13 months

Casey's birthday has come and gone, and December is flying by. Casey is now 13 months old! He has mastered the whole walking/running thing...and is working hard on being verbal! He has been saying mama,dada, baba for a long time....but he doesnt use them in association with anything, so we are working on that! The first thing he has said with meaning, is Uh-Oh, although he pronounces it "uh-uh". He says this when he drops/throws something. He even uses the right tone! He is starting to say d-d-d-d-d when he sees his doggies. He says Eh? with the inquisitory tone when he wants you to pay attention to something. Last night, we babysat a friends little girl, who is 3. When she stopped paying attention to Casey, boy did he get vocal! He stood next to her and yelled "Eh?! Eh?!" over and over.....as in "Adeline, play with me!!"

Just now, I had to get up and find Casey, because he tore down the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and went up. He thought it was hilarious when I found him, and promptly ran away, looking back to make sure I was chasing him. He loves to chase and to be chased! Casey also really likes pretending games. He will pretend to be asleep and then wake up, he loves peek a boo, he loves to give you his pacifier and then take it back. He likes the round laundry basket, he puts it on his head and walks around. He likes to try and put on hats, if you hand him one he knows where it goes. Same with socks, when he sees them, he hands you a foot, then the other.

Casey is now giving hugs, and loves on his own. He also gives kisses, with his mouth open and tongue out! While he is as busy as ever, he will come over and hug you, and go back to playing, he also hugs your legs. Last night, he went up and gave Adeline a big hug. So cute....talk about melting your heart! He also gets so excited when he sees Mom or Dad, when we come home from work. He smiles and laughs and wants you to pick him up and smother him with love.

It's amazing how quick he learns, and how everything is so fun and exciting for him. He learned to give high five, and is so proud of himself when he does it. He just thinks it is the funniest thing. He loves the wii fit board, and will stand on it forever. We are very glad he ignores the TV when it is on, he is too busy playing, going from one activity to another. The American Pediatric Association recommends no TV time, computer or video game time til at least 2, so we never put shows on for him, and never try to get him to watch. Luckily, this is easy, as he is just not interested anyways.

Casey starts in January at a full day preschool. He is going to love it, and will get lots of exposure to learning on the days he is there. He only goes about 2 days a week, and is home with Daddy the rest of the days. He loves the daycare at our gym, and has learned they give snacks....when we put him in there, he will go stand next to the high chair!

Today is Christmas Eve, we are waiting for Daddy to wake up! He works all weekend, but we celebrate when he is home. We make it work for us:) We are glad Ryan has a job he enjoys, and take the hours and shifts as they fall. It just happened to fall on Christmas the last 2 years. Casey isnt old enough to notice of course.

We celebrated Christmas with my family last weekend, where Casey got to play with all his cousins. They are so funny together. We were very spoiled with fabulous prime rib, made by my Dad....along with more appetizers, food and dessert than you can imagine. YUM! We got lots of fun gifts, and went to Zoo Lights with Matt, Kelly and Caleb. We took more photos with Santa at the WSU Cougar reception there!

Merry Christmas everyone! We are off to celebrate and spend time together as a family:) I love this little family I have been blessed with! And the HUGE extended family we have!