The Festivities

Adam's birthday was a success. There were a lot of people, considering it was a one-year-old's birthday party. What can I say; the kid's popular. We had the usual birthday party foods: pizza, ice cream, soda, and Scott's favorite: cake-in-an-ice-cream-cone.


I thought that Adam would love it when we sang "Happy Birthday" since he loves music.


I was wrong.


The big hit for the little people was the big bunch of balloons.

They would each hit them frantically, creating a kind of balloon mosh pit.

Luckily there was Rock Band for the older kids and the "older kids". Thanks to all of our friends for making Adam's birthday a happy day.

To Adam, on Your 1st Birthday

You joined our family exactly one year ago. I never could have imagined as I held you for the first time the amount of joy you would bring me. Those first few weeks were so difficult and I began to doubt my abilities as a mother. It took you a month or so to decide that you liked it here, outside the womb, and you turned into the happiest most joyful baby.

Every one comments on how happy you are. You smile at strangers at the store and win over grandmothers everywhere we go. I am so glad that you ended up with a happy disposition. I began to worry that I would never get out of the house again since you were unhappy anywhere accept the "cocoon" we created for you in our bedroom.


And then, when you were about two months old you decided you wanted to see the world, everything, right this minute. You were able to roll both ways by 4 1/2 months and by the time you were 5 months you were practicing yoga.


This was your pre-crawling pose. You would would go into a push-up and hold it as long as you could before collapsing . You started to pull yourself around the house by your arms when you were about six months old.

Once you were able to get around you had to touch, see and TASTE everything. You have an insatiable curiosity and it has been so fun to watch you discover the world and find pure joy in the most simple things.

You have started to talk and your favorite word is "ball". Anything remotely round is a ball. You don't say "Mama" or "Dada" yet in reference to Daddy or me but we know that you know us and love us.



You are such a social boy. You love playing with your friend Jack and your cousin Spencer. You will be playing and it will get so quiet that I'm sure you're up to something, but when I go to check on you you're quietly paging through a book.


You have begun to cherish your sleep in a way that was surely inherited from your Mama. You go to sleep without a peep most nights, which is a nice change of pace from your early months. At 10 months you finally began to sleep through the night without needing a bottle. You're Daddy was sure you'd do it on your own, I'm glad I listened to him and let you figure it out.

Your Daddy and I just love to sit and watch you play. You're fiercely independent and will often brush away a helping hand. Your independence has led to several injuries but you don't care, you simply get your hugs, get up, and move on to the next adventure. I love the way you like to be chased. If you hear me stomping behind you, you will squeal and toddle off as quickly as you can. I love the giggles of pure joy when I pop out from behind a door or a blanket. You're thrilled even though you knew I was there.

Thank you so much for being my baby, my sweetest boy. You've made me whole in so many ways. The greatest and most fulfilling accomplishment in my life is being your Mama.

I Now Know What Christmas Eve WIll Be Like for the Next 15 Years

We managed to avoid this realization until now thanks to a lovely Caribbean cruise that we took in lieu of Christmas presents (don't worry about Adam missing his first Christmas, he would have been happy with a paper bag). Adam's Birthday is tomorrow and I just spent an hour assembling cardboard blocks. We really like to go all out. Nothing's too good for our boy. All kidding aside, they are actually really cool. When assembled they come in three different sizes and are big enough to make walls that Adam can crash through. I know he's gonna love that. Anyway, this is the task that awaited me (don't look to closely at my carpet, and if you do, don't judge me).


After the first 10 minutes I'd assembled five blocks. There's a bit of a learning curve, I assembled the other 79 in under an hour.


Here's what they looked like post-assembly. I'm leaving it up to Scott to build a fabulous tower so we can get a great picture of Adam crashing through it in the morning.


Stay tuned for birthday festivities.

Spring Sprang

And then it was gone. We had one day of 50 degree weather and then we had an ice storm. Adam and I took advantage of the nice weather despite being plagued with the plague.


Adam is such a tactile child, he needs to touch and taste everything. He wasn't, however, too fond of the snow.


He didn't like to touch it but he enjoyed stomping on the snowballs I made.

I see my shadow. According to Punxsutawney Phil this will be the last nice day for another few weeks.

Daddy's Boy

Adam hates it when Scott leaves for work in the morning.


He's really quite dramatic.


You can just hear his thoughts. "No! Don't leave me with HER again!"


Poor kid. He really is a Daddy's boy. I'm trying not to be too hurt.

16 and Awkward

At my book club the other night we got to talking about high school/church dances and how horrible they are for everyone except a small percentage of girls. My friend Deborah implied that I was in that percentage and was surely asked to dance all the time at these functions. Um, no. When I was 16 I was already my full height of 6 feet, but weighed a whopping 120 lbs. Nobody except a super model could pull off those proportions. I was gangly to an exponential degree. Not only was I skinny and with out any female curves, but I also towered above almost every boy. I couldn't find a picture with a boy (hmmm...I wonder why), but I did find this one of my sister and me.


This is before my junior prom. I wish I had one with my date, but I don't. He was 5'8". A confident adult woman can pull that off, I slouched, and took off my shoes.

So those women who would love to be tall and think we have it so easy, now you know. Any easiness we have as adults we paid for in high school. A lot.

"Bring out your dead!"

That's right, the plague has struck. Scott had it first and I admit now that I thought he was being a bit of a wimp; and then I got it. This thing's got it all; cough, head ache, nausea, dizziness, and mucous, good heavens the mucous! I am finally getting over it and Adam is on the upswing too. We were a pretty sad sight for a couple of days. Adam doesn't understand that when you're sick you're supposed to curl up under a blanket and watch movies. He wandered around the house whimpering.


I don't know if it was the plague or my introducing mass quantities of mandarin oranges into his diet, but Adam developed a pretty bad rash on his face. The worst part is that it is completely resistant to all of my attempts to clear it up. I have had him on a bland diet for days and he is so sick of me rubbing Cetaphil and Aquaphor on it that he literally runs the other way.


Poor kid. He really didn't stand much of a chance. I had food allergy-related rashes on my face for a good portion of my toddlerhood.


Yes, that would be me looking away from the camera. All I can say is, thank goodness for digital cameras! This was probably the best of the pictures they took.