Jay figured out how to stand up all by himself on the 24th. 

I just looked over and there he was, pretty proud of himself too I might add. He has taken a few un-supported steps from object to object, but nothing quite yet. He is the fastest crawler on the planet, so I can see why he wouldn't want to walk!

He dropped one nap and has been down to just 1 nap a day for about a week. When he's getting sleepy he just plops down on the ground, it's pretty cute.

I had to get a picture of his favorite thing to do- sneak into the pantry. And it's always for the same thing every time- raisins :)

 Kevin build this shed in our backyard, although I say it's a shop lol. Anyway he has been shingling it, which proved to be pretty fun for Scott and Hailey on Saturday!

I love how this John Deere has just been passed down to each kid! Hailey came up with a seatbelt solution so that Jay could ride in his own seat, and Ari was loving riding him around the yard. (Of course I stayed right next to them) He just stood there hanging onto his little handle bouncing and laughing and having a great time.

Chicago!

Kevin had a work trip in Chicago, and I was able to go with him! 

We flew his mom from Colorado Springs to watch the kids and we got to enjoy 4 days in the city by ourselves!

When we got there on Sunday we had to go to Millennium park and see the "bean". Of course it just so happened to be the same day as the Chicago marathon...so there were a million people!

 The kids were having fun with these pictures because it's like "where's waldo" trying to find us in the bean (right behind us you can see our backs in the bean...so cool!)

 It's even weirder under the bean...this is what it looks like

 We are in the center in this one

We ate at this super yummy restaurant called "Weber Grill" where everything is smoked. Amazing food!

 They have tons of art work and sculptures in Millennium park that were pretty fun to see. We stayed in a cute little town called Naperville, so that night we went out to dinner and then to this really pretty little town and riverwalk and got some icecream.

Monday Kevin didn't have class until 1, so we slept in and relaxed and then went to lunch. Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty much the same- Kevin went to classes while I shopped and looked at sights. :) It was the perfect mom vacation because I got to spend time with my best friend, but I also had lots of alone time which was MUCH needed! lol

 Wednesday Kevin got done around 3:30, so we went back down to Chicago and spent some time at the Navy Pier and in the city.

They had this HUGE Ferris wheel on Navy Pier that was pretty awesome and had great views on the city

They don't call it "Windy City" for nothing either people...brr!

 Chicago is famous for hot dogs and deep dish pizza, so for our last night we went to Lou Manadi's for pizza. It was about a 2 mile walk from the Pier, and an entertaining walk at that. :) This pic is a bit blurry, but they did have some pretty awesome graffiti under the bridges. We also got stopped and read some poetry from a Shakespearean looking for some money, and also got to share our leftover pizza with a woman looking for some food. Like I said, VERY entertaining.

SUCH a fun trip! This was our first time together leaving the kids for more than one night in almost 11 years of marriage...pretty crazy. Well I guess technically when we moved to Utah the second time I left the kids with my parents for 3 or 4 days in Vegas...but they were on vacation and my mom had help from my dad and sister Candice. The kids had a blast with their Grammy and she did a fantastic job running them to school, dance, soccer, church and the works! Thanks Cathy! 

Pretty Cute- Here's Jay every month until he turned one :)

Jay's 1st Birthday

Jay's birthday day! 

He started off the day very grouchy! Grandma said, "Well, he came into the world that way, he wants to celebrate his birthday that way!" lol

 Aunt Brooke, Marlee and Grandma B made a surprise visit to celebrate with Jay!

We had a picnic lunch up at first damn and fed the ducks, which Jay absolutely loves

The geese at this place are crazy and super loud! Marlee and Jay weren't sure what to think.

 Gripping his Dad with his life lol

 (don't mind the meltdown in the background...that's a regular around here! lol)

Jay enjoying his visitors :)

For the other's 1st birthday's I have always made cupcakes from the box and they take one bite and throw it, soooo this year I wanted to make some lemon ones from scratch. Here's my cute little sous-chef Marlee :)

 And some how (maybe from my helper scooping flour out of the bowl lol) the cupcakes sank, so I made some boxed ones with blue frosting too 

 After a long nap we had Jay's favorite for dinner- rotisserie chicken. He is so funny he only likes it if it's rotisserie and it's the only meat he will eat right now. He just grabs the drumstick and eats til there is nothing left. So adorable. 

Then it was off to big brother Scott's freezing cold soccer game, then we were ready for the party!

 Saddest thing ever....so after Scott and Hailey helped him blow out his candle he was soooo excited for the cupcake he grabbed the top of it while the candle was still hot.

 So he wasn't so happy about that!

  Big brother Scott was so sweet showing him that it was okay :(

 As soon as he got a bite, all was happy and cheerful again

 Ate the entire cupcake and then had another of course! :)

 I just sat next to him and watched him enjoy his little cupcakes. So adorable!

 Then it was time for presents

He loves balls so he got a bunch of those, and some much needed outfits too

One of the presents from Grandma and Grandpa B was this sweet book that has a recording of them reading it to him! So cool!

 Aunt Bre got him this walk along and he wasted no time practicing on that!

He's not walking yet, but now that he gets to practice I'm sure it won't be long. He has already ditched his knees while crawling and just has his legs straight with his bum in the air.

I can't believe my little baby is already one year old! It's an exciting time for sure, but it makes me a little sad too. 

He loves playing with all things around the house like pots and pans and just walking along opening up drawers and cupboards and the like. He loves balls too as I mentioned, and can already throw a ball and play catch. He also loves to be outside and get rides in the john deere from Hailey and loves being pushed around by anyone. He loves bath time too!

He is sleeping from 7:30ish until usually 7ish (although he has been going through a 5 am stage the past week)

He is my cuddle bug and is so sweet he is always trying to give kisses and snuggle.

Such a sweet little boy! I have said it since he was born and I still feel the same way today and that is that he was sent straight from heaven, he is just an angel!

We love you buddy! Happy Birthday!