theMcKeevers.com

I'm really having a lot of fun playing these days. I can sit up all by myself and reach most things. If I can't reach it from sitting, I can dive to it or scoot a little bit. But I haven't figured out crawling yet. One of my favorite new games is rolling the ball back and forth with Mommy. I also love knocking down towers! I still put everything in my mouth. I have started liking little things like the strings on my toys and I can grab them between my thumb and first finger. The other thing I enjoy these days is standing up next to things or holding on to someone's hands. I feel especially grown up when I'm standing.

I've always been a great sleeper, but it's been tough for me to fall asleep the last few days. Just when I start to drift off, I think of something fun I want to do and wake right up! I like to roll over, which I easily do front to back and back to front. Or scoot around in my crib. I can grab the handle on the musical stuffed animal in my crib and play a little song for myself. I'm just a busy little girl!

My mommy's been working on getting some video together, but in the meantime, there are a few new pictures in the July album if you want to take a peek. And if you want to leave me messages, you can sign up for an account and write comments on my blog! That would be fun!

July album

My favorite feature of our new website is RSS feeds. If you're an avid blog reader like myself, you may already use RSS feeds. But if not, you might want to give it a try. Basically, RSS feeds let you know when a website has been updated. You can add feeds to your google or yahoo homepage or to your browser's favorites list. Personally I use a google homepage and read blogs and news from there. I check several blogs all from that one page. It's great! And with RSS feeds now on our site, you can see what's new without even having to visit. Just add our homepage to your feeds and it will tell you when on our site has been updated! It's easy! You can click on the little orange box in the bottom left corner of the page to add us to your browser's favorites. Or, if you have a google or yahoo homepage, just find the little link on your homepage to "add stuff," look for the little orange box to add feeds, and paste in our web address. Our blog will show up in the headlines on your homepage! Good luck! I hope you take advantage of this handy new feature!

Today was an eventful day for me. Swimming lessons was cancelled due to the weather, so we thought we were just going to have a lazy day at home for a change. Then Mommy's friend Tonya called and asked if we wanted to go out to lunch. So it was a good thing that swimming lessons was cancelled because otherwise I'd be climbing out of the pool sopping wet at 12:25. Instead we met Tonya and Andy at Bravo Burrito and I got to have my first burrito! I had to learn to peel it (but not too much) and bite it. It was good. I got the kiddo burrito and it was still big enough for me for lunch and dinner and to share some with Mommy and Daddy! Maybe part of the reason why I had so much left was because Andy and I were so busy playing at lunch. We get along really well and we sure can get silly together. Just like Tonya and Mommy did before they grew up to be Mommies. We stopped at the play area at the mall to get all our wiggles out after lunch. Eliana liked watching us run around and climb. And she got to play with a baby girl who was a little older than her. It was funny to watch her sit and chew on that baby's dress. Despite the rain, it turned out to be a fun day.

I really like food now! Mommy finally gave up on my liking rice cereal and tried mashing up a banana for me a couple weeks ago. I loved it! Then she mixed banana with rice cereal and I liked that, too. I don't even complain about plain rice cereal anymore. And this week my new food is peas. They're delicious. I'm doing a great job swallowing now and hardly spit anything out. It's been a bit tricky for me to learn, but I've got the hang of it now!

I've also gotten good at sitting up. I can even flop onto my tummy to reach things when I'm sitting. I hardly ever fall over anymore, but we still try to keep a pillow behind me. It can get kind of tricky to figure out where to put the pillow, though, because I'm getting good at turning around while I'm sitting up.

Mommy says I'm going to be her climber. I already like climbing with my feet right up the front of whoever is holding me. I like to be on the move and working my muscles.

I am still a very happy baby. I love my puppy, Belle. She makes me smile, wiggle and laugh every time I see her. I also smile really big when William is upset. Usually people smile back at me when I show them my happy baby grins, but those smiles make William angry when he's sad. I wish I could cheer him up when he's feeling like that. He takes things too seriously sometimes.

Wow! With this new website, I now have my own blog! I thought I'd take this opportunity to try it out. This past week has been a blur of fun and excitement. Here's a recap:

Tuesday: Eliana's adoption day
Wednesday: MN Zoo - We picked up Dani and met Hallie, Seth and Forrest for a fun day at the zoo. Jenny, a friend of Dani's, and her baby girl met up with us later in the day.
Thursday: Eliana had her 6 month doctor visit and we spent most of the day at Grandma Lanz's
Friday: Leah's kids - Abi, Faith and Parker came over while she had a surgery consult. Today she had her gall bladder removed (fun vacation!)
Saturday: We had the McKeever/Corneliusen family reunion at Ferry Point
Sunday: The immediate McKeever family met for lunch and a grandkid photo shoot
Monday: William started swimming lessons at the wading pool

I saw a new doctor today. She and Mommy found out they went to college together! We may have to keep her, she was nice. William will try out another doctor in a couple months and then we'll decide. I liked the nurse, too. I smiled at her a lot and was very happy. She weighed and measured me. Mommy couldn't believe I didn't break 14 pounds - I was 13 lbs 15 oz! I should have waited until after the appointment to fill that diaper. I was 25 inches long, but that measurement is a little more subjective. Mommy thought the nurse shorted me a bit. It was hard for her to keep her mouth shut. But either way, I was charting perfect growth right along the curve. I would give you my exact percentiles, but Mommy had to call back to the doctor's office to get my packet mailed out. I was so distraught when we were leaving the exam room that she forgot to grab the envelope with my measurements on it. She had her hands full carrying me in one hand and my carseat (which I did NOT want to go into) in the other. I was very upset about the shots they gave me. I was such a good girl and I didn't deserve it! I made sure to look around and memorize that place because I don't want to go back there if that's the way they treat babies!

Editor's note: Don't tell Eliana that the nurse she liked actually gave her the shots. I noticed that she slipped out of the room faster than you could blink after the shots were done. Smart woman. I don't think Ellie had any idea what she had just done to her. The second nurse gave her the oral vaccine, blew the bubbles and stayed to give the rest of the info. It doesn't matter if she hates her. :)

Today was a big day for me. I got to go to court with my family and get officially recognized as a McKeever. It took all of five minutes for the judge to ask my parents their names and other basic information and then ask if they were prepared to take on the responsibilities of parents. Luckily they answered all the questions right and the judge consented to the adoption. Grandma and Grandpa Lanz, Uncle Michael, Grandma Barb, Auntie Leah, Abi, Faith and Parker were all there to cheer when the judge made his decree. Then they all visited while Mommy and Daddy did some paperwork and paid some fees to get my new birth certificate and adoption certificate.

After court, everyone came back to my house to toast me, have some Adoption Day cake, and watch a slide show that my parents made for me. You can watch it here.

I was working really hard at catching up on my sleep today. Yesterday was a long, busy day with lots of time outside. So today I took two really great naps. Then we went to Grandma Barb and Grandpa Ron's house for dinner and a pontoon ride. We got a little bit of a late start on the pontoon because Daddy and William were helping Grandpa fix the innertube that pulls behind the boat. By the time they got done Mommy said it was too late to get wet in the river and they'd have to wait until next time. (As it turns out we ended up staying out late anyway.) We had a really nice boat ride at sunset. I took a nap for a while. As we were driving by an island just down river from the house, we noticed a big barge full of fireworks and a lot of boats gathering in the area. After a little debating, we decided we would stay out and watch them. Unfortunately, we went back to the dock to pick up the anchor, a big flashlight... and a whole bunch of mosquitos. But it was a handy potty break for a few people and we just drove fast for a bit and swatted the rest of the mosquitos. I had just started thinking about another nap when POW - the first fireworks started. Then I was wide eyed enjoying another great fireworks spectacle. Yesterday I got tired of the show after 15 minutes and decided that the quilt we were sitting on was more fun. This show was the perfect length - exactly 15 minutes. And we had the best spot in the world! William pointed out how pretty the river was from all the colorful lights. I was proud of him for not covering his ears this time. Everyone agreed that today's show was the best! Surprises are always nice. Now I'll sleep well tonight!

What a fun day we had! We went to Beaver Lake where I swam, went tubing, swam, played in the water, and swam until I was so cold and shivery that Mommy made me get out of the lake and into dry clothes. I did take one break from swimming to eat snacks, which is why I didn't eat very much dinner. I ate all my barbequed chicken and corn on the cob, though - they were delicious! After dinner I jumped on the trampoline while Mommy and Daddy finished eating and packed our stuff up. It was a bummer to leave before the party was over, but Mommy wanted to go to the big fireworks in town. We went to her friend Denise's house where we parked the van. Then we walked to Hester Park to join Denise's family and watch the fireworks. They were very loud! Just when I got up the nerve to uncover my ears, the finale started and I had to cover them again quick! The fireworks were cool! Eliana liked them, too. She didn't cry at all and even had her ears uncovered more than I did. I think Mommy and Daddy's favorite part was being home by 10:35. That's already way passed my bedtime and I was beat from all that swimming and jumping on the trampoline.