Suddenly a Toddler . . . . . . .

Can you believe this was my chunky monkey one year ago!

He's one! And it's just about doing me in. Seriously. I CANNOT believe my 9 lb 8 oz bundle of joy is 1 year old. It may sound cliche, but it seems like YESTERDAY he was born. He went from my sort-of little, smiley, sweet infant, to my skinny-but-tall, super-smiley, sweet toddler. Oh, and as of late, we can throw a few tantrums into the mix. I love him so much I can't even stand it. He is my little cuddle bug when he's tired and I seriously can't get enough of him. At a year, he has taken a few tentative steps, but definitely has not committed to walking. He can get anywhere in the house in 2 seconds flat with that super crawl of his. He LOVES his sissy so much and has recently figured out that if he yells loudly when his sister is too near him it gets the Miss in trouble. I suddenly have to be aware of not just one, but TWO of my sweet things being manipulative. It happens so quickly. *sigh* I would be a multi-trillionare if I had a dime for every time somebody said to me, "He's so happy!" He truly is the happiest kid I know and we are so lucky to have him.

Randy and I went shopping for a baseball tee. That's what Randy wanted to get him. Not a "ball and tee for babies". For Heaven Sakes, he's one now! Practically a grown-up! SO we went with this tee set. He may not walk yet, and it may look quite a bit too big, but you would be surprised how well he can hit it. It is comical and Randy has that "I'm such a proud father" look on his face even though he denies it. By the way, these pics were taken a couple weeks before his birthday because in the words of Randy, "Why wait until his birthday if we have it now?"



We celebrated his birthday in Utah last weekend with both sets of grandparents. Needless to say, he was sufficiently spoiled. He got the cutest Birthday Book and Bowling set from Grandma and Grandpa Cuff. Sadly, I don't have a picture of that. I know, how is that possible from the queen of pictures?

Nobody gave the memo to Kai's ears that there were to be no ear infections though, and the little dude was pretty miserable the whole time. :( This was my favorite pic. Kai really didn't care that we were all singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles on his Shrek cake.



Yummy Cinnamon Rolls for his Birthday Breakfast! I can make a mean pan full of Pillsbury Pop-N-Fresh Cinnamon Rolls. Mmmmmm . . . . . .

He's so ornery all of the time. Here he is on the little 4-wheeler he got from Grandma Annie and Papa. It is a RIOT to watch him ride it. He has learned how to push the button to make it go. Every time he does, he moves forward a little, then stops and laughs. So cute.



I love this picture. Both kids are pretty much salivating over the cake. I made him the Stoddard Classic caramel, chocolate, and cool whip birthday cake. Super easy and you really can't go wrong with it. On Ava's first birthday, she wasn't completely sure about the chocolate cake at first because I'm sure I hadn't given it to her before her first birthday. With Kai, since he is the second child, he knew exactly what it was and dug into it the first chance he could.


Since he had already opened the majority of his presents before his birthday, he ended up with a couple of shirts and a soccer ball on his actual birthday. The kid was loving the ball. I've recently had to buy a whole new tub to house all of the balls and bats we have in our house. He's only one people! What does this say about my future?

And this, folks, is probably the best time Kai had throughout all of the birthday festivities. He is eating the ice out of a cup. If only I would have known that's what he really wanted . . . . . . . . .

He had his one year well check today. He is 20 lbs (23%) and 31" (95%). Like I said, tall and skinny.