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.

Our latest adventures...

A couple of weeks ago we went to Richmond to get our car from the airport (long story). We decided to make a day of it and go to Maymont and to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Maymont is a really great park that is on this estate in the middle of Richmond. They have a beautiful mansion, lots of gardens, a visitor center with an aquarium, and lots of animals. We didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked because it was very hot, which made someone (really all three of us) very cranky. Kason did like the aquarium a lot. We aren't really sure if he liked the fish and turtles or if he was just laughing at his reflection in the glass. He petted the goats and had a nice chat with the bull. If you want to see what Maymont is all about, visit http://www.maymont.org/

This past weekend, we went to a cookout. It was hosted by my friend, Chi, who just moved into a new house and had everyone over to celebrate. Chi and I used to work together. We were also pregnant at the same time and actually had the boys just a couple of hours apart - at the same hospital. Kason and Solomon don't seem to mind sharing birthdays OR ANYTHING ELSE. They shared their dinner. I am not sure who got more - Kason, Solomon, or the floor! It will be fun for the two of them to grow up knowing they were born just hours apart from each other and probably began their lives in the nursery together. I know Charlie Jones and I always thought it was pretty cool - unless it was our birthday and we had to share the spotlight.

Kason got a very cool surprise this week. The Burton's decided that they would like to donate the kids old playset to him. Thier youngest is 3 now and now they are all too big for it. It was so nice of Mr. Jeff, Luke, and Owen to bring it over. I was afraid that Owen might have a hard time parting with it, but the playset was completely forgotten after he got to "hold that baby." "That baby" didn't know what to think of him! As you can see, Owen isn't very big (which means tiny considering Kason looks this big next to him). We laughed so hard because Kason was taking a nap when they got there. I thought I heard him stirring and went in his room to check on him. I found Owen (he had snuck up the front stairs) sitting in his floor playing with the toys and Kason just sitting in his bed thrilled to have woken up to his very own playmate in his bedroom!

We went out yesterday and let him check out the new toy. We were surprised that he was able to enjoy it as much as he did. He loves it. Now he sits at the back door and bangs on the door while he looks out at it.

He has the slide all figured out. Here is a video of him showing his skills. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to rotate the picture yet. (Let me know if you figure it out, Ashley!) For now, you can just lean sideways:)

We are awaiting the arrival of Nanna and Big John now. They should get here tomorrow evening. I am sure there will be more pictures to come.

A busy but fun week...

Kason and I have been very busy for the past week. We have lots of things to tell you about and pictures to share.

4th of July Parade at Scottsville -

Scottsville is a little tiny town on the James River that is about 20 miles south of our house. Every year I hear about the 4th of July parade down there, but really haven't seen any need to check it out. Well, this year since Karl was gone, Kason and I decided to join our friends Kate and Molly at the parade. We were so glad that we went and have decided that we just might have to go every year. It was the LONGEST parade I have ever been to. It lasted an hour and 15 minutes!! Granted, every fire truck, beauty queen, and tractor in the 5 surrounding counties was in the parade. The kids loved it. I have never seen so much candy throwing in my life. Kate and I reverted back to our childhood and chased candy like we were 7 years old. Actually, we did just take the rejects from the kids around us. (What has this world come to when kids PICK out the candy they like at a parade??? I thought the goal was to get the most you could!) Molly and Kason did love watching the parade. The noisy firetrucks didn't phase them. Kason was very patriotic as he waved his American flag.

Grocery Shopping...

After the parade, we took our bi-weekly trip to Waynesboro to buy groceries. For those of you that don't know, I hate shopping for groceries in Charlottesville. It is crowded, the traffic is crazy, and it is very expensive. Ok, ok, and going to Waynesboro grocery shopping is my secret excuse to stop at the Sonic (before and after Walmart). Kason loves this trip, too. He talks to everyone in Walmart and has a major meltdown as he watches me put things he likes in the cart. He eventually gets over it UNTIL we check out. At this point we have a huge fight as he turns around in the cart and tries to pull the plastic shopping bags through the holes in the cart into his seat. I tell him no and this eventually ends with his hand stuck between the wires of the cart. (I am considering going green and getting reusable bags...not to conserve but to eliminate this argument.) Anyway, this trip ended a little differently than our previous trips. He got his fat little legs stuck in the back of the seat and his fat little arm stuck in the front of the seat. This picture was taken after I noticed his leg, but before he got his arm stuck. I seriously thought we were going to have to call the fire department, but after getting finding the vegetable oil in the groceries, I was able to get it out....just kidding. I did eventually get it out...

Saturday night treat...

If I haven't mentioned it before, my very good childhood friend Jill Courson moved to Harrisonburg (about an hour away) a year ago. I am so blessed to have such a dear friend so close - of course, she is too:) We really have a lot of fun. She comes over to visit us a lot. I have come to learn that there is nothing like a piece of home. (Poor Karl gets really sick of our Magnolia talk and dancing tales.) ANYWAY, Jill's parents came to visit her last week. I think I was just as excited as she was. I love to have company - especially the hometown folk!! It was so great to catch up with them. Jill's mom, Diana, is the early childhood guru and had lots of great info for me about raising my fat little munchkin. I worked for Jill's dad, J, when I was in college, so we had lots of reminiscing to do. I had this brilliant idea to cook some chicken and veggies on the grill, but I didn't plan for the monsoon that came through that night! It poured the entire time. It was a mess and I brought puddles back in the house with me after each trip outside. Luckily, the food was good. Kason had tons of fun and showed out, as usual. I was lucky enough to have my guests stay overnight and we were sad to see them go the next morning. Kason even fussed when they went out the door. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. I will have to do better next time.

The next round of house guests...

For weeks we have been awaiting the arrival of Aunt Lisa (and Uncle Cliff and Emily and Rachel.) So maybe it appears that I don't love the rest of the family, but that isn't the case. Most of you know that I am very close to my Aunt Lisa and have really been looking forward to seeing her AND HER FAMILY:) (It's ok, girls. Your picture made the blog and your Mom's didn't.) It was GREAT having them here. Karl has been away recruiting for a while now and having free nannies around was fabulous. It was so cool to watch Kason warm up to them throughout the week and come to realize that they "belonged" here. He eventually quit fussing for me everytime I walked by and was just as happy with one of them as he was with me.

We had a big week. They arrived on Sunday night. I put Uncle Cliff to work grilling burgers. Of course it didn't rain on Sunday night (until after dinner). On Monday, they went to Monticello and Ash Lawn and I gave them a tour of the University grounds after work. On Tuesday, we went to Washington, DC and were "typical tourists" (right, Emily and Rachel??)

We began our adventure at Arlington National Cemetary. This was my first time there and it was extremely impressive. We got to see JFK's grave and many others. We visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and saw the changing of the guard. It was an experience everyone should have. It is very solemn and they request silence. I figured we were close to getting thrown out after SOMEONE rolled a water bottle down the steps TWICE and sang E-I-E-I (more on this later)very loudly for the entire last 5 minutes.

From there we went downtown and had some lunch - I will spare you the details - and then made our trek to all of the monuments. We started at the Washington Monument and proceeded to the World War II memorials, the Vietnam Vets Wall, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and everything between. We drank a lot of water and still almost all passed out. It was very hot, but the shady parts of the walk were nice. We got back to the car around 5:00. I think that we all enjoyed sitting in the grass for the diaper change more than we should have. We really didn't think we would be able to get up! We were tired.

Next, we set out for the new Nationals Park. What a neat place! The field is beautiful. The Nats played the Arizona Diamondbacks. This was particularly special because one of Karl's former players, Mark Reynolds, is the 3rd baseman for the Diamondbacks. Its always great to get to see these guys play in the big league. As I have mentioned before, Ryan Zimmerman, another of Karl's former players is a 3rd baseman for the Nationals. Unfortunately, he is on the DL and we didn't get to see him this time. Kason did his usual ballgame routine. He was very excited to be there and cheered hard through the first couple of innings then he sacked out in Uncle Cliff's lap. That was after he spit sweet potatoes all over me and Emily and the lady in front of us. She didn't notice, and we didn't tell her that she had orange splatter all over the back of her shirt:)

We didn't get home until 12:30 a.m., so none of us moved very fast on Wednesday morning. Kason didn't wake up until 9:30! Thursday they went to Montpelier and took a drive on Skyline Drive. We all met at the Downtown Mall for dinner.

The girls and I stayed up late talking when we got back. It was so nice to get to spend that time with them. I am so proud of all they have become. They aren't little girls any more! They are so mature and smart. It just blows my mind that Emily is in college and Rachel will graduate in just two years. All of the grandKIDS will be grandADULTS - and I do mean GRAND.

Anyway, they pulled out of here around 7:30 this morning. We were sad to see them go. I am sure they are looking forward to the rest of their trip and getting home (and being able to sleep past 6:3o a.m. without getting woken up by E-I-E-I). And the story on that is that Kason sings Old McDonald all the time - nonstop, but he doesn't say the O. The Smith family worked very hard to get him to add the O and were unsuccessful. I have promised them that I will call as soon as he decides to tag it on! Today they will stop to see our Aunt Eloise (Grandpa's sister) just outside of Nashville. They are hoping that Jeremy will make it down there to meet them. They are looking forward to meeting Lindsey. (Smith's, if you would like to tell anyone about your vacation, just direct them to the blog since I have given such an inclusive description:))

Other odds and ends...

Here are a few more happenings of the week. I forgot to mention

that we grilled out and went swimming at Caitlin and Amelia's on Saturday. Kason thought Amelia's float was pretty cool. He is also facinated with drinking out of cup. Luckily, this one had a hole in the bottom so he didn't get to drink anything!

He is a big fan of mango. This mango breakfast turned into a mango bath. He is getting really good at ruining clothes!

That is all for now, but I have a feeling there is more to come. Have a good weekend, everyone!

Ladies Man

Kason and I met up with our friends Laurie and Carter on the Downtown Mall this afternoon. As we were leaving, the boys got a little fussy. Laurie gave Carter a teething biscuit and offered one to Kason. She warned me that they were messy (precisely the reason that he has never had one). I decided he could have it since we were on our way home. This is what I found when I went to get him out of the car - and the picture is misleading. It was much worse. To top it all off, he was wearing his "Ladies Man" t-shirt that Mercedes gave him. He is going to have a hard time catching a lady like this! I decided it was a great afternoon for a naked swim in his little pool. He ended up getting his bath there, too:) The carseat is next in line for a bath!

a party, the park, and playing

Kason had a really fun time at Hayden's birthday party on Saturday. He got to play with his friends Hayden, Amelia, and Will. They all had a great time checking out all of Hayden's new toys. Ms. Barbara gave him a balloon and I think it might have been his most favorite thing ever. He had a major meltdown on the way home because I had to take it from him to get him in his carseat. I gave it back to him when we got home and he played with it forever. I finally had to take it away from him again so he could get a nap. Needless to say, he didn't go to bed happy. Call me mean, but the balloon disappeared during naptime!

On Sunday we went to Greenleaf Park. Karl met us there after baseball camp. Before he got there, Kason got to swing and slide. He liked watching all of the other kids. We got our picnic all set up and Kason started eating his lunch of turkey and cheese (his favorite). He looked up and saw his Daddy coming and he took off. After lunch we played in the spray park, but it was very cold so that didn't last long.

Tonight after Kason got his bath and was ready for bed we needed to install some plug covers behind his crib. (Now that we have lowered his crib, the plugs are where he can reach them.) I put him in the floor while Karl was working and I was getting his bottle ready. He knows his bedtime routine. When I walked back in the room, he was going through his books deciding which ones HE was going to read!

We are looking forward to a busy weekend. On Friday we are going to a 4th of July parade with our friends Molly and Kate. Saturday we are going swimming with some other friends and then having company for dinner. On Sunday, Lisa, Cliff, Emily, and Rachel get here! I wonder if Emily and Rachel will make the blog????