Happy Birthday, Atticus!

Two weekends ago, we had a full house with lots of family in town for my nephew, Atticus' birthday. I fell in love with this sweet baby the very first time I saw him on the day he was born, which was something I didn't know could happen with any child but my own. We are so blessed that he lives in the neighborhood, and although Atticus is somewhat wary of my more enthusiastic boys right now, I am still convinced that they will all grow up to be best friends!

me & Atticus on the night he was born

Saturday was the big birthday party. First birthday parties are just so much fun... especially when there's plenty of family around to help celebrate :)

The big birthday boy!


Mommy & son


"Get this ridiculous hat off of me!"


Aunt Debbie & Uncle Kyle, expecting their first baby in November. Can't wait to have a niece (we think)!


Happy birthday boy eating a snack


Checking out his loot (that duck rarely left his hand all day)


Opening presents (including awesome turtle sweater made by my mom)



Cake time!


not especially impressed (getting tired & hungry for some familiar food by then)


a little bit of a smile :)


Sunday was Atticus' baptism. Once again, it was great to have so much family around to help celebrate this important day in his life.


We figured we'd had enough cake the day before, so we went with cookies for the baptism. Thanks to my dad & Aunt Debbie for help with the decorating!


Our side of the family


Happy Birthday, my sweet Atticus. Auntie Lucia loves you!

Windows & doors!

Anybody sick of house posts yet?

They installed windows & exterior doors today. Now it totally looks even more like a house - so exciting!



Ryan had fun exploring in the "jungle", as he likes to call the woods. We even found this cool nature-made tunnel!


The great room is really coming along - I love seeing the fireplace in there.
...and we have tubs & showers! This is the master bath :)


Funny Ryan anecdote of the day: We usually try to bring treats and/or drinks to the workers when we come on site. This afternoon, Mason was wanting to tell them that I had brought cookies, but everyone who was left was Spanish speaking. So, he said to me, "Do you know how to say 'cookies' in Spanish? And Ryan chimes right in, "Cookies in Spanish! I know how to say it!" Hilarious!

Busy house

We were out at the house again this morning, and it was a mad house! There were people everywhere. I guess this is the point when lots of things really start happening. It was a lot of fun to be there, but rather crazy since we had both boys with us. I didn't realize quite how much business we'd have to be doing, and Ryan was very good and patient for a while, but he got rather antsy by the end. So, that's why you get lots of pictures of Ryan today - it was one of the ways I could keep him occupied!

(front view)

They have started the front porch, and it adds a lot of dimension to the house... now, it's starting to look more like the house I expected!

(garage side corner view)

Ryan helped us paint some boards with our exterior paint color choices:

And here he is in front of the great room window (overlooking the back yard):

and in front of the fireplace:

We let Ryan pick out his room today, and he was so excited. It could still change, but I kind of doubt it because he chose the one that we all think is the coolest too. But, they all have great character. Hopefully we won't have too much sibling rivalry over the bedrooms! Anyway, here he is running circles in his future bedroom :-)

That's it for today. We can't wait to go back, though, so I'm sure there will be more soon!

11 months

Dear Kaeden,

A month from now, we'll be celebrating your first birthday. Wow.


We spent the last month at home, getting used to our new fall schedule. Ryan started back to preschool and it's been working out really well so far. You've been able to stay awake in the mornings until after we drop him off and most days you've been napping for the majority of the time that he is gone, so you hardly even notice!

It was not your best month - you had a cold for all of September, which eventually turned into a double ear infection/full upper respiratory infection. Plus, you got your top two front teeth, so there was a lot of teething going on as well. You were definitely fussier than your normal happy self, but I have to say that considering all of that, you were really a trooper. You finished your last dose of antibiotics today and you seem to be doing much better. Yay! Now, we hope that you can actually stay healthy for a little while... probably not too likely given that cold & flu season is just beginning.


We also celebrated your cousin Atticus' first birthday and baptism this month. You still love having him around and he is still not so sure of you... especially when you try to grab his face. You are two peas in a pod, though - this picture just cracks me up:


You have become a much pickier eater in the last month. You still like to eat a lot, but if you had it your way, you'd eat fruit and bread/crackers all the time. I can usually still manage to get plenty of veggies in, but you are not a fan of meat. I will not be surprised if you & Ryan both end up vegetarians. You're also much preferring foods that you can pick up and eat yourself these days. Thankfully, those top 2 teeth are helping with that!


You are also starting to sleep a bit less... waking up earlier in the mornings (6-6:15) and often cutting one of your naps shorter. You've even skipped your afternoon nap altogether a couple of days lately. I'm really not ready for you to transition to one nap yet, though, so I'm hoping this isn't a sign that that is coming very soon.


You are trouble. We say that a lot in our house these days. You love getting into things you're not supposed to and just generally doing lots of exploring... perfectly normal for this age, but a little challenging at times. You & Ryan have started butting heads more also, which can be a bit frustrating. Now that you are so fast, his creations are often threatened and I frequently hear him yelling, "I don't want Kaeden!!!!!!!" - Don't worry, though, he doesn't really mean it. He still adores you, and you him. He's even figured out how to pick you up and for some crazy reason, you love it. He hasn't dropped you yet...





You don't do a whole lot of sit still kind of playing anymore, but when you get an idea in your head, you can be pretty determined. You especially like putting things in - in a bin, in a box, in a ball run, in the silo of the farm... just in. Here you were determined to get that person in its truck, but having a bit of a hard time:

Mostly, though, you like to be on the move. Or throwing things. Your water cup only lasts about 3 seconds on your tray at any given time. And any toy given to you in the car is pretty much immediately thrown over the edge of your car seat. You can throw a ball pretty well, though, so there's hope for your future as an athlete. We'll see.

We got lots of great pictures of you this month, so I had a hard time choosing. I recruited your dad to help in getting you to sit still and smile, and it worked so much better. I was thrilled!