Keaton's little surgery

Well, our baby boy got tubes put in his ears yesterday. He did such a great job! He was a very brave boy. :) He obviously didn't love all the doctors and nurses bothering him, and after he came back from the surgery he was really sad and super confused from the anesthesia and just cried and cried for about a half an hour. But, after that he started doing a lot better and was such a good boy yesterday. He slept a ton- he took 2 naps that totaled about 5 hours. :) But, when he was awake he was real happy and just was having fun playing. So, hopefully things will only get better from here and he will start drinking and eating a little better and stop getting ear infections!

Keaton's 1st "shine-r" and other crazy stuff...

Our little boy is walking! And along with his wobbly legs comes lots of little falls. :) A couple days after he started walking all over the place he fell into the corner of our coffee table right below his eye and although the picture doesn't give his bruise justice he got a nice little "shine-r." But, it's finally official, our baby is completely mobile! A sad and super exciting thing all at the same time. I never thought I would get so emotional about my little boy growing up, yet, here I am feeling as emotional about it as ever. Oh, well.

We finally saw snow here in Orem on Saturday. And, boy it was quite the storm. And, yes, that is my camera strap hanging in our picture... opps.) This picture was taken right before we headed to the hospital to check Keaton in for dehydration. Boy, has it been quite the month. (Quite the start to a new year, if I do say so myself.) I'm not going to get into all the nitty gritty details, but I will tell you about why it has been quite the month for Keaton. He has had 2 ear infections so far this month (4 ear infections total in the past 6 months, 3 of those being in the last 2 months.) and over the last month or so has just decided he doesn't want to eat or drink ANYTHING. (Talk about being a stressed out mom, it a full-time job trying to get this kid to eat or drink! Good thing he is such a cute, sweet, good boy otherwise!) So, what happens when you don't drink anything over a long period of time? You get dehydrated, and stop having wet diapers, which leads to having to spend the night in the hospital with an iv. It was quite the experience let me just tell you... Keaton did a lot better than expected, but he still hated it and cried like crazy when any doctor or nurse came in to check on him, check his vitals, or especially when they had to place his iv. He finally fell asleep around 12:30 (after watching his new favorite show Elmo in Grouchland- he loves his new movie and could probably watch it over and over all day long if I let him.) in the morning and slept until 6:30, but it was quite the long night for all of us. (Justin and I "slept" together on a  very small, very uncomfortable couch-like fold out bed.) We came home from the hospital yesterday  morning, which made our stay just a little over 12 hours, just enough time to get him nice and "tanked up" as all the doctors and nurses called it. So, needless to say Keaton has had way to many visits to the doctor in the past few months and it doesn't stop here, all his ear infections not resolving with antibiotics means it's time to get tubes in his ears. Sigh. I'm not looking forward to it, and if Keaton even had a little clue what he was going to have to go through this Thursday he certainly wouldn't be looking forward to it either, but if it helps him to feel better and maybe even eat and drink better than it will be worth it.

So, to all you experienced mom's out there- what are some tricks of the trade to get your toddler to eat or drink when they just simply refuse everything? (Oh, and believe me when I say I have tried just about everything...)

12 on 12: January

I am super excited to try out this 12 of 12 grid for the 2012 year! (Haven't heard of 12 of 12, I first saw it here, and I just really thought it was a super fun idea and finally decided for this new year I would love to "copy cat" it. Thanks Charlotte for the inspiration. :) You can also check out more 12 of 12 info here too.) But, here's the main idea, on the 12th day of the month you take 12 pictures to document the day. So, here is January- in my 1st 12 of 12 form.

01. Keaton. Wanting his mama to pick him up.
02. Keaton. Watching Word World, or Super Why! I'm not sure which, but he loves both these days.
03. The 13th Reality The Journal of Curious Letters- my current read at the time. Atop my books of poetry, my planner, and my Nook. My lifelines.
04. Keaton eating Cinnamon Chex. His current staple amidst a very short list of the only other things he will eat lately.
05. I think he knows he is a little stink. :)
06. Pictures of my loves, Winter decorations, and one of my many Scentsies. (Is that how you would spell it? I should probably know, but I'm stumped on this one.) Only wishing there was just a little snow- there isn't any here- outside to make it feel like there is a reason to even have my snowmen up around the house.
07. Keaton and daddy. And, of course, Keaton wants the camera.
08. Keaton and mommy. (I don't like this picture of me- at.all.)
09. "Okay, mom, that's enough!" He, he.
10. Keaton. Again. Wanting his mama. Again.
11. Justin, sitting in his usual spot. This boy always has some sort of schoolwork to do.
12. My new game on my Nook, "Words with Friends," which I have been playing daily with my mom and Auntie Michele. :)

Taking a wintry walk with Dad

Isn't January just the perfect time of year to go on a little stroll? Ha ha, its not like it is cold out or anything. But, Justin insisted that Keaton really wanted to go. And, doesn't he look so very cute all bundled up in his coat, hat, and mittens. All ready to go on a little walk with Dad across the street to pick up our car at Discount Tire after getting the tires rotated. Oh, it's the little things in life, right?

Go Cougars!

Keaton and daddy enjoying the BYU basketball game together. Doesn't Keaton look super cute in his Clemson hoodie that uncle Curtis sent him from South Carolina for Christmas! :)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this face that Keaton makes ALL THE TIME recently. His big open eyes and his silly mouth. He makes me laugh so much, this little boy of ours. :)

Maddie was even with us at this game. :) (She came to stay with us for a few days during her Christmas break! This game was on December 27th) And, we all had the chance to get a picture with Cosmo! (Keaton doesn't seem so sure about Cosmo being so close to him though... Ha ha.)

Our "MERRY and BRIGHT" Christmas

Keaton on Christmas morning at about 7 am. I guess he didn't know that he was supposed to wake up real early in anticipation of his presents from Santa! We had to wake him up. :)

This year was my family's turn to have us for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. And, as you can tell, Santa surely came.

Here is our little family's pile of presents. Keaton's is the biggest. :)

My mom got the little kids this cute "home for the holidays" doll house. Although, I think me and my sisters loved it way more than the little kids did! Oh boy!

Keaton and daddy opening up Keaton's presents...

Rockin' Elmo! Just what Keaton wanted. :)

Keaton is obsessed with Elmo these days and just loved his new dancing and singing Elmo!

I couldn't get a great picture of him lookin' like he loves it... but, believe me he was dancin' with Elmo like crazy all morning!

Keaton's present from Aunt BreAnne. This hat she crocheted for him looks sooo cute on him! I sure wish he would wear it for longer than 2 seconds...

Here is Keaton after church with my family. It has been a long day for him already... can ya tell? But, he sure does look cute in the stylin' new church clothes that my mom gave all the little boys. :)

Keaton and Grandma Patsy at the Craythorne family Christmas dinner/party. He was just wiped out by this time... ready for the nap that he wasn't going to get. Poor boy! But, he sure did love cuddling with Grandma and soon enough he was sound asleep in her arms. Too bad we had to wake him up about 20 minutes later!

Because, of course, Keaton couldn't miss skyping with his uncle Curtis!

 This isn't a great picture, but it was so fun and exciting to not only be able to hear Curtis, but also to see him too! He is loving every second of his mission and is out there in South Carolina being such a great missionary!

Grandpa and Keaton- still super tired.

But, after talking to Elder Norman it was time to head back to my parents house to talk to Elder Adams. Talon only has less than 2 months left until he comes home (although, he might not admit that...) and it was great and weird to talk to him knowing that we will see him in a couple short months. This picture is of Keaton and Lexi playing with Keaton's new Fisher Price Zoo while we talked to Talon on the phone.

We had such a great Christmas this year. And, as always, it went by much too quickly! The holidays are always filled with so much happiness, love, and magic and I always hate to see it all end, but Justin, Keaton, and I all had a great time celebrating the birth of our Savior amidst all the parties, movies, games, food, and just all the quality time spent with those we love the most.