At the end of a long weekend...

After lots of bouncing...
and cuddling with Daddy...
and playing with Hattie (a.k.a., Captain Insane-o), the new foster pup (who is *nothing* like Lyla or Macey)...
we all need a good nap!

The progression of giving Kiernan blocks

Baby massage

Any recent parents (I don't think this craze has been around longer than 5 years) have had the virtues of baby massage beaten into their heads. I get it, I do. Soothing touches are good for baby. Got it. Not always rough housing. Got it. Even when baby *loves* the rough housing. Got it. Even when baby wants to be tossed in the air 24/7. Baby massage, baby massage, baby massage. GOT IT.

Anyways, at the end of Kiernan's bath, he gets some quiet time and a little baby massage. It's hard not to let this dissolve into a game of tickle-the-baby-in-the-ribs, but we try. Look at that little belly just waiting to be raspberried (a word, I should note, spellcheck does not believe exists)! So, when Billy is given strict instructions not to tickle, torment, tease, or otherwise rile up one adorable baby, you can see from the pictures below how he copes with this. I'm pretty sure these techniques were *not* covered in the "Baby Massage and You" handbook that was stapled into our hands upon leaving the hospital.

* Note: no babies were harmed during this impromptu photo shoot.

Before the teeth, comes the drool

Oh Tyf, your baby is rather, um, "glisteny". Take that, spellcheck. Glisteny. Ah yes, see that rather slickery looking substance covering the chin of our beautiful baby? That would be drool. It's a rather ever present substance around here. Not that Kiernan has any teeth to show for his drooly efforts, but I have to hope (that's read: pray) that teeth will be coming shortly. This is one baby that is ready for teeth (as evidenced by him eyeing me eating my toast this morning). We're starting solids at the end of this month! Bring on the mess!

Wielding goldfish to his every whim

We're hoping for better superpowers, but we'll take what we can get. Do universities give "goldfish wielding" scholarships?

It's an art form, I tell you...

Okay, I know that I'm supposed to restrict this blog to all things Kiernan (and I promise to get back to that in short order), but I thought I'd take two minutes to show y'all the difference between photos that I take of foster dogs and photos that Fiona takes of foster dogs. Remember the photo from below that I posted of our foster dog? Well, truth be told, I didn't even take that one. It's too good to represent the type of photos that I take. And now, see the above photos. Yes, yes, there's something to be said for the camera, blah, blah, blah. We aren't even in the same category! Sheesh. I suppose a smart move would be to use any discretionary money to hire a professional photographer to lurk around the house and take charming pictures of Kiernan. Otherwise... well, he's a beautiful little boy, but I think we all see where this is going...

Checking in

Alrighty then, time flies when you're having fun. Seriously, it's been pretty stinkin' great, as evidenced by the above super cute pictures of the most adorable baby boy the world has ever seen. Nah, I'm not biased at all. And yes, for those of you who asked, those are Billy's legs in the last picture. I may be pressed for time, but Kiernan does allow me to shower and shave. Sheesh.

Billy's family came up to DFW last weekend to watch Kiernan be dedicated, along with his godfather, Drew, and godmother, Mary. It was a crazy weekend, complete with the A/C at the house being temperamental and Billy leaving the service because he had convinced himself that the oven being left on would end in tragedy for the pups (crisis averted). As is a common saying around here, there's never a dull moment.

We even have found room for a new foster pup. Yes, I realize this firmly categorizes us as "crazy" for many of y'all, but these few months without fostering have felt very odd. You would think that our three pups, one black kitty, and a small baby would be enough entertainment and then some, but it just doesn't seem like home unless there's another pup underfoot. Here's a picture of our newest foster, a German Shorthaired Pointer named Macey. I'm sure she'll be adopted quickly, she's quite the charmer.