Keaton

I've done a lousy job doing monthly updates on this sweet third baby--as tedious as it is to keep up with, I'm a bit sad I don't have the record of how he's grown! He'll be TWO in two months. He's such a sweet little thing--and I mean both of those adjectives. He's sweet. He loves to give kisses--he kisses the phone when we FaceTime anyone and will randomly kiss us as well. He's a hugger--and loves to rest his head on our shoulders and will give us long, sweet hugs. And he's tiny. We haven't been to the doctor in awhile... but definitely he's a tiny guy. Which is fine with me--he's easier to lug around. The second picture below is his Little Mermaid pose.



He's a pretty good eater. He's willing to try most things and has started climbing up in his highchair when he's hungry. You can see a darling video of him eating a corn dog in his sleep on Instagram. He's sleeping well at night--but generally takes an hour long nap, which is NOT LONG ENOUGH. He loves to do whatever his brothers are doing and be wherever they are. They are his pals. They are continuing to be more tolerant of him and sometimes are even nice to him. And he's gotten a haircut since these pictures--I love love his wild summer humid curls but they were hampering his ability to swim, so they got chopped a bit. I've been told they'll grow back.



The biggest change with Keaton--he got tubes a month ago. After many ear infections, constant runny nose, many nights of poor sleep, very little vocabulary and just general fussiness--I finally made an appointment with an ENT and they quickly recommended tubes for him. His hearing was a bit limited from all the fluid constantly in his ears--I suspect he's maybe had one giant ear infection for the last year that just hasn't cleared up. So after some severe mama guilt for not pushing it sooner--he got tubes. And they've changed our lives. He's trying to talk. He sleeps through the night. I'm not constantly wiping his nose. And he's less fussy. It's kind of like a miracle. We're getting used to wearing ear plugs and trying to keep water out of his ears--but the benefits outweigh that by about a million. Seriously. Tubes for everyone!



And it was all smooth sailing--until Keaton mysteriously busted his top two front teeth on something. We suspect it was caused by a minor tantrum and maybe hitting his teeth on the floor. But we're not really sure. It would maybe be easier to deal with if there was some major injury--where he was being clumsy or we weren't paying attention... but really, we're not sure how he busted them. And I mean BUSTED. The front part had been knocked off, exposing the nerve--and they were also cracked straight up the middle. I pretty much immediately knew he was going to be losing both of them. After a night of about no sleep and day of very little eating or drinking--he got them both pulled. I cried like a million tears. My baby! With no teeth! The actual extraction went about as well as it could--he did pretty well with the sedation and novocaine. He didn't love having his teeth pried from his skull--but at least it didn't hurt. He could potentially get some fake ones when he's bigger and less prone to falling--and I'm hoping that the large, gaping bloody holes are eventually cute.



The irony of the whole situation is that he was such an early teether--he's been done teething for months. Even his 2 year molars. And now he's like permanently behind his peers. Or ahead, depending on how you look at it. We're grateful that he's not hurting anymore... and that we have less teeth to worry about brushing? Trying to find as many bright sides as I can.

I can't believe he'll be two next month! He's such a dear, loving boy and his baby sibling owes their existence to his sweetness. He makes me want a million more.