Carsten's 1st Birthday

We decided to not do a big birthday party for Carsten since our family is all over the place, and he'll never remember this anyways :)  We were very fortunate that Brad, Katie, and Jacob Jones came out to visit us for the weekend, and babysit so that we could go on our first official date since Carsten had been born!  We had a mini birthday party with them.  It was a great time!  Carsten loved his cake (no surprise here), and actually ate most of his piece.  He also loves the ball popper toy that he got from Uncle Brad, Aunt Katie, and Jacob.  He is particularly excited to watch the balls pop out of the tube, which means they hit him in the face (Jayden and I got quite a kick out of watching this, so I videoed it!).  The following weekend Grandpa and Grandma Clouse, as well as Uncle Todd, Aunt Lauren, and Easton came over for a birthday party for Carsten.  It was also a great time.  He had a cupcake this time, and really like it again.  He also enjoyed playing his new toy from Uncle Justin, Aunt Sarah, Taelyn, and Kaelia...actually all of the boys loved using the wooden mallet and banging on things!  Carsten loved his stacker toy from Aunt Andy as well!  Though he might not know it, we really appreciate all of the clothes and money that he received as well.  It's great to have a savings account going for him, plus some clothes in bigger sizes.....thank-you!!!  Overall, he had a great birthday, which we were very thankful for!

Here's the video of Carsten with his ball popper toy :)

And a few videos of Carsten with his cake!

Jayden's late Christmas wish?

Apparently, Jayden wished for no front teeth for Christmas, and it was just a bit delayed.  He has officially lost both of his front top teeth.  It makes for a pretty cute smile!

More baby giggles

Carsten seriously thinks Jayden is the funniest person ever!  Today (2/3/14), Jayden had Carsten laughing like crazy while eating his bananas.  This should put a smile on your face :)

Carsten's 1 year stats...and...he walks (sometimes)

We took Carsten to the doctor for his 12 month check-up, and he is doing great!  He is still our chunky monkey!!!  His weight is 25 lbs 7 oz, which is the 93rd percentile for growth.  His height is 31 inches, which is the 75th percentile for height.  His head circumference is in the 91st percentile. Overall, he is quite proportionate, and his doctor was very happy with his growth.  Carsten is a huge fan of food....probably not a surprise considering his weight.  So far, the only food we have found that he does not like is green beans.  He will eat pretty much anything else.  Some of his favorites include all fruit, seafood, chicken, salmon, rice, noodles, ok, pretty much anything edible (and some things that are not haha).  He also is starting to get curly hair.  We aren't sure if it will stay that way, but it's definitely cute for now!  We are so thankful that he is such a healthy, happy little guy!

Carsten has also started walking. He does not walk 100% of the time, but he definitely seems to prefer it.  Lately, he always starts off walking, and then crawls once he falls.  He can easily make it around the living room, and into other rooms before falling.  He is also recently showing us that he is going to be quite the climber (yuck!)....he's definitely on the move!  The walking videos were of his first few steps walking...he's much more proficient now!  We'll try to post a more recent video soon.

Jayden's Learning to Skate!

Jayden decided recently that he wants to play hockey.  We told him that in order to play hockey he has to learn how to skate first.  He wanted to participate in the Learn to Skate program through our school.  We found some used CCM skates for him, and a Bauer hockey helmet.  He said he looks like a professional.  He has completed 2 lessons so far (out of 6).  The first one was pretty funny...he had a really hard time staying upright!  His 2nd lesson was significantly better.  All of the pictures and videos are from the 1st lesson.  He loves it though, and told us he "had no idea how fun skating could be."  We're proud of him for not giving up after all of those falls!