Husband of the Year 2011

This upcoming Saturday will be our 6th wedding anniversary.  I could not think of a better time to celebrate than during the first few weeks of Keira's arrival.  Kevin has been my rock during this last pregnancy.  The pregnancy took a toll on me both physically and emotionally.  Kevin was there for every complaint and every tear.  He was with me every day and night at the hospital after Keira was born.  Since bringing Keira home he has been Keegan's playmate, the cook, the maid, and my cheerleader. 

I had a hard time adjusting to motherhood with Keegan.  I found it very frustrating not knowing what to do when Keegan would cry and would not sleep.  This time around I find myself more relaxed and confident with Keira.  I guess the School of Motherhood trained me well!!  I find that Kevin too is more relaxed and comfortable with Keira and has handled the transition to baby #2 very well.  When he left for work this Monday I was sad to loose my teammate that has made this ride so much smoother.  It feels good to have him by my side and even better knowing that 6 years ago I made the best decision to have him as my partner through this roller coaster of life!

All together again...

We were discharged from the hospital on Thursday morning. My mom dropped Keegan off a couple of hours later. He walked through the door saying "Baby....baby....baby" He proudly presented Keira with a gift and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Kevin then told Keegan that Keira had also got him a present. He was so excited. He opened up a toy leaf blower and goggles. He was on cloud 9!

Keegan's bedtime routine is to watch a few minutes of TV on mom and dad's bed. So they new family of four all gathered on the bed to watch some Nick Jr.

Keegan then said goodnight to Keira and gave her a kiss.

Once Keegan was sleeping, we decided to put all the boy clothes away that were in Keira's room (remember we thought we were having a boy!) and put all her girl clothes in the closet. My good friend Jenne was so kind to ship us all her 3 month girl clothes. All I can say is that Keira will look great in all these outfits...they are so cute. Here she is modeling one of the outfits.

Overall, the first 24 hours have gone well. Kevin and I are definitely doing better with Keira then we were with Keegan at this stage of the game. It makes me laugh to think of how clueless Kevin and I were when Keegan was a newborn!

I will keep the pictures coming to show you how our family of 4 is adjusting!

Keira Elizabeth Daugherty

Kevin and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of our daughter, Keira Elizabeth. She was born on October 3, 2011 at 9:49 am. She was 21 inches long and weighed a healthy 9# and 14 ounces! Yes, you did hear that right....9# 14 ounces....I sure know how to grow some healthy babies!

Kevin and I chose to not find out the gender of the baby during the pregnancy. We were both 99.9% positive it was a boy. Even as I walked back to the OR room, I was telling the staff to expect to deliver a big baby boy. When my doctor announced the baby was a girl, both Kevin and I looked at each other with big eyes. We both had just recieved the biggest surprise ever! And then of course came the tears of joy about now having a daughter! We were both so happy!

Because we were so sure we were having a boy, we even packed boy clothes to bring to the hospital! Therefore, Kevin had to go shopping yesterday to get Miss Keira a new wardrobe. He came back to the hospital bringing back some super cute clothes. Her first outfit was a grey and white animal print with pink bows! She was definitely the hit of the nursery!

Keira has been doing great with nursing and with sleeping. She is a happy and content baby. Keegan came to visit her on Monday and gave her a kiss on her cheek and gently rubbed her head. He has been spoiled while Kevin and I have been in the hospital by spending the week with Nana/Papa and Grammies/Grampie!

We plan on returning home on Thursday. I am not able to post any pictures at this time, but once we get home I will post some pictures of Keira.

Kevin and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during the pregnancy and during my surgery on Monday. We are blessed to have you all in our lives and we can not wait for everyone to meet our sweet new addition, Keira!

Saying Goodbye...

This past Saturday, Keegan's babysitter headed off to college.  She will be playing women's soccer for Ashland University and she was to report to school on August 14th.  We went to her home on Sunday morning to say our goodbyes and let Lexi know how much we have appreciated her over the last 2 years.  Lexi was the first person, outside of our family, to watch Keegan.  She started watching him when he was only 5-6 months old so I could go workout, go play golf, or when my mom could not watch him when I had to work.  It is always hard trusting a "stranger" watch your child but Lexi has become part of our family. 
We wish her all the happiness and success over the next 4 years at Ashland University.  We are already planning on making a trip to one of her home soccer games in September. 
It is going to be an adjustment not having Lexi around to help out, but I am sure thankful for the all the help and love she has given to Keegan!
Here is a few pictures of Lexi and Keegan over the past two years....

First Soccer Game (7 months old)!

Lexi's parents, Mark and Sandra...wonderful people!!

7 months old modeling the famous shirt!

Copley vs Revere (Copley wins!!)

20 months old at Senior's Night!

Lexi with her awesome parents!

Suprising Lexi at her Prom!





A rose and a kiss for his special lady!

Thank you for everything Lexi!!!  We will miss you....



 



Already sporting the Ashland University shirt!



Keegan's First Car!

I always joke that Keegan is growing up so fast that before we know it, Kevin and I will be buying him a car for his 16th birthday.  Well, leave it up to Kevin to make that reality come true at the age of 2!!

I came home from work this past Saturday to find that we now owned 3 cars instead of 2!!!  Kevin explained to me that he was at a garage sale and just HAD to get Keegan this motorized car!  I will agree that he got it for a great bargain but it still amused me what Kevin and Keegan do while I am working!

So, Keegan decided to show mom his new wheels.  I think I was laughing and smiling so much that I was almost in tears.  It was probably one of the cutest things I have seen!  Take a look for yourselves...

"I can't hear you, I have the top down!"

Looking good!

Keegan still does not get the hang of the steering wheel yet, so Kevin has to be there making sure we do not have any collisions.  And I do have to admit that Kevin was right...Keegan just HAD to have this toy!!


Chicago 2011

We traveled to Chicago this summer to visit Auntie Shelley.  Shelley is my best friend from college and we try to see each other twice a year.  It was my turn to make the trip so I thought it would be fun to bring along with boys.  Shelley's parents were gracious enough to allow all of us to stay in their home.  Shelley's mom cooked us breakfast, lunch, and dinner for almost all the days that we stayed there.  I decided to call her home a Bed and Breakfast because we were so spoiled. 
The first day there we headed to the Brookfield Zoo with Shelley, Shelley's friend Donna, and her little girl.  Of course it decided to rain for the majority of the day but we made the best of it.

On the tram taking a tour of the zoo!

The next day we went to the Children's Museum.  This was probably my favorite stop of the trip.  The Museum had a water area with bubbles, an area for muscial instruments, and a ton of various other interactive stations.

Future Engineer!

Auntie Shelley and Keegan.

A sound is made when you step on the light.

"Wow!"

Making bubbles!

"Fixing it!"



Keegan just will not look at the camera for any pictures..uggg!

It was a wonderful trip!  We are so blessed to have Shelley in our lives and we were so grateful for her parent's hospitality.  We hope to make a trip back next summer!

Peach Cobbler

I combined two versions of Paula Deen's (Best Desserts and foodnetwork.com) peach cobbler to make this version.  It was out of this world.  I had to give the remaining cobbler to our neighbors or else I would have eaten the entire thing!

Peach Cobbler

• 8 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1 cup of peach juice
• 1/4 cup peach schnapps
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 cups of baking mix
• 2.5 cups sugar
• 1.5 cups half and half
• Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, mix all the cut up peaches with the peach juice,1/2 cup of sugar, and the peach schnapps.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.  Stir often and make sure the sugar is dissolved.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Put the butter in a 13x9 dish and place into oven to melt all the butter.
5. In another bowl, combine the 2 cups of sugar, baking mix, and half and half. 
6. Pour batter into baking dish over the butter.
7. Arrange peaches on top of batter.  Do not stir the peaches.
8. Pour the liquid from the saucepan over top of the peaches.
9. Bake for 1 hour.
10. Serve with ice cream!!!