Update on Bryce

Bryce seems like he is a different baby after our Iowa trip. Before we went to Iowa, he enjoyed sleeping in his bouncy seat and being held, in that order. He hated tummy time so I confess I never made him do it. He didn't like his play mat. He really only enjoyed looking at us and out the window. Now he talks a lot more, is awake a little more of the day, and likes to play some.

At Grandma's house he discovered the joy of ceiling fans.

Here he is enjoying a little tummy time.

Notice the smile?

And here he is on his play mat.

And I just love this picture. He looks way too cute here.

He also found his hands and has been chewing on them quite a bit. Add that to the drool and I'd say he's probably working on a few teeth. He has also been batting at toys and if I put one in his hand, he will hold it for a few minutes. I don't have pictures of any of that though so you'll have to use your imagination.

And check out these two pictures, sorry the second one is blurry:

The top one is Cason at 1 month and the bottom one is Bryce this morning (2 1/2 months). I don't think they look much alike but in these photos, they have the same chubby cheeks and their mouths and noses look similar. When I showed Kelly the pictures side by side, he thought they were both Bryce. Until I pointed it out and he looked more closely that is.

Bryce had his 2 month check up (at almost 3 months) yesterday. He weighs 15 lbs, 2 oz now and is 24 1/2 inches long. I learned a very important lesson yesterday. Never schedule his appointments for the afternoon when he is usually sleeping. He was more angry about being woken up then about the shots he got. If he wants to be sleeping, you had better let him sleep. He screamed for most of the appointment and the nurse said she's never seen a baby that upset about getting measured before. Great, I have the grumpy baby! By the time we got home, he was happy again though.

Back in Texas

We are back in Texas this week. We had a great time in Iowa. Cason loved being there and having new people to entertain. He was so good the whole time we were up there and adjusted great to all of the new places. He slept in five different houses and never fussed about it at all. His favorite thing to play with? Rocks. He played with rocks at Grandma's house, at Grandma and Grandpa's house, at Tate's house, etc. He is still talking about all his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins he saw in Iowa.

I was not looking forward to flying back to Texas with a 2 year old and a 2 month old all by myself. In fact, I was dreading it. But it turned out to go pretty well. The boys were angels once we got settled on the plane. We hung out too long in the main part of the airport before going through security and we ended up getting on the plane right before they closed the gate. Oops! So we had to rush and didn't really get to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. Bryce screamed his head off all the way through security and as I tried to get on the plane because I had him in the baby carrier but he wanted to be held. Cason was great until we had to leave the stroller on the jetway and then he screamed "no airplane! no airplane!" as he followed me onto the airplane. Everyone was already seated and was staring at me as I carried a screaming baby, tried to get Cason's enormous car seat on the plane and buckled in, and Cason screamed behind me. So embarrassing. I chose not to make eye contact with anyone. The flight attendant was not helpful at all. I finally got Cason's car seat buckled in, him in it and buckled, and Bryce out of the carrier so he stopped screaming. Everything was great after that. Cason played with an Eclipse mint container he dug out of Grandma's purse for 4 hours straight. He refused to fall asleep, even though we didn't get home until 11 pm and his bedtime is normally 7:30. Bryce just chilled out and slept because he was swaddled and had his paci. When we landed, I waited until everyone was off and then I got everything gathered up. Then the flight attendant was super helpful. She helped me get the car seat in the carrying bag and even carried Cason off the plane and buckled him in the stroller. A sky cap guy helped me push the stroller up the ramp. Then I was able to carry Bryce in one hand, push Cason in the stroller with the other hand, and wear the car seat in it's carrying bag on my back to walk to baggage claim where Kelly was waiting. I'm sure we were quite the site. Our bags were the first three on the belt about 1 minute later and we were on our way. Overall, a very good experience, except for those 6 or 7 minutes from security until we were settled on the plane.

Okay, that was the longest paragraph ever. Here are a few pictures from Iowa.

Walking up the street to see the digger that was digging holes for the new well.

He looks pretty cool on Luke's bike but he had no clue how to pedal.

There are horses right behind Grandma and Grandpa's house.

At the park on Cason's birthday. Tate and Cason giving each other a high five.

Cason showing off his muscles.

Checking out a caboose.

The boys loved this ramp for golf balls at the children's museum.

This is a cute picture.

Happy Birthday Cason!

Dear Cason,

Looking back over the past year, it's hard to believe how much you've changed. You went from not talking at all, to learning dozens of signs in sign language in just a few weeks, to speaking full sentences. Now you make philosophical statements such as "Cason eats toast, baby eats milk!" You learned all of your letters, numbers, colors, and shapes and are well on your way to being potty trained. You went from a baby who hated being dropped off at the church nursery to waking up and asking to go to "church and play" or "gym and play", even if you do still like to be held half the time you're there.

I love how you imitate things you see us do, and how you are so interested in what we are doing. You constantly want the ladder out so you can watch Daddy cook and mix up his protein shakes and watch me do dishes and give your brother a bath. You were such an observant baby and that hasn't changed. When we go to the park, you are happy to sit on the bench and see what is going on. You love getting out of the house and going places. I don't know any toddlers who are as good running errands as you.

I love your laugh and your intensity. When you are happy, you are REALLY happy. When you are mad, you are REALLY mad. Daddy and I didn't know if we would all make it out of the terrible two's alive but we survived and are probably a bit more patient now. We are happy to have our fun, sweet boy back.

I love how sweet you are to Bryce when you want to be. He's not much fun now but in time you will make him laugh and I know how much you will love that. It won't be too long before you can play together. I pray that you two will become best friends and always be there for each other.

It has been a great year. We are so blessed to have you in our life and be able to call you our son. I can't wait to see what the next year brings and see how much you change over the course of the year.

Happy 2nd birthday Cason! We love you!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Birthday Parties

Last Friday we left the sweltering triple digit heat of Texas and flew back home to Iowa. It has been an unusually cool July here the past week or so, with temperatures in the 60's and low 70's! It is a welcome change for us so I won't complain, even though I wish I would have brought a light jacket or sweatshirt.

The past five days have been very busy for us as we've been trying to see as many friends and family as we can. Cason turns 2 this week so we took advantage of being home by having two birthday parties for him. On Saturday, we had a party for him with my family. My sister, Alissa, and brother in law, Dave, were nice enough to let us have it at their new house.

We had a delicious 3 foot party sub from Blimpie with all sorts of yummy sides.

Cason isn't really "into" anything so I could pretty much choose anything for a party theme. I decided fire trucks would be cute. He isn't into trucks but he loves ladders, hoses, and fire hydrants so it made sense.

He enjoyed having everyone sing to him and trying to blow out the candles.

Cake is yummy!

Cousin Tate agrees. He loved his first taste of ice cream and Alissa said he asked for ice cream for breakfast the next morning.

Bryce has been really good this week, considering how much he's been passed around!

Cason is so sweet to Bryce -- most of the time.

Opening presents.

Using his special present opening tool -- a plastic fork.

On Sunday we went out to the country to Uncle Mike and Aunt Barb's house. It was a beautiful day so we got to play outside with all of their bikes and 4 wheelers and eat some delicious BBQ.

Bryce got loved on by his big cousins. Natalie kept reading him stories and putting stuffed animals next to him.

Cole and Luke, who are rough with each other, were so sweet to both Cason and Bryce. Luke shared his beloved General Lee car with Cason and they both sat and bounced Bryce in his bouncy seat.

This week we will be hanging out more with Alissa, Dave, and Tate and next weekend is Kelly's family reunion so check back for more pictures.

More Growth Charts

Some of my friends have seen pictures of the growth charts that I made for Cason and Bryce and really liked them. The first one here I made as a gift for my friend Molly who is due any day with their first little girl.

Molly paid me to make this one as a gift for a friend of theirs.

And this one I sold to my friend Val who was my lab partner in Human A&P at Wartburg.

I enjoy making the growth charts because each one turns out different. I ask for my friends to pick out the scrapbook papers themselves. This makes them custom to their taste and they can create one to match their child's room or just in colors or patterns they happen to like. The growth charts themselves are 5 feet tall (the scale starts around 18 inches and goes past 6 feet) and are made out of 1/2 inch pine boards. They are hinged in the middle for easy storage.

The Many Hairstyles of Cason James

The Newborn Fuzz

The Cue Ball

The Toupee

The Marine Corp

And the current Faux Hawk

We figure the poor kid will probably be bald by college so we might as well have fun with his hair now while we have the chance.

Professional Pictures

When Bryce was 2 weeks old, we had Angie from One Life Photo come to the house to take newborn pictures of Bryce. Unfortunately, he was being very uncooperative that morning and she only got a few great shots. Cason was hamming it up so she took some pictures of him and they turned out really cute too. Here are our favorite pictures from that day: