.’ You may ask, “how do you know he’s saying ‘all done’”? It’s because he also signs it. At daycare they’ve taught Keegan a few things in sign language so he can tell us if he wants more food or if he’s done eating. So now, he says all done while signing it and it is very cute!

Let's try this link again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss-CErthZoc

Don't Fence Me In

Last weekend Cobey ran in the Don’t Fence Me In race in Helena, MT. It’s a trail race that features a 30K, 12K, and 5K run as well as a 5K dog walk. Originally Cobey was going to run the race; then he got hurt. I was told I would have to run in his place and whipped myself into shape but in the week leading up to the race Cobey decided he was well enough to run it. I’m glad. As much fun as trail races are they are not my forte; I’ve never been the best at hills. Maybe that’s more reason I should run them….

I should have signed up for the dog walk (Blue and Tank were with us for the trip) but realized the possibility too late and registration was closed. That was all well and good. While Cobey raced Keegan and I played in the playground at the finish line. It was Keegan’s first time playing on playground toys. He’d last about a minute on one toy before he’d point to the next. We probably did 3 or 4 laps of all the toys by the end. And when dad came to the finish Keegan clapped and got a big high-five from dad.


All in all it was a great weekend, especially because we got to visit our friends, The Straley’s, whom we met in Troy, MT while I was fighting fire for the summer of 2008. We enjoyed good food, conversation and debate as well as watched “The Boys” (the name Kathleen gives to Stephan Colbert and Jon Stewart). Little do the Straley’s know but they shaped me into the person I am now. I learned a lot about life, politics, and comedy news ;) from them and appreciate all that I gained. I believe I have a healthy and relatively balance view (as balanced as you can be with some personal biases) of our nation and world. So, thank you Kathleen and Steve!

Waiting for dad to start!

And he's off!

"Look Mom! There goes Dad!"

Having fun on this funky swing.


He also liked this a lot. And a steering wheel toy, and the slides, and the horse rocking toy, and the car and.....

Dad coming to the finish for a high-five from Keeg!

And finishing! No it did not take him 3 hours and 41 minutes to run a 12K that's the running clock from the 30K start earlier in the morning.

And So It Begins

People have been saying, “Once they’re walking, everything changes.” Well, he’s been walking and carrying things around for 3-4 weeks now and it didn’t seem to be a big deal. But, as we’re coming to realize these last few days, those were HIS things. He’s discovered the wonders of EVERYTHING in the house now. And I’m beginning to understand the other parent’s comments. He’s found the Tupperware in the kitchen cabinets, the potatoes and onions in the pantry, the toilet paper roll (what fun!), the toilet and somethings that can go in it (of which I’m sure that list will expand), the kitty litter, the kitty food, mom’s underwear basket, his used cloth diaper bin, and sponges under the sink, just to name a few. Now we are no longer just wranglers of dogs, chickens and a cat but a child as well. Let the race begin!

A game he likes to play but the cat does not.

Happy Easter!

Keegan's first easter egg hunt was today. First we decorated eggs, though he's done that before...last year he cried through the entire thing though. This year he had more fun.

Yesterday, though, he was getting prepared by carrying around an egg cartoon.

This afternoon we decorated eggs. He thinks this egg is pretty interesting.

But much more interesting to throw.

Then it is outside to hunt for eggs. The first egg went really well. He grabbed it.

And put it in his basket.

He subsequently took it out and laid it back on the grass.
We had fun spotting eggs and walking right by them or dropping the egg we had to pick up a new one.




By the end, he decided dandelions were more exciting.

Getting on the Same Page

I thought my next post would be a “recap” of what’s going on around the Williamson home these days. Some of you know all this already, others may not. In October, we bought a house in Corvallis, MT. We both fell in love with the place the moment we went to see it. I was worried, though, that we’d move in and I’d find all these things I didn’t like about the house. On the contrary, I’m finding things I didn’t even consider but love. The house is a 2 bedroom ranch style home built in 1990 but with some well done improvements from the previous owners. It sits on 2.5 acres with a garage, shed and barn. There is a large side pasture and a smaller front pasture as well as some “yard” space. We’ve already done some slight improvements for our own dog needs. Of which we have 7 now. Blue, Kona and Saw (the original gangsters as Cobey likes to call them), Okanogan and Paluk (two sled dogs we acquired from Absaroka Dog Sled Treks), Isis (8 month old) and Tank (14 week old puppy of Paluk’s). Paluk was pregnant when we got her and had 8 puppies in January. We found homes for all, deciding to keep one.

Cobey, Keegan, and I are doing well. I’m still a research scientist (something many of you know I’ve always wanted to be) at the Rocky Mountain Labs, a branch of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disesases of the NIH. Cobey works in Missoula for the Montana DNRC (Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) as a Wildland Fire Dispatcher. Keegan is almost 15 months and is a movin’ and a grovin’, literally. He loves to parade around the house with things he finds babbling or laughing the entire time. A good friend, Lisa Pintok, got Keegan a little basketball hoop and Cobey has already taught him to slam dunk which he does readily when you say “Keegan, slam dunk!” He also dances. He has some great moves! My personal favorites are the oh-so-subtle head bob to the beat and his gregarious torso twist with head tilted back and an extremely cheesy grin on his face. My words don’t do it justice and the next time I catch him dancing I’ll try and get video of it.

That’s a pretty quick and dirty recap of what we have going on. We’re waiting for spring to come around here; it’s still cold (22°F this morning) but warm days poke up here and there telling us spring is coming. We can’t wait to start planting and improving our smallholding. As Keegan learns new things daily, we will most certainly be posting more soon.

Videos of Keegan walking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btdS8SFMLdw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmD0ea-DnJs