It's been a long time...

This is pathetic...and thank you, Ms. Bonnie for pointing that out. She is the blog police. We have been so busy since the summer ended that I have really fallen down on my job...AND I HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE. It is all old news to much of you. I've been emailing more lately since I have fallen down on the blogging. I will try to update you on everything without having to write a novel...

Kason and I spent a week in LR at the end of August. I had to be at the Clinton Library for work so Kason's Big John came and hung out with him. They spent thier days watching the ducks at the Peabody and strolling downtown and by the river. Big John became an expert babysitter and knows what Kason needs better than I do. They spent so much time with the ducks that Big John scored Kason a job as the "Honorary Duck Master." He got to escort (chase) the ducks down the red carpet and back to their home for the evening. He even got to watch the breeder clip thier wings. He got a really cool certificate and a rubber duck for doing such a great job. (He actually came home with a whole family of ducks by the time he recieved gifts from the valets, from Big John, and everyone else he met!)

We got to see lots of old friends from LR while we were there. We had a special night out to dinner at the new minor league park with Karl's UALR buddies. Once again, Kason got special treatment by Mr. Valentine who gave him a bib and a ball.

From there we went to Magnolia for the weekend. Jeremy and Lindsey had three showers. It was great to see all of our friends and family. Kason had tons of fun, but mostly clung to his buddy, Big John. Riding in the little red car and the basket of the bicycles at Wes Weiser Gym was great fun, too. Uncle Jonathan taught him to drink out of the water fountain.

We came home from Arkansas just in time to turn 1 year old. That night we had a nice family dinner and birthday cake! Cleaning up after dinner took longer than making the cake and dinner and eating it all!!! Kason got a red wagon for his birthday and it is definitely his most favorite thing in the world.

Kason got his first haircut later that week. He was a champ and so was mom...(I only shed a few tears.)

We had Kason's birthday party on Sept. 7th. He had a backyard beach bash with 7 of his friends and thier families. We served BBQ and all the fixins, along with little kid food. The kids swam in Kason's kiddie pools, played in the sprinklers, and took wagon rides. The highlight was probably when Daddy put the slide to the playset in the pool. It was a hit!

Karl's year has gotten off to a good start. He has a very young team, but he is very happy with the new players and they seem very eager and willing to learn. They played a fall game against a team from Canada. They are also in the middle of the Orange and Blue World Series right now so we are already spending a good amount of time at the ballpark. I thought this was a cute picture of he and Coach O'Connor's son, Dillon. I assume this is how it will always be - the big boy telling the little boy how it is done...

Jeremy and Lindsey got married on Oct. 4th. We had a great trip to Monroe for that and really enjoyed our time with our family and hers. Here are a couple of pictures from that. (However if you would like to see the photographers pics go to http://www.mdawsonphoto.com/, click on proofing, and then Gosdin-Hendricks wedding. You can log in with your own email.) Cantley and Kason had fun. She has found that feeding him is the way to his heart. We can thank Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Natalie for teaching him to jump on the bed...now an unending battle at our house!

I am sure that I have left many other things out, but if I think of anything significant, I will make sure and post it.

In other news, I realize that although most of you have either heard or seen, I have left the news of our new addition off of the blog. Here is our little boy who is set to arrive on February 8th (or sooner). We may have a thumb sucker this time...I guess that could be better than the pacifier and sunglasses.

Also, Kason will move to a new daycare on Monday. We are excited about the move, but very sad to leave his current school. They have been wonderful to him and we really couldn't have had a better experience. I hope to have more pictures to post of his last day at school today. Here are his "school" pictures for this year. He was 13 months old.

This is all I have time for now!!!

More of the beach...

Here are a few more pictures from the beach. Here are a couple of Kason's continuous sprint for the water and some family photos that we took.

Oh and of course, the picture of Kason in the washing machine. If only we could have just used this method to get all of the sand out of his pants!!

At the beach...

We have been in the Outer Banks since last Saturday. We have been having a really good time and are sad to have to go home tomorrow. Our friends, the Calvi's, met us here but had to go home on Tuesday. We had so much fun with them and have sure missed them since they left. Here is a picture of "the boys." This was taken at dinner the first night we were here.

Kason has been relaxing just like the rest of us. He seems pretty comfortable with the swing on the back porch.

We have taken lots of walks and spent a lot of time on the beach and in the pool.

Some of us went jet skiing on Tuesday and had a blast. Here are a few pictures from that...

Kason loves the beach. He really enjoyed the water the first day. He even nearly lost his pants like we all do in the waves.

On Monday (and every day since), he spent a lot of time in the sand. He LOVED that. Luckily, he figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't worth eating.

Yesterday, he decided that the water was where he wanted to be, but it was so rough, we couldn't take him out.

We spent 45 minutes letting him crawl to the water, get splashed in the face, then taking him back up to our chairs. Off he would go again. I will have pictures of this later. I haven't downloaded them yet.

Nothing but trouble...

I have been having a hard time believing that Kason is almost a year old - until the past couple of weeks!! He has really been getting around and getting in lots of trouble. Aside from that, he had a great visit with Nanna and Big John and has learned several new tricks. Here is the latest on our little monkey...


Nanna and Big John spent a week in Philadelphia and then came to see us for 4 days...yes, there is something wrong with that. Kason had tons of fun. Nanna let him have anything he wanted and Big John played with him non-stop. They were hilarious chasing each other around the house, showing thier muscles, throwing the ball. They even tried to take him home in thier suitcase. He seemed to be fine with that.














Kason usually wakes up from his nap and plays in his bed for a while. I love to peek through the door and watch him. One day I went and got Mom and we took a few pictures of him playing through the crack in the door. He was having a ball with his pacifiers...
However, upon closer inspection, this is what we found...(sorry for those of you with a weak stomach)...

Unfortunately, whatever caused this was also the beginning to a week long case of diarrhea. Last week was a long week.

Kason's latest trick - or his latest CUTE one - is showing his muscles. Here is a short video...

Check out Kason's Mickey Mouse ears that Uncle Jonathan and Aunt Natalie brought him back from Disney World! Growing room and all!

As I mentioned earlier, Kason has been getting into a lot of trouble with his new tricks. He has learned to pull up to his feet anywhere and everywhere with very little effort. With this new talent, he has decided that he likes to help around the house, but is not helpful at all. Here he is...

Taking the kitchen towels OUT of the drawer and UNfolding them rather than folding them and putting them away.

Emptying the trash in the office into the FLOOR rather than a trash bag.

and taking the wet clothes OUT of the dryer as I am trying to put them IN.

Here he is showing off his new skills...luckily, he hasn't figured out that he can go up the stairs yet.

That is pretty much all we have for now. We head to the beach for vacation on Friday. We can hardly wait!! I am sure that I will have lots of exciting stories and pictures from our trip...stay tuned.