Are you happy?....... Not Yet

So, I have a rule in my home that I don't deal with cranky children. (This obviously doesn't apply when they are sick or get hurt.) This rule typically comes into effect in the afternoon either on a "no nap" day or if someone wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. The following scene is the last in a series of cranky episodes. I was actually trying to get a video of Casey walking but I got this instead. Watch the door (or the doorknob) in the first part of the video. I told Ryan that he had to go to his room and that he could come out when he was happy.



Now that Casey is 1 year old he is becoming more and more dramatic. You can tell that he wasn't as upset as he sounded by how easily he is snapped out of the crying when Ryan opened the door. He also LOVES to play with doors, which he is doing in the background. But I think my favorite part is when Ryan almost breaks down again. He makes a nice recovery.

Uncharted Territory...

I have never let Casey explore the kitchen until this last week. I didn't want to have to deal with the possibility of him falling over and hitting his head on the tile. Just thinking about that hurts. So, now that he is an AWESOME walker (more about this to come), I feel better about letting him explore. I opened the cupboards that he's allowed in and let him go. At first he kept looking at me like "Is this some kind of trick? Are you just teasing me?" See, he's rather expressionless.

Then after a few minutes, this is the face I get. He was quite excited once he realized that I wasn't going to pull him away, but was still a little hesitant about what to touch.

My one mistake of this new adventure was letting him play in the refrigerator, as you can probably guess he LOVED it, and was quite put out when I made him leave.

It didn't take him long to find one of his favorite things to eat, yogurt!

Now every time he's in the kitchen he goes to the frig and whines, while trying to pull it open. I probably should have known better, but it sure was fun to see how excited he was to be able to explore a little.

Happy Birthday Casey!!!! Part II

Here are the videos from Casey's Birthday Party. I love how well Ryan listens in this first video.

Casey is such a funny little boy. I love the way he eats his cake. I wouldn't have guessed that he would eat his cake in such a way, but I can't say that I was surprised. Uncle Jerry said that his next step will be a Hot Dog eating contest.



I loved how attentive Ryan was while everything was going on with Casey. He was very patient in waiting until Sunday to give Casey his presents. Ryan would have surprised him on Friday night if we would have let him. We actually did the presents first since Casey was getting a little cranky and I was sure Casey would be happy with a cupcake at anytime during the evening. The video proved that.

I'm having trouble loading the last video, maybe it needs to be in a different post. Enjoy these for now.

Happy Birthday Casey!!!!

On Sunday, May 4, my baby boy turned 1 year old. (sniff, sniff) Wow, how time flies. He has been an absolute joy in our lives for this past year and I can't wait to see what he does next. We went into my parent's house for the weekend's festivities. Casey had a pre-party treat enjoying my Mom's famous frosting.

Special thanks to Mom and Jennifer for making, designing, frosting, and decorating Casey's cake. It was a cupcake cake. You put the cupcakes really close together and then frost it like a regular cake, which means more frosting! Yum!

Apparently opening presents is hard work.

Payton was ready and willing to show Casey how to play with the Little People School Bus.

I'm not sure if this face is happy or frustrated, you be the judge, my next post will have the video counterparts.

Again, you be the judge. :)

This is probably the first moment he had to himself since the presents were opened.

Entertaining the kids with fire while waiting for everyone to assemble.

Don't you love his gap-toothed grin!

Checking out his audience, waiting to make his move.

His hands came to his mouth and did not leave until the entire cupcake was consumed.

Apparently it doesn't matter how much dinner and cake you have, there's always room for ice cream. He also mastered using a straw over the weekend.

Stay tuned for the videos!