Thank you Denny, Lou Ann, and Kevin!

Cason got this great birthday present today from my aunt, uncle, and cousin. Thank you for thinking of Cason, he loves it and will get many years of fun out of it!

Who likes it more?

I can't tell who likes the water table more -- Cason or Jenner. Can you?



Every day when we go outside to play in the water table, Cason and Jenner both get really excited. I put fresh water in it every day and Jenner attacks the hose while I fill the table up. Jenner has been getting more and more crazy about the water. At first I thought he wanted the balls and cups, but no, he wants to bite the water. When Cason uses his green cup to throw the water, Jenner tries to bite the stream of water. Crazy mutt! Notice Kielers is nowhere in sight. She refuses to come outside during all this mayhem because she hates getting wet.

Happy Birthday Cason!

Cason is 1 today! Every day he is learning new things. It is so fun to watch him and try to figure out how a toddler thinks. He keeps us laughing and incredibly busy as we run after him to keep him out of the dog dishes and anything else he can get his hands on. I thank God every day for letting me be his mom. I put together a video slide show of pictures over the past year. I tried to keep it short so enjoy!

Thank You Grandpa B.!

I told my dad that Cason likes opening boxes so he split Cason's birthday present up into several different boxes and sent it. He called it a "reentrant package" (he's a software engineer). I promised to videotape it for my dad since he wouldn't be able to see Cason's reaction. Warning: even with all of my editing, this video is almost 6 minutes long. Watch at your own discretion! And yes, he played with the boxes and paper for the rest of the day.

Kansas City

We just got back on Sunday from our trip to Kansas City. We flew up and Kelly's family all drove down. We went to Worlds of Fun (which was so HOT!), Oceans of Fun, shopping, etc. Kelly and I were able to escape one night after Cason fell asleep and see the new Batman movie with Chris, Brenda, Nicholas, and Natalie. It was INCREDIBLE! Heath Ledger was amazing and we can't wait to see it again when it comes out on DVD. I barely took any pictures in Kansas City. I wanted the camera at Oceans of Fun but of course left it in the car. We had a lot of fun seeing Kelly's family and can't wait to meet up with them all again next year. We also celebrated Cason's birthday while we were up there. Grandma and Grandpa got Cason some books, puzzles, wood toys, and clothes. His favorites were this awesome wood train that he loves to take apart.



And this really cool interactive dog book. Cason loves his doggies! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!



Chris, Brenda, Nick, and Natalie got Cason this awesome Iowa Hawkeye hat and Mike, Barb, Cole, and Luke got him this really cool book that makes it look like the animals are moving. Thanks to everyone for going along with our battery-free birthday wishes!

Say aaaaaahhhh!

I guess Cason discovered he has a tongue. He has been sticking it out all day and will even do it on command!



His other new victory is stacking all of his rings. I had to tell him which order they go in, but he stacked all five instead of putting a few on and then ripping them off.



We were sad to see Alissa and Tate leave today but we had fun playing with them.



Oh, and this picture just cracks me up. I went to get Cason up from his nap and Kielers followed me in the room. Cason started laughing when he saw her and it wasn't long before both rats ended up in the crib. Don't they look thrilled!

Playing with Tate

My sister and nephew arrived here yesterday. Things are going well but Cason does not like to share his toys! Today we walked around the mall and then played in Cason's water table this afternoon.



Poor Jenner is scared of Tate too. But he was nice enough to sit still for this picture. Tate is more gentle with the doggies than Cason is.



Silly boy does not let go of that green cup!

Thanks Gramma B.!

I know it's a few weeks until his birthday but my mom got Cason this great water table a month or two ago. It's been hiding in the garage and I decided to set it up today while he napped. He really loves playing in water so this is perfect for him. His favorite bath toy is a green cup that I think he held the entire time that he played. Thank you Gramma! He loves his present!

A few pics

We had a good 4th of July. We ran a few errands and then went over to our friends' house to hang out and eat dinner. Jeff made a terrific brisket! We did not go to any fireworks this year since Cason goes to bed at 7pm. Not much else is going on, we are looking forward to my sister and nephew coming to visit on Wednesday. Here is Cason messing around this afternoon:



We also had some family pictures taken back in May and just got the edited versions today. I had a hard time choosing my favorites to post. Charlya did a great job capturing Cason's personality.

Cupcakes!

Here's what I made today for the 4th of July:



If you can't tell, they are cupcakes! I took a cake decorating class last month. Below is the second cake that I made in class. The little flowers reminded me of the flowers in our wedding, which is why I used purple and white.
















And here is the first cake I made. I mixed up blue, yellow, and orange and my friend said I should do a fish theme. So that is what I did.