Marching into Spring

Dear Keegan-

The weather is getting nicer and we are loving being outside and keeping very busy. Here are some of the things you have been liking lately:

1. Grabbing the guitar hero guitar anytime you hear music or singing on TV. I think you have seen dad perch on the coffee table a few too many times with my guitar, and lo and behold it has become your mini stage. Usually you play it correctly, so I am not sure why you were holding like a lefty this time. But, you are ALWAYS ready to rock. 

2.  Diggers. In the sand, in the tub, in my purse and car. They are pretty much everywhere. We decided to start off with a little bin of sand as a construction site, and you have been a huge fan. Basically, if it is above 50 degrees outside and not raining, you will be found on the driveway with your team of bulldozers, excavators, front loaders, and road builders tearing through the sand. OR you might be helping mow the grass, push the wheelbarrow, or wash the car. You always love when Andrew's mom or dad come home at the same time so the two of you can play, and a few days ago the two of you pushed the diggers down the play slide on the deck into the baby pool of ice cold rainwater.  You guys thought it was hilarious!

This past week your cousins were in town from Nashville, so you had a great time with "the girls." You love to ride on your papa's lawnmower or "tractor" and we had fun having dinner over there last night. Mimi found you some cute clothes and toys from a consignment sale last week so you were excited to play with those and chase the kids outside, inside, and all over the place.

Last weekend you had a sleepover at CC and Grandpa's too. Dad and I got to go out for the night and went to a movie about Navy SEALs your dad was eager to see. You had a blast playing with the new airplane track and light up bridge that CC found for you.  And Grandpa got out some of his old metal trains that he still had from when he was a boy. You thought those were pretty fun. And despite my description, they weren't tetanus-shot warranting. They were just old school.

You continue to amaze and entertain us with your wild comments and associations. Today in the car you told me that you drank out of a big cup at school (which has been a difficult task for you to pick up, my little oral-motor mess) and I said "you did!?" And you said "Yeah. I'm proud of you." I'm so thankful you hear that enough to use it yourself. And I am so glad you are proud of me. :) Then when I mentioned Miss Carmie had found an awesome new wagon for you while she was pre-shopping at your school's consignment sale and that we were going to pick it up at her house after school today, you said "Yee....Haw." Well said. The wagon rules. And I love how you wait a few seconds after the "yee" for extra emphasis. Do you notice a theme with the sales? Yeah Mom has been a little crazy, buying and selling in a few spring ones. Yee. Haw. Gotta love cute new clothes and toys. And selling enough to pay for all the new ones is pretty sweet, too.

You continue to ask for "panpakes" to eat, and you picked up "Party rock is in the house tonight" after hearing your dad and I sing that song super obnoxiously. You have such a funny sense of humor, exploring a lot with silly voices and faces these days. You are a total ham.

A few other things that wowed me were two nights ago when you had a stack of books on the table that you wanted to read. You looked at it and said "I have a library! It's like CC!" Now you haven't been to her school in MONTHS due to me doing less working on Friday afternoons and I was amazed that you could associate that. Wow! And a few weeks ago in the "tubby" (yes, I have a few baby words that I have given myself permission to hang on to) you looked at your fish toy and said "I want to go to the Aquarium with Grandpa. We can see the fish and listen to the songs." Another memory from a few months back. It's amazing to me.

We are so proud of you and so excited for fun spring days ahead!
I love you honey.
Yee. Haw.
Mom

Life with a two year old...

Dear Keegan-
You are a riot. You say and do some of the funniest stuff, and I am so thankful I have cameras and smart fancy phones to help capture or pick it up. Here is a little review of some of the stuff you have said and done lately and just some images and footage I have randomly collected. The quality isn't always super because most of these are super random times when I just grab whatever I have with me and hit record, but it sure is worth putting out there for us ALL to remember just how adorable you are these days.

It has been cold as all get out, but you still LOVE to go to the playground, and manage to keep hold of some sort of car or truck in your hand the whole way down. Hey! Remember that time after Mattie' birthday (which I still need to blog about) when I thought it would be cool for us to go back to their neighborhood play set and have some adventures but then it was locked and the password changed? Yeah, like me promising you Disneyland and then Disneyland had burned down? That was awesome!

You and your dad have also taken to exploring the "woods." You have loved hiking with him, taking rides on his shoulders, and running up the mountain near our house!

Having a blast with Colby

This is what you and Andrew were up to when Mom and Dad were watching the Super Bowl at the McKinley's with some friends. You guys were giggling like crazy and had the tub FILLED with push toys, stuffed animals, a step stool, you name it!

Adventures in the basement on a typical night with you!

Another thing you have gotten into recently is singing. You belt out tunes and love for me to make a song up about most everything...like "we saw a forklift...at the home DEE pot!" and other big hits. The funny part is that you have the theme song of Veggie Tales in your head and at the end they vary the pitch up and down and up and down almost like a yodel, so EVERYTHING you sing these days tends to have that fluctuating note on the end. It's sort of like R&B.  Not my fave, but you did earn some huge points back after I popped in a Widespread CD in the car and I saw you pumping your fist from your car seat.  :)

I admit, once I was convinced you were not on the Autism spectrum, I loosened up a bit and let you watch Thomas. Here you are filling in the blanks of the wretched theme song following my "They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight..." and you are singing the next line "Shunting trucks and hauling freight!"

Because who DOESN'T wear frog boots with pajamas, sing a train song we discovered on Pandora, and read a construction book with wheels?

We have a pedaler!!!

You also do some really sweet things, like say "no hanks" and "bless you" when anyone within ear shot sneezes. You have come out with "I love you, Mommy" or "Daddy" at some really spontaneous and heart-melting times. You make associations to people and places that literally astound me. Like coffee and newspaper always brings up Grandpa, and we can turn a corner and you KNOW there is a "mango store" (Trader Joe's) nearby. There is a car we have had hostage by accident that you always remind me we need to take back to Andrew, and you can point out your classmate's parents from miles away it seems as we are pulling up to your school. You have become super independent and will open the garage door for guests, like when CC came over the other day and you bolted out to catch her first. You turn lights on and off, wash your hands, and even try to get dressed. We are going to work on the potty soon, because you still go nightly without fail before we get into the tub, and you seem like you might be ready to at least give it the old college try. 

In short, you amaze me. You are such a joy, and will be such a great big brother. I cannot wait. I love you to  infinity and beyond, little fella!
Mom

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dear Keegan-
Thanks for being my sweet Valentine today. I would like to start off by thanking you for the handsome dudes you set up for me in our tub...

...and also for the 4:00 am wake up call. The poop in the bath last night was sort of awesome, too. Man, I am one lucky lady!
Ok, so actually I am. Totally 100% lucky. Blessed. However you want to put it. I have been on a mega-organizing kick lately and tearing through this house like a tornado, tossing things right and left, finding unused space and generally making everything around here a little more efficient. Sort of a tall order, because that usually is how I like to run this ship, but let's just say I have been into overdrive lately. So with that organization has really come a sense of calm for me. I just feel at peace with everything in our lives.
We had a great day together, starting it off from a sweet card from your dad and a special set of diggers for you. Currently they are up in bed with you - all 5 of them. You have not let go of them once today, and they traveled in the car, the tub, the sink, and back in bed with you. I don't have the heart to say no, because you aren't really attached to a blanket or "lovey" or anything, so the vehicle of the week tends to be allowed in bed with you these days.
The weather was super yuck here today, so I decided we would take an adventure to the mall - where you love three things: the train, the carousel, and chicken and fries. I guess that's 4 things. Nevertheless, we checked them all off our list. I had a sort of secret agenda to pop into Pottery Barn Kids to scope out a quilt for your big boy bed that is backordered online. Boo. They didn't have it. But, I did get something else, and once we get your bed all set up, I will post some pictures. I think it will be pretty awesome. We decided to hit the food court and carousel first, sitting overlooking some big windows where you were able to drive your diggers in between bites of nuggets.

The carousel ride was next, and this time you headed right for the lame couch one that doesn't move up and down. Thank goodness you were easily swayed to pick the zebra that actually did qualify as a "real" carousel feature in my mind, and then later switched a mere two or three more times before ending up with the unicorn (no, I won't tell Dad that part.)
We got dizzy on the carousel and then headed back (the long way so as to pass a few of my favorite stores coincidentally)  to the "train" which could maybe best be described as a sort of scary Russian man with makeshift conductor hat who drives the battery powered vehicle throughout the bottom floor of the mall for a mere 3 minutes and $8 of my well earned money. It was fun, though, and you waved to the onlookers (other jealous kids whose moms weren't so nice) and pointed out your new diggers to the annoying dude with the flat iron kiosk and grouchy woman offering free samples of tea. "Choo Choo!! A-da board!"

To top that, we got a call from Dad, who encouraged us to stop by his station and say "hi." Sure thing! We went to visit him, climb in some fire trucks, and for me to get a lovely bouquet of Thin Mint cookie boxes. Can you say "victory" all around? Your dad knows me pretty well.
Yes, I have already taken down an entire sleeve. It's been like 9 hours!!
So that was most of our morning. We came home for you to nap and me to think about blogging but not quite get it done, and then to try your diggers in a few new spots: the fake moss at the base of some decorative trees upstairs, the indoor sandbox I created and your dad could potentially divorce me over, and the bed, matching them up as we looked at pictures of construction equipment on the iPad. Yes, you say it correctly now. Boo.
Fun times had by all, and I couldn't think of two better loves of my life to spend it with.
Much love, sweetie!
Mom

Happy Birthday, Cousin Mattie!

Dear Keegan-

Can you believe "Baby Mattie" is already a year old?! I sure can't. I remember sitting in the hospital lobby waiting for the official word that she was here and running in to see Uncle Adam and Aunt Jessie absolutely glowing. She is a big girl now, and you had fun helping her celebrate her big day.

Already a party animal dancing on tables. Your mommy taught her that move!

Sweet moment between daddy and daughter

Throwing the rock

"I'm crazy ball pit kid!"

Mattie LOVED her cake. Good thing she was stripped down because it was everywhere!

You helped sing the birthday song the first time, and then added your own solo by cheering "again!" afterward and launching into it a second time. 

Proud CC and Grandpa

Happy birthday, sweet girl!

Trains, trains, trains

Dear Keegan-

This weekend we went to an event that your grandparents told us about at a train museum in Kennesaw. You are a big train fan these days, and you soak up adventures like this, so we headed out in the gross rain and wind to go see the exhibit they had set up for little train lovers like you. 

All aboard!

 Testing out the signals

The massive train table 

Fun day except for the monsoon that greeted us on the way out. Whoops! Guess we didn't plan well for that.
Love you, little conductor!
Mom

Molly Pipe

Dear Keegan-
We have some really big, really fun news that you got to help share with our family!
Friday the 13th was the day--a normal school day for you, but for your dad and me, the big day to find out whether your sibling would be a "baby sister" as you kept saying or a baby brother.
Unfortunately your dad had to work that day sort of last minute, so I had to brave this adventure on my own. i dropped you off at school and headed over to the doctor's office. Before the sonographer could get two words out, I blabbed "My husband isn't here and I don't want to know the gender without him so please don't tell me." Relief. I said it. She knew the drill. Ball was in her court to not screw up. I did my part. So I laid on the table and proceeded to hear her explain how this was a really cool ultrasound at 20 weeks and it was a shame your dad couldn't be there. It sort of made me sad, but I knew it was ok. Then she mentioned this "wasn't like an emergency so it could be rescheduled." Really? Let me just hop up off this table with this jelly all over my tummy and call it a day, then. It's not like I have been waiting the past 18 weeks of my life for this or anything. Sure, I'll go grab a bagel and just chill until you get out of school.
What!?! NO! Get on with it.
And she did. She fired that ultrasound machine up and instantly I recognized the little body inside of me. I sort of half closed my eyes, worried I would discover something I shouldn't. I felt guilty so I asked her to make sure to remember to tell me to look away when it was "reveal" time. She started with the baby's brain and worked her way down, checking to make sure everything measured ok and was in the right spot. Check, check, check. "The baby has a brain, two eyes, a nose and mouth (a good looking palate-I asked!), and it is kicking a bunch! This little thing looks like it's waving. Two arms, two legs." Phew! I am letting the breath out a little bit each time she goes down the list. She looked at the heart and stood back and then re-positioned her probe thing. I started to sweat a little bit and I asked if she was concerned. "Oh, sweetie, please don't be nervous. The 4 chambers of the heart are the hardest thing for us to visualize. The baby has to cooperate and be in just the right position for us to get a good look. I am going to enter some stuff into the computer and then I will try again. No problems." So she did just that. She got back on and measured the beats per minute. And I got teary. Just like with you. Just hearing that beating inside me is so special.  And then right as I was silently praying for those 4 chambers to pop up, I heard it: "He looks good!" I turned white. I did a silent fist pump hearing the four chambers but then the word "he" echoed in my head. It wasn't bad that it was a "he." It was devastating that I knew this secret without your dad. I couldn't talk. She awkwardly seemed to try and cover it up by even saying "This kid..." Kid? This is an 18 week old baby here, not some punk delivering pizza. Weirdness. I asked for my envelope with the reveal pictures and she explained that they typically give a letter telling the sex. Sure, whatever, lady. Just hand it over and let me get on with my day. "What will we name him? He will already have a sweet closet full of clothes. Wow! I am going to be outnumbered now!" all flying through my head.  I somehow made it from the doctor's office to your school to pick you up somehow come up with a lunch and do therapy that afternoon. It felt surreal. I hate secrets. And more than secrets, I hate ruined surprises. So I tried to play it cool and think about other things...anything! You and I played in the basement and ran around a bunch. Your dad was supposed to be home around dinner but I was getting text messages in a steady stream wondering what the outcome was. At about 5 I started getting crazy. He got out of work later than he thought. Then there was traffic. Meanwhile, that envelope was burning a hole in our counter tops. Finally I got the five minute warning. I calmly tried to put on my best poker face and greet your dad by the door. Hugs. Kisses. Open the darn thing! I let him do it because, duh!, I already knew. So I saved the surprise for him. Or so I thought. The next few minutes went a little like this: rip, read, scream, tears (that would be me on the last two!) A girl? What!? She said HE!!! Holy cow! This is not what I planned as of 10:46 this morning. Holy cow! HOLY COW!!! I explained the story to him and we laughed and sat in shock and laughed and hugged and then realized we needed to step on it to make it to the grandparents houses and home in time for you to get a decent night sleep. We made an executive decision to head to Alpharetta due to the traffic on the way to your Beck grandparent's. It should have been their turn to find out first, but there was no way we were going to navigate stop and go traffic with this kind of news! We made it to your Corrigan grandparents with a little surprise for them, even stopping at the front of the driveway with the lights off to make our grand entrance super special. You rang the doorbell and had the "Baby Girl" balloon in tow. Dad picked the tricky "blue in color, but really says "girl"" balloon to throw them off. It worked. It was dark enough that they said hello and gave us hugs and about two seconds later CC screamed "Wait, it's a girl!?" Hugs, kisses, more hugs, kisses. What fun! We played trains, talked about names, and her life plan and then packed you back up to do it all over again. Your Beck grandparents were shocked and squealing with joy, too! We all couldn't be happier, and who better to deliver the news than you, Best Big Brother Ever.

Tricky, huh?

What a great messenger!

Ding dong! I've got some news!

Hooray!

So, we have been talking about this new baby who is coming to live at our house with us. You think she is inside my belly button and occasionally ask to check it out. Funny. I heard from a friend that she felt like talking about a new baby was like promising a kid a puppy in 9 months, so I have tried to tone it down a bit, while still preparing you. So we have asked you what you think she should be named. We have always loved the name Molly, but the name Piper sort of crept up on us and felt like it would fit well with Keegan. So we asked you, "Should we call Baby Sister Molly or Piper." Your answer: Pipe. 

So your dad and I have been referring to her as Molly Pipe. You think it's pretty funny. We think you are pretty darn cute. 

And there is the story of you delivering the fun news. 

We have lots to be thankful for and lots to look forward to. Love you, Keegan Paul. 

XOXO

Mom

Merry Christmas!

Dear Keegan-
Hey! Remember that time when your Dad was like "Um, my wisdom teeth really hurt! I think I am going to get this looked at!" and I was like "Yes, please do that since you have complained about it for at least a few years now and they are certainly not making you any wiser" and then he was like "Hey! I went and they need to take 3 of them out" and I was like "Okay! Let's do this!" and then he was like "How about December 23rd?" and "By the way, they are sort of worried my face will be paralyzed!"
... And I was like "This is my life...."
Well that time was this year. Christmas. Boooo.
I jest. It was the worst timing ever, true, but your dad was in a world of hurt and requiring something like the most complex surgery EVER on the face of the planet, so we made arrangements for a Corrigan sleepover for you and I woke up at 4:45 (yes I am still trying to get mileage out of that favor) and drove him to the surgeon to do a pre-office hours removal. Long story a little shorter, it is January 3rd and he is still trying to recover. It was rough, but he was a total trooper and made the best of the bad timing.
Here is a recap of all the other stuff that we did in the past week or so.

Christmas eve at Grandpa and CCs! They brought the train table downstairs for even easier access for you. How great is it to have grandparents who redecorate their home for your comfort?? Pretty awesome, methinks. 

3G (Great Grandma Gert) with her two grands. We couldn't quite get everyone looking at the same camera, but it was still a pretty cute moment!

Adam and Jessie and "Baby Mattie" - poor girl is almost one and I fear that you may call her this for life!

Daddy trying his best to smile through the pain but still pretty swollen from surgery about 24 hours prior!

Taking Mattie for a ride as your caboose!

Traditional family Crackers, filled with paper hats, cheap party favors, jokes to only be read in a foreign accent, and LOTS of laughter!

Even you got in on the phone with the paper hats!

Sweet roller coaster from Daddy and me!

Helping Mattie out with the opening and showing her your prized new truck book from 3G!

Santa brought you some good stuff, too! I love the look on your face!

Santa brought you this great car track/parking garage. CC helped you test it out...

 ...and Grandpa got in on the action too!

We spent Christmas with your Beck grandparents on the 26th. What a cute picture of you guys!

Sort of awesome when you are the only boy grandchild and the only grandchild around for Christmas. I thought the gifts were never going to end!

Papa gave you a ride on the mower, too, since you love to do that!!

You also have gotten a pretty big kick out of my big present from Daddy, my ipad (or as you call it, "Mommy's ipag!") Why not put Dad's goggles on your head, climb up on the coffee table, and take a turn?

So here we are in the new year.

We are so thankful for you and our family, that Daddy is healthy, and that we will be a family of FOUR in 2012. We'll talk more about that later, but we truly are BLESSED!
Big hugs, my love, and Merry Christmas!!

Mom

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Dear Keegan-
The Elf is back, Rudy the Rudolph is chilling in your glider, and Colby is decked out in his fancy green and red collar. It's Christmas! Yippee! You helped us decorate the tree this year, and though I think you may have taken more ornaments OFF than you actually put on, it was so wonderful having you look up with saucer-sized eyes at our little tree in sheer amazement.

We took our annual trip to look at lights on houses and I got to pick out our next house in my dream neighborhood over in Milton. We had a funny thing happen because Dad thought he had a new place for us to add to our rotation. We searched and searched and he called some of his firefighter buddies hoping they would have more detailed directions for us. Nobody could figure out the road we were looking for, and finally the combination of my phone, GPS, and some good old common sense helped us realize poor Dad had seen the address from a Facebook friend who lived in Milton, FLORIDA, not GEORGIA. OOPS! Too funny! Needless to say, you were sort of over being in the car by this point and were more interested in your CARS dvd than the lights synced to music, but we got our fix and checked "driving around looking for lights" off of our 2011 Christmas bucket list. 

I decided to take a few days off PRIOR to Christmas this year because I always have a case of the post-holiday blues and regret that I didn't take more time to stop and smell the poinsettias beforehand. This year I wisened up and your dad and I again happened to be off on the Tuesday before the big day. Thinking I wanted to immerse myself in some more Christmas cheer, we decided to head to the mall. Being mostly done with my shopping, it was going to be a leisurely time of watching the hustle and bustle and walking around as a family.  Well, once we got there, we had no time to relax. We were greeted by the train and then ventured up to do the carousel ride. It was like Disney World to you. We had a lot of fun watching you relish every single second. I laughed when we got to the carousel and you requested the reindeer of all animals to ride. Guess who else loves this time of year?!?

Dad had a hard time catching us whiz by him. You are in the next tow back behind the large tiger. It was super fun! And we had a pizza party (we call it that whenever any of us eats pizza) and chicken and fries (your meal) at the food court, too. Felt like I was 15 again. Except I didn't use to ride the carousel at the mall...or walk hand in hand with a two year old. Nevertheless, it was awesome.

Merry Christmas!
Love,
Mom, your fearless train and carousel partner

Diggers!!

Dear Keegan-

Have I mentioned your love for anything construction related?? Well, your dad and I decided to take you on a little adventure on a rare mutual day off to watch the planes take off and land at a local airport and we stumbled upon this goldmine on our way there. Pardon the pun, because there was no gold, but we did see tons and tons (literally, again) of dirt, asphalt, and glorious front loaders, excavators, and dump trucks. Can you tell I have gotten quite the education from reading books and watching shows with you that explain all about these various vehicles??

This cool little spot had a large deck overlooking a rock quarry where there was so much activity I thought maybe we would come have a picnic and watch them again some day in the spring. Roarrrrr!

Love you, little construction dude!

Mom

All aboard!

Dear Keegan-
You and your Grandpa have had some great quality time as of late. You make up silly names for things, invent funny games, and even have a soundtrack to your adventures that goes a little something like this: "KeeganandGrandpaKeeganandGrandpa." I always tell people we are so thankful to have our family so close and it really is true. It is so wonderful not only to have the help while Daddy and I work, but just how well you know both of your grandparents is so awesome.
Last week was a big week of two full days with Grandpa, since Dad was working extra and Mimi was out of town. One of your days was spent in school and then playing at home, and the next day Grandpa came up with a great plan for the two of you.
You went to the Southern Railway Museum to get a load of some trains. It was like Disney World. But better. Grandpa took a ton of pictures which I was able to upload so I will document the rest via images. All I know was that you had LOTS to talk about that night once I got home. Your brain and mouth were going about a mile a minute until your head hit the pillow and you cashed out. It was the measure of a great day.
Thanks, Grandpa! We sure love you lots!

What a fun day!

Love you, little conductor!
Mom