Kieran at Runge Nature Center

We took Kieran to the Runge Nature Center today for a change of pace from the mall play place... and we are sure glad we did! He LOVED it! Just like at the mall there is no one there at 8 in the morning so we had the place to ourselves. There is tons of room for a little guy to roam and so much to explore... floor to ceiling windows that look out onto birds, squirles, chipmunks, and deer; varrious habitat exhibits with doors to open and shut, stuffed animals and other mainipulatives to play with; so many cool nature sounds to hear and more! We spent nearly two hours there checking out each exhibit. Kieran was nearly nodding off by 10:00 from all the crawling around, up and down stairs and the exciting sites and sounds! He and daddy are off for a nap drive now while mommy starts the birthday cake and updates the blog. What a lovely way to start the day!

365 days old today!

As unreal as it might seem, Kieran has been here, on the outside, for 365 days as of 2:41 this morning. Daddy and I wish you a very happy birthday weekend big boy, we love you very much.

There will be many more photographs, videos and memories to record here as Kieran's special weekend unfolds... stay tuned.

Happy 52 Weeks!!!

We made it! 52 weeks worth of blog entries (with a few exceptions) of the first year with Kieran! Tomorrow he will be a year old. Unbelivible!

The photos of Kieran in the yellow space man shirt were taken yesterday at Grandma/Grandpa's house because Sheila was sick so he got to spend some quality time with nana and papa. They took a long walk in the park, drove down to Hartsburg and enjoyed the unseasonably warm March weather. Kieran really loved sitting at the grown up table with grandpa and playing in his highchair fort! He didn't nap too much for them but that's only because he was having way too much fun to sleep!

The top two photos (plus the first week photo- thrown in for comparison) mark the end of the weekly owl-pal photo shoots. Of course we will still keep up with the blog but from here on out posts will be made on his month birthday and then randomly as fun things occur- which is quite often with Kieran so stay tuned... there is so much more to come!

Reliving "the moment"

This time last year, I had been in pre-labor for about five hours. I had no idea what was in store for me despite my best efforts to be prepared. There is nothing quite like that first "real" contraction and the sudden realization that today would be quite unlike any I had ever known before. This day, one year ago, marked the end of one part of my life and the beginning of the next- nothing would ever be quite the same and yet how could have I truly understood that then? I didn't. I had heard it said many times by friends and family members alike- but to understand it we have to go through it ourselves don't we?

I remember very clearly laying in our new bed, next to my sleeping husband in our dark and peaceful room, practically holding my breath waiting... waiting for that next singular sensation- painful, gripping... no mistaking and thinking to myself, "Is this it? Are going to meet our son today? Are we ready?" And then the waiting began... we waited, and we waited and we waited some more...

Here is the blog entry from March 11th 2009... I am so glad I wrote a little bit about how I was feeling, it is nice to role around in my thoughts from that morning and soak up those feelings as I reminisce.


"Is this the real deal? Hard to say for a first timer, but I will say these are most certainly real contractions!
We went to the OB yesterday, 3 cm and 80% effaced and another "sweeping" and Dr. Su's announcement: "I think you are going to have this baby tonight or tomorrow." Okay then... so off we go to the mall to have a tire fixed and mall walk with the best of them!
I had quite a bit of cramping and spotting all evening, but otherwise business as usual. But then, at around 1:30 this morning the first contraction hit and boy-howdy- OUCH! Sharp, tight, burning sensation in lower abdomen. This was followed and has followed with similar contractions (although some have started in my lower back) every 9-12 minutes for the past 5.5 hours. Turns out this could go on all day or longer!!
I am of course hoping for a quicker development than that considering active labor is considered 4 cm and we were at 3 yesterday prior to all this fun... in any case I took the day of work (duh!) and so did Rick and so now we wait a little more..."

The bluebird of happiness

Because of Kieran's love of birds, cultivated by Sheila and grandpa Daugherty, we have decided to start a collection for Kieran of these adorable plush audubon birds. The cool thing about them, besides the fact that they are super cute, is that when squeezed they produce a very clear and accurate call of the bird they look like. I took Kieran to Birds-I-View in Jeff City yesterday and he picked out the bluebird- when he heard it's little call he did his signature happy wiggle and that sold me right away ;) I also chose the black-capped-chickadee because it's one of Sheila's favorite birds and was a regular in her backyard this winter. Wouldn't these little birds look too cute on shelves in Kieran's tree mural? Perhaps we are raising a budding ornithologist!