Look ma... a spoon!

Thank you to Tori for teaching Kieran to eat with a spoon from a bowl! In a stroke of genius, Tori decided that Kieran should be able to eat cearal for breakfast with her children so she added some yogurt to the cheerios, gave him a spoon and let him at it! This morning when I tried to spoon-feed KP his yogurt and cheerios concoction, he refused but when I let him do it himself... well he truly surprised me! He is turning into a little boy right before my eyes! We are so proud and so very thankful to Tori for teaching him things we didn't even know he was ready for!

Grant's Farm!

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!

Kieran at daycare

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!"

End of August updates...

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!

Fun with a gerbs bag...

Rick and Kieran discover the joys of a simple cloth gerbs bag... makes for lots and lots of fun :)

Kieran's new shoes...

KP is growing out of his first pair of shoes- the super cute bright blue and green, mesh water ones I love so well. So yesterday, I bought him a pair of brown leather sandals called "Sawyer Browns"- too cute ;) He has a little trouble managing them as they have a stiffer sole than his first pair and they are a bit long still- but they should be great for the next couple months of summer as he has been growing like a weed! In fact, he had a well baby just the other day and has put on nearly 3" since his one year appointment! CRAZY! However, he hasn't gained an ounce- guess that accounts for his big-boy appearance these days. While at the doctor, he had to to get three shots and have a blood draw because his iron levels are a bit on the low side- but he was a trooper and didn't cry too much- especially since he got his first sucker (strawberry Dum-Dum) as a reward for his bravery- he loved it almost as much as the Bomb-Pop he had at the fair!

Kieran attends his first birthday party!

Thank you to the Marshalls for hosting such a super fun third birthday party for Jacob and Evan! The Little Gym was the perfect location- lots of space to run, neutral territory (read: less chance for jealously and fighting), safe environment and just a really cool place for kids and parents alike! Kieran had a blast playing on all the mats and play equipment- he loved the balls, bubbles, giant parachute and inflatable bouncy matt! I think his favorite part though, was watching all the big kids do their thing! Kieran was in true form- doing his own thing, refusing to sit or follow directions and kept mom on her toes the entire hour and half. He discovered the joys of a juice box- squirting it all over himself and the table. However, once he mastered the tiny little straw, he drained that box for all it was worth! KP wasn't into the cake but he thought all the toys the twins received were great and should be his- luckily they were distracted enough that they didn't notice him carrying a few around for a bit before mean ol' mommy made him put them back! Unfortunately daddy couldn't make it as he had to run our open house at the same time as the party- but not to worry- there are plenty of video and photos so that he can relive the excitement!
On a side note- mommy was in rare form as well... apparently I wore my new shirt (which I was really excited to show-off) inside out the entire time and had no idea until I got home and Rick asked me what was up with my top... great. Also- I managed to leave a dirty cloth diaper and a plastic pineapple at the little gym- which will most likely end up in the trash before I can claim it tomorrow. Go mom!