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

trust

I have no picture to post today (sorry readers), just a thought from my heart. This morning I was reading my devotions and the words resonated with me, so I'm sharing them with you in hopes that you will also be blessed:

A group of Iowa fishermen were out on one of the beautiful northern Minnesota lakes a number of summers ago. As the men fished, they allowed their boat to silently drift. At last it drifted into a quiet bay. The men noticed a movement in the reeds along the shore. A mother mallard duck stepped out, surveyed the lake, signaled, and out of the reeds tumbled a whole brood of ducklings. They ran and swam about, having such great fun.

The men forgot about their fishing. Here was something few are privileged to see. In his rapt attention, one of the men brushed against an oarlock and a slight sound resulted. The mother duck gave a warning signal. All movement on the lake stopped. Every little eye was on the mother; every little body was at rigid attention. After a time, the mother, having determined that there was no immediate danger, again signaled. The ducklings resumed their play and did so with as much abandonment as before. They knew their mother was watching over them.

One of the men, a devout Christian business man, quietly said to the others, "Fellows, if we would only trust our Heavenly Father like that - trust Him who promises to take care for us - how rich and wonderful life would be. How the burdens of today's living would fall away!"

Let us trust the future to our God and Father. Only when we do this is there a possibility of true happiness today.

Be blessed today friends! :)

i'm baaaaaaaaack!!!!

Sorry blog fans! I've been MIA lately! But...I do have a good excuse. While in Sioux Center a few weeks ago I actually LEFT MY CAMERA!!! I felt so lost for the past few weeks without it. But, it did give me a chance to hear that many of you were missing updated pictures of Kase! I'm happy to hear that people actually read and enjoy this thing! :)

OK, here's what new with Kase:

1. He loves to have pillow fights...the rougher the better! I credit Uncle Josh to discovering this new fascination. Kase loves it when we put all the pillows and cushions on the floor and play rough!2. We love anything with wheels

3. "Melmo" = Baby & Mommy's new BFF. Melmo/Elmo can give around a 5-minute time frame where Kase is fixed on the TV so Mommy can sneak out of the room to empty the dishwasher or change the laundry, or do anything else housework related.

4. "Pup-pups"

This puppy was a gift from his wonderful babysitter, Vicki, and he loves to carry it around! It's much too big for him to carry, and he looks quite awkward carrying it, but he loves it!

5. Hats - Kase's hats, Daddy's hats, girl hats...Kase loves all hats. The best is when we put a hat on his head, he gives a big cheesy smile, and says "cool." :) Yes, baby boy, you are VERY cool!

6. Coloring - This was an accidentally found favorite. One day while I was home, Kase was extremely clingy. So, out of desperation, I found some colors and a picture of his new BFF Elmo...and it was love! He now knows where the colors and coloring books are stored, and will take me to the cupboard when he's ready to color!

7. The oven drawer
Most of the cupboards/drawers in our kitchen have child locks. The only 2 remaining are a drawer of tupperware, and the oven drawer. The emptying of this drawer is a daily occurrence. It usually follows by Kase standing on the pans and "surfing"

This is usually what our living room looks like after Kase has been busy! We've tried picking it up at various time throughout the day, but to no avail, it ends up like this 15 minutes after he's up from his nap.

He's a very busy boy! We're loving our new house, new space, and new commute! :)

picnic

Tonight we enjoyed the beautiful weather by having our very first picnic outside! Since moving into our new house the weather has been SOOOOO hot, so I was super excited to be able to eat outside. Keith was at football, so it was just me and Kase, but we had some good conversation anyways :)

He loves to make the sound the letter "F" makes!Hopefully this is just the start of many wonderful meals on our new deck!