Spring is here.....

Hello everyone! The weather sure is nice outside and I love it more than anything....really I do! I want to be outside every waking minute and if I can't....you had better look out. I like to go to the park and play basketball with the big kids. I always get in the middle of their business and take their ball away from them. Good thing the kids around here are so nice to me!! My mommy tries to get me to play on the equipment or swing but I always return to the basketball hoops and the balls. Over Spring Break, I went to several parks and met a lot of kids. I think 1 day I even had my mommy take me like 4 times. She is such a sucker for a temper tantrum. She likes to tell the story about the day that I was throwing a fit, hitting her legs and bending her toes backwards because she would not take me BACK to the park. I am sorry but I love it there!!!! Yesterday it was raining and I spent all afternoon screaming at Aja about it and then drove my mom so crazy in the evening that she put me to bed at 7:15. Well, she thought she was really smart, until I woke up at 4am ready to start my day. I guess she will not pull that kind of nonsense again now will she. As you can see, I have really started to develop an attitude now that I am 1. My grandma says that hopefully I will get it out of my system now so that when I am 2 I will know how to conduct myself appropriately. I am still crying about the fact that Kansas lost to UNI, but everyone here is happy about it so I am not getting too much sympathy. I have heard talk around my house about converting the office into a playroom decorated in KU stuff. My uncle has sent me so much and my mom does not know what to do with it all, so she thought this might be a good idea. Daddy says maybe we should go purple and yellow instead. Not funny dad!!! Speaking of dad, I don't get to see him much these days now that it is nice outside and staying light longer. He works a lot in the Summer. When I do see him though, I say, "Hi, Dad" That makes him smile. I even say it to Aja's husband when he comes home too. I got to see the baby chicks at Grandpa's bank this week. I was not really interested in them until my mom told me they were kittys and then I was all about them. I even grabbed one of their cute little heads. I guess that was too much because I did not get to touch them any more. I have my first Easter Egg hunt this weekend. I am excited! I hope I get a lot of candy. I even hear that Miss Iowa and the Iowa Women's Basketball players are going to be there. Did someone say basketball? Oh, sorry! Anyway, my grandma thought it would be a good idea to practice my egg picking up skills the other day, so she put some eggs in the yard, had the basket all ready for me to put my egss in. I picked 1 up and headed straight for the basketball hoop and never got any further. What those were not balls? My bad, I am only 1 you know. Anyway, I hear I get to go for a long walk at Kent Park with mommy and her friend tonight so I better get going. Have a fantastic rest of the week and weekend! I hear next week is supposed to be really, really warm!!!!

~Blayke

It's March!

Happy almost Spring day everyone. The weather has been getting nicer and mommy and I have been getting to take some walks around the big town of Oxford. I like to get out and check out the sights. I got to play at the park for the first time yesterday. I went in the play structure, went down the slide a few times and got to swing on the swing. The part I liked the best is watching the big boys play football. I can't wait until I am old enough to play with them. I have been making my mom crazy climbing on everything. I figured out how to push my dump truck up to the end table and climb on top of it, stand up and dance. I know, I know, I am going to get hurt. Don't you worry about me, I am a very careful boy. I got my pictures taken last weekend as you can see. Don't I look cute? I was not really very excited about being there, but I was a good sport and gave mom some good shots. I am sending out pictures for everyone when we get them back so if you are wondering where your thank you card is for the wonderful presents that I got for my birthday, not to worry, they are all written out and ready to go. My mom just told me to wait until we get the pictures back so I can send them together. So, be looking for those in the mail towards the end of next week. I am starting to get settled into a routine at night and as much as mom likes it, I know it makes her sad that I am growing up so fast. I get to take a bath in the bathtub now, then I put my pj's on and I am off to bed. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that mom still lets me have a bottle at night when I go to bed. Shhh....don't tell anyone, I know I am not supposed to but I think mommy likes to hold on to a little bit of her baby. I know it is a matter of days and she will tell me no more, but you better believe I am enjoying every last minute of it. When I see that thing I go crazy, and don't even try to let me see it and not get it. Oh well, like everything else, when it goes away, I will be fine. I will just let my mom know how unhappy I am about it. I am going to my friend Jayden's birthday party next weekend at the rec center, I hear we get to go swimming, yeah!!!!! Anyway, I better get going. I hope you enjoy your pictures!
~Blayke

1 year old

I made it to my first birthday! I had a great birthday party! Thank you to my grandma for the wonderful cakes, my aunt Kate for the amazing slide show and my aunt Stephanie for just helping in all the ways that she does. I had a lot of people come to my party and I want to thank all of them too for all of my awesome presents! Don't be sad, but right now my most favorite thing is the balloons. Mommy brought them all home and they are taking over the house. It is so cool! My brother also got to come to my party and that was so cool. I love to play with him and I like to do everything he does. I hope he can come for a long time this Summer because we have a lot of fun together. I had my 1 year check up yesterday. I weight 22 pounds and I am 30 inches long. I guess I am right on track with all the milestones I am supposed to be accomplishing. I have to learn 20-30 words before my next check up at 18months. That means I have at least 17 to learn. I don't know about you, but I like trying to accomplish the physical milestones a lot better than the academic ones! I don't like to sit and listen to books and I don't like to sit still long enough to play mommy's silly little finger games. Give me a ball and I will throw it far, give me some stairs and I will climb them all day, but this sitting still stuff is no fun for me. I guess I will try and learn some words, but don't be mad if I can't learn 30 in the next 6 months. I have been trying really hard to get my mommy to take me outside. I point to the door and blab on and on, but she still does not let me. She said it is still too cold to play in the grass, but soon enough I will get to go play at the park. I am holding you to it mom, don't you think I will forget this one. I scared my babysitter on my birthday, she was downstairs making lunch and I was upstairs napping when she heard a loud thump....it was me, I learned how to climb out of the playpen where I sleep. She was not proud of me, but I was sure proud of myself. I even walked away from it with no bumps or bruises. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself. I have my 1 year pictures this weekend so mommy has been stressing about what to have me wear. Seriously mom, I really like hanging out in just my diaper, so if that works for you, let's do it! Yeah right, my mom is a clothing crazy woman, there is no way she would ever let me get away with that. I am sure she will come up with something! She is going to get a bunch of wallet sized pictures and send them out in the thank you cards that I have been working on, so stay tuned for my 1 year pictures. If you did not come to my party, don't worry, she told me she would send you guys a picture too. Ok, I think that is about all for now. I will keep you posted on any new words I have learned or any adventures I go on now that the weather is starting to get nice.
Take care!!

~Blayke