Halloween 2011

What a great Halloween we had last night!  We had several of Keegan's friends over to go trick or treating and they all had a blast!  This was the first year that Keegan understood the concept of Trick or Treating and he sure loved it!  He walked around the neighborhood sporting his Fireman coat and fire truck candy holder.  Keira stayed home with Kevin and helped him give out candy.  Keegan decided to help too!

Here is Keegan with all his friends getting ready to go get some candy!!

And here is Keegan with Keira....

The firefighter and his red hot chili pepper!

Ramseyer Farms...

We traveled to Ramseyer Farms for our annual fall outing.  The weather was perfect with cool temperatures and an abundance of sunshine.  Keegan enjoyed riding the train, feeding the goats, and of course eating dounuts and cider!  Keira came along for the trip but she slept through all of the adventures!

 

How is Keegan?

The one question I hear frequently is "How is Keegan doing with the baby?"  There is no doubt that Keegan loves his little sister.  He always wants to know where Keira is when he gets up from his nap or when he gets up in the morning.  If she is sleeping, he wants to see her and give her a kiss on her head.  When she sneezes, he will always say "Bless you."  He is very gentle and loving with her.  He respects our space when I am nursing her and will stroke her head when she is awake.

When it comes to how Keegan has been interacting with me...well, that is a different story.  Keegan is very similar to me in that he loves to be entertained and be surrounded by friends. He is not good at self play.  So, needless to say, Keegan is having a hard time adjusting to not having his mom a.k.a "entertainment director" available at all times.  I have made it a point to make sure he has an activity everyday.  My mom has graciously volunteered to take him to his Mom and Tot preschool class every Monday for the next few months.  We have had friends come over and play and we go outside everyday to play with the neighborhood kids.  So, the kid is being well taken care!  I keep hoping that he will adjust sooner than later but only time will tell! 

And how is Miss Keira doing?  She is adjusting to the family very well....

Updated pictures of Keira

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!