Kylen's First Birthday Party!

We had a family birthday party for Kylen on January 15th. It was very nice because Rene was in town and he had Myles and Lakai for the weekend so all the cousins were able to attend. We had the party at our house where we bar-ba-qued and the kids ran around playing tag. Kylen had a great time toddling around outside but when it came time to open presents he was exhausted and not as excited as I thought he would be.

Hanging with the boys- Grandpa, dad and Uncle Seth

Opening presents

The Cousins

Lakai helping Kylen open gifts

Michelle made a delicious lemon-blueberry cake for Kylen. He wasn't too happy when we sat him down to sing "Happy Birthday" and have cake but once we all started singing and he got a taste of his cake, he turned into a happy camper. 

The cake- YUM!

Not a happy camper

After presents and cake, all the boys and Lakai headed to the park across the street. They ran around like crazy while the rest of us stayed back and cleaned up. The kids came back tired but not nearly as tired as the big kids-Rene, Andrew and Seth.  It was a great time and a very nice first birthday party for Kylen. 

Kylen is One Year Old!

I know I say this all the time but I truly cannot believe how fast time flies. Kylen in now one year old.. I am still trying to wrap my mind around it. This has been a year full of changes with lots of hurdles but I wouldn't change a single minute. Andrew and I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful little boy that brings so much joy to us each and every day.

Kylen is  a walking machine! He started officially walking a week before his birthday and he has been nonstop ever since.. he rarely crawls now. We are working on teaching him words. He understands a lot of them but we can't always get him to say it. He says dada the most but I am really working on mama :o) I have also started with the sign language but he has yet to pick up on that. When I ask him questions he will respond with either a big grin and bounce up and down or a shaking of the head to signal no.

He is still quite the daddy's boy. If dad is home he could care less about me. He has also been a little needy lately. He has learned to throw fits and cry if he is not getting his way. This usually happens when I am trying to make food and he wants to be held. That being said, he is also doing really well playing by himself. I am able to get more done around the house and in the kitchen because he knows how to entertain himself. I think that learning how to walk really helped with this. He loves to carry things around with him while he walks. It is usually a part of his train, a piece of his play mat or the computer cord. It is so cute to watch him.

He is drinking milk instead of formula now. That was an easy change- he started drinking it as soon as I gave it to him and he seems to be doing fine on it. I still give him three bottles a day- One in the morning, one before his nap and one at bedtime. We have pushed his nap to 11am or a little later depending what we are doing. He still sleeps about three hours at nap time. He loves food. We usually give him a little bit of what we are eating to see how he takes to it and he usually like it. I gave him blueberries the other night and you would think they were candy by the way he was eating them!

We started his birthday with his one year doctor appointment! Sorry about having to go to the doctor and get shots boogs, but I just couldn't wait to see how you have grown and if we could start you on milk. He now weighs 20.5 pounds and is in the 30th percentile for weight. He has grown to 30 inches long which puts him in the 60th percentile for height. Although he is a tad on the skinny side, Dr. Jones is not worried and instructed us to start milk and keep doing what we are doing. After his doctor appointment we went out for breakfast and he had pancakes, one of his favorites! After that we headed to Costco and then home to take a nap. When he woke up he ate lunch and then we took him for a walk in his wagon. He absolutely loves to ride in his wagon! For dinner we had pizza at our house and Andrew's parents and brothers came over. I made lemon cupcakes for dessert and although it took a minute for him to figure out what it was, once he did, he dug in and made a big mess of it!

Just woke up from his nap

Playing with dad and the dogs!

Not sure why everyone is singing and looking at him!

Yummm cupcake!

What a mess!

It was a fun first birthday for Kylen. I can't believe it has come so soon but we are looking forward to this year.

Happy first birthday my love. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful, happy baby. Mom and dad love you more than anything!

First Christmas!

This Christmas was a big one for us. Not only was it Kylen's first Christmas but it was also our first one as a family and in our new home. Although it was pretty hectic, everything went well.

Andrew had to work so I woke up early with him to spend a few minutes together before he had to leave. Then I got myself and Kylen ready and headed off to grandma's house. We got there by 6:45am. Kylen did not wake up in a good mood. He was extremely grouchy until we made it into grandma's house. Then he was excited and kinda confused at what was going on. He really loved opening gifts, mostly because he got to tear the wrapping paper and chew on the boxes.

With Aunt Michelle before opening presents

Kylen helping momma open presents

Playing with the Leap Frog puppy that Aunt Chris got him

After presents, we ate breakfast and Kylen took a nap. When he woke up we headed back to our house to celebrate with Andrew. Santa brought Kylen a police car that he can either ride in or walk around in. He absolutely loves it! After our little Christmas celebration, the three of us went to Andrew's parents to open our stockings. Andrew's family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve so we had celebrated with them the night before. We spent about an hour there before we headed to dinner with my family. My Aunt Chris came into town to spend the holiday with us and she wanted to take everyone to dinner on Christmas. We went to Rustler's Roost and had a good time. Kylen loves to look around and eat so it was a good place for us to go.

In the police car Santa brought him!

Michelle and Tristyn dancing at Rustler's Roost

Andrew and I dancing :o)

Kylen, Pa, Aunt Chris and my mom

Kylen and Grandma

We figured out that he loves corn on the cob! 

After dinner we headed back to my mom's house so Andrew could open his gifts from my family and the rest of us had a few more to open too. And of course we ate dessert :o) By that time everyone was exhausted so we headed home to put Kylen down and Andrew and I got to relax for a bit. It was a very busy Christmas but all in all it was a very good one too!

Andrew's Graduation

Andrew graduated from Northern Arizona University on December 16, 2011 with a BAS in Justice Studies. We drove up to Flagstaff with Kylen and his parents to watch him walk. The drive wasn't bad and Kylen did pretty well. He had his moments, mostly when he was getting tired, but other than that he was good and happy. Flagstaff had just gotten a ton of snow but the roads were clear and the view was great.

After the ceremony we took the scenic route down through Sedona where we stopped and had lunch. But first we stopped to take pictures and let Kylen touch the snow.

It was a very nice day trip. I am so proud of Andrew and all he has accomplished. He worked very hard for this day. I love you babe!

Kylen's First Santa Visit

We had an interesting visit to Santa. I thought Kylen would be so excited and do fine since he loved our 8 foot Santa in the front yard but that was not the case.

We had a doctor's appointment for my pregnancy that day and after we were going to go to the mall to visit Santa for the first time. But this was all delayed since Kylen and I got a flat tire on the way to the doctor's office. Of course this had to be the week that Arizona was freezing with nonstop rain. Poor Andrew had to meet us in the neighborhood we pulled into and change the flat tire. Poor guy was soaking wet and frozen by the time he was done. Here is a picture of Kylen waiting in the car.

After getting new tires and dealing with that mess, we all headed to the mall to meet Santa! 

Kylen fell asleep on the way so I knew we would have to give him a little time to wake up before putting him on a stranger's lap but that did not work. As soon as Andrew set him on Santa's lap he began screaming! We tried doing a family shot with Santa but that didn't work either. So we gave up and I decided I would try again another day.

Michelle and I took Kylen and Tristyn to see Santa the Friday before Christmas. I was hoping that having Tristyn there would help since Kylen absolutely loves Tristyn, but it didn't. Kylen did not want anything to do with him. We took a picture and ordered it anyways since I had to have a First Christmas with Santa picture. Here it is..

Dear Kylen,

I am sorry for doing this but Momma just HAD to have a picture! I love you very much!

Love,
Mom

11 months!

Kylen has already hit the 11 month mark! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. He is learning more and more every month and getting more mischievous. Andrew and I are having a blast playing with him. He is learning to walk and doing really well. He walked across the family room and Andrew's parents living room the other day. He knows that crawling gets him to where he wants to go a lot faster so he still crawls most of the time. He knows how to wave now but he usually waits to do it once we have already left the person we were saying goodbye to.

He has been really independent lately.He has learned to play by himself for a while which is great for me. All the toys that we have bought him are starting to be played with. Before he would look at them and play with them for a minute but now he enjoys playing with them. Although he likes his toys, he loves everything that he is not a toy, but what kid doesn't?!

We are still sleeping through the night.. whoo hoo! He is also still taking one nap a day for about three hours. I gave up trying to give him an afternoon nap. Most of the time he refused to go down and if he did then bedtime would have to be pushed back. This schedule seems to work out perfect for us. 

Kylen loves to eat. Meal time is rarely ever a challenge.. he just loves food (like his mom)! He eats almost anything that is given to him. He has his moments when he doesn't eat as much or would rather play but other than that he is a good little eater. I give him 3-4 bottles a day but he rarely finishes all 8 ounces. I started making smaller ones for the morning and afternoon but he has nights when he drinks all 8 ounces so I make a full bottle then and before nap time. I am excited to switch to milk instead of formula. Drinking out of a sippy cup started off as a challenge but he has gotten pretty good at it now. He has also learned to drink out of a straw thanks to daddy. 

He is still in 12 month clothing and size 4 diapers. I think he is ready for size 5 diapers and I know it won't be long until he fits into his 18 month clothing. I think this is the longest that he has stayed in a size which I am extremely happy about. Except for the fact that I bought some 18 month winter clothing that he may not get much use out of. Oh well!

Lately Kylen has been a daddy's boy. He gets really excited when Andrew gets home from work or on Andrew's days off when he gets Kylen up from his nap instead of me. He has also become more sensitive to who is holding him. He used to go to anybody but lately he has his favorites. It is usually me, Andrew,the grandmas or grandpa.  

One more month until he is a year! I cannot believe it!

Kylen's First Thanksgiving

We had a very nice first Thanksgiving as a family. Andrew had to work so I spent the morning decorating the house for Christmas with Kylen. Andrew was able to flex his schedule so he got home around noon. Our families' Thanksgiving schedules work out perfectly for us. Andrew's parents eat early around 1 o'clock and my family has dinner around 5:30. So once he got home we headed over to his parents for some football and food. After a few hours at the McClamrocks, we stopped by the house for Andrew to iron and gather a few things and then we headed to my mom's. It was very nice. Dinner was a combined effort between Michelle and my mom. It turned out delicious as always! Kylen enjoyed every minute. He loves new foods so this was like Heaven to him. Not to mention all the desserts and sweets that his aunt and grandma fed him.. he has a sweet tooth like his mom :o)

Eating breakfast. Momma made pancakes!

Dinner at Grandma's- loving the sweet potatoes!

Taking all the rags out of grandmas baskets :o)

Kylen is so lucky to have so much of his family around to celebrate the holidays with. Andrew and I have so much to be thankful for, but we are especially thankful for such a wonderful, happy, healthy little boy and another little boy on the way.