buddies & coach daddy

Did you know it's football season? Well, it is...which means sometimes we don't see Daddy much during the day. We try and get to as many games as we can, but Kase doesn't exactly understand the idea of "watching the games." Usually we don't make it much longer than 2 quarters before we have to leave and head home. (Side note: it is SO great to actually be able to watch a few quarters of the game and then drive 3 minutes home!)

This picture is a VERY rare picture of Kase sitting at the games. He says "go, go, go!" when the boys start running!A future Montezuma Brave, going to go join the teamThis is Kase's buddy, Addilyn (Kase calls her "Abby"). They go to the babysitter together and are so cute together! Whenever they see each other they get all excited!

"Abby, would you like some cookie?""Just kidding, I'd like to eat it instead."Kase got dominated by Addilyn...she took him down!Buddies!

busy, busy boy

today i had such a busy day learning so many new things...here they are!

i learned about sharing:

i learned about the sprinkler and how it is very easy to get wet & muddy......see my shoes?!it was so much fun getting so messy!momma said my puppy couldn't come play...

i learned about problem-solving:

problem: the balloon is too high, i cannot reach ittrial & errorsolution: daddy showed me how to stand on a book to reach things!success!
and finally...
i knew daddy was home, but i couldn't see over the baby gateso, climbing the gate was clearly the best option
p.s. check out my puppy's ears...she's pretty excited to see daddy too!
momma is pretty impressed with how much i'm learning lately, she said something about a sponge. i like to repeat what i hear and when i read books i like to repeat the last word of each page. it's kind of a fun game i play with momma. here are some more of my skills:
-i'm pretty good at animal sounds
-i know that a kangaroo goes hop, hop, hop; that a bunny scrunches its nose; and that a hippo stomps on the ground
-i know the actions to "itsy bitsy spider" and "lord's army"
-i can run
-knucks, high-fives & kisses
-i can say "i love you"
-when momma asks me where an object is in a book i can point to it and i usually get it right
-i'm pretty good at emptying the bookshelves in my room
-and i know LOTS of words. i went to the doctor on friday and he was very impressed with my vocabulary. what can i say? i like to talk!

oh, and at 15 months i weigh 24 pounds and am 31 inches long. i am short and mid-weight, but i have big head :) momma and daddy say i'm lots of fun right now! it sure is fun learning all this new stuff!

mr daredevil

What a great weekend! We were in Omaha for our niece Callie's dedication and had a weekend filled with "firsts" for Kase. First up, Kase had his first stay in a hotel! (OK, so technically it was his second stay in a hotel, but the first time he was only one month old so that doesn't count). He loved running up and down the hallway, clapping his hands & pointing out various things in the busy hotel carpet.
Another first was the swimming pool! This hotel had a fairly kid-friendly pool, and had a wading area for him to walk through. First he swam with Mommy & Auntie Rachel while Daddy was at the Hawkeye football game.
Then, after pizza, it was time to swim with Daddy & Uncle Chris!
There were multiple trips down the two slides at the pool

And then...our first booboo (see bottom lip and yes, the bloody towel)

But don't worry, it was nothing that a warm bath, juice, and some books couldn't fix!

How cute are these two boys? :)

desperate times = desperate measures

Kase LOVES his blankie. If I would let him, he would carry his blankie with him everywhere, all day long. But he doesn't just carry it...he sucks on it. Sucks to the point that the blanket it drenched in his spit. I know, nasty, right? Most kids have one, maybe two blankets. Not Kase, he has eight! :)

Tonight before bathtime I put his daily blanket into the laundry hamper, but Kase had other plans:

"I win, Mom!"

"Here, Mom, you need to wash this, OK?"

labor day

Today we took our first trip to the park! We should have gone several months ago, but hot weather and Mommy's non-desire to go to the park prevented this visit. Nonetheless, I did not want my child to live a deprived life, so our first trip to the park happened today. We tried the swings, but they weren't the most kid-friendly, and he slipped through the front of the swing after a few light pushes. He cried, which I thought might scar him for life, but never fear, we found a stick which made all things better!

And then...he found the slide. It's probably a good thing we were the only people playing in the park today due to the events that occurred next. Kase wanted to go up the steps and down the slide. Well, since I wanted to prevent a trip to the hospital, I accompanied Kase up and down the slide. Let me tell you, I don't fit as well as I used to fit!

Step 1:"Come, Mom!"
Step 2:"Go, Go, Go"

Step 3:"WEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!"

Repeat steps 1-3 approximately 12 times

Question: How do you distract a 14-month old from the fun curly slide and avoid having to go up and down it again?
Answer: Find another slide that makes loud noises when hit!

Poor Molly...she was stuck tied to the stroller.

Time to go home! Kase decided he didn't want to ride in the stroller on the way home, so he walked (with stick in hand).

The term "Labor Day" always makes me think of this day:
After all, what's more "laborious" than LABOR?
But oh, how I LOVE the product of my labor