SPIT a.k.a. "pbpbpbpbpbt"

The parenting books say kids are supposed to start making consonant-like sounds now and using their mouths like a musical instrument. If that's the case, maybe some kind of horn will be in Keenan's future. Check out how much he enjoys pursing his lips together and blowing out:




Note: Dad needed at least four takes to get this on camera. Our little ham would stop playing the "instrument" as soon as Dad click the camera's shutter. Hence, the video starts with the camera beneath the table as we try to hide it from him!

Beach Baby

Keenan and family--Daphne included!-- took their second road trip together, down to the southern tip of North Carolina to visit Grammy and Pop near the beach in Southport. Keen spent two quality days at the beach--the first of which he napped away (Not even a first-time beach-goer can resist napping under a shady umbrella with the relaxing sound of crashing waves!). He got to wear some super-cool color-coordinated new beach duds and to dip his feet in the warm ocean water. Thanks to Auntie Jen for Keen's jungle bathing suit, and to Margie and the Schiffners for his stylin' hat! Keenan was definitely the hippest mini-dude on the beach.

"My future's so bright..."


"Okay, I'll smile as long as you fix my hat."

"I don't see any squirrels, but these sand crabs look delicious."

Bouncing Baby Boy

Look at our little ball of energy bounce! Keenan just loves this "Jumperoo" and we love watching him bounce. Thanks Kristi, Erica, Megan, and Caitlin--you obviously knew from experience that this contraption would be a big hit!
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Grammy and Pop DeGeorge came up last weekend and watched Keenan for an entire weekend while Ben and Lori went to their good friends Chris and Cecilia's wedding. The wedding tested Mom and Dad's ability to stay up past 10 (we made it well into the weee hours).

Speaking of sleep, Lori's Mom is known for her non-stop, always busy, high stamina level. In fact, she probably hadn't taken a nap in 20 years. . .until last weekend. She took two!

Keenan learned at least one new skill from his grandparents: sleeping on his side. Seems that every time Grammy put him to bed, he immediately pulled his legs up and swung them over to his left. Here's a picture of Grammy and Keenan on the deck, showing his strong legs off!





Later next week we look forward to taking the whole family down to Southport to see Grammy and Pop.

Happy Father's Day & More Big Milestones to Report

Father's Day 2008: Three Generations of Ulrich Boys
Keenan, looking thrilled, with his Grampa Keith and Daddy Ben at Artie's in Fairfax, VA

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Stop the presses! Mr. Keenan Ulrich rolled over for the first time this morning. No one actually witnessed this remarkable event, but his momma knows that she put him down on the floor on his back with some toys, and when she came back into the room a minute later, he was on his belly propped up on his elbows, smiling.

In other headlines, Mr. Keenan Ulrich also had his first taste of solid food this paste week. Yum. Rice flakes mixed with formula. He sure did gobble it down. . .see the little video below. We promise it's darn cute.

This pasty white goo is good stuff!

One more story for the front page. . .Mr. Keenan Ulrich is currently recovering from his first illness(es). The poor little guy came down with a cold, which turned into the beginnings of an ear infection; and he also had a pretty bad case of thrush, a common mouth infection of breast-fed babies. Luckily baby antibiotics taste like bubble-gum, so Keen has been very happy to take his meds twice a day. . .and to taste something other than milk.

Lots of Daddies and Babies

Jason (son Ty), Ben (daughter Peyton), Daddy (me), Brian (daughter Molly), and Brandon (daughter Haley)

Mom and Dad took me to Burke Lake Park for a picnic over Memorial Day weekend, and boy oh boy, was it fun! I got to "play" with lots of my friends--here's five of us with our daddies. There were another 5 boys running around that didn't make it into this picture. . .I guess my Mom and Dad have some prolific friends!
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And here's me all stretched out on my belly, looking at myself in the mirror. Mom says I'm long and skinny, just like my Daddy. How do you like my noggin? Round and hairless. . .just like Daddy, too!

Picture Day, 4-month Weigh-In, and Girlfriends

I am such a big boy. Got to pose for my first school pictures a couple weeks ago, when I was 3.5 months old. And yeah, I am darn handsome with my toothless smile. Eat your heart out, ladies!

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But now I'm 4 months old. My mom took me to the doctor on Wednesday, and I now weigh 15 pounds, which puts me right in the middle of all other baby boys my age. I got 4 more shots, too. I cried like a baby during the shots (I'm allowed), and took all of 10 seconds to recover once they were done. What a man, I am!
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One of my many girlfriends came to visit me last weekend, but this one is a little bit more mature and one of my favorites! Check out me and my older girlfriend, Josey Vitale (1.5 yrs), chilling together in the comfy chair in our jammies. She introduced me to Elmo, and I must admit, he's rather addictive. My mom and Josey's mom Jen are already plotting our engagement about 25 years from now.

My Daddy is a Master!

Congratulations, Daddy! We're so proud of you!

This past Sunday, Ben graduated with a Masters in Management of IT from UVA. Our little family of three made the trip, and Lori's good friend Lisa came along for the fun and to help handle lil' Keen, should he have misbehaved. Luckily for all parties involved, the little guy was pretty darn perfect while watching/sleeping/eating through the first two-hour ceremony, and then the second hour and a half one!

A Week of Milestones!

Peacefully asleep on my first road trip

What a busy and momentous week our little man had! He checked many "firsts" off his list. . .

• first day at daycare
• first road trip
• first overnight in the pack n' play
• first time truly sleeping through the night (11 hours!And he's now slept through the night for 5 nights straight. . .pure bliss for mom!)

Keenan enjoyed his first few days at daycare. . .mom had a much harder time with it, and shed a few tears when dropping him off the first day. But, he's in very good hands and seems pretty happy there with Miss Sima, his main caretaker. Mom even got to enjoy a small party honoring new moms at the daycare center on Friday. . .very sweet! He'll go to daycare for 3 days a week until early June when he'll go the full 5 days.

We're also proud of our baby boy for sleeping his way to Jamestown, North Carolina and making the 5 hour trip a breeze for mom and dad--it helped a lot that we left at 8 pm--Keenan's bed time! We all enjoyed our visit with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, friends, and truly enjoyed celebrating the first communion of Keenan's cousin Sarah. . .she looked gorgeous in her communion gown. We especially loved gobbling the super delish chocolate cake we ate afterwards! Thanks Uncle Brian and Aunt Jen! Keenan made it home with only one serious meltdown in the car, so all in all, our first travel experience with the new lil' man was a good one.

Next predicted milestone: ROLLING OVER! The little guy seems intent on mastering this skill soon. . .he's mastered the leg swing to prop himself on his side, but he hasn't figured out how to conquer the arm obstacle preventing him from going further.

This one's for the ladies . . . a wee British lass, in particular!

The latest news on the international grapevine is that a certain little lady in the UK is smitten with our little baby boy. Three-year-old Keira, daughter of our friends Kim and Paul in the UK, has become smitten with our little man based on his handsome photos and antics displayed on this blog. When we told Keenan about this little British lass' feelings for him, he blushed and insisted on sending her a little message.

We hope to schedule a formal introduction of the three wee ones in late June (Keira has a little brother, too)--photos of their meeting will surely make a future post!

Greetings to Kim, Paul, Keira and Dylan! (P.S. I apologize if I'm spelling your daughter's name wrong. . .I can never remember the "i before e" thing!)

Sleepyheads

This photo shows a typical evening ritual in the Ulrich household. . .my two favorite lazy dudes suffering from food coma on the couch. And yes, they both snore.


Keenan just had his 3-month birthday and he's becoming more and more aware of himself. . .especially his hands. He loves to snap his lips loudly again his fists as a signal to mom that he wants to be fed pronto, or else a meltdown is impending. He can also whip his head around, darting his eyes here and there, and follows whatever piques his interest around him. His smiles get bigger by the day, and his coos are beginning to sound like he's actually trying to say something. He's a great nighttime sleeper and seems to really like his crib--especially the bunny rabbit that circles above him in his mobile. And, he has recently decided that he does not approve of dirty diapers and screams until he gets changed. At least he rewards the diaper changer with smiles and coos as soon as his butt is clean!