Keen's Life in Movies

Here is a series of little movies, showing all of you Keen fans what he's been up to as of late. As you can see, he's quite the busy man, developing new skills and smarts every day. Ben and I love watching the wheels turn in his curious noggin as he explores every nook and cranny of the world. . . it's one of the best parts about being a new parent, without a doubt.

In this little clip, Keenan is reading "Halloween Jack" and mimicking Victor the Vampire's "Ah Ah Ah" laugh. Yes, his favorite book just happens to be Halloween-themed. . .which means it's Halloween everyday at the Ulrich abode.



Last weekend was unabashedly warm for early March. It was such an unfair tease for those of us experiencing the winter blues. Despite the now return to coldness, we did take advantage of the weather and met the cousins at the park. Here's Keen getting a good push on the swing from cousin Zack and Aunt Kristin, with cousin Ally sailing high nearby. Please excuse Keen's too-short and non-stylin' pants. . .he "messed" his good ones at lunch, so we had to change him.



Keenan has discovered how to stack and build things now. His hands and fingers are strong and steady, and he uses them for all kinds of off-limits activities--hanging from the stove, throwing food, playing in the garbage can, flushing the toilet, throwing food, messing with the dog dishes, throwing food, etc. Here he is using those nimble fingers for good.



And, here's a video from a few weeks ago. . .Keen's first day really taking steps. He still doesn't really walk, though he is quite capable. It's just more convenient and speedy for him to crawl. For that reason, we have instituted walking practice every night, where we pass the little man back and forth, as in this little snippet.




Lastly, who doesn't love a mini-man in a cowboy hat?

Keen's Overdue Birthday Post

To our most devout blog readers,

Ben and I are very apologetic for the lack of blogging lately. . . life has taken on a whole new brand of busy-ness, leaving less and less time for fun extracurriculars such as updating friends and fam on the progress of our little Keen. We'll try to be better, but can't make any promises!

SO, our little boy turned BIG with his first birthday about a month ago on January 21st. Keenan had a blast with 20 of his closest family members helping him celebrate the big milestone. He met his great-grandparents Prosser for the first time, ate and smeared chocolate bear cake for the first time, and basically had a grand ol' time being super cute for all of his admirers. Love and thanks goes out to everyone who helped make our little boy's birthday so special.

Keenan with his cousins, Grandma Susan, and Great-Grandparents Prosser

The requisite cake shot. . .he sure did enjoy it, until his fingers were too caked with cake.

We also celebrated Keen's birthday with his buddy Will, who just happens to have the same exact birthday! The boys enjoyed their vanilla bear cakes very much. So did their parents.

Holiday Wrap-Up

Okay, Dad here making a post. We need to cover a lot of ground, so we'll start with some rejects during the many attempts to get a Christmas Card picture.

Playing with Santa Potato Head, with the Busy Zoo in the background.

After bathtime, drying off in the puppy dog towel (doggy tail and feet not shown)

Looking pudgy next to his favorite cause and effect toy, the corkscrew. Mom and Dad just wish there were a volume switch. The corkscrew also doubles as a walker, which he can push all around the room.

Rolling around with the cousins at Aunt Kristin and Uncle Dave's house.

Checking out a snow globe with Grammy.

Successfully playing a few new chords without any help.

Playing the right hand melody of Christmas carols with Dad.

A small sampling of the musical treat I gave to everyone in the house. I typically held concerts during Pop's afternoon nap.

Daphne savors the different terrain, critters, soil and generally smell-licious neighborhood of her grandparents. It takes several days of walking until the novelty wears off.

Hanging out in my Christmas jammies. In the background is the coffee table which Mom and Uncle Mark first toddled around when they were munchkins.

The whole family posing before checking out what Santa brought on Christmas morning.

Squeezing into a doll chair that Mom used to play with.

Taking in the view of the Intracoastal Waterway after lunch at the marina.

Grammy savoring her croquet victory. Pop congratulating the winner.

That's all for now! We'll try to update more frequently...especially after the upcoming 1st birthday party extravaganza.

Apologies go out to all the doting grandparents out there! I know you have all been eager to see what mischief Mr. Keen was up to on Halloween, and I have been lax about getting the photo evidence up on the blog. Better late than never!

Keenan did enjoy his first Halloween--he happily donned a fuzzy candy corn suit to please his momma. We trotted him around to a few of our favorite neighbors to show of the mini-man's adorability (not a word, but you get the idea). On Keenan's behalf, we gladly accepted the candy offered to him. And then we ate it. Didn't offer him a piece. Poor guy. . .I think we'll let him have some candy next year when he's a big boy and can carry his own trick-or-treat bag himself.

Keenan has discovered a new trick. . .pull-ups UNDER the coffee table. The space beneath the coffee table is his new favorite hang-out spot. Check out him demonstrating his amazing talent in the photo below. Bet you can't do that!

Lastly, almost everyone loves dogs and babies. But, you may not be surprised to learn that dogs don't always love babies. . .especially babies that bulldoze themselves into happily bone-chewing dogs. Click the arrow to play the video.

Munchkin Goes Punkin' Huntin' (and more adventures. . .)

Two of the main reasons for having babies is to take them punkin' pickin' and to dress them up for Halloween (stay tuned for a later post on Halloween!). Really, in the official list of "Why to have kids," those two activities rank in the top ten.

So, Ben and I fulfilled one of our parental duties and took the munchkin out for a day of punkins, farm animals, apples, and wheelbarrows. Ben and I have made it a little tradition to visit Homestead Farms near Poolesville, MD every autumn, and it was extra fun this year to be able to introduce Keenan to the family tradition. Here is the photographic evidence.

Keen Goes to Jersey

A big apology goes out to all of our favorite people in Jersey who are wondering why Keenan's trip to visit them hasn't made it into the blog yet. Blame it on pure laziness and massive time deficiency, as of late, on Keen's momma's end.


Our trip to Jersey was a three-day whirlwind. . .September 12-14. We began our visit in Lakewood, where we introduced Keenan to his Great-Grandma Mary and Great Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Jim. We were also lucky to be joined by Grammy and Pop DeGeorge, who flew up from NC to join the fun. We took the requisite 4-generations shot: Keen, Mom, Pop, and Great-Grandma. Our births span about 92 years!

Keenan with his Great Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Jim

Keenan with his Jersey Aunties: Denise, Jen and Josey, Lisa, Kim and Mom

We then moved on to Red Bank where we had a mini party with the Chester girls and stayed overnight with Lori's friend Lisa and her boyfriend Quinn. Most of the Chester girls (Denise, Kim and Jen) were in attendance, and it was so wonderful to introduce Keen to his "Aunties", some for the first time. Saturday morning's big excitement for Keenan (and maybe more so for his mom and dad) was a trip to a true NJ diner in downtown Red Bank, where Keen watched his mom and dad inhale way too many pancakes and eggy concoctions. Thanks, Lisa and Quinn, for giving up your entire room to the Ulrich fam and for giving us the grand tour of Red Bank! We'll be back again soon :)

Red Bank, NJ: Keenan's first Jersey Diner experience

Next stop was Denville, where we invaded the beautiful new home of Jen, Mike, and Josey Vitale. And by "new," we mean "living-there-for-one-week" new. The Vitales deserve something really big and extravagant for taking us in for the day and night, along with all of the other visitors who stopped in and out to meet Keenan. I'm not sure I would have been as open-armed to guest invaders had I just moved into a new house! Keen loved spending some QT with Miss Josey, his older and much wiser 2-year-old girlfriend. Many baby kisses were exchanged. . .so cute.

Keenan with Auntie Jen and Josey (she's 2 today--October 7!)

Bryan with Karl, Jen with Josey, Lori with Keen

On Sunday morn, we headed on out to the homeland of Chester. . .or, I should clarify and mention that we just drove through Chester on our way to Long Valley to meet more friends at the Long Valley Brew Pub for scrumptious brunch. Ben's buddies Pete and Steve (old work buddies from Ben's days in NYC) brought their wives, Carrie and Olga, and their kiddos (2 each!). We had a great time catching up and wondering in amazement how all of us have somehow managed to procreate and remembering those pre-kid days just a few years ago. We'll definitely be returning soon to give Keen a real taste of Chester.

Thanks for making Keenan's first trip to New Jersey very special. He's already asking to come back :)

Happy 1st Birthday Zack

Keenan's cousin Zack had a birthday earlier this week. He worked a whole year for this one. In our family, that means you get a big party with your own cake, and where your cousins open your presents.

Zack, you have a little something around your mouth.

"I'm so excited, just imagine when it's my birthday!"

Of course, no family birthday weekend would be complete without a cousin couch line-up. It's too bad this is a still photo with no sound. Two seconds before this picture, adults started dancing, singing, and generally distracting Keen and Zack from their cranky mood. The result is at least presentable (Keen's on the far left).

Summertime Wrap-up

Mom and Dad have been a little behind in the blog posts...chalk it up to a really busy summer. Here are a few pictures from the past month to bring everyone up to speed.



We took a trip to Manassas Battlefield Park a few weekends ago. We saw the statue of Stonewall Jackson, walked through a rebuilt war home, had a nice picnic lunch, and then chilled out under the shade and took these two pics of the kids.

Here's Keenan a few weeks ago doing something he loves now...holding himself up while facing backwards on a chair.

Daphne, Treeing Walker Coonhound, studying her next prey in the open fields.

Continuing the barrage of random pictures, here's one of Keenan's favorite foods: Peas

Thanks to Grammy and Pop for this outfit, straight from the final frontier of Alaska. This hat is great because it actually stays on his head.

Same picture of Dad, with the little man posing as expected. Dad believes when any digital camera appears, Keenan knows those silver objects shine crazy lights, and cause adults to do weird things too.












Keenan's cousins Sarah and Tommy visited for Zack's birthday weekend. This morning Sarah was testing Keenan's ability to carry items on his head (for those time in his future when he has to carry laundry down to the river).

So far, he can hold a cloth book on his head, and smile at the same time. Next time we'll try a bottle of milk.

Cool at the Pool

Yes, the wee little man looks a bit concerned in this photo taken at the neighborhood pool. It's probably because the water was a bit nippy and very deep--a whole 12 inches. He did enjoy splashing around though . . .so much that he needed a nap immediately afterward in the beach towel.

We reported on Keenan's newfound spitting talent a few weeks ago. He has now taken it to the next level--spitting FOOD. You can only imagine how proud his mom is of him. He even seems to prefer the enjoyment of spitting and seeing his mom's not-so-thrilled reaction over the enjoyment of tasting food and having a full belly. Mom and Dad hope this is a very sort stage in his development!

Another "habit" Keenan has developed is rolling onto his belly in the middle of the night. Now, he's past the main window for SIDS risk, so this really shouldn't be a big deal at all. However, he rolls on his belly and than screams and wails until someone comes in and flips him back over. We know, as well as he knows, he's perfectly capable of doing it himself. . .last night, mom or dad had to make at least 3 trips into his room to flip him over like a pancake. Again, we're hoping this is a very short stage!

It's good to have friends

Keenan, Will, and Peyton (Will and Peyton are siblings)

Ben's birthday (BIG 33!) is sneaking up on us, so we thought we'd use the occasion as an excuse to have a few friends over and use the deck. It was our first true "gathering" at the house that involved multiple mobile munchkins. Keenan had a great time making googly eyes at his two older lady friends, Peyton and Molly, and chilling on the playmat with his good buddy and "birthday twin" Will.

Keenan and Molly