Anyone interested in participating in this year's March of Dime's fundraiser? There are two walks in the early spring- one in Columbia and one in Jefferson City. Here is a little funny, staring Kieran, to drum up your support!
Well, this post is a bit late, but better late than not at all I suppose!
Kieran has been Mr. Chatty-McGoo these past few weeks- talking to himself, to his toys/books, to the pets and sometimes even to us! Mostly it sounds like ga's, da's, ba's, ma's, and lots of "singing" but every now and then he throws in a word or two, like "ki-ka", "Da-g", "ah-lo", "choo-choo", and of course there is mama and dada and baba too.
I think Kieran is working on a little cold today, runny nose and a bit fussier than usual, but so far (knock on wood) no fever or ouchy ears. He also is very drooly and mouthy so perhaps he's cutting yet another tooth or two.
Yesterday Kieran, daddy and mommy went to the Jeff City mall play place for breakfast and after a nice nap at home, headed to Columbia for Indian food and then to shop for some birthday party supplies at Hobby Lobby and finally over to the mall to watch the carousel and all the interesting people ;) Kieran was pooped after all that fun, so we drove around a few sloppy back-roads between Columbia and Ashland before popping over to visit Grandma and Grandpa and have dinner.
Today we were going to go to a home show to get some ideas for the new house but KP was feeling puny so we stayed in instead and hung around the nursery.
A new development in the life of Kieran, he will no longer be Sheila's one and only. As of Monday, there will be two little girls vying for Sheila's attention at daycare. One girl is 18 months and the other is about 3 years old. I am sure Kieran will love hanging out with the big kids- however I am not sure how naps are going to work now that Sheila won't be able to lay down with him twice a day! Oh well- gotta learn to go with the flow little man... here's hoping this is an easy transition- for everyone!
Last one before the big 1 year old! These photos were taken the morning of his 11 month birthday. On the way down to breakfast Kieran made a mad grab for a toy to carry along and he ended up with this turtle. Turtle hung out on the highchair tray while Kieran ate some puffs and waited for mommy to get his breakfast ready. Happy 11 month birthday big boy!
This week's photo shoot was a night early as Rick and I will be out tonight till late for conferences and Kieran will be at Sheila's- again I say we have the best sitter!
As you can see Kieran has discovered another new and fun game, opening and shutting doors and peeking out around the corner... he delights in hearing mommy say "open" "shut" and having one of us on either side of the door to cheer him on. I suppose this game will only be fun until he shuts his fingers in the door though... time to do some more baby-proofing...
Kieran has been babbling up a storm recently. Sheila swears he says "hello" and I think he can say "kiki" or 'Ka" in reference to his cats. I also think he is getting pretty good at mimicking sounds and words too- but not reliably enough to be sure... we are on our way to a very verbal little boy!
I think Kieran is working on a few more teeth right now as he will randomly fuss and cry even when he seems happy otherwise. He already has at least 8 teeth now- three on bottom and the rest on top and he's getting pretty good at chewing and biting. I think I have curbed the nursing bites for the most part, but he will still nestle into my shoulder during an innocent seeming hug and then take a little nip... ouch! I am ready for this teething thing to be over and I think we aren't even half way through it yet!
Kieran is going to spend his Valentine's weekend, or at least a few hours of it on Saturday, entertaining grandma Sandy. Rick and I are going out to lunch and a movie because Sandy is generous and offered her services, which of course we accepted gladly ;) On one hand, I hate to give up any of my precious Kieran time as there is so little of it, but on the other hand, mommy and daddy do need a little time to be a couple rather than a threesome. At least this is what I tell myself when I am walking out the door and willingly leaving Kieran... "This is good for all of us.... this is good for all of us..." and repeat! Ahh the joy of guilt felt most acutely by the working mother.
No owl pal again this week... that's what happens when you put daddy in charge of the weekly photo shoot ;) As you can see, eating and playing are both very serious activities for KP. He LOVES cheese and has a lot of fun trying to get as much as possible as quickly as possible into his mouth. This technique usually results in a cheese beard and sometimes cheese in his nose, eyes and ears- not to mention all over the highchair and floor- which of course the dogs love!
Kieran has recently discovered the many joys of his firetruck toy... putting things in and out and in and out and in and out... plus there's the super cool ladder and don't get him started on disassembling it... totally awesome!
This week Kieran has learned to "share' or at least that's how we like to view it... occasionally whilst playing, KP will offer over a block or small toy to me or Rick (or grandpa D- who was the first recipient of Kieran's generosity) of course he wants it back later- but at least it's a start!
Kieran got a chance to spend some quality time with grandma/grandpa this week on Monday when Sheila was sick and then again Thursday night when mommy and daddy had conferences till 8. Grandma/Grandpa are earning their KP stripes for sure this week as he keeps them hoppin'! Tuesday KP had a boys day in with daddy since poor Sheila was ill again and so daddy stayed home with the little man- I think they had lots of fun and I know they took two looooong drives so Kieran would sleep... whatever works!
Happy 46 weeks little man! Only six left until the big one year! Mommy and daddy can hardly believe how you have grown and keep growing at an alarming rate! This week Kieran has been practicing his new word- "dada" and is babbling up a storm! He may be working on a new tooth or two because he has been a bit fussy in the evenings as our PAT, Alla, found out yesterday when she came for her monthly visit. Despite Kieran's sour mood towards the end, however, we all had fun playing with the cool toys Alla brought along in her magic bag and mommy and daddy are grateful as always for all the great advice she has to offer. This weeks pics show how Kieran likes to enjoy a good book- through the sense of taste of course! Note the shiny string of drool and Kieran's look of pride when he finally gnaws the front cover off his Peek-a-Whoo book! Kieran is less and less enthused these days with Owl Pal. In fact the relationship has been in a slow decline for a few weeks now. Kieran was especially displeased when his green friend decided to take a ride on one of KP's favorite toys- the rhyme-time firetruck! It's a good thing these weekly owl photo sessions are nearing an end- I think Kieran might be ready to quit Owl Pal pretty soon!
Kieran is 45 weeks old already and getting closer and closer to that one year mark! New this week: KP has added "dada" to his vocabulary and is saying it a lot! He is pulling up more and better- as you can see in the pic of Kieran rotting his brain (what great parents we are!) He's been doing better sleeping at night for longer stretches (for now anyway) and even rolls/scoots himself over into his crib- guess he needs his space! When we get the new sides to the crib (due to that recall) we are thinking of putting all four sides on again and seeing how he does with that- of course the crib will stay right next to the bed for now though- baby steps...! Kirean spent some time with grandpa Rother and Kimi this weekend to celebrate a late xmas and birthdays (mom's and Kimi's) We all enjoyed a yummy dinner at El Rodeo and then some cake at grandpa Rother's place. Kieran was very excited about his super cute explorer pal and vibrating chew toy- thanks again guys! Guess that's all for now... I will try to get back on track with the uploading of weekly pics this week... the camera was at my parents all last week as I left it there when we visited on MLK day.
