THE BOY IS 1!

We celebrated KJ's first birthday on Saturday and while we were excited about the party, KJ was still under the weather, so it didn't go over as planned. We tried to get him to eat his cake, but his poor ears weren't cooperating. Still, we had a beautiful day, lots of good company and KJ was able to play with some of his friends off and on. Since he wasn't into his cake on Saturday, we tried again on Sunday, and he seemed to like it much better. Apparently, if I had given him a spoon on his birthday, he would have eaten the cake.

Here is our big guy's 1 year pictures. He looks like a little man to me. I got an email the other day that said "your toddler". When did that happen?

KJ'S NEW RIDE

Kurt and I got KJ a birthday present and couldn't resist giving it to him a bit early. The weekend was so nice that he had to get outside and use his new toy. KJ LOVES his new car.

Of course, KJ has to challenge the rules and wants to stand up, climb on the seat and push it himself. He is such a ham.

ONE SICK WEEKEND

We mixed a little bit of fun with a little bit of flu this weekend.

KJ and I went home to Kalamazoo to throw his soon-to-be Aunt Katrina her first bridal shower. Kurt stayed at home to work and then finishing framing the basement (we are finishing it to make room for the all the toys!) During our shower prep on Friday, KJ started to act a bit funny. The poor thing came down with the flu later that night and the rest of the weekend was spent trying to keep him comfortable while trying to get a shower underway. Funny that I actually thought I would get an entire bed to myself for the weekend- ha- KJ was not feeling his crib.


The bridal shower went great. Katrina received lots of nice things and we enjoyed a couple of margaritas. KJ spent the night under the watchful eye of his great uncle Denny, who took great care of him and helped him sweat it out. KJ is still working to overcome the last stages of the flu, but I am hopeful that his appetite will pick up and he will be back to normal very soon. In the meantime, my throat is starting to hurt...

KJ taking a nap with Gram, trying to sleep it off
Members of the bridal party at the shower
Angie and Mom with a frozen drink

11 MONTHS

Less than 30 days until our baby turns 1! Wow! Hard to believe how quickly the time has gone. He is ready to walk, just needs to gain a little confidence to let go of stuff and take the leap. I have a feeling that once he starts, he won't stop. He seems to do that with everything- once he knows he can do it, there is no stopping him.

I will be soaking up the last few days with my first baby before he is one and well on his way to being a big boy. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, it just keeps going faster and faster.

10 MONTHS AND COUNTING DOWN

I just realized that I posted KJ's growth chart for 10 months, but forgot to give the people what they want, pictures.

KJ is into EVERYTHING. He can open drawers and cabinets with ease and earlier in the week, I found him standing at the door, reaching for the knob. Ah! He will also fly up the stairs if I forget to put the gate up. I have to quietly and calmly run over to the stairs to get behind him because a seven step fall to ceramic tile would be a bad day. Walking is soon to come.

He is a talker too. Which is good for his mama, because he is the only one I have a personal, face-to-face conversation with on a daily basis! He says mama, dada, milk, bottle, dog and ball. Granted, the words aren't fully there, but I know what he is saying.

The most interesting development this month is KJ's new habit of screaming when he doesn't get what he wants. The little screams used to be cute until he decided that he would only do it when something is taken away or it is in public. I found that me yelling "Don't scream" back at him probably wasn't the best parenting technique. Ah, parenting...

NEW EXPERIENCES

With all the snow that has fallen this year, we thought we would get KJ out to enjoy it. Apparently he is not a lover of cold, white stuff. Hey, at least we tried.

Too, KJ got a visit from his Grandma a couple of weeks ago and LOVED it. Grandma brought the dog and KJ chased Brit around the house for hours on end. The poor dog couldn't get comfortable- always had two little hands grabbing at her.

KJ's Uncle Gerald and Aunt Trudy gave him an awesome gift from the Pentagon- an army hoodie. Uncle Gerald is in Washington DC on his last tour of duty with the army and took a break to get the little guy a present. So thoughtful!

THREE-QUARTERS OF A YEAR

The little fella is 9 months old and hilarious. He is so much fun and makes me laugh (and cry) everyday. He is getting into everything, as you can see below. I can't take my eyes off of him because I turn around and he is making a mess.

New things the little man can do this month include saying mama and dada, waving good-bye, clapping and playing patty-cake, pulling himself up and standing and his latest addition is throwing tantrums. Can't beat it when he gets mad and rolls around on the floor and hits his head on the ground. The more we ignore him, the angrier he gets. We will see what the next month brings.