Today.

Today Khage and I bonded over Graham cracker milk dunking. We had a one way conversation where I  tried to persuade him to sample a little bite because we have never ventured into the land of dunking foods into our milk before. I was shocked to see him actually taking bites one after another and not shoving the food away, when it comes to trying new things he is such a food snob. Reason number 107 that he is just like his father and reason number 105 why, aside from the blood that runs through his veins and his dark eyes, he is nothing like me.

As I watched him nibbling on his soggy cracker I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with so many emotions about his first birthday coming up. I have been doing a pretty good job holding myself together over this upcoming milestone. I have on numerous occasions almost lost myself to a crying blubbering mess but I have managed to subdue it for a little while longer. I see a complete meltdown happening before his first birthday even comes about. I apologize beforehand to Brad for having to come in and clean that mess up.

This kid is my whole heart, ^{well he half'sies it with his Daddy}, and I am finding it harder and harder to give away my needy baby to an independent toddler. I will cling to him the rest of this week embracing the tiniest bit of baby that he has left to offer me. And I couldn't hold back the flood of love that was sweeping in during this snack time, I had to get in there and smooch that soggy cracker face. And that he did shove away. See that? He is already too big to let Mommy plant one square on his face.

Go Go Gadget Arm

Khage. Khage. Khage. What ever are we going to do with you? Your always walking around with a stick of some sort. It can be anything with at least an eight inch reach. We call it your GoGoGadget arm. Your always using it to smack things around, beat on the doors, the walls, or tv, knock things off the desk and occasionally you use it to get a spankin. A spankin... because that's your punishment when you hit us with it.

^{No we don't use the stick to spank him... we go oldschool on his butt. For the newschool folk that means we use our hands.}

I am hoping we can break you of this little habit before its kindergarten time. If not I foresee alot of notes being sent home with you that discuss the various ways you attacked other children with long random objects. For now though we say its cute and innocent.

Your all boy and ready for a rumble at anytime.

Finders Keepers

Losers weepers!

Sorry Bostyn & Kanon but you shouldn't have left it behind in my toy box.

I think I will keep it and use it to my advantage in the future as a bargaining tool.

Maybe I could offer it up as a truce after I have cut all your Barbie's hair.

Maybe.

A Remote and Tripod.

Today were taking our family portraits for our Christmas card... and when I say we I mean just Brad, Khage and I. If your familiar with cameras at all you know someone has to hold it and potentially push a button if you hope to actually capture a moment. Well we don't have one of those people, the camera holder and button pusher, and we hope to all be in the shot so we bought a tripod and remote. And to be sure they actually worked the way we hoped we tested these little devices yesterday. What we came up with was very interesting.

Let me set the scene:

Scum Bucket Brad just arrested for urinating in public, Bailiff Khage brings him in for pictures and finger prints, and Officer Jamee is in the background next to the camera and tripod yelling left forward right at the dirty scum.

 Then things just got weird.

That's one sick puppy!



But good to know the tripod and remote work.

Lets just hope the last few pictures are no reflection on family portrait day.

Our Thanksgiving.

 This years Thanksgiving was celebrated a little different from the traditional way that Brad and I are used to. This holiday was usually spent lounging about with the rest of the family and only venturing into the kitchen to sneak a taste of mashed potatoes or a snack off the veggie tray.  But with our families living hundreds of miles away, this years' table setting was for only two & a half and our mothers were not here to magically whip up the infamous meal. So instead of parking our rears on the couch, our day was spent slaving away in the kitchen making all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes and chasing around our mobile baby. We were tripping over Tupperware that he slew all over the kitchen, checking the temperature of the turkey with one leg kicked out as to block him from getting too close to the oven and instead of diggin in right when the food hit the table I was busy spooning up samples for Khage well before a spoon full of mashed potatoes even touched my lips.  

Well... maybe I snuck in a taste or two while the turkey was finishing up.

 Brad and I cooked our first bird.

Khage enjoyed his first licks of turkey and stuffing, green bean casserole and sweet potatoes.

And together we enjoyed our first very own Thanksgiving as a family of three.

 So CHEERS for a wonderful day spent with the ones we love over a table covered with deliciously cooked food and all the while being thankful for all of our countless blessings.

^{And a special thanks to my mother who saved us from having a spoiled Thanksgiving. She caught me just as I was putting the Turkey in the oven three hours early. Apparently a six hour cook time is only required if your bird is over 30 pounds.
Our turkey... he was a little 12 pounder.}

But enough about the turkey lets look at this ham

Eleven Months Old.

A few special facts about our little baguette:

Every long toy is used as an extension of his arm and he uses it to get things out of reach

Rex taught him how to stand up with no assistance from furniture and how to use a sippy cup

He taught Rex how to push food and bottles out of his face when he doesnt want them

He cut his first molar and it was the only tooth that has caused him a fever

When he eats he will remove it from his mouth after it is partially chewed... then finish it off

His biggest grins are caused by simply seeing his Daddy

If he is touching things he shouldn't and we go to take it from him he will attempt to scurry off

He moves way too slow to evade us

He is a little self destructive kid, always purposely smacking his head against the fireplace doors or his highchair

He is off the boob juice and off the bottle

He had his first Thanksgiving dinner and he liked the turkey and stuffing the most

He now walks more then he crawls

He is always grabbing things and shaking them vigorously to check their structural integrity

Daddy is still flinging him around and he is still loving it

He prefers male over female attention

When he was not feeling well on vacation Nana built him a fort and he perked right up

If he is around a dog he will try to get them to lick him in the mouth by opening up wide

He is not even a year yet and he has had over five haircuts

He makes a discard pile on his try where he puts the inedibles

&

We still cannot move past the fact that this child is ours to keep and he will continue to bless our lives everyday simply by being our baby. We are utterly inlove with him.

Khagey Lately.

This was quite a month. Grandma, Uncle Wes, Auntie Brittany and her girls all came to visit us and it was nice to finally be around some family. Khage got to spend some time with his cousin's Bostyn and Kanon doing whatever kids under the age of four do. Then we road tripped it back to Arizona and met up with the rest of the family. Khage and Rex are finally at the age where they can play together; their version of playing together involves both trying to climb the stairs at the same time and passing toys back and forth in the car. It was such a delight to see Khage around all of his family.

We cannot wait to permanently plant ourselves back in Arizona and it will be family vacation all the time!

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 A few highlights from this vacation:

Khage immediately reached for Uncle Wes when he saw him. We don't know if he remembered him from Skype or mistook him for his Daddy. Khage cut his first molar which caused a fever for over four days and a trip to Urgent Care. Bostyn asked me why Khage has "that" pee pee. Nana watched both boys so we could go out to sushi night. Khage got to meet up with his buddy Talon at the park. Rex kept petting Khage like a dog. Khage transitioned from boob juice to whole milk. Uncle Brett made the best stand-in Daddy. Khage walked right past Auntie Lissa to her boyfriend Patrick. Because Khage wasn't feeling good he was finally the cuddly baby I have always dreamed of. When we skyped with Daddy it sent Khage into a frenzy because he couldn't make sense of where Daddy was. We missed our flight back home by just a few minutes. To burn some energy at the airport Mommy tied a blanket around Khages waste and used it like a leash so he wouldn't get too far away.

And Daddy decided we can never take a vacation without him again.

Attack of the SnackPack

I left the kitchen while Khage played in the pantry. You think I would have known better. He is tall enough to reach the items on the lowest shelf and he uses his height to his advantage. I come back into the room, not even a few minutes later to find this kid sucking on a butterscotch snackpack. He punctured two holes in the foil top with his uber sharp baby teeth and proceeded to squeeze the package while sucking out the pudding. I am sure you hear this all the time from parents, but my baby really is a genius. So I rewarded him for his efforts and ability to problem solve.

At less then eleven months old Khagey got to eat his first snackpack.

Then he carelessly tossed it aside and attempted to work on removing the vanilla snackpacks from the shelf. He was feening for it. But at that point Mommy had to intervene.

Halloween.

I may be biased but Khage was just about the cutest kid out there. We went to a Trunk or Treat and he stayed propped on Daddy's lap on the back of the car the whole time, just watching the little kids come and go in their costumes. It didn't seem to bother him that Daddy and I looked like oversized poultry or that he was tucked away inside a costume as well. Poor Khagey welcomed in his first year of Halloween without a single taste of sugar and with absolutly no trick or treating. I am saving all that for next year when he will be old enough to request a costume of his own and trick or treat without me talking for him like hes my ventriloquist dummy. All in all I enjoyed this Halloween, because it is I assume one of the last simple Halloweens before Khage has his own itinerary for the night. Soon enough he will be running from door to door and filling up a pillow case full of candy while I race to keep him in sight.

So yes, this Halloween I enjoyed.

 

^{Dont mind my feathers all in a bunch.}