Happy FIRST Birthday, Kason!!

Oh my goodness! Where does the time go? It's hard to believe that my baby is 1 year old today. It seems like only yesterday he was this little newborn swaddled in the hospital blanket and hat. I just re-read his BIRTH STORY and it just doesn't seem like it was 1 year ago! The first birthday is so bittersweet. On one hand it's nice to be done with the 'baby' stuff so we are ready to move onto bigger and better things. On the other hand, I don't have a baby anymore, and I never will again. That's a hard pill to swallow when I think about it that way. My last baby isn't a baby anymore (sniff, sniff). Our lives have all changed so much since Kason joined out family. It's hard to imagine life without him!!

Kason is such a great boy! He's so much fun to be around, but don't let that fool you, he has a little temper too! He's just now starting to figure out that he can throw a fit when things don't go his way. It's pretty hysterical really! He's on the go 24/7, so much so that it's hard for us to keep up with him. He also loves to climb so you can't take your eyes off him for a second. There's no telling what he would be on top of! His new favorite thing to do is throw balls down the stairs and watch them roll down. Kason loves his sister more than anything and is proving to be a daddy's boy. He gets SO excited when he sees Justin. He also loves out dogs, Tyson & Tito, and the cat, Max. Tito loves him too, but Tyson could do without and Max tries to stay away from him because he likes to pull his tail!

Some of the highlights of the last year:

• At least 16 pounds have been gained since his birth. His 1 year check-up is on Monday so I will know the stats then
• Started sleeping through the night around 8 weeks old
• Stared getting real food around 5 months. Sweet potatoes were the favorite for a long time, but now he pretty much likes all food. He's a WAY better eater than his sister is!
• He learned to sit by himself just before turning 6 months old and learned to crawl just after he turned 6 months old.
• Got his first haircut at 6 months old. We had to do away with the 'Donald Trump' look!
• He said his first word (Dada) on November 22, just before turning 7 months old. He now says quite a few words....dada, mama, hi, bubba (Tyson's nickname), up, and baba (bottle) are the ones that anyone could understand. He is also trying to say several other things that he hasn't got quite yet....Kenley, sissy, more.
• Got his first 2 teeth at exactly 7 months old. Now he has a total of 6!
• By 8 months he had 'cruisin' down and started to let go and stand on his own shortly after.
• He learned how to escape his exersaucer and had his first encounter with the stairs. We still aren't sure how he did that, but it definitely happened!
• On March 6 he took his very first steps, although, he didn't start walking more than crawling until later in March.
• Now at 1 year old he is walking all the time and is even standing up on his own. He can also bend down to pick up a toy and stand back up without falling down. It won't be long and he'll be running around the house chasing his sister to pay her back...lol!

Here's a look at him growing up over the last 12 months!

Kenley snuggling Kason the day we came home from the hospital!

1 month old

2 months old

3 months old

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old

7 months old @ his first Tiger football game. Many more of these in his future!

8 months old

9 months old

10 months old

11 months old

BIRTHDAY BOY!!!

PS: I scheduled this entry to post at 1:48 PM becasuse that is the time that Kason David Conyers entered this world one year ago today!

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Edition

10 on Tuesday

1. Sorry I didn't get any updates last week. I was crazy busy at home and at work and I didn't have any free time to do it!
2. Congratulations to Missy and Jared on your wedding. Everything was beautiful and we all had a great time at the reception. I'm still jealous about your honeymoon to Jamaica and your tan!
3. I'm home with the kids today (and yesterday) because Justin's dad is in the hospital. He had what he thought was a heart attack on Sunday night, but it turns out it wasn't a heart attack at all. After lots of test they say that the artery on the back side of his heart is blocked. He will need to have open heart surgery sometime to fix it. He should be getting out today. We're glad you are ok, Mike!
4. Kason's birthday party was on Sunday. Thank you to everyone who came and thank you so much for all the great gifts!! We had a wonderful turnout and we all had a great time. Pictures will be coming soon from the birthday party, so check back!
5. It's hard to believe that it's been a year since Kason has been a part of the family. I can't imagine life without him!
6. Here's some big news for you! We are a bottle and formula free household now!!! I started transitioning him to whole milk right when he turned 11 months old. He wasn't a huge fan of the milk, but he took it. I started to notice some things that I thought might be related to the milk. Like I suspected, I think he either has an allergy to the milk protein or a lactose intolerance. I switched him to soy milk at the end of last week and things seem to have gotten much better. Keep your fingers crossed!
7. Things around our house have been busy. Justin is mowing now so he is gone all weekend long. When it rains all weekend it really messes up his mowing schedule, so this week he'll have to spend some week nights mowing as well.
8. Speaking of rain....I'm pretty sure we got enough rain in the last 4 days to last for the next 4 months. It was absolutely crazy how hard it was raining at some points. I'm looking forward to all those May flowers that we should be getting soon!
9. My cat, Max, has a hurt paw. He was trying to jump on top of the dryer (where his food is) just as I was opening the door. He didn't make the whole jump and then fell on his back on the open door. He's been limping around since then. I hope it gets better with time because I do not want to have to take him to the vet.
10. I'm watching Alvin and the Chipmunks - The Squeakqual with Kenley right now. It's a super cute movie!

Wordless Wednesday

10 on Tuesday

1. My sister is getting married this weekend!! I'm excited for her and Jared and I'm excited about celebrating with them!
2. Due to the upcoming wedding things are pretty crazy right now. I'm trying to get my house back in order because I have friends from out of town staying with me this weekend. My sister is crazy busy, as you can imagine, and my mom is sicker than a dog. I hope mom is feeling better quickly!
3. I sat on a bench outside my office today and had lunch with a couple friends. It's a beautiful day and the first time I've been able to get out in the sun. It made it really hard to come back in to work!
4. It was a busy and productive weekend for me (& Justin). I pretty much stayed home all weekend and cleaned the house and went through closets. I put away most of the winter stuff and washed some spring and summer clothes for the kids. My basement is full of stuff that I need to go through for the garage sale! Justin was gone all day Saturday and all day Sunday mowing. It sucks that he's not going to be home on the weekends now that it's mowing season.
5. My niece, Kylie, spent the night with Kenley on Saturday night. The girls had a wonderful time together. They played outside a lot and it really wore them out. They also played dress up, played with dolls, and watched movies. It was nice to be able to spend a little time with Kylie because we don't see her as often as we used to!
6. I had to stop running for a while and I am definitely not going to make the 5k that I was planning. I was having a lot of back and leg pain and I've been seeing a chiropractor for it. He told me to stop running for a few weeks to see if it helped. It hasn't been hurting as much, but now I am behind in my training. Bummer!
7. We have a lot to get done around the house. We need to plant some flowers and mulch, then finish staining the fence and the landscaping timbers. Why do the weekends go by so quickly???
8. Kason's birthday party is on April 25th. I sent out his invites this past week. I can't believe I am planning his birthday already.
9. Speaking of Kason....He is DONE with formula!!! I can't tell you how happy this makes me! I'm not transitioning him to drink milk out of a sippy, and cold, and we'll be bottle free in the next couple weeks!! YAY!!
10. We finally got to meet our friends daughter, Lyla, last week. Lyla's mom, Micah, has been a friend of Justin and I since high school. She moved to Wisconsin shortly after she found out she was pregnant. Lyla was born on Kenley's birthday! She's a cutie!!
    

Wordless Wednesday: Easter Edition

10 on Tuesday

1. Work is CRAZY busy this week. We have "Roar-mania" going on. ROAR is a program that allows students to go into a computer system and choose their own room/roommate in our residence halls. A lot of the people I work with are here from 8am-midnight all this week. There's a ton of extra people in the area this week too and the phones are ringing like crazy!!
2. What is with this weather? It's April 6th and it's 85 degrees. Don't get me wrong, I'll take the heat over the cold any day!
3. Speaking of the weather, it's been so nice being able to have the windows in the house open. The fresh air and sunshine do wonders for my mood!
4. My sister is getting married next weekend! We are all looking forward to her wedding and we are very happy for her!
5. I am getting ready to have a huge garage sale and get rid of all the baby stuff and clothes. We have decided that we aren't going to have anymore kids, so it's time for all this stuff to go. We are going to have so much extra storage space now! If you know of anyone who needs baby stuff, let me know. Chances are I have at least 1 of anything!
6. We had a wonderful Easter. I kept meaning to get pictures posted, but I never had time. Maybe that will be my "Wordless Wednesday" tomorrow!
7. Mowing is starting this weekend. I'm pretty sure Justin and I are both excited for the extra money that it brings, but I don't think either of us is really ready. He'll be gone every Saturday and some Sunday's now. We won't have near as much time together now :(
8. Kason is walking all over the place now!! I'd say he only crawls about 15% of the time. He can't stand up on his own, so if he falls while walking, he has to crawl to something to pull himself up again. It's so funny and cute to see such a little person walking!
9. Our summer is filling up quickly. It's amazing how fast everything gets booked. Justin has a lot of football camps over the summer and he only has a few weekends that are totally free so we are jamming in what we can while it's open!
10. I'm working on Kason's birthday invitations over the next couple days. I can't believe it. My baby is almost a toddler!