~One~

March 18

What?!?!  That is simply not possibly that my son is 1.  I am putting my foot down in protest.  I can't believe that 1 year, 12 months, 365 days ago we headed to the hospital to be induced because I was a week late and this baby showed no signs of wanting to come out any time soon.  I was impatient.  I was nervous.  And then after 11 hours of laying in a hospital bed hooked up to Pictocin and 10 minutes of pushing we had a son.  A big, beautiful, handsome son, 9 pounds and 4 ounces of a son :)  

Caden Wayne Bolkema

I don't even know where to begin.  Every time I think have him figured out he changes his mind.  I am trying to stop trying.  So I'll just share what my darling boy is up to.

He is just starting to drink milk (yes we started transitioning him a couple of months ago :))  He eats... most of the time.  He really likes carbs... he is NOT Mikayla.  He loves to climb stairs.  His favorite toy has to be the race track that Grandpa and Grandma B gave him.  He loves the tub.  He loves his sister.  He doesn't really say anything yet, but he is certainly vocal about what he wants and doesn't want.  He is walking all over the place now.  He sleeps wonderfully.  He waves, he gives kisses, he does "so big", and he now does peek-a-boo.  He loves his daddy!  He likes to hit me since I'm the meanie testing his will all the time :)  Every day presents a new challenge with him since his middle name should have been inconsistent, but I love him.  I love his smile, his little teeth, his crazy hair, his babbling, how he sleeps with his butt in the air, his crystal blue eyes, and everything else about him.  I couldn't imagine my life without him.  

He had his 1 year check up last week and it turns out he isn't as big as I think he is.  People usually describe him as a linebacker or a tank and yet he is far more petite than he seems.  His stats are... 20 3/4 pounds and 29 3/4 inches, which translates to 25% for weight and 50% for height.  And while I know those numbers don't mean a whole lot, after you've had a child like Mikayla who was always off the charts for height and between 75-95% for weight it seems a little strange.  The doctor thinks it's because he didn't drink any milk for a month and a half.  So other than being told to feed him whatever he wants, he's prefect :)

I stressed quite a bit about what to do to celebrate this milestone.  We did a big to do for Mikayla but that costs a lot money, money that could go to many other important things.  We also had lots of milestones to celebrate this month.  My brother and my sister-in-law will turn 30, my mother-in-law turned 60 and my grandpa turns 80 all in the same month.  We finally decided to keep things simple (my new motto for life) and it was lovely!  I tried to make it special by making his cake and some special cookies.  There were only a dozen people and it was perfect for a one year old.  He could play with his sister and cousin and have some snuggle time with people he loves.  So in the end, no regrets!

Fire Truck theme!

No this was not a cake pan... I followed a tutorial online :)  It definitely looks better far away!

 

A handmade road blanket from Grandma E

A very special chair from Uncle Doug, Aunt Julie, Reese, Aunt Hannah, and Uncle Kendall

 No surprise that he LOVED the cake!

Cousins

And here's a video of one his first attempts at walking!

And as much as I complain about this little boy sometimes, he is such a blessing!