Casey Josiah

I can't believe little Casey is almost two! It makes my heart race just thinking about it... probably because I know he is my last baby. :( Here are some things Casey is doing at 22 months.

*He LOVES motorcycles... and his daddy couldn't be prouder. :) He makes the cutest "Rrrrr, RRRRR" sound whenever he sees one in the garage, in his toy room, or on the freeway. If Adam is in the garage, Casey wants to be in the garage right alongside him. He loves to pick up tools and pretend he is helping daddy fix his motorcycle. ADORABLE.

*Casey has become quite the little daddy's boy. This makes my heart smile, since the other two definitely prefer their mommy. :) We were at the Y the other day and Adam and I were splitting up to go in the locker rooms. Jacob and Gavin immediately followed me, but when I set Casey down... he ran as fast as his little legs could go toward his daddy. I love watching Adam's eyes light up when this happens.

*Casey is still in his crib and we intend to keep it that way as long as possible. :) Mostly because Jacob and Gavin always seemed to give up their nap when they went to a big boy bed... and I'm definitely NOT ready for that yet!

*He is very much still addicted to his binky. I am so grateful that it is easy to lay him down for bed each night... as long as he has his binky and blanket, he is the happiest boy ever. I have a feeling when we take it away, he will not be the happiest boy ever. :)

*He loves climbing onto his tricycle and moving his legs as fast as he to propel the bike forward.

*Whenever we ask who wants _________? Casey always says, "I do! I do! Me, me me!"

*He is saying a lot more words that I have been giving him credit for. The other day he said, "Baberry" and I realized he was saying strawberry! Some other words he likes to say are mooie(smoothie), coo-kie, nack(snack), cacker(cracker), bite. Can you tell this boy likes to eat?

*His favorite word these days seems to be "OUT"... which he says when he is in his crib, car seat, stroller, etc. :)

*Casey says his name before everything. Casey milk. Casey nack. Casey ni-night. Casey bite. Casey poo-poo.

*Casey can see airplanes way up in the sky... which he immediately points to and says, "Da-ddy airpwane."

*He is just starting to talk on the phone. It is so adorable to hear him say, "Hi Gwammy. Wuv you. Casey bike. Bye bye Gwammy."

*I love his belly laugh. I kiss him on his neck all the time just so I can hear it.

Riding Solo

We had another milestone today... Gavin learned how to ride a bike solo! I guess he didn't want to feel left out on my blog. :) He caught on super fast and was riding by himself for 10+ seconds at a time! I didn't think 4 year-olds could ride a bike on their own, but Gavin (and his daddy) proved me wrong! SO proud of you buddy.

Two new looks!

In case you're wondering how to get a tooth out without string and a door... milkshakes are the way to go! Tooth #2 is out!


Casey got a new summer look today too!

Little Gym

Casey has been loving Little Gym this year!

He has had a lot of fun hanging on bars, climbing through the tunnels, and walking along the balance beam.



He found playing with the wire and knobs on the equipment even more entertaining though...

Here is a picture of him with his teacher, Miss Megan.

A group shot (that I caught a little too late since my camera was malfunctioning. :(

Bubble time is always Casey's favorite.


At the end, they climbed up the stairs to get their medal. They were supposed to stand and raise their arms to say, "Tadaa!" However, Casey pretty much just wanted to get his medal off. :)

He wore it for a minute...

then it was right back off again!


In the past, I would be having another baby right now so that made taking the older one to Little Gym more difficult. However, that isn't the case with Casey... so onto next year!

To our Daddy...

Thank you for...

...telling us about God.
...playing run run tickle tickle.
...jumping on the bed with us.
...reading the bible to us.
...pushing us on the swing.
...being patient with us.
...taking us to the beach.
...flying airplanes with us.
...riding bikes with us.
...sledding down hills with us.
...cuddling on the couch with us.
...praying with us.
...making us pancakes.
...building campfires for us.
...showing us how much you love mommy.
...spending so much time with us.
...making us laugh.



Happy Father's Day!! We love you a decillion.

Jacob, Gavin, and Casey

A little poem...

Twas the night before the last day of kindergarten and amongst all the toys,
Two boys are sleeping, but I can hear Casey's sweet voice.
Your backpack is all propped up on our chair,
Waiting for the last day to swing on and wear.

Mommy is looking through your memory book this year,
Trying hard not to cry yet another sad tear.
From pumpkins to parties to Easter egg hunts,
All documented with pictures and fonts.

How I loved reading the class books that came,
Always searching for your little name.
Volunteering filled my heart with the most amazing joy,
Because I got to be close to my sweet little boy.

You are so excited, why am I so distraught?
Maybe it's just because I love you a lot.
What a big year, you learned how to read,
Your teacher is confident you will succeed.

So many new friends you met with a smile,
Making memories you know will last for a while.
I watched you grow up, lose your very first tooth,
Now you'll be left with your mommy to soothe.

How long will you kiss me as you climb on the bus,
Waving and smiling without any fuss?
Then you jump off the bus to me right before noon,
I'll be missing those afternoons with you much too soon.

I remember sending you off for your very first day,
With pictures and hugs and all ready to play.
When I was a teacher how did I not know,
That it's so hard for mommies to let their kids go?

Weren't you just a baby snuggling in my lap?
How did another year go by in a snap?
I love you my Jacob, please don't grow up too fast,
Oh how your mommy wishes kindergarten could last.

With my teacher on the last day...
I'm so excited for first grade!

Sixteen Candles (x2)

32. I have now officially been driving as long as I haven't been driving. Weird. :) My sweet sixteen definitely doesn't feel like sixteen years ago!

I did have a good birthday though. My mom came down to watch Casey so we could go to the waterslides with Jacob and Gavin. It was a gorgeous day, there were hardly any lines, and Gavin was just over 42 inches so we could go on all of the slides and rides together. SO fun.

For the first time, I caught a glimpse of the good things about my boys getting older. There were no blow outs, tantrums, taking turns with the baby, or finding a good spot to nurse... As much as I want to soak in my sweet boys while they are little, I got a taste of the many fun days and good times that are ahead of us.

We had a good system going for the waterslides. I would go down first, followed by Gavin and Jacob (so I could make sure they made it to the edge safely), and Adam would go last (so he could make sure they didn't get scared and actually went down the waterslide). The only problem was that Gavin would go down so slowly, Adam caught up to him everytime! So he would just scoop him up when he was going by and they crashed into the water together. One time, he caught up to Jacob and Gavin and had them both in his arms when he came sliding down. It was pretty funny! I loved watching my boys having fun... and I loved having fun with them!

My mom came to our house with a car full of flowers to plant in my garden for my birthday. I definitely did not inherit her green thumb, so I am super grateful for any help she is willing to give me. :) She spent all evening planting flowers, played with Casey the next day while we were at the waterslides, spent the night with all three boys so Adam and I could go out, and had dinner and cake ready for us when we came back the next day! I was in awe of everything she did to make my birthday special. I was also in awe of how much my husband went out of his way to make me feel loved. I'm a lucky girl!

Adam put some trick candles on the cake so the boys and I had fun blowing them out over and over and over. Little Casey especially couldn't stop cracking up!!


It feels strange not to have any pictures of our day at Wild Waves, but for once, it was really nice to just be in the middle of laughing and playing instead of always behind the camera. ;)

Over the weekend...

Last weekend, we drove up north to see my sister and her kiddos. Both of our husbands were out-of-town/working, so we decided to have some much needed sister (and cousin) time.

We stopped on the way to see Tutu (Hawaiian for great-grandma). I called her Tutu growing up too, but now it actually makes sense. ;) The boys are always so excited to get out Tutu's toys from the basement... the same toys I played with when I was their age.

Jacob loves climbing this tree... I even have a picture of him climbing it when he was one. :)

Tutu read an animal book to Casey, to which he pointed on each page and said, "Cookie? Cookie?" I guess we need to work on our animal names!
Jacob, Gavin, and Casey always have the best time with their cousins. They can get pretty creative sometimes!


Watching the fishies...
Jacob even found a frog!
Jacob was devastated that he missed Maddie's actual birthday, so we made sure to celebrate while we were there.
I can't believe my Maddie girl is nine! Can we rewind a few years to when she looked like this? :)

Kindergarten Roundup

Every year that I taught first grade, I looked forward to watching the little kindergartners perform their cowboy roundup. I loved watching them sing and how adorable they looked in their little hats and kerchiefs. It was one of my favorite things all year and I always thought that one day I would have my own little kindergartner up there.

So the year finally came when I did. :)


The only sad thing was that he was in the very back so this is what we saw for the majority of the performance.

He saw us in the front row though, so he kept getting up on his tippy toes to flash us a smile.

Singing home, home on the range...

Jacob's job was to hold up the pig...oops!
There ya go! ;)

Oh you got to have a horse, fancy boots, and a song... if you want to go riding, riding along!

Jacob was so excited that Grandpa and Grandma Kathy came to watch.

He also pulled Grandpa down the hall to see his classroom.

I watched eight Kindergarten round-ups before my little Jacob was up there, but it was definitely worth the wait. ;)