Teething

Our little man is about to cut two teeth, you can see them about to pop through the gums (makes me cringe just thinking about it) and our poor little guy is hurting.

I was wondering when Case was going to pop out some new teeth, it's been several months since the last two made their break through. I'm happy he's going to have some more teeth to munch on his food, but it's so hard watching him go through so much pain!

This morning he spent his time grabbing at his mouth, screaming in pain, and cuddling with his Mommy. We're getting some more Baby Orajel this afternoon, and we have lots of teething rings ready for soothing, hopefully they won't take too much longer.

I'll post pictures of Case's new smile as soon as they appear! :)

We Absolutely Love Being Outside

The park is pretty much Case's favorite place to be right now...

He's probably looking for worms to eat in this one....

Sharing :)

Love it.

Bye Bye Mohawk!

So, I realize I'm a tad bit behind on posting, and seeing that Thanksgiving is only days away, and Christmas is fast approaching, I figured I better get a move on in updating before I am months behind!

Here's one of the things you have missed...

Case's very first Hair cut!

We were a little bit worried, but that sucker is one fantastic distraction device :)

I don't think he even realized what was going on...

...and the drool was everywhere, he didn't quite get that you close your mouth around the sucker...

Wish my hand wasn't in the way on this one, but you can still see his big boy hair cut!

Boys will be Boys...and sometimes that means just plain gross.

After running a few errands, Case and I decided to go down to the park again since it was such a beautiful day. I brought our lunch down, and watched him play, climb, giggle, and explore.

Well, I took my eyes off of him for literally thirty seconds, and when I looked up he was chewing on something. I squeezed his little cheeks, and I found something gray and slimy...he slipped it out of his mouth like a spaghetti noodle, and there it was. HALF of a worm. HALF as in my son has bitten the worm in half and swallowed part of it.

Oh my.

Our Little Farmer!

We celebrated Case's first Halloween this year!

(Last year he was only about 5 weeks old so we didn't make a big deal out of it)

The UK Football game kind of trumped the Trick or Treating traditions, usually my sister and her family walk around their neighborhood, and we had planned to join them but this year Tim took the boys, Cy and Griffin to the game, and so Amy and Avery joined us here at our house to trick or treat around our neighborhood. Matt cooked chili, and Mom and Dad joined in as well.

My neice Avery was a Baseball Ballerina...ADORABLE! They got the idea from a book, and it was the cutest outfit ever!

After many different ideas (golfer, fisherman, camo man...) we finally settled on a Farmer costume for Case. I bought the overalls from a consignment store for $2.50, the shirt from Wal-Mart for $3.00 and some John Deer Boots with camo on the sides for the most expensive part of the costume for $9.99...and Case's Mamaw and Papaw had gotten him a straw cowboy hat from Mexico that fit in perfectly!

Case was a little bored with the whole thing, he didn't understand what all the hype was about to just sit in his stroller and watch his cousin get to run around and get candy. However, Avery went up and down just a couple of streets and decided her bucket was too heavy and she had enough candy (sweet girl!)

All in all though, we had a great time and captured some cute, cute pictures!

A Day in the Park

You know when you have those days, days when you have set your mind to clean the whole house before you do anything else? Well that was my thought for this day until I let the dogs out to go potty and felt how warm and beautiful and sunny it was outside!

It was a warm mid seventies kind of a day, with wind in the air and the sun shining right down on us, I literally threw my dust rag on the counter, grabbed Case, our shoes, and headed outside to the park, I simply could not waste such a day inside cleaning!

And of course we got some pictures!

Visiting the Orchard

Fall has officially fallen upon us, and it has been absolutely gorgeous. The breathtaking colors in the trees, the crisp clean feel in the air, and we have had some beautiful weather, days meant to be spent in a beautiful orchard.

We had a stretch there where it rained almost an entire week, and I told Matt I'd love to go to our local Boyd's Orchard the first day it was pretty again, and we did! However, everyone had the same idea I had, so it was a little bit packed, but we still had fun, especially Case man. He absolutely loved it.

Boyd's orchard is so wonderful, it has a quaint, charming store where you can buy freshly picked apples, and charming country decor.  It has all sorts of pumpkins and gourds out front (perfect for a photo shoot :) and it has an adorable playground, hay stacked high for little ones to climb, hay rides, beautiful orchards, and Case's favorite ... the petting zoo.

When it was time to leave the animals, Case let us know (quite clearly I might add ;) that he did NOT want to leave his new friends!

Well, we had so much fun at the orchard, I brought Case back the following week during the day. I was hoping the crowd would be no where to be found, and I was right. We had a very leisurely visit, and Case had another fun day running around the petting zoo visiting all of his friends.

We've actually been back a third time now, I think they're going to know our names before too long! :)

Big Boy Shoes

We had our first trip to the big boy shoe store!

As we know, Nanny (aka Matt's Mom) came down early for Case's birthday weekend, and we met her at Stride Rite when she came into town. Her and Poppy (aka Matt's Step-Dad) wanted to buy Case his very first pair of Big Boy Shoes! (So very exciting!) :)

Of course Nanny brought her big fancy camera (Yay!) so here are the pictures...

Big, Big Boy.

Had to share the picture of Case in his Big Boy Car seat! He can sit forward now, and see where Mommy is going!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday Dear Case,

Happy Birthday to you!

Case's first year has been unbelievably wonderful. From the very first moments of holding him in our arms at the hospital, and now on his first birthday. Case has made us smile every single day, and we have enjoyed watching him grow and learn. The first year has so many milestones, and we did it! Matt and I have also grown, we have learned so much about each other and about parenting. We couldn't be happier. :)

Well, the day finally rolled around, Case's Party Day! We had his party on Saturday, September 19, 2009. Just a few days before his official birthday on the 22nd. We celebrated with family and a few friends. Matt's Mom (aka Nanny) came down the night before to spend time with us, and helped me get ready for the party (I don't know what I would have done without her that day!) Although planning a first birthday party wore me out...what with the cleaning the entire week before, and making sure everything was ready and decorated on the day, it was perfect.

We had balloons and streamers, presents were piled up almost to the ceiling, and I think everyone had a really good time. We cooked out, we were in and out of the house, visiting, playing corn hole and relaxing in the front yard. We all sat in one room and watched our little man play with all of new toys, there was paper flying and smiles all around, just like I had imagined and hoped for. :)

However, the most exciting part (of course) was the cake! It was decorated with a football, and had "Happy 1st Birthday Case!" written across it. After just a little help, Case dug right in, and probably ate TOO much cake! He loved it though, and the pictures and video clips are absolutely priceless.

We were so happy to be able to celebrate with our family and friends. Such wonderful memories were made that day!

Oh and Mr. Case slept very well that night, and so did his Mommy and Daddy. :)

Happy Birthday Case, we love you!

The Walking Video :)

Travelin' Man

September 7, 2009...The day our little boy took his first steps!

It was just a typical Monday, I didn't know Case would be taking his first steps that day, and I have to admit I almost missed it!

Monday mornings are pretty lazy for us. We wake up, I feed him his breakfast in a bottle, and we watch his favorite morning cartoons.

Well, this Monday was a little more exciting! He's been cruising on the furniture for a while, but all of a sudden while pulled up on the ottoman, (I just happened to glance up) he just took off walking into the middle of the room! It was very wobbly and it only lasted about two steps but I can't explain the amount of excitement and pride I felt for our little man!

I called his Daddy right away, and had to leave him a voicemail...However, I wasn't convinced it was his true steps for some reason, but my sister insisted I write down the date, and I'm so glad I did! For some reason I thought it was just a fluke moment, that he didn't really know how to walk yet...but he has been practicing and practicing! He's getting better and better! In fact, just last night he walked about four or five feet across the room without falling! He's so funny too, he walks with his hands straight up over his head, in little fists with a big smile on his face! I love it!
I'm also pretty excited that I can officially say Mr. Case started walking before his 1st birthday! Wow! Speaking of...the big birthday party is only 5 days away, and the actual 1st birthday is only 8! I know every mother or parent says this, but man is it true. Time really does fly once you have a child. It has been such a beautiful and wonderful year, I'm sure I will get all sappy and emotional on the official birthday blog, so I'll leave it for that...
Just so proud of our little walker!

Seriously?

Is it seriously time to plan a 1st birthday party?

Surely not! However, this Mama did give birth to the best baby boy in the entire world about 11 months ago, so I guess that means it's almost time for a 1st year celebration!

We're going to have a cook out at the house, with lots and lots of balloons and of course a big cake, I mentioned to Matt the other night that I might make cupcakes for everyone and Case would have his very own cupcake for his "cake"...well Matt immediately disagreed and without twisting my arm hardly at all, we both decided that we'd go ahead and go all out and get Case a big ol' birthday cake, I mean he only turns 1 once right?

I recently read an article on First Birthday Parties, warning parents not to get too fancy, because they won't even remember it, right? Well, we're certainly not spending a fortune, but I am a true believer that pictures are absolutely priceless. I want the pictures with balloons everywhere in the background. I want the pictures with cake all over our boy from his hair down to his belly, I want paper flying, smiles, family, friends, and laughing...ok I'm getting pretty excited now!

Bob.

This is Bob.

Bob has become part of the family. Previous to our beach trip, I was rummaging through my hope chest through all of his stuffed animals, trying to find one he might become attached to. I was hoping he could have something that reminded him of home on his first big trip...well little did we know not only did Case like it, it became Case's new best friend!

The second I handed this stranger of a stuffed animal to him, he squealed with delight and hugged it! It was as if he already knew him and was wondering where he had been his whole little life! I almost melted right there. I decided to name him Roufus, I thought it was cute and catchy and I could hear us saying "Don't forget Roufus, Case where's Roufus?" for years to come. Well, my darling husband didn't think it was adorable as I did, and it just didn't catch on. We then called him Doggy for a couple of weeks, until Matt came up with the cutest idea! Case babbles all of the time and it mostly it comes out "Ba Ba Ba Bob Bob Bob Bob" ...and so Matt said one day "We should name him Bob because he can already say his name!"

And so, that is how Bob got his name. :) Case knows it too, he truly does. We can say "Where's Bob?" and he will literally stop, look around, crawl as fast as he can to Bob after he has found him and collapse on him and give him big bear (or dog?) hug!

We've been thinking about getting a 'Back up Bob' in case the unthinkable happened, so Mom and I did some research online and she found out they are discontinuing our Bob! He's actually named Jumperjack Puppy from the Jellycat stuffed animal collection, but thankfully Mom found Bob on Amazon...there were only 5 left! She told me today that she's buying our little man 2 just in case! (Thank goodness!!!)

Here are some captured moments with Case and his best bud...

Per-son-a-lit-y :

-noun
1. the visible aspect of one's character as it impresses others: He has a pleasing personality.

Matt & I are loving this age. Case has the biggest personality, he's laughing, giggling, flirting, and even testing his limits. :)

What could a 10 month old possibly be testing his limits with you might ask?

1. Climbing the stairs all by himself, scares his parents half to death!
2. Closing big doors all by himself, almost slamming his little fingers every time!
3. Climbing under and over everything he possibly can
4. Opening cabinets, pulling open drawers
5. Playing in the dog's water and food bowls
6. Putting EVERYTHING in his little mouth...

Oh the list goes on and on and on!

Luckily, we have baby gates which help tremendously to keep our little guy out of things he shouldn't be getting into. Right now we have his big stroller folded and laying sideways to block him from the stairs until we buy yet another baby gate to keep him safe...and to keep him from tumbling down the stairs backwards! (EEEEK!)

Even with all of this testing, (which is so totally normal) :) we are just in awe of how Case is becoming his own little person, he makes us laugh daily and we thank God every day for giving us such a wonderful little man.