Mommy Minute: Kason’s 1 Year Update

Hey y’all!

Kason Michael is ONE! December 29 was the big day, and it came and went so fast. I realize that I am posting this update late, and that’s mainly because his 1 Year Check-Up was pushed back to February 11.

Kason weighs 23 lbs. 12 oz. (75%) and is 32 inches long (95%). He now has 8 teeth, and LOVES to use them. He doesn’t bite us, or anyone else thankfully, unless of course you put your fingers in his mouth to check his teeth. He does, however, like to bite his stuffed animals and crawl around with them in his mouth (it’s really quite funny). He’s also, slowly but surely, growing more hair!

Kason was officially off of formula after his birthday and I cannot believe how easy it was. He gradually weened himself over the course of a month (around the 11 month mark), so stopping the formula was absolutely no issue. He also quit drinking from a bottle around the 11 month mark. That was all him too. He naturally preferred to drink from a straw. The last month or so that he was on formula, he drank from his sippy cup. I realized he was ready to stop the formula because he wasn’t drinking the whole serving I was giving him. He went from having three 8 ounce bottles a day, to only two 8 ounce bottles a day (one in the morning and one before bed). Shortly after that switch he stopped drinking all 8 ounces in one sitting, so I bumped him down to two 6 ounce bottles a day. I purchased his last formula refill in December and when it was gone, I didn’t buy another. He’s now on 2% milk and has had zero issues. I started him on whole milk, but it was upsetting his stomach. When we switched to 2%, he stopped have the stomach issues. I give him a cup in the morning, a cup mid day, and a cup before bed. We had a VERY easy time switching from formula to cow’s milk, and it was all because of him. He led the way and I just followed.

He is SUCH a good eater! I can already tell this boy is going to eat me out of house and home. He will eat pretty much anything you give him, but I’ve noticed he is starting to become more selective. For breakfast he has a plain waffle, torn apart into bite sized pieces, with either cut up strawberries or bananas. For lunch he has a variety of things. His favorite thing to have is sandwiches. He eats grilled cheese or peanut butter usually, along with a side of fruit or crackers. He will sometimes have a hot dog, chicken, or whatever I’m having that day. For snack we change it up from time to time. Sometimes it’s goldfish, cheerio’s, fruit, or as of recently cinnamon applesauce. For dinner he eats whatever we are having. He’s super easy when it comes to meal times thank goodness. He also drinks a lot of juice and water throughout the day. My favorite juice to buy for him is Mott’s for Tots. He has had apple and fruit punch with no issues. The only juice I have found that does not work for him is Cran-Apple and Apple & White Grape. He liked the taste, but he pooped all day long and they were giving him diaper rash, so we had to stop those.

This little guy got so spoiled over Christmas and his birthday that we are swimming in toys. He does play with a lot of different toys, and is now to the point where he actually plays. He still, however,  prefers to play with paper, explore around the house, and play with the tv remote. His favorite stuffed animal is still his Scentsy Lion and he cannot sleep or leave the house without it. We went to the zoo for Valentine’s Day, and his Lion disappeared unfortunately. I found one on eBay thank goodness, and that should be in sometime today.

He’s currently in size 12-18 month clothes, and I’m thinking by next month he will be making the switch to 18-24 months. He is not a fan of socks and shoes. He takes them off immediately. I have learned that it’s best to not even put them on him until we have reached our destination, and that when we do put on him shoes, they need laces and we have to tie them really tight with a double knot so that he can’t get them off.

He is finally walking! He took his first step at the beginning of last week, and has been progressing more and more every day. It’s so fun to watch him and cheer him on. He gets proud of himself when he walks for a good while. He is still a bit wobbly, but his balance is getting better every day.

I hope y’all enjoyed today’s post. I can’t believe Kason is already a year old. Like everyone says, they really do grow up SO fast!

xoxo,
Casey

VLOGMAS Day 3 - Mommy Minute: Kason's 11 Month Update

Hey ya'll!

Welcome to VLOGMAS Day 3! Today is all about Kason's 11 Month Update. I cannot believe we are less than a month away from his FIRST BIRTHDAY. It blows my mind that this year has gone by so fast, it makes me miss having a brand new little baby! (Baby fever in warming up...!)

Kason experienced his first Halloween and his first Thanksgiving since the last update. He was a lion for Halloween and was so cute! But he absolutely hated his costume, especially the headpiece. We trick or treated around the neighborhood with the whole family which was a lot of fun. Thanksgiving was really nice as well. Kason got his fair share of our two Thanksgiving feast's and pigged out, both lunch and dinner, on turkey, stuffing, and mac n cheese.

Kason is still not properly crawling, he still scoots around on his butt. He got a new nick name with some of my family members on Thanksgiving, "Scooter". I'd say it's pretty fitting. He's not standing or walking yet, which is the hot ticket question right now when we see people. I think I have a little bit of a late bloomer on my hands, but that's ok, he still has plenty of time to figure out the kinks and will do it when he's ready.

He JUST cut his top two teeth yesterday. What's crazy is that they weren't there when he woke up that morning, and literally sprouted over his afternoon nap, with two little white caps breaking the skin. Yes, BOTH top teeth are ascending at the same time, which explains the Beast Mode he's been in the last few weeks. I'm so happy that he will finally be getting a little bit of relief for Christmas and his Birthday. But that relief won't last long unfortunately, because he still has a lot more teeth to grow.

Kason has been obsessed with Ariel's dog bowls. Any time he gets the chance, he makes a bee line for them and gets food and water everywhere. I have to remember that when he's roaming to put the bowls up on the counter so he doesn't get into them. He's also been having a ball screaming at the top of his lungs, at the highest pitch possible. It's 100% a game to him, and currently his favorite one. He does it when we are out to eat, grocery shopping, and when we are at home. This kid has some serious pipes. He definitely is giving Mariah Carey a run for her money with his ear splitting shrieks!

Kason only say's one thing, "Gah". I've been practicing with him on getting hime to say other consonants like "Ma", "Da", and "Ba", but all he's interested in saying right now is "Gah". It's really cute too because he will repeat you, and will say it if you ask him to. I'm hoping this next month I will be able to get a "Ma" out of him. Maybe that will be his first birthday present to me! He also learned how to clap and say "yay" this month and it is the cutest thing ever. He doesn't actually say "yay", it's more like "aaahhhhh!". He knows when it's appropriate to clap, which is even funnier. If I say "good boy!", he starts clapping. It's absolutely adorable.

Over the next few weeks, we are gearing up for Kason's very first Christmas. We are super excited and can't wait to see his awe and wonder at everything. He's going to be so fun! A few days after Christmas we will be celebrating his First Birthday, which is absolutely insane! I'm so excited for his birthday party. His birthday falls on a Monday, so we are having his party on Saturday the 27th. We decided to do something at the house with our family and friends. I really just want to be comfortable, and be surrounded by loved ones for his special day. His party theme is going to be epic! I'm so excited for you to see what theme I chose and how I'm decorating!

xoxo,
Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 10 Month Update

We're in the double digits ya'll!! I cannot believe my baby is 10 Months Old. Time is flying by so fast.   I feel like there's not a whole lot to update on this month, but then again there is. I think this was more of a "maturing" month for him, and his little personality has really been shining.

The biggest thing that happened this month is that he started crawling. He still doesn't crawl the "proper" way, and I really don't know if he ever will. He still scoots around using his arms and his butt, and he has gotten fast with it. We had to get a couple baby gates because he was going into every room and was all over the place. He's also started pulling up too. He doesn't pull up to standing on his feet yet, but he does pull up and stand on his knees. I've stood him up while he was holding onto his V-Tech Sit to Stand and he stood there for a good minute. Getting his footing and his balance down is the only issue. I really think he's going to be pulling up completely, and standing, in the next couple of weeks.

He's been eating a lot more table food lately, and less baby food. He still just has his bottom two teeth, but has gotten so much better with textures and flavors. He's chewing a lot more, and is getting so much better at feeding himself. I gave him a waffle for breakfast this morning (no syrup), but on  most days he still has oatmeal. Lunch has been the biggest change so far. Normally he would have one to two packets of baby food, but lately he's been having a sandwich. He's had peanut butter, grilled cheese, and turkey and cheese. I just make him half of a sandwich, minus the crust, and tear it into little pieces, and he feeds himself. For dinner I have been giving him one packet of baby food, and then he has some of what the rest of us are eating. He's had chicken, beef, pasta, veggies, etc.  I haven't notice any kind of food allergies either which is good. 

His favorite toy, or thing to do, has been his wagon. My parent have a wagon, and one day while they were babysitting they took him on his first ride and he absolutely loved it. We finally got one of our own so he's been able to ride in it more. He absolutely loves it and it's the cutest thing. He's so observant, and loves to look at everything and to people watch. Not only does he love riding in his wagon, but he loves being outside. It calms him, and makes him so happy. He also likes to go shopping. He loves riding in shopping carts, and loves seeing all the people. I can't go anywhere without him hamming it up with at least two people. 

Now that he's crawling, I can tell he's getting a little more independent. When we are at home and he gets bored or fussy, he likes to change the scenery and play in his room by himself. Normally he's in the living room with me, but lately he's been liking going to his room for 30 minutes or so and playing in there. My grandmother gave me this little three-tier shelf with colored buckets for my baby shower, so that's what I keep his toys in in his room. I set it up in his closet so when he goes to play, I prop open his closet doors and he pulls everything out. I love how I have that set up because when he's not in there playing, I put all the toys back in the buckets and shut the doors, so the toys are out of sight and his room stays clean and organized. He's also been getting a lot more vocal, but still isn't saying any words, or sounds, except for "Ga". I practice with him every day with "Ba", "Ma", and "Da" but he just laughs and says "Ga". He still is screaming, and making other noises, but isn't pronouncing anything else just yet.

I can't believe he's already 10 months old and that his first birthday is right around the corner. Where has this year gone?? It's seriously so crazy to think that almost a year ago he was born. It makes me sad to think about it, but at the same time I'm excited because he's starting to do more. It's really fun to watch him grow, and to see him have new experiences. He is full of personality already, and is very particular and strong-willed. Both Kevin and I are the same way, so we are definitely going to have our hands full with Kason!

I hope ya'll enjoyed this months update. Kason will be celebrating his first Halloween this Friday, so I will definitely have a blog post up of both him and Lexi in their costumes. We are going to hang around and go trick or treating with our families so it should be fun. I'm thinking of vlogging that evening, but I'm not 100% sure yet. Whatever I decide to do, I will definitely let you know here, and on Twitter & Instagram @caferg_xoxo. 

I hope ya'll have a great rest of the week and a Happy Halloween! 

xoxo,

Casey

Mommy Minute: Kason's 9 Month Update

Hey ya'll!!

Kason is 9 MONTHS OLD! I can't even believe how fast his first year is going by. We went to the doctor today for his 9 Month Well Check and I have a big boy on my hands. He weighs 21 lbs. 3 oz. (75%), is 29.5 inches long (90%), and has a head circumference of 18.9 inches (99%).

I'm not going to lie, this month was a rough one! I love my boy more than anything, but he sure has put me through the ringer these past few weeks. He's been super fussy, all day every day. I talked to the doctor, and we've summed it up to two things. One, he's still teething. He has his two bottom teeth, and is working on the top teeth. His two bottom teeth came in pretty much a week or two apart so I have a feeling both of his top teeth are trying to come in at the same time. The second reason, I think this is the main reason, is that he gets really frustrated with himself. He hasn't started crawling yet, but he wants to SO BAD! He has been trying really hard, but he just hasn't gotten the hang of it yet. He can roll over both ways, and can move from a sitting position onto his belly, but he can't get up from that belly position which results in a full blow melt down. He's reaching for everything, and is constantly throwing every toy in sight, which make him mad when he can't reach for them and get them back on his own. At this point, I will be throwing a full blown celebration the day he learns to crawl, because I think that will solve a lot of his fussy problems.

He's been really into exploring what his voice can do. He's been making a lot more sounds, and he loves to experiment. Right now, his favorite sound to make is a high pitched scream. He screams so loud! And he doesn't discriminate where or when these screams occur. He will do it at 7am when he decides he doesn't want to sleep in, he will do it in the car, he will even do it in the check out line at Target in the middle of the day when there's only a handful of people around so that they all turn and stare at the same time. He likes to have squealing matches too. We've started the "Battle of the Squeals". He does it, I copy him, he does it back, and thinks it's the funniest thing ever.

He also really, really loves iPhone's & iPad's. Pretty much anything that lights up and makes noise he believes is fair game. He's like a mosquito to a bug zapper. He could be having a full blown mental breakdown until you pull out an iPhone. He immediately shuts up, his eyes get really big, and his mouth makes an "O" shape all while reaching as far as he can with both hands. This boy is something else. It's absolutely hilarious, but can get annoying when we are sitting on the couch and I'm trying to beat a level of Pet Rescue, and he's messing me up by reaching over me to get to the phone and falling into my lap.

His latest toy has been his V-Tech Sit to Stand and he really enjoys it. It has a ton of buttons that he can press that light up and make a ton of different sounds and noises. It can lay flat and sit next to him on the floor, or it can stand up on wheels, which is how we set it up. It will be good for when he starts to walk because he can hold the handle and push it. His favorite thing about it is the little purple telephone that detaches from it. Every time I turn the toy on, the first thing he does is take the phone off. I will put it back on and as soon as my hand moves away he's taking it off again.

He's definitely in the "Separation Anxiety" faze. He freaks out when I leave the room. Screams, kicks, cries, the whole nine yards. I will poke my head from around the corner to let him know I'm still there, or I will talk to him from the other room to let him know I'm close by, and he starts to laugh. But once I think he's ok, I turn back to leave again and the crying ensues.  He doesn't do it every single time I leave the room, but it is a daily occurrence. I know this is just a faze that he will soon grow out of. Again, I will be happy when he can crawl, because if he wants to see me he can just follow me from room to room.

He learned how to drink from a straw this month and I was super excited about it. If you've been keeping up with my Mommy Minute's then you know that I was trying to find a sippy cup that worked for him. He did finally learn how to drink from a regular sippy cup, and shortly after figured out how to use a straw. I really prefer the cups with a straw because they are much easier for him to drink from while sitting up. I mix his cup with half water, half apple juice, and he sips on that through out the day. I also introduced Mesh Feeder's to him at the beginning of the month and we have had a lot of success with them. He's getting a lot of practice with those on how to feed himself, and I've already seen improvements in his ability to feed himself in the last couple of weeks. He doesn't have the "pincer grasp" down quite yet, but he is able to pick things up with his hand and bring his hand to his mouth. He has about a 50% success rate of actually getting the food into his mouth, but it's getting a lot better! Next week I will be doing another update on his Daily Schedule and his eating routine, so I will talk more about that then.

Even though we had a tough month, it was still a good one. Little man is growing like a weed and is learning and doing new things every day. I can't believe it's almost time for me to plan his First Birthday Party. I already have some ideas and am getting pretty excited about it. Poor guy's birthday is four days after Christmas. After I had him I told Kevin that I wondered if it was going to be a bummer for him to have his birthday so close to Christmas. It may not be that big of a deal because he won't ever know any different. If any of you have kid's with birthday's close to Christmas, I'd love to know how it is for you!

If you have any Mommy Minute discussion suggestions, please let me know in the comments below.

xoxo,
Casey 

Mommy Minute: Kason's 7 Month Update

Hey ya'll!!

Today my baby is seven months old! I'm gonna go over what a normal day is like for him, what he enjoys, and how his temperament has been this last month.

I have seen a huge change in him this last month. He had been really fussy for a while, and I was convinced it was teething because he was drooling up a storm and chewing on everything. At his six month check up the doctor told me to go ahead and introduce more solids into his diet. Oh my gosh what a difference that has made! He literally has turned into a completely different baby. I felt kind of bad, that this whole time I thought he was crying because he was teething, but really all he needed was more solids to keep him full. He was already getting 30 oz of formula a day, so I wasn't able to give him any more than that, and he was getting two to three solid servings to accompany the formula. He now has six solid servings a day, and is taking in less formula, about 20-22 oz a day. I have moved him to Level 2 solids and he's been loving it. Two of those six servings were oatmeal, but I was getting the feeling that the oatmeal was starting to be too heavy for him so I changed that about a week and a half ago to either a veggie or a fruit, and it's worked out great.

Another change this month is his reflux. He has finally grown out of it and has been completely off his medicine for about three weeks now! I am so happy that he is finally over that. If any of you have had a baby with reflux, or have a baby with it, then I know you understand what it's like. The reflux would flare up sometimes and really bother him. I'm talking crying all day kind of bother, wanna pull your hair out kind of bother. Some days were better than others, and some days were just awful. I felt so bad about him having to take the medicine too, because it did not taste good at all. Plus, I didn't really like the fact that my baby had to take all that medicine in the first place. I had started weening him of the medicine before his six month checkup, because I could tell that it had been getting better. After getting the okay from his doctor, I stopped giving it to him completely after a week and had no issues what-so-ever.

Kason loves the water! He's been a big fan of bath time lately. Since he sits up good now, I've been bathing him in the kitchen sink. I fill the bubble bath up to his belly button, put his rubber ducks in there with him, and he has a blast. He grabs at the ducks, flips them over, and splashes the whole time. He also really loves being in the pool. I have a float that he sits in and his legs go through. He will kick his legs and swim himself all over the pool. It's seriously the cutest thing ever! Even when he's being held he kicks his legs, it's really cool to watch him. I like that he loves the water and isn't scared. I'm hoping that doesn't change as he gets older.

He still loves watching TV in his bouncer, and sitting in his Big Boy Chair (a red bean bag). He's been a lot more independent lately and wanting to just sit up on his own on the floor. As far as tummy time goes, he still could do without it. For some reason, he has zero interest in being on his tummy. He can hold himself up fine, sits up good, and can pretty much stand up with little support. But when it comes to rolling over, and scooting around on his belly, forget about it. I keep joking that he may walk before he ever crawls because he could care less about being on his belly!

A few toys he's really been loving lately are these silicone and plastic keys, and his Scentsy Lion. The keys have a yellow plastic ring with two big plastic and silicone keys on it. He loves to chew on them and wave them around. His Scentsy Lion smells so good! He's been grabbing for him a lot lately at bed time, and has been holding him while he sits in his red chair. The lion has been his TV buddy lately. He's also still obsessed with Socks the Fox his BlaBla Doll, and still won't sleep without his Bedtime Buddies (stuffed animals he sleeps with). I don't mind though, I think it's so funny and just the cutest how much he likes his stuffed animals. I'm sure doctors and some mom's out there would freak out about the fact that I let him sleep with his toys, but he's been doing it since he started sleeping in his own bed and I have no intentions of taking them away now. Even when he stays overnight with my mom or Kevin's mom, I pack his Bedtime Buddies. Socks the Fox goes everywhere with us, but if we are going somewhere overnight, the whole Bedtime Buddies crew comes too.

I think he has been going through a major growth spurt this past month because he has been sleeping a ton. He has always been a good sleeper, and was sleeping through the night at two months old. I've been putting him to bed at 8:00pm every night, and he will sleep until 8:00am the next morning, and sometimes even later. He also takes about three naps during the day. He takes a morning nap about 10:00 or 10:30 and will sleep anywhere from an hour and a half to two and a half hours. He's ready for his afternoon nap around 2:00 or 2:30 everyday. He will sleep about two to three hours and will be ready to get up again. Sometimes he will even want to take an evening nap, if so its usually for about 45 minutes to an hour around 6:00pm. His naps are all him too, I don't just automatically put him down, he lets me know when he's tired. Ever since we upped his solids he hardly fusses, and only does when he's tired or is bored. He starts to fuss like clockwork around the same time everyday, and as soon as I lay him in bed, he rolls over and grabs for one of his Buddies and is asleep in five minutes.

I hope you enjoyed this check up! I will give another update on Kason and his routine next month. Also, I'm needing to get him a bigger carseat. Let me know in the comments below if you have any recommendations on brands or styles, and what kind you have for your little one.


xoxo,
Casey