Late October weekend

Rick and Kieran do some sidewalk art in the front of the house Saturday morning.

"Click!" Say cheese!

Kieran loves to dress up- here he tries on some oversized fairy/butterfly wings.

The elusive blue fairy on the run ;)

Kieran and I before we left for a costume birthday party- Kieran was Robin Hood and I was Maid Marian . (I was the only adult in costume;)

Kieran surveying the decorating area were the kids designed their own goody bags- great idea!

Kieran and some other kiddos playing a monster bean-bag game- I was so impressed how well Kieran could follow the directions- school has worked wonders!

Getting ready to play Hot Potato, Sam's nana demonstrates how to cover your mouth when coughing- Kieran catches on quick!

Such an attentive listener!

Kieran watching as Sam's nana demonstrates how to properly frost a cookie- he was so excited he could barely contain himself!

Robin Hood and the pirate!

Mmmm- that's some good frosting!

Wow! Witch's brew- spoooooky!

Kieran had the keys to the tricycle and was ready to ride!

Kieran loved playing with Aidan and the other kiddos at the party- we all had a great time!

Kieran portrait

This is a favorite picture of Kieran- we just love his expression... so I decided to use it to make a Chuck Close style portrait of Kieran kinda' like what my art classes did at the beginning of the year...

This is how it turned out- instead of using warm and cool colors I used cool and neutral colors and adhered the paper "tile" to a canvas. I think it turned out pretty cool.

Homecoming and anniversary weekend

We took Kieran to the Mizzou house decs this past weekend. He had a great time being up after dark and running around with all the other kids on campus. Here he is with Truman, a cut-out from one of the skits the college kids put on for the community.

Kieran makes friends where ever he goes. Here is chatting up a couple of fellow kiddos on a rock outside a frat house. Ladies, please take note of the sweat-shirt... "Property of mom!" ;)

Saturday morning we took Kieran to the homecoming parade in downtown Columbia. As you can see it was a chilly October morning- good thing Kieran has such a cute jacket to keep him warm :)

That boy loves his daddy!

"Tickle! Tickle!"

Our little bear sitting on Broadway, waiting for the parade to start.

Enjoying a little snack while he makes friends with the crowd around us.

It was a fun parade- lots of fun floats, loud bands and big trucks- right up Kieran's alley!

The 20th is our ten year anniversary- we decided to celebrate a little early since we had Monday off this week. Rick and I went to Kansas City for a little grown-up-time. We spent the first part of Sunday at the annual Renaissance festival in Bonner Springs, KS. Here, Rick enjoys a Ren Fest fav- the giant turkey drumstick- mmmm!

Doesn't he look fetching? ;)

I had to get in on the head-wear fun too! BTW- this dress belonged to my mother who actually wore it to work (and not as a costume) during the 1970's- got to love the hippie-generation!

Naughty Ricky!

My favorite picture from the Renaissance fest- of course there would be a Storm Trooper there... got to love the nerd-set! We fit right in!

Meanwhile... in Kieran's world...

Nana and auntie Shannon took Kieran to Peach Tree Farms fall festival to soak up some of the lovely October weather and spend some quality time with the little man. Yay for bunnies!

"Nice bunny!"

Hooray for pumpkins!!

The perfect place to take a break and rest those little legs!

Kieran waits patiently for his turn...

Kieran did a great job being still for his first face painting- auntie Shannon helped a little too ;)

Nana and Kieran in the jail wagon!

Kieran talked about the "spider on his cheek" all Monday night- it wasn't until we saw these pictures that we figured out what he was talking about!

"Yee-ha!"

Kieran trying on one of his possible Halloween costumes- what a darling Robin Hood he makes :)

Annual Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival!

My boys at the Pumpkin fest

Kieran's first pony ride- he loved it!

A boy and his horse (Daisy)

Waiting in line for the pumpkin bobbing game- he is gaining patience for lines- but he still dislikes them (but then again so does his mother)

It's almost Kieran's turn to get a pumpkin and he can hardly contain his excitement- he sort of wrings his hands in anticipation a la Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons "Excellent!"

Apparently we don't need our annual trip to Penny's this year for the cheesy Christmas shot! Too bad he was holding onto that Culligan cup ;)

Taking a break on some hay-bales so Kieran can eat his favorite treat- kettle corn!

Yarg! Kieran loves kettle corn!

Playing in the tunnel at the Hartsburg park

Kieran's first time on a teeter-totter... he makes friends where ever he goes!

"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain..." Couldn't help but think of that 90's Blind Mellon song when we saw this little girl. Kieran loved her- they ended up hugging and rolling around in the grass together- too cute!