To celebrate our three day weekend and the beautiful late summer weather, we traveled to Kirkwood, MO again (home of the Magic House) to visit Grant's Farm. It was a perfect day for the trip- 75*, sunny and dry. A lot of other people must have thought so too because when we arrived we waited in a line of traffic for half an hour just to park! Once we found a space, we then waited another half hour to board the tram- good thing the weather was so lovely and Kieran was in a good mood!
Kieran LOVED the choo-choo-train (a.k.a.tram) He clung to me like a baby koala but loved every minute of the ride. When we got off he had a mild tantrum when he realized we weren't getting back on right away! You can see he is sporting his monkey jacket- the morning was a bit nippy- gotta love this early fall weather!
When we arrived it was nearly 11:30 and everyone was getting hungry so we headed over to the biergarten for a free beer (or two) for mommy and a brat for daddy. Kieran enjoyed some fries and of course cheese, crackers and grapes (his snack favorites). He also ate the better part of a peach and made a big sticky mess.
We purchased a bottle to feed the goats- not realizing Kieran would think it was for him! "Ba! Ba!" "No, no... this is for the goats!" Mommy had to be in charge of the bottle anyway because the goats mobbed us as soon as we walked in the gate- they aren't messing around! Luckily, Kieran is used to being surrounded by crazed, furry creatures and he was not the least bit put off by their presence. After a few pets, he was off to play in the sand which we didn't allow for too long since it was littered with goat droppings.
Kieran was very impressed with all the animals- camels, elephants, deer, giant turtles, a wide assortment of birds (including his beloved chickens- "ba! ba! ba!"), llamas, and many others- but one of his favorite things was hanging on the fence, playing in the dirt and picking up random pieces of plant litter and trash. I guess we didn't have to drive two hours to find that!
Toward the end of our stay, Kieran cooled off with a strawberry snow-cone and watched the black trumpeter swans with mommy. Mmmm, sugar, food coloring and ice tastes great!
Over all the trip was a great success. Kieran napped in both directions for the drive- which was a great relief to mommy and daddy. He was in a pleasant mood 99% of the time. Despite the initial long wait, once we got in, it didn't seem overly crowded. The weather was spectacular and the food wasn't half bad. There were lots of great animals to see, a "train" and a carousel- Kieran's favorite things! The only bummer of the day was Kieran's darned shoes. We had a great pair of leather Robbie sandals a few weeks ago but one went missing and so KP had been wearing a pair of not-so-great black Koala sandals recently. The problem with these shoes is that his pinky toe kept popping out the side so in a moment of rush and stupidity mommy opted for a pair of adorable Converse from the shoe bin this morning that had never been worn- bad choice. They just didn't fit. They were the right size but they wouldn't go on correctly and it was nearly impossible to get Kiearn to stop spreading his toes and curling his feet long enough to get the damned things on and tied! We must have spent more than half an hour messing with those stupid shoes. Lesson learned- don't try out anything new on a trip. They worked out okay in the end but they were a source of stress and a few unkind words between mommy and daddy at first!
The first pictures are ones Tori took with her cool new smart phone. As you can see, Kieran had a lot of fun and lots to eat! I am so glad to get a few pictures of Kieran during his days with Tori and her children. The boy is Luke and the girl with the long curls is his twin, Spencer. The last photo is Tori with her oldest daughter Lottie, from last year in kindergarten.
Kieran has adjusted beautifully to his days with Tori and we couldn't be happier with the care and love he receives every day with her and her family. He no longer cries and in fact today he wanted down from my arms, ran over to Tori and lifted his arms to her- the universal sign for "pick me up!"
Greetings and salutations friends and family! It has been a while since I updated our blog. A lot has happened recently and I want to be sure to record it all before it has slipped through my swiss cheese brain- so here goes...
Rick and I started back to work on the 10th and the students returned on the 17th. Kieran is preparing for his third week of daycare and all seems to be going well so far. He is spending the school days with Tori, a PTA mom and new friend who lives a few houses down from West. She has three children of her own, Lottie (a 1st grader at West) and her nearly four year old twins- Luke and Spencer.In another life she was a nurse, but has been a stay-at-home (lucky lady) for the past seven years or so. Her husband works from home and so Kieran gets to spend his days away from mommy and daddy with an entire surrogate family!
The first few days back to daycare were a bit rough for all of us- especially the drop-off (mommy get's to do both drop-off and pick-up now). Good-byes are a double wammy for Kieran as Tori brings him with her to West when she drops Lottie off- which means KP gets to see mommy but then has to say good-bye for a second time. This was hard at first (for everyone) but he has been doing wonderfully of late and doesn't shed a tear when it's time to part ways for the day.
One of the best parts of Kieran's new daycare setting is that he gets to spend time with other children. Kieran has never been much for sharing but ever since he has had to share with Tori's children, he has improved in leaps and bounds. He brings toys to other children now- including his cousin Presley and doesn't seem to mind others playing with toys he's not using. We are so thankful for this new skill- it makes any outing that involves other children so much easier! Another big developmental leap is that Kieran now sits very well at a table (sans highchair) for his meals and even tries to use utensils! Tori feeds him very nutritious and diverse meals and we are always surprised and impressed to hear what our little boy has eaten for Tori- brussel sprouts and eggs come to mind!
Sadly, this month, Rick's maternal grandmother passed away. She had Alzheimer for some time now and had not been well. Rick, Kieran and I attended her funeral in St. Charles. Although it was a very sad and somber day, it was also one filled with love, family and friends. It was very nice to spend some time with Rick's mother, brothers, aunt and uncle. Kieran was in good spirits, but he refused to be quiet or still. Thankfully, the church where the service was held had a cry/play room so hopefully we weren't too much of a distraction. I hope to see all our family again soon, and under happier circumstances.
Finally, on a more uplifting note, we are pleased to announce that our house is under-contract! A lovely young family made us an offer, we countered and they accepted. If all goes well, we will close October 15th. Of course we still have the inspection to survive- but we are hopeful that this is the one and that soon we will be ready to begin construction on our new home! We met with our contractor this weekend and have hammered out some general ideas for floor plans and exterior appearance. As we move along in the process, we will be sure to share on the blog.
Here is a short video of Kieran helping prepare for yet another open house... he loves to swiffer and sweep!
Kieran has discovered the joys of tape- and apparently so has Gracie!
