Ken’s Latest Book Review Now Online

We interrupt the posting of pictures of our baby with this important announcement...

Go to LaughingPlace.com to read Ken’s review of the unauthorized biography of the Walt Disney World Resort, _Realityland: True Life Adventures at Walt Disney World_ by David Koenig.

Thank you.

A Dip in the Pool and Making the Rounds

After I last blogged here, on Saturday the 15th, we took a trip to the Disneyland Resort, to Disneyland Park in particular. It was the first time we pushed Keelie around in her stroller, still in the car seat because it attaches to the stroller. No pictures, though. I didn’t think to snap one. Oh well.

All we did was walk around. That’s it. We roughly circled the park in the after-dark hours to take a look at how things were, and we came home. Keelie slept for a good chunk of the time. We find it a little difficult to stay out in public too long.

The next evening, we caught a little bit of the Emmys. I think it is a little silly that we have to watch stuff three hours after it happens because we’re on the west coast. The upside is that all I had to do was a quick search online to find out why people were getting cut off in mid-sentence with an odd camera shot accompanied by silence.

We are part of a homeowners association, although there has been almost no activity with it since I married Kori and moved in (yes - in that order). There was a single contentious meeting last year, attended by a rabble-rouser who doesn’t even own or live here. I suspect he was there simply to get people to join his activist organization, because once the “minority” group he was targeting signed up with him, he disappeared, apparently sidetracked with bigger fish to fry in some more high-profile protests last year.

Well, this week there was another meeting. This time, without the huckster. We’ve hired a new management company. The old company didn’t really do anything. This new company claims to be strict, which I know can be a mixed blessing. The downside is that our fees (or whatever the technical term is) will likely increase, but they are ridiculously low right now.

But enough about such mundane matters. Most of you are here to get your Keelie update.

Keelie hit two milestones this week. She hit 3 months of age, and she’s up to the weight she should be, given her birth weight and her age. Yay! Kori has put in a lot of hard work. As a result, we are graduating Keelie from her newborn onesies.

These pictures are from Keelie’s 13-week mark, a day before she turned 3 months old.

Eyes are opening up...

There they are!

Friday, we went to Puma and Granddaddy Keel’s to visit with them and to enjoy their wonderful pool.

It was Keelie’s first time in water, aside from the bath. She didn’t hate it.

I barely recognize this man holding my daughter.

Puma’s enthusiasm for her granddaughter has not diminished in the slightest.

We stayed for quite a while, and so I went and picked up dinner for the four of us. Granddaddy Keel wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t hold Keelie, which is why there is no picture of that.

Yesterday, we ran some errands and made some more visits. That’s no small feat around the Los Angeles County/Orange County area when we’re undergoing the first real rainfall in many months. Even on a Saturday, traffic was horrible and there were accidents everywhere.

We stopped by Nanny’s, so that Nanny, Aunt Kim, and Aunt Binky could all hold Keelie again.

They are also unfailingly eager to see Keelie.

From there, it was off to True’s housewarming/birthday party. The place was packed. Even though we hadn’t seen the house before, we could tell True had really done a great job on the place.

Keelie hadn’t met Marina since being born, so it was nice to let Marina take Keelie off our hands for a little while.

There were two other babies there and lots of food. It was good.

Thanks for reading. We always appreciate hearing from you. You can leave a comment here, or you can write us at KEPellman [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Almost to Three Months

We bid all of our Jewish friends a peaceful new year.

It has almost been a couple of weeks since our last update. My apologies to all of you who crave the pictures of Keelie.

Keelie is nearing the 3 month mark. Wow. Our lives are so different from three months ago. Yeah, we knew to expect that, but living it is another story, as I’ve said over and over again.

"Get my good side!"

Keelie almost always sleeps well through the night, except her Mommie will wake her up to change her, feed her, and pump, which in turn wakes up Daddy. Shelby will usually leave the room during the pumping - it must be a noise the machine emits. Kori will try to let me sleep if I have work in the morning. I try to give Kori some time alone each day, since she takes care of Keelie around the clock otherwise, and that gives me bonding time with Keelie.

Diaper changes almost never prompt Keelie to cry anymore, although she may be crying for other reasons, such as being hungry since she just woke up. She is pretty good at "anointing" her clothes with one of the two substances that escape from that end. I think she does it on purpose because she likes trying on different outfits.

I joke that she has RBS – Restless Baby Syndrome – because she will often insist that Mommie keep walking around as she holds her. Stopping causes Keelie to fuss. Plus, she is constantly moving around while she is awake. Sitting still is not part of the program. We should have known to expect this, given how much she moved around during the pregnancy. A very active baby, indeed.

Here she is practicing cheers. "Go LSU!"

I’ve been keeping busy with work, even working extra hours. Modern communications mean I can be working wherever I am.

Recently, Keelie’s Puma and Granddaddy Keel made a visit to see her and take some pictures, and we visited them and had dinner at the Keel household -bless them! Both evenings were made possible by Pam’s shift being changed to stand-by.

We’ve also been taking Keelie to church, but not for main services yet – just the group meetings.

This is Keelie at 12 weeks.

Our friends Bill & Paula recently had friends over for a BBQ, and so we went to savor the conversation and the yummy food – bless them! They insisted that everyone travel there lightly by not bringing anything to serve.

Yesterday, we took Shelby to get a long overdue professional grooming. I’m sure she’s just thrilled we waited until the end of summer to remove her heavy coat and leave her almost naked. We also took the opportunity to run some errands, including stopping by the Wonder/Hostess outlet on Orangethorpe. We love the place and we were bummed to hear the recent news that seemed to make it clear that Wonder and all related bakeries/stores would be leaving the area. But we were happy to see the notices up that this place was remaining open and would still carry Wonder products. Yay! The cashier on duty hadn’t seen Kori since the birth, so she came over to us and asked how it all went down.

Here's the nearly naked Shelby.

In the evening, we stuffed ourselves at the monthly get-together at Hometown Buffet that we seem to make every third month or so.

We haven’t really done a lot of exciting stuff lately. We’ve been even more hermit-like than we used to be, because we’re taking it easy, focusing on Keelie and spending time together to help each other with that, and avoiding the hassles of going places with a baby. It makes us unavailable for a lot, but it’s the way things have to be for now. When we do go out, we always hear 1) how adorable Keelie is, and 2) how in-shape Kori is so soon after giving birth. She really did snap right back into shape. Hmmmm, maybe I should give birth.

Thanks for reading. We always appreciate hearing from you. You can leave a comment here, or you can write us at KEPellman [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Keeping Cool As Summer Winds Down

Every year, August and September get really, really hot in southern California, yet we tend to forget that until we experience it all over again every year. We’re thankful for air conditioning.


My sisters and mother are constantly requesting we visit so that they can fight over holding Keelie.

Tuesday, Kim and Vicky came down to see Keelie and we all went to dinner at El Cholo in La Habra. Kim picked up the check – bless her! Kori and I had to get our green corn tamale fix.

Thursday evening, we dropped in at Kendra & Steve’s. Steve hadn’t seen Keelie in a while and neither had Pam & Bill, who were there for dinner.

Friday, we took Keelie for a follow-up appointment with a specialist. The drive to and from the office, which was not hampered by slow traffic, was longer than the visit. Keelie is getting heavier and longer, like she should. Kori and the doc went over some of Keelie’s symptoms/likes/dislikes and thought she might have silent reflux. So now Keelie has “yummy” (like mouthwash) medicine to take.

In the evening, we went to bid farewell to Jeni, Jon, Graci, and Isaiah (in utero) who are moving to Kenya. Jon’s family is there (he was actually born in Africa). Jenn & Dave hosted the send-off and most of Homecoming was there.

This is Jenn holding her.

Jon, Jeni, and Graci...

Aaron and Cherise...

Cherise, James, Chrissy, and Dave...

Saturday, we went to the Keel household so that Bill, Pam, Toby, and Kirby could see Keelie again, and then we went to my mother’s place for dinner, where my mother, my siblings, nephews, and brother-in-law caught up with Keelie. My mother loves to feed us - bless her!

Here's Auntie Kim with Keelie...

As you can see, Uncle Mike is as sociable as ever...

Another one with Auntie Kim...

With Nanny...

Yesterday, Kori noticed the earthquake that hit about 10:30am. No big deal, thankfully. We stayed inside the condo all day as it was hot outside and we weren’t feeling our best.

On Daddy's shoulder earlier today, thinking hard about what Daddy should write...

We hope all is well with you and your loved ones. Write us at KEPellman [at] yahoo [dot] com.