random collage of pictures

He loves to play with "shoe". What a creative name for his new favorite toy, eh?? He throws it from one side to the other and then kicks it away from himself.  Shoe usually buys us 15 minutes of solitude, so we are forever grateful to him/it/her.

Nap time with my cuddle bug.

Rough housing with Daddy!

He wouldn't stand still.  He's sportin' his new duds from Great Gma!  Go State!  It's a little big, but that's how the athletes wear their unis, right???

  

We took a trip to Lake Perry and had a picnic.  Cal loved the water once he was used to it.  I got a little grossed out, primarily because I'm a germaphobe and you couldn't take a step without landing in a pile of goose poo or a variety of other wild animal droppings.  I'm not a "city girl", but I think I'm a "germ-conscious small town girl".  It's a new phrase I've coined.

EXTREME CLOSEUP.....WHOAHHHHHH!!!!!

He looks thrilled, doesn't he??

He likes to hit his balloons!

Mr. Priss wasn't so sure he liked the sand at first, but he's warmed up since!

Donnie really likes Cal's new water table!

 



Cal splashed away in his table for a good hour!  It gives him just another reason to love being outside.  ALL. THE. TIME. 

Cal has recently realized that he has eyelashes and I'll catch him poking himself in the eye and grabbing his lashes.  He has started doing the same to us when we hold him.  It's all fun and games until someone gets poked in the eye.

At his one year appointment on Monday, he still topped the charts in the over 100th percentile in both height and weight.  He is 33" long now, averaging an inch of growth a month since birth, and is 29lbs.  He actually only gained a pound since his 9 month appointment, largely in part due to his unbelievable non-stop movement! ha

Happy Birthday, Caligator!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

We left the balloons in Cal's room for a few days after his birthday just because he loved to play with them so much!

We celebrated Cal's actual birthday and gave him a cupcake in the backyard as he/we opened his gifts. 

 

To celebrate our one year old boy, we threw a small soiree in our backyard.  Many of our friends and some family came to watch Cal gingerly pick the icing and sprinkles off of his cake, while concomitantly feeding Ollie bites. 

"Here!  You look like you want some!"

Quite a few young kiddos and babies were at his party, so it was fun watching them all interact and play together.  Cal and Brody are only 6 days apart and they had a blast playing with the balls.  Breckyn Murphy, Brody's older sis, joined in on the fun, too!

  

Here are some more pics from his party.

Cal was full of giggles and smiles with Suz and Chad!!

Morgan and Aiden Hachenberg

Hoff, Alex, and Glen Hachenberg

Mom and Ki

Tom and Ashley

The big oak tree out back provided our party with ample shade, but the wind died down and it got a little warm!!

Here's one last pic from his birthday, after his outfit change due to icing smears and sweat rings (just kidding....no sweat rings, but he was much more comfy in the sleeveless top!).  He looked so cute in the fedora from Aunt Hoffma.

We recuperated on Sunday and Mitch enjoyed a quiet Father's Day.  His gift??  The ability to watch the US Open for SEVEN straight hours, uninterrupted.  He got a few other things, but I think he was most excited about his time with the tube. 

Cal hasn't drank anything but milk and water, so I decided to give him a sip of my Crystal Light Lemonade one day just to see how reacted.  It was hilarious....he smacks his lips like it's a little sour, but also the best thing he's ever drank.  He gulped down half of my glass!

I have some other random pictures to include, but for some reason this posting won't allow me to manipulate where I place them, so I'll have to start a new post.  I wish I knew more about computers....no scratch that, I wish blog interfacing wasn't so confusing.  I blame it on the blog. 

Bring it on, Summer!!

We went to Larned over Memorial Day Weekend and had some fun in the sun....and then fun in the mildly stormy and cool temperatures.  It was 63 degrees yesterday and today.....what the what?!?!  We're loving this unseasonably cooler weather!

We flipped Cal's carseat so that he faces forward now and it eliminated nearly all of his crying!!  He watched Finding Nemo for most of the trip (Mama couldn't listen to any more Yo Gabba Gabba so we made the switch) going both ways.  He finally gave in and took a nap, which is atypical of his car riding behavior!  All in all, the trip went MUCH smoother than usual.  Cal was much more comfy and stretched his long legs out during his snooze.

Grandma Annie spoiled him and gave him lots of treats.  He really likes ice cream cones so she found him these TINY little cones that are the perfect size!

Larned has a new Splash Pad so we took Cal.  Since he loves to splash in his baby pool, aka the Dog Water Fountain and the Dirty Paw Cleaner, we figured he'd love the Splash Pad.  WRONG.  He didn't hate it all together, but he wasn't so sure about the brutally cold water squirting out at him.  Looking back, it's probably best not to take him on a mildly warm day...please see aforementioned "unseasonably cool weather" paragraph. 

"Mom, I'm scared of the water!"  (Side note: Is Cal's tummy that big or are his swim trunks really high, causing an illusion?!)

He would only touch the water if I'd touch it with him.  That cold water was pretty painful.  He's already mastered the "misery loves company" mentality.

We came home and I figured he'd crash.  Instead he was invigorated and wanted to get into his baby/dog pool and splash around.  It had warmed up some and the water actually felt like bath water because it's in full sun all day.

New game: throw the ball over my head and watch Mom retrieve it as she hops across the hot pavement.  Repeat.

Up and over!

This was probably taken when he decided to poop in the pool.  We had to clean it out due to a Code Brown.

Just take a moment and soak up this sweet moment.  Cal and his Dada love to lay in the grass and talk.....and eat grass.....and pull the dogs' tails....and pick up sticks.  Cal and I wonder when Mitch is going to grow up, but his infantile tendencies are endearing. :)

Cal loves to feed others and his Great Grandma was caught during his dinner time.  "Here....you look hungry.  Let me feed you!"

In the morning, Cal enjoyed reading the paper with Grandma.  His love of reading isn't limited to board books. 

Before we drove back to Topeka, we stopped by Grandpa Gator's office.  It would appear that Cal is sitting in a throne, but nope....that's just a giant chair for a giant man.  

I love that impish grin!