Keet: The Unoffical Story

Happy valentine

2012-02-14T20:19:00.000-09:00

Valentines cookies

2012-02-12T15:27:00.000-09:00

The rolling pin was great grandma's.

Sledding

2012-02-12T15:25:00.000-09:00

Crackerjack

2012-02-12T08:49:00.000-09:00

Resting with Buddha and Emah

2012-01-08T20:02:00.000-09:00

Lahiana.

Lap of luxury

2012-01-08T20:00:00.001-09:00

Being fed chocolate ice cream while watching "shows".

My ice cream, not yours. Lahiana, Maui.

2012-01-06T20:16:00.000-09:00

Reading with Emah in HI

2012-01-06T20:15:00.001-09:00

Hawaiian gecko hunter

2012-01-05T20:16:00.000-09:00

2012-01-05T17:12:00.000-09:00

Baby beach: lahiana, Maui.

2011-12-30T12:20:00.001-09:00

Summer photos - just for fun

2011-11-18T08:19:00.000-09:00

Double Yolk Egg from the Neighbors

Emah and Keet early morning Cuddle

NM boys

Halloween smiles

2011-11-18T00:49:00.000-09:00

Fall has arrived!

2011-08-31T23:21:00.000-08:00

It must have been a good summer, as the blog was abandoned for several months in lieu of some real fun! I'm going to attempt a highlights splash of some of the best stuff over the next few weeks.

The summer consisted of a bit of travel, a bit of work, a bit of family time, and a bit more work, and a bit of travel with family time, and now, back to work!

We did manage to catch almost all of the family this summer, with the notable exception of Lily, little Luke, and Carl. We even saw Uncle Brad (unheard of!), Ta'naa, Uncle Larry, and Aunt Debbie! Plus Auntie Skye, Uncle Mik, and Uncle Luke and Aunt Liz. Remarkable.

Keet is in full bore imagination mode these days. He plays with his doll house ("from the dump" he reminds me) with the dinosaurs and spiderman where they like to fight, then cuddle. He plays with his trains from Ta'naa which often results in horrific crashes and demolition derbies. He plays with his airplanes from Papa which are often "landing up" and landing in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Mimi with Kitty

So, this is one of Keet's photographic studies. Quite telling I do believe...

Blueberry picking

2011-07-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

"yummy yummy yummy yummy!"

Anchor point halibut campground

2011-07-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

The beach in front of the campsite

He named it "fireworks"

2011-05-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

Summer has arrived!

2011-05-24T23:49:00.000-08:00

At long last, we have come to summer. First leaf was just a week ago, and now the valley is green, the sun burrowing, and the precious light inescapable.

As the mother of Keet, it is hard to separate his story from my own. It has been the craziest year since 2007 for me personally. My time away from my son, the love of my life, impacts us both. Months have run together with hardly a moment to reflect, only glimpses in which to appreciate the preciousness of the passing moment - so fleeting, and too few for the love that I hold to be proven.

Keet has a beautiful phrase when there is something that he wants but doesn't have he says sadly,
"But my hands are empty." Indeed my love. Each day it is so as we are apart.

Da-ka and I are blessed to have Keet in the care of Sommer, who loves him and cares for him. As I left for work this morning, I mourned, as I do every morning, that his time is not our time. That my time is more "important" in other affairs. And yet. It is so. The conflict so deeply embedded in my soul that I will never know what may have been had I taken the time to raise my own son. What would it have been like to have allowed my days to rotate around him as my heart rotates around his light?

My postfeminist accomplishments will always be tinged with regret, and a bit of betrayal. We can do it all, but should we try? That is the question.

Window Kissing

2011-05-24T22:26:00.000-08:00

spring babies

2011-04-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

Lucy is One!


Gluten and Diary Free Chocolate Cake. Divine...

Lucy turned ONE in early April. It was the calm after the storm of producing the film, AlaskaLand, and I finally had a few moments to be with friends outside of the film production. So great to catch up with the ladies and babies! Da-ka was busy in a weekend workshop, which ended at our house. One of those days where I left one party to host another one! Oops. Sorry love. I showed up to our own house and dinner was already on the table and 15 people were making themselves at home. My super husband host with the most.

Keet is doing great with the potty training. He and Daisy are enjoying each day with "mama Sommer" who is our angel of a nanny for Keet. She's been much better about uploading facebook photos than I have, so here are a few recent ones from her that I thought were sweet:

Daisy and Keet - final Snow

I have some great video clips to upload. Maybe this weekend...

Snowball 4

2011-03-15T00:19:00.000-08:00

Snowball 2

2011-03-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

Snow ball 1

2011-03-15T00:17:00.000-08:00

Deep in thought

2011-03-15T00:15:00.000-08:00

Have snowball will travel

2011-03-15T00:13:00.001-08:00

Yoga with mom

2011-02-08T20:49:00.000-09:00

I brought Keet to Yoga Club for the first time since he was a little little guy. Surprise, he loved it! He was so good and quiet and didn't want to leave, so we stayed an entire hour. Of course, it had to be the day that the school paper came to do interviews. Yup. He's famous again!

Community Yoga Club in the UAF Sunstar Newspaper

Sunday.

2011-02-06T11:46:00.000-09:00

More Hawai'i

2011-01-16T15:57:00.000-09:00

What a perfect time we had! Really, could have only been better if we'd had more folks to share it with!

As it was, we happened to be on the island with my dear friend, Jody. Wow! We spent more time with her and her man, Brian, in the past two weeks than we have in the past two years. That was so cool.

We also had a little of everything, surf, beach, aquarium, food, naps, sightseeing, whales, rainbows, and just time together.

Jody and her boyfriend

Lele at the mama tree in Lahaina

Aum

Siesta in the Sand

Maui Ocean Center

Keet said when we got home:
"New House? Airplane Again! New Airplane!"

Champion traveler. This was his sixth trip so far, and certainly the easiest. The trick? Good health, a carry-on suitcase full of changes of clothes for the whole family, and couple of comic books, and an ipad. YEAH!

Whale of a time

2011-01-16T14:07:00.000-09:00

One of the highlights of our trip was going on a Whale Watch with the Pacific Whale Foundation in Maui. Here's a very amazing close encounter we had with a young Humpback Whale.

Happy new year!

2011-01-02T20:55:00.000-09:00

Aloha! Greetings from Maui. Rain and shine, rainbows and peacocks.
Traveled the Hana Hwy (hurlway). Poor baby Keet! He's such a great
traveler, even when car sick. He loves our "new house" here in
Kailua. The host family has been wonderful. They have a 2 1/2 year
old, Na'ia (dolphin) and a 4 year old, Logan. We spent new years eve
with them, lighting fireworks and sitting on their deck. The cabin has
everything you want, including boogie boards, kids books, full
kitchen, and of course, good company!

Spent new years day at mama's Fish house beach where all the beach
goers seemed to be local families with kids. Keet's pretty timid
around the water, but he loves the sand.

Then today, we headed back up the Hana Highway to the Garden of Eden
arboretum. Totally worth the fee for travel with little ones. We
attempted two other hikes earlier in the day, but both were too risky
with a two year old on my back. This one had wide paths, great views
and ducks, frogs, and peacocks a plenty.

Merry Santa Yeil!

2010-12-28T00:50:00.000-09:00

Holiday rush

2010-12-28T00:41:00.000-09:00

I know. He's growing up and you are missing it! I am too. Believe me.
It's happening so fast!
I swear he was only saying two or maybe three words at Thanksgiving.
Now, it's abstract sentences. "Baby Luna, where? Sleep. Wake up!"

I'm testing some new hardware, and looks like I can't include photos
in this email. Cheap. More soon!

Zapped from Somewhere.

Up a little early

2010-12-20T09:02:00.001-09:00

Keet is 2!!

2010-11-29T08:20:00.000-09:00

Keet and Mama on the Birthday Day

My little 2 year old is anything but terrible.
I figure, when you are 2, your birthday should be memorable. So we celebrated it 3 times!

First we celebrated while "Papa Perro" was in town. Papa had to leave the morning of Keet's birthday, so we did an eve celebration just before.

Nana on Keet's Birthday Eve's Party


Papa with Mama and Keet

Papa had a long weekend with us here in Fairbanks. We kept a pretty simple schedule with a few meals outside, but most of the time we hung out at home and visited. Papa left the morning of Keet's birthday, so he was able to celebrate with us the night before and morning of.

The following weekend we had a birthday party for Keet, with about 8 kids and 15 adults. It was a very fun event for all! I made a big bowl of Mac and Cheese (for kids and adults) as well as a fresh pumpkin rasin cake with cream cheese icing. Yum!

From Keet: The Unoffical Story

Florian (a week younger than Keet), Emma (3) and the birthday boy.

Keet and Emma go way back. Remember this one?

Last spring from Heather's baby shower. At Keet's party the two were like glue.

Mr. Two - Birthday Morning

Pretending

2010-10-26T23:37:00.000-08:00

Today Keet handed me a phone case for a mobile phone. No phone inside. I started to talk on it, and told him it was Akka and passed him the phone. He said "Hello! Yeah Good! Fun! Bye" and hung up.
Da-ka in in California ("airplane Mackiki" - Keet reminds me he's with MacKenzie). He'll be giving an artist talk at UC Davis tomorrow with his Uncle Larry McNeil.

This picture reveals my true parenting skills. Just in time for Halloween!

Where is Keet-O?

2010-10-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

We went to the Quyana Nights at the Alaska Federation of Natives on Thursday night, and guess who ended up in the paper on Sunday. This is an invitational dance, so everyone is invited to join in.

Where is Keet?

One last nod to Fall- Cheese and a Moose

2010-10-20T22:54:00.000-08:00

Fall was beautiful, but over already. We've had snow on the ground since 10/10/10. I managed to film a bit of the first snow, and will upload that soon to the One Day on Earth film project.

School is crazy busy as always, and Keet seems to have adjusted to being away from us 36 hours a week. Of course, I was reading a "parenting" book yesterday that said I SHOULD feel guilty about being away from my toddler when I could be staying at home instead. Thanks La Leche Leauge!

We're in the market for a new daycare setup, as Miss Nicole is expecting baby #4 in April! Great for her, but not so great for Keet. We'll find something suitable, but it makes the work challenge even harder.

The days are darker, but we have a new Happy Light, so maybe that will make the change less shocking to the system. Plus, Hawaii awaits! THANK YOU TOOTH FAIRY!!!

Nana!

2010-10-20T22:36:00.001-08:00

Keet and Nana

Snow

2010-10-08T20:45:00.001-08:00

He's Famous...

2010-10-07T15:44:00.002-08:00



From:	Julian Hibbard

Dear Da-ka-xeen and Maya,

I wanted to write and express my joy and appreciation

at seeing the video you posted of Paul reading his ABC's on YouTube. Your son looks

adorable and the footage absolutely captivated me.  I hope you don't mind but I created

a link to it on my website and shared the information with my publisher who also

posted a link on their blog -

http://markbattypublisher.com/blog/baby-reading-noir-a-z/

Thank you for purchasing my book and sharing such a special moment.

Fairbanks, Alaska looks like a wonderful environment for Paul to grow up in and

I wish you all a life of much love and happiness together.

Best wishes,

Julian

http://www.julianhibbard.com

Gorgeous Fall Walk

2010-09-26T21:29:00.000-08:00

Snack on the Mountain

Mother and Son - Fall 2010

Keet and I enjoyed a long walk a few weeks ago, and I took these photos then. The weather has turned to winter winds, the leaves are mostly gone from the tree tops. We spent the weekend tightening up the loose ends in the "yarden" and are we're mostly ready for the snow to fly. It's not quite October!

Freezer if full of salmon, moose, and locally raised beef, berries from the mountains, and vegetables from the garden. Plus the case of HOT Hatch Green Chili that I special ordered from our local grocery store and roasted earlier this fall! I'm certainly not the best gardner in the area, but I am glad to report that Keet likes to eat Kale fresh off the plant.

The boy is talking up a storm, and knows his ABCs for sure. His Tlingit pronunciation is rather impressive as well as we still only are allowed to listen to "Gaaw Songs" in the car.

"the boys"

2010-09-21T11:16:00.001-08:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nicole
Date: Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 11:14 AM
Subject: Fw: "the boys"
To: Maya

They were so cute sitting next to each other talking on the phone I just had
to get a picture and send it your way!

2010-09-17T23:44:00.001-08:00

Drumming on the Mountianside

2010-09-09T20:28:00.001-08:00

Click on the video itself to watch it compressed for slower connections.

More Wickersham Dome photos

2010-08-23T11:11:00.001-08:00

Wickersham Dome photos

2010-08-23T11:09:00.001-08:00

Hiked up Wichersham dome with Heather, Matt, and Lucy this past weekend. What a beautiful day we had! I'm still a bit sore after the five hours with Keet in the backpack, but it was a blast!

Here are some of the photos that Heather took.

She wrote me:

Hiya,

That was so much fun yesterday! Thanks for a delicious and healthy dinner too :o)

Mmmmmbeer.

I'm sending all the photos (big file size) though some are not as great as others...that way you can decide which you'd like to keep.

See you soon,

:o)

Heather

ABC's

2010-08-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

For about 2 weeks now Keet has been reading his ABC's. He is doing capital letters mostly, and from sign language too. He usually quits around T-U-V but gets the rest no problem.

I think he's brilliant. The book Da-ka and Keet are reading is the Noir A-Z that Daka picked up at the International Center for Photography in NYC shortly after Keet was born. It's a little over (all) of our heads, but we get the ABC part!

Tanana valley fair

2010-08-11T11:11:00.001-08:00

We went to the fair this weekend, and had a lot of fun parading around and seeing the animals. They sure grow em big up here!

Fishy Fish

2010-08-07T23:06:00.000-08:00

Fishing with Ron was a blast today. Da-ka worked on the house, but Keet and I headed out in the 1962 boat that Ron brought up with him from Cali up the Alaska highway years and years ago.

Ron was once my yoga student. I nicknamed him "Guruji". Students are teachers usually! We had a lot of fun at Birch lake, about 30 miles south of North Pole.

Sweet ride

Steady Captain Keet!

We went trolling for trout, and caught one rainbow. Then another one on the way home, after a light rain!

Naptime on the the boat. Slept for an hour!

Ready to Fish!

Back at Ron's house for Fish dinner

Playdate in the Sun!

2010-08-03T10:56:00.001-08:00

Magali and Florian have the most beautiful place. You can visit Florian here: http://www.florianphilip.com/

Keet is one week older than Florian, but he is MUCH faster!

They have the dogteam, and the sunshine and an amazing blueberry patch!
We had such a blast. Thanks for the photos Magali!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Magali Philip
Date: Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 8:39 AM
Subject: PHOTOS
To: Maya

<<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>>

THANKS FOR YOUR VISIT IT SAW SO GOOD TO SEE BOTH OF YOU

Love

Magali & Florian

Emah's Visit!

2010-07-28T11:49:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful time we had with Emah's visit to Alaska. Too short, too fast. Too much RAIN! Oh well, the sun of course is shining today. Some great times were had including going to the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, seeing some of the Golden Days events (in the rain), playing at the park, having a family BBQ with friends, and even visiting Chena Lakes.

Keet said his first full sentance while Emah was here to witness:

"I love Puffs!" Smart boy. He's also got most of his ABC's down already. Amazing.

From Keet: The Unoffical Story

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/32HeNieqxldx-2ZqbZ8Fyw?feat=directlink

Keet signs for his favorite song

2010-07-10T00:43:00.001-08:00

This was filmed in Norway.

Keet signs for "Raven" (Yeil in Tlingit). Then for the video of the "Eagle" "Mask" that "opens". They are "drumming" and "dancing". Now a days he also tell me they are wearing "hats". The videos are on the "computer".
Understand?!

You can see the videos he wants to see here:

Heat Wave!

2010-07-10T00:09:00.000-08:00

Wallowing in the mud with Calin Baker Vas. Just a few miles from Fred Meyers in the heart of Fairbanks is a little boy's fantasy.

Someone learned how to say "Cheeze!"

Keet signs for "BIG". It's the Big Water Big Smile!

Splish-Splash

Visit with Aunt MacKiki

2010-07-09T23:55:00.001-08:00

Auntie MacKenzie came for a lovely visit!

As you can tell, she and Keet don't get along at all....
Blogger is now accepting videos again, so we'll see how it compares to the youtube posts I've been doing lately.

The two weeks flew by, but we had all kinds of fun during it. Went swimming and to the Hot Springs, played with friends (Alex and Keet with their helmets). Oh, and the FOOD!

Keet is still talking about "KiKi" all the time. When we got to the Grumpas earlier in the week he kept asking for her, and anytime we go swimming now, he wants to know where Kiki is too. We miss you Auntie MacKenzie!

July 4, 2010

Nummular Eczema

2010-07-09T22:49:00.000-08:00

Keet had his appointment with Dr. Foote last week, and his eczema is supposedly not related to allergies. Keet is not apparently allergic to the big Five (Cow's Milk, Egg, Soy, Wheat, Peanuts).

There are still lots of possible irritants out there though that may be causing him to react with the eczema outbreaks. While traveling in Norway, he was horribily uncomfortable. I still suspect there is some sort of food/environmental irritant.

We started steroid treatment, and it looks so much better than it did, but this can't be a life-long solution. The eczema he's diagnosed with mostly is found on old men (go figure, my old soul). They say it's cause is unknown. Poor baby! It literally appeared one day and has slowly become worse and worse. Glad he's relieved from the itching for now, but drugs for life is not a realistic approach.

Our next appointment is on Wednesday.

Spring Bling

2010-07-07T23:30:00.002-08:00

Check out the gold shoes!

Grumpa in the Grass

2010-07-07T23:24:00.004-08:00

Grumpa in the grass

2010-07-07T23:24:00.001-08:00

Happy Father's Day!

2010-07-06T23:35:00.002-08:00

Beach Time

2010-07-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

This was actually taken back in May, but must be posted. We went to Chena Lakes just about 30 minutes from the house. It's as close to the beach as we get in interior Alaska.

Norway!

2010-06-23T14:53:00.002-08:00

I know you've all been dying to see and hear about Norway. YES! We made the trans-atlantic flight with Mr. Keet. You would think it could be a flight over the Arctic, but NO...Seattle, over the East Coast, over Greenland, into Amsterdam.

Keet in the Amsterdam Airport making friends.

Then to Oslo for the IPY Oslo Science Conference where I moderated the Polar CINEMA film festival.

It was a rough voyage, with Keet having diarrhea, me throwing up, and then Da-ka and I getting a bit of the runs once we settled in. Something we picked up in Juneau I'm sure. Luckly, we learned to travel with a carry-on with a change of clothes for all of us, and about 4 changes of clothes for Keet. We went through them ALL!

The film fest was great. I saw a fantastic film I hope everyone will add to their netflix cue and look for at their local arthouse:

http://www.inuk-film.com/

The writers, director, and lead actor were all present for the screening, making it feel like a real premiere. Fantastic film from Greenland.

With a few days off in Oslo after the conference, we were able to do some sight seeing.

Keet and Da-da sign for "flowers".

A familiar feeling?

Vigeland Park in Central of the city was gorgeous.

A Sunday afternoon, it seemed the whole town was there going for a stroll. The center of the park has a huge tower of nudes climbing over one another. Quite epic.

We found some food on the Wharf, and enjoyed some time in the city, going on boats, and visiting the various sites. Museums weren't really Keet's cup of tea, so walks were the best thing. Luckily the weather cooperated at the end of our journey, and we were all feeling healthy again!

A sea-faring people, the Viking boats, then the Kona-Tiki Museum with the actual straw boat used to prove that travel with grass boats was possible. Then the modern sail boats that fill the Oslo harbors.

Oslo Opera House is designed to look like a Glacier slipping into the Fjord. Pretty spectacular. We didn't get to see the stage as that was reserved for tours or performances only.

Soon enough, it was time to head home. We had a connection on return from Oslo to Paris. Paris, it turns out is a wild and unruly airport. Not even enough time between planes to get a cafe au lait! So sad...

This is my experience of Paris.

The first European Work/Vacation complete, we are all so happy to be home in beautiful Fairbanks. Keet has been drumming like never before. Aunt MacKiki is in town, and more updates soon to follow.

With love,
KDM

Keet's favorite song

2010-06-11T22:07:00.000-08:00

Git Hoan is the dance group lead by David Boxley. This was at the Anchorage Museum. Keet was a bit frightened by the raven masks, which you'll see at the end. But now, all he wants to do is watch this (poorly made) clip I took!

CELEBRATION TIME come on!

2010-06-11T21:36:00.001-08:00

HALLO!

Writing now from Lillistøm, Norway - just outside Oslo. It has been a whirlwind of a week to be sure!

A week ago, the family traveled to Juneau where we all danced in our first Celebration!
A gathering of Tlingit, Haida, Tshimsian, Nish'ga and other members of the Seaalaska (Native) Corporation, it is truely a thing to behold. We flew into town just in the nick of time to get into the panaramic photo taken every year. You can see the camera in the center below. (Picture's over!) We'll have to order a copy.

The amazing thing about Celebration is that it is just that. When else does a community get together when it's not a wedding or a funeral? This is a party wrapped up in a family reunion wrapped up in a cultural renissance. Started in 1982, Da-ka and I attended our first Celebration together in 2004. Then again in 2006. 2008 - I was too tired and pregnant after spending 2 weeks on the sea ice to travel again, so it was a joy to attend this year!

Keet, Da-ka, Akka (Shirley), and Nathan Jackson (Shirley's first cousin).

Nathan is a world renowned carver. At the Anchorage Museum the week before Celebration, we saw they have his picture right as you walk in to the museum. Every time we passed it, Keet signed "Grandpa". They hadn't even met yet!

Here are the four generations: Da-ka, Keet, Yé (Chris McNeil Sr.), and Akka.
We learned from Chris that "Yé" is Great-grandpa in Nish'ga. Originally from the Nass river area on the Canada side, Keet's great-grandpa now lives in Juneau, but has been a fisherman all his life.

The family danced all toghether three times with two different Dance Groups. Da-ka wore the Killer Whale Tunic woven by his cousin, Anna Brown, as well as a Chilkat Blanket she wove on seperate occasions. It was a great honor to wear the family at.oow (the artistic/ ceremonial objects and songs of the clan belong to the clan, not to individuals).

Keet slept through the entire first dance, and only wanted to be held the second dance. He's a great dancer at home though!

Cousins in the Park

2010-05-27T20:41:00.001-08:00

Keet and his second cousins: Taj (in back) Pharrel, Yeil, and Ronin, Mike Worthy and Princess' boys. What a bunch of cuties

Aaka in Anchorage

2010-05-26T23:17:00.001-08:00

Eight hours down the road, with a stop for lunch and a view of Denali, and we arrived at Aaka's house in Anchorage. Keet slept for the most of the journey, ida y vuelta (there and back).

He so enjoyed the trip! We saw caribou, eagles, moose, and even a black bear on our way home! Little Grey Jey's came and ate just feet away from Keet on our lunch breaks. It is beautiful to live in Alaska.

The trees are green, but the mountains still snow capped and crisp. It was so hot in Faribanks that there was actually a wild fire already smoking up the place. We drove south and got through the smoke and into the cooler air of the coast.

Da-ka had a piece in the new Anchorage Museum show, so we had an excuse to make it to Anchorage for business (with a lot of pleasure thrown in). We had a little time to spend with Keet's Great-Grandma "Klay" (at least sounds like). I did a video recording of her speaking about her mother's brothers that I'll post eventually.

As you can see from the above photo, Da-ka brought his super fancy DSLR camera, so he got the best photos. These are only a taste...

The museum was really wonderful, but the highlight for me was the Imaginarium. Just seeing Keet play with all of their fun children exhibits was wonderful. Of course the Arctic Studies Research Center was fabulous too (a Smithsonian exhibition space), but I'm a mom after all.

On the drive home we stopped by a lake in Denali park and had a picnic. Da-ka and Keet were too cute, as always. Throuought the trip Keet kept adding new words to his ever expanding vocabulary. He is still aigning a lot, but he is now saying such things as:
"ice"
"barba" (spanish - beard (barbilla is chin))
"aaka"
"boom"
"car"
"yes"
"no, no"
"baby"
"tractor"
"bubble"
"dinasauro"
"dog"
"cat"
"cool"
"hip"
"help"

he seems to immitate almost any word with coaxing, but still signs for many things.

Last night he was restless after a long day in the car, and didn't go to sleep right at bedtime. He signed:
"poo-poo please help" then pointed to his changing table. I asked him if for sure he had pooped, and he assured me with the same sequence of signs over and over. "poo-poo, please help!".

I got him out of bed, checked the diaper, and nothing. Little trixter. He was so sincere about it all too!

Oh, family question... I heard a Tlingit song written by a Paul Brown. Anyone know who that was? Relative?

In the meantime, here is a very cool website we'll start taking Keet to:
http://www.sealaskaheritage.org/flash/my_house.swf

More photos from Da-ka soon I hope!

Anchorage Museum

2010-05-26T13:34:00.000-08:00

We all went to Anchorage this past weekend to visit family and attend the opening of the new wing of the Museum (Da-ka was in a contemporary Alaska Native artists show that opened in the museum at the same time). Of course, Keet showed up on the front page of the Anchorage paper with Akka (Shirley) that following Monday. It was only a thumbnail photo directing folks to check out the slideshow online. But still!

Here's the slideshow. Keet and Akka show up about 6 photos in.

http://www.adn.com/2010/05/22/v-swf/1290232/gala-opening-at-the-museum.html

M.

2010-05-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Sent from my Windows® phone.

Reception photo at Theatre UAF

2010-05-03T10:20:00.000-08:00

From: Kade M
Date: Sun, May 2, 2010 at 6:18 PM

Subject: Reception photo

Dear Maya and Daka,

Hello! I thought you might enjoy a photo with the three of you
looking as cute as you are!

Warmly,
Kade

Family Video

2010-05-01T21:40:00.003-08:00

Rock and Roll Baby

2010-05-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

My friend Kaleb told me about this drum kit at the music store he works at in town. We dropped by to check it out. Yup. He's a pro. I don't know if I'm ready for a kit already. Can this be an outdoor toy?

Teeter-Totter of Life

2010-04-25T21:38:00.001-08:00

It was a beautiful weekend, sunshine and playtime - as always mixed with work. Helped with the box office on Saturday night, then filmed the Vinegar Tom (http://www.theatreuaf.org) show with students and had a panel discussion with my collegues.

Keet's buddy, Kyle, had to get tubes put in his ears on Friday, so Da-ka and I had Keet at UAF for the day. It was "Spring Fest" so there weren't classes, and Keet and I hung out in the morning and went to visit Miss Heather and baby Lucy.

They were all doing so well, until Heather had a freak accident over the weekend and broke her ankle! The poor dear. I've been worried about her ever since I found out yesterday, and we've been mobilizing a support team to take care of her so she can take care of Lucy (now only 2 weeks old!) Cruel world...

I put together a little site so friends can help pitch in, so if that's you please check this out:
http://lucy.viewpage.net

Life has it's ups and downs. If all was equal and even, it wouldn't be any fun:

(I like how Keet signs "all done with his hat" at the end of the video!)

mik's/keet's box

2010-04-19T22:16:00.002-08:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Larry Salganek, JetWarbird.com
Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 6:12 PM
Subject: mik's/keet's box

When we were in Santa Fe this past summer, Keet fell in love with this box that my brother Mik had. There wasn't room for us to bring it home with us, but when Papa Perro came up to Alaska, he brought this gift to Keet, from Mik. Keet has been playing with it non-stop! It has latches, and doors, and compartments. You can carry it, hide stuff in it, lock it, and drum on it. It's perfect! Thank you Uncle Mik!

A few more pics....

2010-04-19T22:11:00.001-08:00

Plus, the weather has been GORGEOUS!

I love the saftey glasses and hard hat. Taking after his dad!

This morning Keet woke up and said "Dada" then pointed to Da-ka then said "Papa?" and pointed towards the loft. So sad not to see his papa dog this morning!

Playing with my buddy...

2010-04-19T22:09:00.001-08:00

Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 9:28 PM

I think Keet was happy to be back with Kyle and Miss Nicki today. The rash seems a bit better, but he went to bed late!

Visit with Papa Perro

2010-04-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

It was an amazingly wonderful weekend to have my dad, "Papa Perro" here in Fairbanks. Four days is too short! Dad arrived late Wednesday night, and the next morning Keet warmed up to him in about 4 minutes. They spent all of Thursday together as Da-ka and I had to work. Friday was a part work/part play day for me, and Keet and Papa Perro tooled around with me on errands, at the U, and other fun stuff. We ended the day at the F.E. Gold Camp with Beth and Denny (Da-ka's folks) for dinner. Keet was in love with their old dog there at the gold camp, but was given a firm reprimand by the dog which I thought was a bite through his lip! Fortunately, Keet had only been snapped at, and the supposed blood I saw was just rasberry goo still in his teeth from moments before. Thank you angels!

Saturday we went to Chena Hot Springs, and had a generally lovely time. A visiting artist, Marcos Rameriez from Mexico joined us, and the weather was perfect.

Today was brunch with Denny (Beth is under the weather) and a mellow day in general. Poor Keet seems to have gotten a rash, maybe from the springs? I'm watching it, so that's kept me on my toes today. It's always something!

Keet started saying "Papa" almost immediately. Must be one of those "easy" things to say - like dada and mama. He kept asking for "Papa hahaha" his way of panting like a dog. So cute!

So wonderful to have my own family close. Nothing replaces that bond. As much as I love Alaska, I will always hate being far from my family as Home.

Fw: Fun at the park!

2010-04-12T16:02:00.001-08:00

From: Nicole W.

We went to the park today before lunch and nap. The boys had a blast
playing! PS Had not milk today but he's done fine with Skim milk and
water.

Spring Catch-up!

2010-04-06T23:01:00.000-08:00

Watch out. This is going to be a big update!

It's been a very busy spring, and it seems that each night, all I want to do is update the Keet Blog, but alas, it has had to wait.

We had a lovely spring break, but it was a bit cold. So after spring break of course, it warmed right up! Keet and I went to Ice Alaska for the ice carving championships one gorgeous afternoon.

We've been very busy the last few weeks getting ready for new babies! We hosted a baby shower for our friend Michele back in February, and her boy Chord, was born on 3/2/10!

Then, on Equinox, we hosted a baby shower for Heather! She is waiting and waiting now for the birth of her baby. Hang in there Heather!

Michele and Heather with Chord

At the last baby shower, Keet also fell in love. Here he is cruzing and kissing with his THREE YEAR OLD girlfriend, Emma. (Can you see his pimped out Virgin de Guadalupe on the hood?)

What else....?
Ah yes, a checkup on March 24 with our favorite nurse/lactation consultant gave us the following stats:
Keet's Weight: 23lbs 14oz
Height: 31.25 inches
Head: 47 cm (18.5 inches)

Apparently he's about in the 30th percentile all across the board.
He looks perfect to me!

His first bubbles:

So, hopefully Auntie Mackenzie will be satisfied for another few weeks with the new updates. More soon, I promise.

Love from Keet!
M.

So Sleepy in the Sled

2010-04-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie fell asleep in the sled. He's holding a little stick.

Keet Asleep

2010-04-01T13:53:00.000-08:00

On Miss Niki's Couch. They had been sitting together, and before she knew it...

Grumpa's Ticklebugs

2010-03-14T23:25:00.002-08:00

This was shot around Christmas 2009. Keet was just newly walking then.

2010-03-13T09:15:00.003-09:00

And there will never be peace and quiet again...

The Singer

2010-03-10T20:29:00.003-09:00

Today Keet is 16 months old and is an excellent drummer and singer. I think the Festival of Native Arts really inspired him this past week. The Tlingit dance group below is from Hoonah, Alaska.

Keet is opening all of the doors in the house by himself, and is speaking and signing more and more. He says "mas" (more) as his main Spanish word. He also says things like "fish" and signs for moose, snow, music, and of course DRUM!

Going for a Stroll

2010-03-06T12:13:00.000-09:00

The weather has been gorgeous and we've managed to have some time outside walking in the sun. LIGHT!!! There is hope again...

2010-03-03T18:35:00.000-09:00

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Tanana river

2010-03-02T16:19:00.000-09:00

Olnas pond summer 2009

2010-02-16T21:55:00.000-09:00

Sent from my Windows® phone.

Fall archive

2010-02-16T21:48:00.000-09:00

Sent from my Windows® phone.

Pant pant pant

2010-02-14T20:27:00.000-09:00

Keet doesn't bark, but he pants like a dog for his beautiful Blue Dog Towel.

"ART"

2010-02-14T19:26:00.002-09:00

This past week, Keet turned 15 months and has started TALKING!
He had "Dada," "Dog," "Cat" and the occasional "Mama." As well as the obligatory "hi" and "bye" (used rarely - as he much prefers to blow kisses bye-bye).

This week however we got "book," "clock" (?!) , "car," and "ART!" Why clock, I don't know, but on two different nights he very pointedly touched the bedside clock and said "clock." Nicole says they talk about the clock in her room at nap time, so maybe that's where he picked up on that.

Last night though he was pointing to the art on our walls, then saying "art" then clapping. So cute! Here he is tonight practicing his pronunciation.

Down Dog!

2010-02-01T22:47:00.000-09:00

Time for Family Yoga!
Just looking at this photo of my downdog makes me painfully aware of how out of yoga body I am. Hard to believe still that almost 1.5 years has gone by since I was teaching yoga on a daily basis. I can see how my pose has become stiff and misaligned. No surprise here! Keet of course has perfect alignment, and loves to join me for a second or two at a time.

Keet's had a cold again this past week, but seems to be on the mend now. Poor baby. Cough till you puke syndrome several nights in a row. Why is it always after eating salmon and blueberries and right in mom's cleavage? Hum, I think that pink shirt is done for.

He's been babbling A-E-I-O-U in random sequence these days. Sometimes I hear a full progression. He said a very clear "car" to me the other day too. Dada, Mama, Dog, Bye, Car. Total boy!

Bathtime fun

2010-01-28T21:14:00.000-09:00

Decided it might be a fun activity to let the boys take a bath and steam
them out a bit. Worked like a charm and now they are both crashed out. Check out the shark hair on those boys :)

Video from the Transalaska Pipeline

2010-01-24T14:23:00.002-09:00

yet another video experiment. My old iphone doesn't have video, but I have this .99 cent app that will shoot something like 9 frames a second. Uploaded to the blog direct from the trail. Not bad for the middle of nowhere. You can't tell, but Keet's knocked out asleep in the chariot...he's the little white band in the middle there.

This trail runs on top of the Trans-Alaska pipeline. It's wide, and clear, and the snowmachiners pack the trail so it works great for the Chariot stroller.

It was goregous today. I needed to get outside. 20 above or some craziness. The light is back, and I think the hardest part of the winter is now behind us.

Keet's Snowy Walk

2010-01-24T11:55:00.004-09:00

We went on a sled ride to Grumpa's, then Keet tried walking in the snow for the first time.

Fwd: Fw: Pictures of Gym INC

2010-01-22T14:05:00.001-09:00

----------

From: Nicole Worrall
Subject: Pictures of Gym INC
Date: Friday, January 22, 2010, 1:59 PM

Bollywood Bash

2010-01-20T22:14:00.010-09:00

Friends had an Indian party. We dressed both East and West.
Keet was non-traditional, as always!

Classes start tomorrow, and the whir of the academic machine churns on. Keet was in full time care with Nicole last week for the first time. He did just fine, but it will always be hard on me.

I just found out that I'm retained for yet another year as a Term Faculty member for film. I thought term was, you know, terminal. But I am NOT complaining! Glad to know I have a job. Yet, Nicole sees more of Keet these days than I do. What kind of life is that for a family?

Our routine is to drop-off around 9AM, and pickup at 4:30PM. He wakes at 7:30 only with prodding, and is back in bed no later than 8PM. That's only 4 hours of waking time (not traveling to or from town) that we actually get to be together. I feel like most of that 4 hours is spent getting ready to go, making dinner, and then bath and bed. Maybe an hour of playtime a day with my son? Fortunately, Keet gets to play all day, so that makes me happy and he seems happy too.

It's especially hard after a nice long stretch of time together as a family. We had time just to be, with no agenda over the holidays.

Here is Keet in love with his dolphin. It was love at first sight. Solstice present from Mommy.

Reloaded video. Hopefully it works now!

Fwd: You will never believe what your baby did......

2010-01-13T11:45:00.003-09:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nicole W.
Date: Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 10:58 AM
Subject: You will never believe what your baby did......
To: Maya Salganek

Keet was acting like he needed to poo so I talked to him about where poo
goes and we went into the bathroom and I sat him on the potty and we read a
book and in about 2 minutes he had went pee and poo. I took so pictures but
they aren't great. We sang bye bye to the poo and he got to flush it down.
He's still walking over to the bathroom door and clapping his hands. I'm
sure it was a total fluke but in all my years as a nanny I've NEVER had a 14
month old use the potty!

Avid Reader

2010-01-10T11:53:00.012-09:00

Keet is Fourteen Months today. I can hardly believe it.

In the past few weeks, Keet has become an avid reader. It's his first sign in the morning, and last in the evening. We often sit and read 5 or more books in a row. He signs along too.

The sign language seems to really be working well for him. It's great as his 1st/3rd language besides English and Spanish. We know that he's comprehending, as he'll sign for "cow" weather we say "cow" or "vaca." Same is true for anything else. His signs include:
BOOK
cow
monkey
grandpa
moon
"k" (for Keet)
the number "1"
cat
potty
bath
cheese
flower
toothbrush
please
car
draw
red (which he recognizes)
fish
berry (his favorite food)
stars
and he does "downward facing dog" on command! Son of a yogina for sure.

Vocally he says
"hi"
"dada"
"mama"
"dog"
"cat"
"up"

He's really into identifying nose, eyes, ears, stomach, feet, head, hands, and all kinds of animals.
This past week he started to play keep-away for the first time, by keeping away his food/cup/book as a joke. His first joke!

This next week he starts full time with Miss Nicole. She's so wonderful with him, but I still hate to let go of my time with him so young.

2010-01-07T12:35:00.000-09:00

Sent from my Windows® phone.

Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-26T13:20:00.017-09:00

We had a beautiful Christmas day. Great weather, great food, great time with family.

Keet opened presents for the first time. He'd open one, then play with it (or the box it came in) and we'd have to try to convince him to open something new. We opened presents at home, then headed to the Grumpas for more! Yikes. Overload for sure.

Such a lucky boy. So much to be grateful for. So many blessings.

I feel the need to create new traditions for our family. Celebrating Christmas devoid of a religious context feels superficial and commercial at best. Although the time together with family is valuable, the meaning of Christmas is lost to a child without a spiritual context. It's just about Santa, presents, and sweets otherwise. I guess that's where the value of making gifts comes into play, along with service in general. It is an adventure to untangle the social norms and dysfunctions in an effort to rejuvenate the culture with meaning and aligned actions and ethics. That feels to me to be as much as a mother's responsibility as anything. We either repeat the traditions we know due to a deep love and respect of them, or fear of the repercussions for abandoning them. I am not much one to uphold the status quo for convenience, nor do I believe in reprisals. I do fear being embedded in a system I don't believe in. I'd rather renew or revamp a tradition than bow to one that has lost its meaning...

So, here's my idea for Winter Holiday 2010. As the phenomenon of Christmas is unavoidable in America (we do live only miles away from North Pole after all!) we will expand our idea of the holiday for a bit of balance. We can celebrate the Winter Solstice with a day of simplicity. Honoring the darkness. Fasting. Taking a moment to reflect. By comparison, Christmas will be a celebration of the light!

VIDEO OF KEET DANCING TO ABC'S

P.S. Speaking of light, notice the nice crisp photos! No more iphone photos, Dada got Mama a nice new digital camera! YEAH!!!!

Keet and Kyle at Christmas 2009

2009-12-21T11:33:00.005-09:00

Keet and his buddy Kyle are enjoying Chrismas time! Kyle is already starting to cruise at not quite 9 months, and Keet went from a few steps last Sunday to walking from room to room at our house! He still has to pull himself up on something in order to get to his feet, but once there he's a little toddler all the way.