Our Big Boy!

Jason is one year old!!!

Jason is a cheerful, silly little monkey! He loves music, reading stories, and playing with his toys. He can almost say "ball," and if you ask him to find you a specific toy, he picks it out right away. He loves yogurt, chicken tikka masala, and broccoli, but his favorite food is scrambled eggs.

His birthday dinner!

Jason had a checkup the day after his birthday, and his doctor was very impressed with his growth! Her exact words were "Wow, he shot up in the ranks!" He's in the 35th percentile for height. He weighs a solid 20 pounds, but I can't remember what percentile that is.

Jason also needed three shots at this checkup. Usually after his shots, he'll cry  for a minute or two but cheer up pretty quickly. This time was different though. He sobbed so hard the nurses said he was breaking their hearts :-(. He kept burying his head in my shoulder and crying. That afternoon, Babci came over to watch him while I baked his birthday treats, and he sobbed on her too. It was so sad.

Fortunately, he was good as new for his birthday party! We went with a woodland creatures theme. 

Ready to party! 

A bear cake for our little cub.

Paw print cupcakes. 

S'mores bites! Because woodland creatures obviously have campfires.

Jason opened his presents with a lot of help from Mommy and Aunt Val.

Dave made a big batch of delicious chili, which Jason thoroughly enjoyed. Then it was time for cake! 

We have Jason the bear's snout.

And because we didn't think chocolate cake would get him wired enough, we gave him his first taste of ice cream too. 

Jason enjoyed his party, and surprisingly fell right asleep when we put him to bed. I'm not looking forward to his chili-inspired diaper tomorrow, but I think we can call his first birthday a success!

The Monkey's First Christmas!

Jason has had a busy few days!

On Christmas Eve, I took the day off.  When Dave got home from work, we whisked the monkey over to Babci and PopPop's for a fish-filled feast.

Jason spent most of his Christmas Eve trying to get Stella to come over so he could pet her. He is definitely a dog lover. Maybe next Christmas we will get him a furry friend of his own!

When we got home, Jason went right to bed so Santa could come and fill his stocking. 

On Christmas morning, we plopped Jason down in front of the Christmas tree to shower him with presents!

Eyeing his first gift with suspicion.

Giving it a quick pat...

Making a break for it! 

Playing with Daddy's shoe instead.

Dave and I ended up opening most of Jason's presents for him. He got clothes, Jammies, food, soap, hand puppets, a toy elephant with accompanying blocks, and his favorite Gerber puffs!

Quick photo op with the stocking Babci made him. Santa filled it with lots of goodies!

 

After some playtime, Jason had Christmas breakfast! He was eating big fistfuls of scrambled eggs. I think he ate more than I did! It was both impressive and gross.

After a Christmas morning bath, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas lunch. Jason was nice enough to take a nap while the grown ups were eating. Once he was well rested, it was time for presents! Jason loved all his presents, especially some new Dr Suess books and a super cool tricycle! 

I didn't take any other pictures on Christmas Day. Bad Mommy.

We had Christmas dinner at Babci and PopPop's house. Babci made a delicious Beef Wellington. It was Baby's First Filet! Jason loved it. He definitely has a taste for the finer things!

After dinner, Jason Skyped with the Ashcrafts. He got to see all his little cousins. Theo taught him the value of tidying up gift wrap, which is a very important part of the holiday season.  Sadly, it was way past Jason's bedtime and he got super cranky. We had to cut the gift opening short so the monkey wouldn't have a meltdown. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

This morning, Jason was in a great mood and was so excited to play with his new toys! 

New blocks! Check out the pirate ship in the background!

Jason loves this high tech train. Funny story, the train talks with a Chinese accent. That's not a joke.

Having fun with his new pig hand puppet!

All the excitement caused Jason to come down with a severe case of the sillies!

Tis the season

Jason is ashamed of his mommy because she hasn't updated this in so long. 

Disappointed Jason

Jason had a great time celebrating his first Thanksgiving! He got to meet all his little cousins, and broke his very first plate by tossing it onto the floor before dinner had even started! Nice job, Jason!

Jason recruited his Uncle Mike to try to take family pictures for our Christmas card. Unfortunately, many of them look like this:

Peace On Earth?

After Thanksgiving, it was time to get holy! Jason dressed up like the Pillsbury Doughboy and took a quick dip.

Probably the worst family picture ever taken. I literally LOL when I look at it.

After the formalities were over, we headed to Cosimos for the best calamari Uncle Andy has ever had.

Reunited.

There was also cake. 

Yesterday was Jason's surgery, and he did super. The surgeon said it was a large hernia, but not nearly as difficult as the first one. He was drowsy for most of the afternoon, but is back to his normally rambunctious self today.

Good as new!

Skills

Jason has learned how to do so many new things recently!  He learned how to push himself up to a seated position from his belly, and he's pulled himself up to a standing position a few times!  He also waves bye-bye when he knows people are leaving. Sometimes when we make kissy noises at him, he'll try to do it back.

He came with us to Barton Orchard for some fall fun. 

He still prefers puréed food, but he's starting eating some of our food too.  So far he's had pulled pork, grilled cheese, chicken tikka masala, cod (his favorite!) and some other yummy things.  

Post-church breakfast at the Daily Planet.  We offered him bites of omelette and French toast, which he politely declined. 

Jason dressed up for his first Halloween and was pretty gosh dang cute.

Jason is excited for his christening, and can't wait to try some calamari at Cosimos afterward.