Cole and Casey

In what seems like a time-warp, a whole year has passed since our Casey was born! Mama, Daddy and big brother are so proud of Casey and we just couldn't imagine our family without him! We are thrilled to be wishing him a happy FIRST BIRTHDAY today!

Casey, as always, is on the go. Not yet vertical on his own however. Crawling and cruising are old staples and give him a good push-cart to hold onto and he'll move forward upright. He'll walk on his own time. Knowing Casey it will probably happen casually, like it's no biggie, but he'll be smiles from ear to ear.



Sometime around Christmas, Casey found a decent appetite. He could really take it or leave it for a while there. Not to say that he is clearing a path at the buffet tables now, but he has definitely been eating better these past several weeks. Some favorites include Cheerios, pizza, pasta and avocado. He loves to hold the spoon although it hasn't assisted food into the mouth yet. It's all hands for meal times and he does quite well. His formula still is served up in a bottle, but the cup (a real one... no sippy cups here) has been introduced and very much accepted.

Just in time for the big O-N-E, Casey's top teeth are starting to peek through. We can see the faint little white mark up top and getting all the signs that some action is taking place. Cutting new teeth is a difficult and painful business and there is no mistaking when it hurts. There have been a few tender days to be sure, but hopefully he'll see some relief for his big day. For now he's just got the pair of little cute pearly whites on the bottom and soon he'll have some upstairs chompers to complement the set.

Casey is very vocal and can often be heard saying "Mama" and always waves and says "Hi"! He also seems to have an understanding of some basic sign language that his teachers at school along with Mama, Daddy and Cole have been using to help ease the language barrier. He seems to recognize when we make the sign (i.e. gets ready for milk when we tell him that milk is on the way). He doesn’t sign back too often yet unless he really wants to drive a point home. Casey has signed "milk" when very thirsty or "all done" like when he last got a shot at the doctor's office. We continue to sign such things as "all done", "diaper change", "bottle", "more", etc. Although, most times he gets his point across with or without sign language.

Another big milestone this week is how Casey naps at school. Prior to this week he was napping in a crib but now that he is a big boy, Casey naps on a mat a school. It is definitely a new part of the routine and on day one of this practice it took his teacher a while to get him to settle down and stay on his mat, but once it happened, he took a good 2 hour snooze.

We can't help but mention what an amazing brother Cole continues to be to Casey. We couldn't have asked for more in a big brother! Casey certainly agrees as Cole just makes him happy like no one else can. When you hear Casey belly-laughing, you can be sure Cole is nearby!

This next year will hold just as much joy as Casey continues to grow, explore and make us so happy! Here is a look back at the past 365 days.


And another look at the past year


And just for good measure... the side by side shot with big brother Cole at 1 year as well.



Much more to come to the new http://www.coleandcasey.com/


As you may have noticed some of the previous posts are no longer showing up on the main page here. To view older posts click on the archive links to the right. They are broken down by month.
Enjoy your day and as always, feel free to drop us a line or leave a comment below (where is says "comment"... who'd a thunk it)