No Screaming During the Bath, But Then Came the Shots

Last Sunday, Keelie hit the two month mark.

This week was the first time we were able to give Keelie a bath without her screaming her head off. Progress! I’m also enjoying the “Daddy & Keelie” time I get with her after working.

Changes have been afoot while we have been recuperating at home. We really enjoyed our friends from church that would meet as a group called Homecoming. The situation settled into six regular couples, three of us having young kids, and we’d meet weekly in homes. However, the group decided to go in a new direction and was basically absorbed into a larger group that meets on the church campus. One of the Homecoming families is about to move “permanently” to Africa, and they are expecting their second child. We're going to miss them.

Here's Keelie sleeping hard in a "nest" of pillows, Kori couldn't resist taking a picture!

Kori took these shots below when she noticed Keelie rising up off me during Daddy & Keelie time. Shelby couldn’t resist getting into the shots.

A kiss from Shelby?

"More pictures, Mommie?"

"Daddy, why does Mommie take so many pictures?"

Here’s Keelie reaching nine weeks of age on Tuesday, and raising her arms in victory.

Kori, Keelie, and I checked in with the lactation consultants again. Well, I didn’t need to be there, but I was. Things are looking good. Kori is doing a very good job and is producing a lot.

Yesterday, Keelie went to the doctor again so she could get her first shots. Four times, she had to endure needles being stuck into her thighs. Even though it was done as quickly as possible, Keelie was not happy about it. However, she’s doing well at gaining weight and getting longer. For her age, she’s at the 20th percentile for weight (as she was at birth), and 50th percentile for height. For hair, she’s off the charts. And she seemed to be in a good mood for most of the rest of the day. She was probably hoping that she could avoid more shots that way!

Kori ventured out for the first time without Keelie. She ran some errands while I stayed home and had some Daddy & Keelie time. Kori was happy to be fitting back into her “ultra-skinny” jeans. But then, she was looking like her pre-pregnancy self very soon after giving birth.

As you can see below, we’ve started to try out putting things in Keelie’s hair. You know - to get people to notice it. They seem not to see it, otherwise.

For dinner, we met up with Bob and Julie at the PCH Grill, located inside the Paradise Pier Hotel at the Disneyland Resort. They brought a present for Keelie - so nice! We hadn’t seen them in the longest time. The PCH Grill is where Kori and I ate on our first date, and look what happened to us! (Of course, we did go into Disneyland Park, too, on that date).

Finally, I’ll end this post with a picture of a gift that arrived this week for Keelie, sent by Adam, whom I consider a professional and creative mentor (even though he was never a PIO for a County of Los Angeles Department).

Meet Moxy. Now that’s a “stuffed animal”. Thank you, Adam.

As always, you can e-mail us at KEPellman at Yahoo dot com. A note to our less tech-savvy friends and family: By clicking on most of these pictures, you will see a larger version of the same picture.

Eight Weeks Plus

Okay, it has been a little long since our last family update – almost two weeks. So we have a lot of baby pictures to show you.

Like her father, Keelie was born with a lot of hair. It is usually the first thing people notice about her. It’s thick and getting longer, of course.

She still hates taking a bath. Hmph. She’ll never become an Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming if that keeps up. She does, however, love being in this bouncer, which vibrates.

Changing her diaper is no longer guaranteed to make her scream and kick. Quite often, she will quietly look around and cooperate. Kori pointed out that it could be because she is usually fed right after a changing, and she definitely likes being fed!

She usually has a quieter overnight schedule, but there are nights where she’ll want to eat more often.

Kori stays busy taking care of Keelie around the clock.

Last Friday, our friends True and Erick came over to meet Keelie, and they brought sandwiches - bless them!

Keelie had a busy day on Sunday, as we dropped in on her Nanny, Aunt Binky, and Uncle Chris, then went to see my dad, his wife Kathleen, her niece Tammy, Tammy’s husband Jeff, and Jeff’s daughter Marissa.

Here she is with her Aunt Binky, who is telling everyone that Keelie is #1.

Keelie turns away from the cell phone camera as Nanny holds her. Notice that gate, which holds back Nanny’s meddlesome dog.

Keelie is with her Uncle Chris, but someone else wants to hold her, too.

Grandma Kathleen posing with Keelie.

Here she is with Grampa Pellman. Notice the view. In the background, there’s also a table with a mosaic that they made.

My dad and Kathleen love to try new recipes, and they did so with a fish Jeff caught. The original plan was to eat outside, but flies started swarming the table area, which I hadn’t seen there before. We moved inside, where the flies followed us. The food was great. That could have been why there were so many flies.

I was able to snap this picture of the two ladies enjoying a nap.

Monday, Keelie’s Aunt Kendra came over.

Tuesday, Keelie reached 8 weeks! I like the pictures her mother takes.

I told you she likes this thing.

Keelie and I taking it easy last night. I try to take Keelie completely off of Kori’s hands for at least an hour each day.

Here she is early today. Adorable!

Tonight, we were able to get out to see the “Friday night gang” we were hanging out with many of the weeks leading up to the birth. It was the first time we’ve seen them since Keelie was born.

Stacia was kind enough to snap this picture while we were all out eating Chinese food. We don’t have a lot of pictures of the three of us, and this is a nice one, even if it just shows Keelie’s hair.

Pam with Kori and Keelie.
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Keelie started to get fussy, but we just had to snap this picture of her with Tony before we bailed out early and came home.

Keelie is getting bigger and thicker. Yay!

Thanks for stopping by. You can always write us - KEPellman[at[yahoo[dot]com.

Ken's Latest Column Now Online

The moment you've been waiting for is finally here!

The latest edition of Kenversations(TM) was posted today at http://www.LaughingPlace.com.

In this column, Ken laments the closure of the Disney Gallery by sharing his Disney Gallery memories from the past 20 years.

Check out the column and tell Ken what you think by using the feedback form at the end of the column. You can also talk about the column with others by following the link at the end of the column to the discussion boards.

Remember - Ken also contributes to The Disney Blog at http://www.TheDisneyBlog.com

Keelie's First Disneyland Trip Since Birth!

Okay, so that piciture is blurry, but it is the best I can do. I will tell you why I took it at the end of this post.

My Disneyland trip frequency has plummeted to lows I haven't experienced since 1985, when my family first started getting annual passes. We've been a little busy, what with the pregnancy and birth and recovery and dealing with our first baby.

Well, today we made a short visit to the Happiest Place on Earth!

Here's Kori and Keelie riding the tram on the way from the Mickey & Friends parking structure to the Entrance Plaza. It's Keelie's first Disneyland ride since emerging from the womb!


Can't you just see Keelie's excitement about her first Disneyland picture? No? Hmm, well, I guess not, given how she's in the snuggly.

As you can see, the view didn't change much for Keelie. It's a good view, though.

We dropped into the park briefly to see the Disney Gallery before it closes, and get some pictures and video. Yeah, the Disney Gallery is closing. Bummer. I'm writing a lot more about it because I have lots of memories from the gallery, and so my thoughts and some pictures will be up as my next KenversationsTM column on LaughingPlace.com soon.

I've come up with a new theory about Keelie and her being fussy. She's most fussy when she's with Kori and I in familiar surroundings, like home. She's a lot less fussy with new people and new places. My theory is that she's a supergenius and finds the same faces and places unstimulating, and thus upsettingly boring to her. She wants to absorb new faces and places. Because she is a supermegaultragenius. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

She was quiet in the snuggly for the entire short visit.

Now, for your viewing pleasure, here are three pictures of Keelie from when we got home and she was still in her car seat.



I may be a little biased, but I think she's adorable.

NEWS FLASH - I was just about to post this entry when Kori called me into the bedroom because Keelie has found her thumb! After weeks of trying to stick her fists in her mouth and getting frustrated when they wouldn't stay here, Keelie stuck her thumb in her mouth and started sucking. That's what the picture at the top of this post is - Keelie sucking her thumb.

I was a die-hard thumb sucker as a child. I think I stopped in 11th grade. Seriously - I know I stopped before sixth grade, but it may not have been too much earlier.

-Ken

Six Weeks Plus For Keelie

Kori snapped this picture this past Tuesday, right about the time Keelie turned six weeks old.

As you can see, she has the pacifier in her mouth. She still usually rejects pacifiers, but from time to time, she will tolerate one for a while.

This past Wednesday, Keelie's Auntie Kendra, back from Hawaii, came over to help out - bless her! Kori has been working so hard on taking care of our demanding little fussy baby. I'm glad that the sisters were able to spend some time together and that Kori had some help while I was out.

Thursday, we took Keelie for a follow-up with the pediatrician. She's gaining weight and growing, so that is good! Yesterday, we had a follow-up with the breastfeeding/lactation specialist, and everything is going well.

Kori and I are still in the adapting mode, and haven't been able to do much other than run some errands, most of them related to Keelie. I know, I know... welcome to parenthood! By the time we get the hang of Keelie as an infant, she'll be a toddler!

Here's another picture of Keelie from just a few minutes ago.