Bread Drawer

Kale loves the bread drawer. He'll pull out the loaf, the buns, and the bagels. He likes to study them and sometimes squeeze them. They may reside on the tray of his walker for a moment, but before long they'll end up in the living room, on the porch, or possibly underfoot...squished.
So if you ever eat at our house, we apologize in advance for slightly deformed bread products. Just think of it as extra kneading from Kale.

I'm One Today

Our Kale turned one today. ONE! It seems like just yesterday he was born and was so small in our arms and now he's got long legs and arms and the sweetest smile. We enjoyed celebrating his first year of life numerous ways today.We started bright and early this morning. Mom and Kale ran a 5K together. Mom pushed Kale in the jogging stroller adorned with signs proclaiming "I'm ONE Today!"
Numerous runners said "Happy Birthday" along the course. Kale was super content and Mom enjoyed having a new running companion to enjoy the race with. Dad took video and photos and was a great cheerleader. When we neared the finish line, the announcer said "Happy First Birthday to Kale!" Not sure Kale caught that, but Mom thought it was super sweet. And hey, Mom would much prefer pushing Kale in a run today than....well...what she was doing last year on this day! Kale also spent time with friends... and tried out a new swing in our front yard (thanks for this great baby gift Heather, Joan, Kristy and Theresa! He LOVES it!) Lots of family time with Grandpa/ma D from MN... and of course, Mama and Papa. There was uneventful gift opening too as he wasn't really sure what to do with the packages. I have a feeling next year will be more enjoyable! Kale, we love you so much. The amount of joy you have brought to our lives is hard to put into writing. When you have that big, open mouthed smile, it absolutely melts our hearts. When you grip our fingers while you move your little feet to walk, we realize how quickly you are growing and changing and how we want to hold on to these moments as long as we can. You are a beautiful gift from God and we are forever blessed by your little self. Happy birthday, butter bear. Thank you for a wonderful first year!

First Father's Day

Happy 1st Father's Day to my husband! We were due to have our baby June 13, 2010. I was overdue almost 2 weeks. My brother joked that I just didn't want to have to get Justin a Father's Day gift! When Kale arrived, and it was announced "It's a boy", I knew he was overjoyed. He had tears in his eyes and just couldn't stop smiling. It is truly one of the neatest moments I've ever experienced with him. Fast forward almost a whole year and now my heart is warmed when Justin walks in the door from work and Kale's little face lights up when Papa is home. And on mornings like today when Justin asks, "Can I go get him up while you get his breakfast ready?" and I see his giddiness at getting to see Kale first thing in the morning. And watching the two of them as Kale takes part in many "firsts" and knowing there are so many more to come. I love my husband and I love to watch him father our son. What a tremendous example Kale has to show him what it means to be a man. Thank you for the man you are, Justin. And thank you for being such an amazing dad. Happy First Father's Day!

Birthday Cake Tasting Round 2

We celebrated Kale's birthday a week early with D's family today. Birthday cake tasting round 2 looked to be much more promising this time around. Just seeing the cake during a photo opp caused Kale to put his little fingers right into the frosting. After he put his little fingers into the birthday candle flame (oye, my heart still hurts), he dug in and took a decent amount of bites. Looks like he may be taking after his Mama and Papa with a sweet tooth... Oh, and for a few shining moments, we had a little smurf on our hands...darn blue frosting. T-minus one week until Kale turns 1!!!

Swim Lessons

Today was our first day of parent-child swim lessons.

Kale did awesome: happily splashing, smiling and kicking his legs.

One of his favorite parts was "jumping" off the side into the water. Love that big smile. This is the same pool I did water aerobics in while pregnant with Kale. Maybe it brings back happy memories for him! One day of lessons down, 9 to go!

My "lil helper"

Kale "helped" me the other morning. I wanted to get my flowers and trees watered early in the day before it got scorching hot outside. I set Kale's pack and play up on the deck. He played for 45 minutes allowing me to get all the watering done and a flower bed weeded. Cedar helped too by keeping his eye on Kale (note pic below)! We also had our first outdoor swimming pool experience this week. Kale eventually got used to the kiddie pool but wasn't so big on the big pool-too many kiddos splashing around. We start parent-child swimming lessons next week so hopefully we'll make some progress in that department...

Curtain Rods & Doily Curtains

We recently had new windows put into our porch (making it a 4 seasons porch-YEAH!). We took down the "doily" curtains (I cannot believe I left them there for almost 3 years...doily is not exactly my style. Ask Justin about this with regard to wedding gifts...) and curtain rods and placed them on a folding table on the porch that I had used for Christmas cookies (yes, the table has been there awhile...3 season porch-not exactly a place to sit and enjoy in the winter). Kale recently discovered the curtains and curtain rods and LOVES playing with them. We're talking 45-60 minutes passing some days. So, rather than put them away, I leave them and watch his curiosity grow as he literally studies the curtains in his hands and swings the rods in the air. Granted when he gets a little more coordinated and could start banging into things, then they will be put away...For now, I'll enjoy his innocence with them as well as the time that passes to keep his little busy self content!