So Big!!

Just too cute not to share! I love when he learns new tricks and wants to do them over and over and over and over... until one day he doesn't want to do them at all. It stays that way for a couple of weeks, and then all of a sudden he remembers he can do them. Too cute! I love my Squishapillar!

Xoxxo,

Us

My Sick Squishy Doesn't Know How to Be Sick...

Yes. Kellan is sick.  Again.  Last night was our 2nd trip to the ER in one month for 2 totally separate illnesses....  Can I just say I am tired of Tylenol, Motrin, medicine, pedialyte, and now breathing treatments, and steroids.  I really hope he doesn't have asthma like I did as a child.

But really?  If you want to make an already run down mommy feel like a complete failure, just say, "Wow, he really is sick all the time!"

Seriously, as if I don't know how many times my sweet little baby has been sick?  How many sleepless nights I have spent trying to soothe him?  How many bottles of Tylenol and Motrin we have already gone through in one short year?

Where is that baby bubble protector when you need one? At least that may help stop my curious little man from putting EVERYTHING (and I do mean EVERYTHING) in his mouth.

Maybe if my little baby would stop and relax and let his body get better before trying to conquer anything he can get his hands on, he wouldn't be sick so often.  But I know that is just not my Kellan's personality.  He is so adventurous and happy even when he is struggling to breathe.  He wants to GO GO GO to discover anything he can.  Slow down my squishapillar, let your body heal.  I promise you that everything will still be here for you to discover when you are feeling better.  Really it will!

Betcha wouldn't have guessed this baby wasn't feeling well. (101.3 temp and wheezing with every breath)

I'm not sick mama!

My little adventurer

Longing to go outside I would imagine...

See mama,"this?"

So, if you don't mind, please keep your finger's crossed for us that Kellan can stay healthy for a while.  We have had to re-schedule 2 well check appointments/turned sick visit.  And we have now had to re-schedule 3 1 year photo sessions.  Not to mention, we both might go a little stir crazy if we have to spend this summer indoors!

*A special shout out to Auntie Kim who spent her evening with us in the ER last night.  I can't tell you how grateful I am to have her here.  Not just for help with Kellan, but because it has been nice to have someone to talk to while Rob is deployed.  And Kellan just loves her.  He now knows where her bedroom is, and if she isn't out playing with him, he crawls over to it and lets her know.  Thanks Kim.  Your help and friendship mean a lot to me!*

Xoxxo,

Us

Little Laundry "Helper"

Perhaps I shouldn't save the laundry to fold for a later time...

But with that said, he sure did have fun playing with it.  And let me tell you, Kellan's 1 year molars are really starting to flair, so anything that keeps him occupied and happy makes me happy. 

Classic Kellan - when he does something, he does it all the way!

Throwing and Throwing, Over and Over

Can't help but smile when you get a look like this!

Just look how much fun a pile of clothes can be to a baby.

You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words?  Well check out this next series of pics, can you not just see the though process clicking away in his head?

Life is always an adventure with a curious toddler!

Xoxxo,
Us

Kellan thinks his crazy momma is very funny!

Oh the crazy things we do for smiles and laughs! Worth every second of acting like a crazy lady!

Xoxxo,

Us

Kellan being silly

My messy Mango boy trying so hard to say something! Love him!

Xoxxo,

Us

We miss you Rob, Bob, Daddy!

My dear sweet husband,

Kellan and I spent the day thinking and talking about you.  They called your name in church today to recognize father's of faith. I whispered to Kellan when they spoke your name. "Daddy loves you."  He replied, "Bob?"  It was way too cute.  Thankfully we were in the cry room so service wasn't interupted. (Kellan was pretty ready for a nap during church today.)

Rob, I promise you we will have a Daddy Day when you get home.  A Bob Bonanza.  It will be super fun.  I love watching you with our son.  You have a sparkle in your eyes that I have never seen before Kellan came along.  It's that look that makes me love you even more.  You look at me with love and adoration, but you look at Kellan with a love so intense it could only be between a child and a parent.

I can't wait to see what the next 20 father's days bring.  And while I know you will not always be here to celebrate, I can promise you that we will always make time to celebrate you as a father with kisses, hugs, and lots of love.

Hours after you were born

After returning home from a deployement

Family Photoshoot

Your newborn pictures

*Kellan, I want you to look back at the pictures of you and your Daddy one day when you are a little boy who lost his first big game/teenager who thinks Dad just doesn't get it/20s something man starting your own life/new Dad for the first time, because those are times when you need to look at these the most.  I promise you will always see how much love your father has for you.  And while I only have pictures of the two of you over the past year, I can almost 110% promise you that that look will always be on your Dad's face.  That is the look I was talking about.  The look that only a parent and a child can understand.*

Xoxxo,

Us

Great Baby Toy - Great Parent Price

So let's face it.  We have all been there.  We have all spent money on toys only to have our baby enjoy the box it came in better.  Or they steal away the envelope the way over priced power bill came in, and proceed to spend countless minutes laughing and loving playing with a piece of paper.

Now I am not going to go as far as to say Kellan doesn't like his toys, bc clearly if you have ever seen my living room you know that he LOVES his toys.  Currently he loves getting in his play yard and throw all the toys out of the playyard.  And when he gets out of the play yard he spends time throwing all the toys back in.  (At least he cleans up after himself!)

Kellan has always loved toys that play music.  He is always singing in his little baby way that he does.  He loves shaking, and is even starting to dance.  So when he got these for his first birthday, I knew immediately they were going to be a hit!

So what are these?  They are Egg Shakers and Chick-Itas.  You can find them at your local Guitar Center.  Or here: http://store.musictogether.com/shakers.php

Since opening this present up, Kellan always has one hand on these.  If he doesn't, and is getting into things little hands shouldn't get into I can start playing with one and he will start crawling over to steal it away.  He loves shaking it.  And he loves the praise I give him when he "Shakes Shakes Shakes."  When he plays with them he always looks over at me to make sure I know he is shaking!  He is such a sweet little man. 

The best part about these?  They aren't going to break the bank.  The little eggs are under $5.00.  And the Chick-Itas are a little more, at $7.50, but well worth it.  I have spent more money on other toys, and they haven't been played with nearly as much as these little guys are, and they have only been here two weeks.

And in case my word wasn't enough proof for you, Kellan can show you himself!

Xoxxo,

Us

A Father's Day Photo From the Squish Man himself.

Today Kellan and I ventured out in the heat for just a little bit to take the pictures for his Father's Day present.

I painted a couple of letters from the store, and pulled out his reading chair, and insto-presto!  A perfect Father's Day gift for Squishy's Bob!

(If you haven't already caught on, Kellan calls Rob Bob instead of Dada.)  We are sure this won't last long, and are enjoying the funny moniker.

Well If you can't tell since I uploaded my pictures in the wrong order and included some outtakes... it says I <3 BOB!

I married the best husband.  I know he would be an amazing father too, but he has made me fall more and more in love with him with how sweet he is with our Squishy.  But more on that later.

Xoxxo,

Us

Wordless Wednesday (posted just after Midnight on Thurs...)

Oh well, the way it works in my world is that until I go to sleep it is still Wednesday!

Look how big my baby has gotten??!!

Xoxxo,

Us

This is how a person loses their popsicle.

Kellan got his first popsicle in the ER last week.  They thought it would help bring his temp down.  He of course loved it - who wouldn't, all that sugar!?

So yesteday I pulled out a "No Sugar Added Fruit Bar" and as soon as Kellan saw what I had - he Cran (Crawling at a running pace) over to me.  And the rest is told best by pictures...

Hmmmm

Is this a trick?

HEY!  I WASN'T DONE!!

Now is this a look of happiness or what?

Xoxxo,

Us

Trying to get the chasing game on camera - FAIL

Clearly I need to work on my crawling while videotaping skills. I can honestly say that is not something I ever thought a need to practice. LOL!

Kellan loves playing the chase game. I say "I'm gonna get you!" and he laughs and starts crawling away really quickly. Then he stops to see if I am coming, sees I am and squeels with delight. Eventually if I don't "get" him fast enough he stops and waits for me to get him. I think he likes being tickled. We played this for over 40 mins tonight... my poor knees!

Of course once the camera comes out - it is a whole different game. Get the camera!

Xoxxo,

Us

Today was a good day!

Today was one of those days that you look back on and are thankful for all you have. While we didn't go to church because I wanted to give it one more day before I exposed him to other children, we did manage to find plenty to do.

First we headed off to Target and Babies R Us. I had some returns to do. (Which I managed to forget and not realize until we were already at the store! Turning around was not an option, as I went to the far Target and BRU bc this location has them right next to each other - that way I don't have to switch carts. Hey putting that cart-cover on while holding a 24lb baby who is squirming is hard work!!)  I also needed to pick up thank you notes, as we have many to write thanks to all the wonderful friends and family who bought Kellan so great toys, books, and savings bonds. Lastly I really needed to buy some baby proofing edging for Kellan's crib, and our entertainment center.

My little squishy has had quite a few Jaws moments lately. And while I don't let him chew on the TV stand, every time I turn my back, he is up there munching away again. So better safe then sorry. And his poor crib looks like it has been through 4 children, not one little baby. He keeps scraping the stain of with his teeth. I obviously would prefer that he not eat that.

So off we went. Kellan wasn't quite himself, although he still managed to find all the cute ladies in both stores, he could only manage to stare at them instead of his usually smiling flirting self. Clearly he is still getting this funk out of his system. After spending an hour and a half picking up what I came to get, and a few things I didn't plan on buying, we headed back home. Kellan took all of .5 seconds to fall asleep in the car.

Once at home I quickly fed and changed my sleepy baby. I usually put him straight down when he falls asleep in the car, but he was really wet, and I knew he would sleep longer if he had a belly full of milk. And sleep he did. From 1-4. While this isn't an unusual amount of time for Kellan's nap, I wasn't expecting it because he slept until 9:45 this morning.

(While I probably shouldn't put this in, as I am sure it will jinx it, aside from the nights when he was really sick, my sweet little squishy has FINALLY figured out how to sleep through the night!! He has been doing so for the past few weeks. Going to bed between 8-9pm and sleeping until 8-9am! If he falls asleep earlier he still wakes up at 11pm to nurse, but falls right back to sleep afterwards!! It only took a year - Lol!)

After Kellan woke up from his snooze, he slathered on the sunscreen and ventured out to our backyard. I had blown-up his mini baby pool, and hooked up his caterpillar sprinkler. I put on my suit and we played in the water and grass for about an hour. It was a lot of fun. The only thing missing was Rob.

As if Rob was listening to my heart, when we got back inside I checked my email (on my phone).  (Kellan was happily eating his dinner of cheese crumbs, blueberry whole wheat pancakes, and peas.)  There in the inbox was an email from my love. And not just any email, a super sweet email full of all the things I needed to hear, even if I didn't know I needed to hear it. Here he is tired, still not to his final destination after 2 full days of traveling, and he manages to take the time to write me and Kellan an email full of encouragement and adoration. I love that man!

After Kellan finished dinner, we got him into his pjs and played together for a while before bed. Kellan has realized that the "I'm going to get you" game is a lot of fun, so he was full of belly laughs. Nothing better to me then the sound of his laugh. Gets me every.single.time! Two books later (each read twice) and a belly full of milk, Kellan drifted of to dreamland very easily.

So what started off being just another Sunday ended up being a great Sunday. I love days like this. The ones that catch you by surprise and are filled with simple pleasures. These days it seems like it doesn't take much to make me happy. And that is a good thing.

Xoxxo,

Us

A picture worth a thousand words....

Rob saying goodbye to Kellan the night before he left.

Xoxxo,

Us

I have a one year old!! (Picture Story too!)

How is that possible, I swear it was only yesterday that I was having my son?! To celebrate the occasion we had a party for Kellan at our house. It was a caterpillar party, because as everyone knows Kellan is our little Squishapillar. He used to make this caterpillar face when he was born, and the name just stuck. We had almost all our family in from out of town, and lots of friends coming over to celebrate. I couldn’t have done this party without my families help. They were all wonderful! We ended the weekend with Kellan’s baptism. It was really a perfect weekend.

What a difference a year makes! Kellan is now weighing in at 24lbs 1oz and 31 inches long!*

(*These are unofficial stats though because he got really sick right after the weekend, and lost almost a pound in a day. His 1 year well check turned into a sick visit. With a diagnosis of Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease and a UTI – poor baby! This is also the reason I have not been able to jump on here and do his 12 month entry. Another reason I haven’t been able to update the blog is we have selfishly been spending time as a family. Rob left this morning for Afghanistan again. He will be home for the holidays, but we are missing him crazy already!)

Things Kellan is doing at 12 months:

Kellan is pulling up to standing all the time, and cruising along furniture. This has really truly baby-proofed our home! I am guessing he will be walking by 14 months.

Kellan has started to say words. I am Mama, Rob is Bob! (Although two days before he turned 1 he did start saying Dada – he still calls Rob Bob!) He says Ball and This pretty often. He has said Bubble, Kiss, Done, Animal (his new lovey), and Fozzy (his other lovey), but he won’t repeat them like he does the other words. He also has many other words in his vocabulary, but only a baby translator could tell you what they are. :)

Kellan is very curious, and very loving. He gives hugs and kisses to me and Rob. He has to be involved in what is going on, or he gets very upset. He plays well on his own, but also really loves to play with us. He is starting to enjoy books more, and still loves paper and boxes. He is my little bulldozer, and very single minded when he sees something he wants. Life with Kellan is a daily adventure, a lot of fun, and better than I could have possibly imagined it would be.

I look forward to the months to come. I can’t wait to see what this year will bring. Now that Kellan is 1 year old, I will stop doing monthly check-ups on him. (We don’t have any more month-day stickers to do either!) But I promise to keep everyone updated as he learns and explores our crazy Vegas Life!

Xoxxo,
Us

The Caterpillar Cake we made!

Caterpillar Month-day pictures!

We used these as cenerpieces for the buffet table!

Yummy Caterpillar Cupcakes!

(Lemon, Chocolate, and Yellow!)

Proud parents!

Here Kellan - its super yummy!

Hmmm....

He figured it out!

Mom?  What are these?

(Kellan was in a sugar coma at this point.)

I don't want to wait to open my presents!

After most guests left we headed out in the 107 heat and played in our new backyard

Kellan had a blast playing with his friends!

Getting Baptised By Pastor Bill.  Uncle Dave was holding him, but Kellan just wasn't so sure about the whole thing!

Me and my baby!

(He will always be my baby!)

Grandpa Mark!

Passed out cold in Grandma's arms - what a way to end the weekend!