Belated Birthday Celebration (or, 13 Month Birthday Celebration)

We were finally able to celebrate Kellan's birthday with Daddy's side of the family on July 4th at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  It also happened to be the day Kellan turned 13 months old... but we'll still call it his 1 year birthday party (just don't tell Kellan). ;-)

The presents were piled HIGH!

Check out the ultra-cool, handpainted table and chairs that Aunt Justyn and Uncle Ian gave Kellan! (a big "K" because we call him K-Man)

The party hat that actually stayed on!  Also, Kellan got his first "people" (a little king, queen, girl, and cat) which he proceeded to cover in saliva... perhaps marking them as his own

(See? The hat's still there!)
Kellan's first taste of chocolate...

He didn't get much of the chocolate cupcake in his mouth, but we think he liked it anyway

How do you make a chocolate mess more fun?  Why naturally, add a hot pink balloon!

Kellan really enjoyed the balloons - they entertained him for hours!

It had been a long time since Kellan had seen Grandma and Grandpa.  So, he spent some one-on-one time with both.

Grandpa is so wise...

...and Grandma is so smart!

Kellan's First Wedding

A couple weeks ago, our little family took a road trip to Eastern Washington to attend (stay with me here) Mommy's Half-Sister's Son's wedding.  It was the first time Kellan and Daddy got to meet Mommy's four half-sisters (and the first time Mommy got to meet two of the four).

Kellan with his (Half-)Aunties - Jeanne (L) and Michelle (R)

Jeanne has a granddaughter a year older than Kellan, so she knows how to show a toddler a good time

Kellan loved making his way around and under the chairs

You probably noticed the puncture wound on the right side of Kellan's head.  Just before we left for the wedding, Kellan fell into the corner of the coffee table in our hotel room.  Besides the mark it left on his forehead, it also left a bruise on his right cheek.  Poor guy!  But, as they say, bumps and bruises are all part of learning how to walk.  Hopefully, Kellan won't get many more of the really painful variety before mastering his step-taking technique.

Like a Fish out of Water... in the Water

Poor Kellan.  We haven't taken him swimming since we were in Hawaii last November.  So, we suppose it shouldn't have been any surprise that Kellan might be afraid of the water when we took him into the pool at our hotel 2 weeks ago.

We started off so well - maybe Kellan thought he was going to get to watch us play in the pool?

Then, things turned ugly... it was clear Kellan was NOT okay with the change of events

Eventually, we tried bringing rubber ducky (a favorite bath toy) into the pool with Kellan, which seemed to help a little bit

By the end of the swimming excursion, Kellan felt confident enough to stand by himself at the side of the kiddie pool (with rubber duck in hand, of course)

Hey, there's that Kellan grin!

Crazy Hair

Kellan's hair is getting longer and curlier.  We're even starting to contemplate taking him to get his first haircut one of these days soon.  In the meantime though, Daddy likes to dry Kellan's hair after a bath and make it look crazy:

By the way, check out the way he palms that football!  Way to go, Kellan!

"My Name Is Farmer Ted - Listen To My Banjo!"

Our close friends, the Venables, were kind enough to pass down their boys' clothing and toys to Kellan for his use.  It's been fun rediscovering some of these toys, now that Kellan is old enough to use them.  One of his favorites is a sort of fridge game in the shape of a barn where he's supposed to match front and back halves of an animal together (cow, pig, horse, etc).  He hasn't quite grasped the matching concept, but he does love to push the buttons, especially the top one of a frog with a banjo.  When he does so, a voice chimes "Hi! My name is Farmer Ted! Listen to my banjo!" - then it launches into some sort of song played, of course, by a banjo.

He also loves to pull the barn off the fridge and carry it with him as he runs around his "activity station"

Occasionally he does attempt to place an animal half into the barn, which also elicits a sound (in the picture below, the voice would say "purple cow!" followed by a "moo!") 

A Milk-a-wha?

We wouldn't call Kellan a milkaholic, but he did seem to enjoy his first foray into the wonderful world of moo juice.

Birthday Celebration with Aunt Bun

After we had to cancel Kellan's birthday plans twice due to illnesses, we weren't sure if he'd ever get the chance to open his one-year-old gifts from family before he was too old for them.  But thankfully, Aunt Bun came by to fill the celebration gap.

Here's Kellan in his special "My 1st Birthday" bib from Aunt Bun (there was a hat, too, but it didn't stay on Kellan's head long enough to get a picture)

Oooh!  Daddy had one of these when he was little.  Wooden dowels that you can hit with a wooden hammer.  Kellan loves his tools, you know!

Kellan's first puzzle!  Right now he just likes to chew on the knobs and/or throw the pieces as far as he can (he's in the "throwing stage"), but we're sure he'll catch on eventually.

Aunt Bun also got Kellan his own special bowl and spoon, a personalized bib with his name on it (from Europe!), and a full-body bib that covers his entire torso, arms and all.  We're excited to use that one eventually, but right now it's a bit too big.

Thanks for all the gifts, Aunt Bun!