Baking Lessons

With the winter weather, we've been inside a lot. Kieran was bored one evening, so I decided to mix things up a bit and have him help me make banana bread. He had a blast! After we were done, I realized baking was so much more than a boredom buster. Kieran learned all kinds of new things, from the texture and flavor of flour, to using hand-eye coordination to pour liquid into a measuring cup. Plus, it was a great bonding experience.

More pics from the holidays

A few more pictures from Christmas... My dad took these. Thanks Dad!

I love this picture of Kieran. He's happily playing with his new garage from his grandma & grandpa. Notice our cat in the back snooping in the gift bag?

Kieran got a table and chair set from Mommy & Daddy for Christmas. It's been wonderful for him to have a place to eat his snacks, play, and do art projects. He likes to be a little host and invites people to sit at his table with him. He is usually specific about which chair his guest should sit in. On Christmas day, we had all four chairs out and everybody took a turn sitting on the tiny painted chairs. Kieran loved it!

My boys. I love them so much!

Look how much I've grown!

This morning I put Kieran in a pair of overalls that he hadn't worn in months. I was shocked that they were almost too short. This summer they were too long! For fun, I decided to take some pictures to show how much Kieran has grown. I had him pose by the window today so I could get some shots of him that were similar to pictures I'd taken on June 4th, one week after we got home from Rwanda. In June, he could just barely rest his chin on the window sill. After comparing the pictures, it wasn't the growth in inches that was most noticeable. I was struck by the wonderful transformation that's taken place in him. Take a look and see for yourself...



In this photo, Kieran was not able to stand on his own without holding on to something. Now our sweet boy is walking, running, climbing up the stairs and down on his own, and generally having fun all day long. He's such a happy kid, and so chatty! This morning he woke up at 5:30 am (ugh!) and I went in to his room to encourage him to go back to sleep. I told him it was too early and he needed to go back to sleep. He said to me, "Rock a minute?" I happily obliged and rocked him in the glider rocker for a while. We are so blessed to have him in our family. (Or as he would say, "swamily".)

Christmas at our house

I finally uploaded our photos from Christmas. Since I did all the photography, there are zero pictures of me. I really was there, I promise! We had a great day. My parents and siblings were all here to celebrate Kieran's first Christmas with us. It was a fun day. Here are a few snapshots of our Christmas morning...
Our cat turned three this Christmas. She got a new toy in her stocking.
Kieran and Daddy opening a gift. What is it??
It's a school bus from Aunt Katie & Uncle Jonathan!
Thank you Aunt Katie and Uncle Jonathan!
Kieran gets a kiss from Auntie Kendra. He's too excited about his new toys to stop for kisses!
Grandma & Grandpa get framed pictures of Kieran, of course!
Kieran sporting his new Converse tennis shoes. Thanks Casey! He loves them.