Playground Adventure

This afternoon Zane and I set out on a hunt for a park/playground where we could have some summer fun. I had researched different parks yesterday and thought I had found just the place, a big park with a large playground in the middle. This park is about 10 minutes from our house so I thought it would be perfect, until I got there and realize the park is huge and I had no idea where the playground was. So after driving around aimlessly for a while I parked and called Zach to google the park and direct us to the playground.

Once we found it I had high hopes of it being a wonderful park experience for Zane. I should have left when I realized that it was quite a trek from the car to the actual playground, on a path that was pretty much all washed away. However, I was trying to remain positive and forged ahead. Needless to say this didn't work out so well. Zane was frightened by the tweens running around (as was I), he thought he wanted to swing but turned out he really didn't, and the only little girl his age, who he was hitting on, left because her Grandma was about to have a heat stroke. So we took a hike back to the car, frustrated, hot, and disappointed.

On the way home I decided, as a last ditch effort, I would take Zane to the little playground in a housing addition up the street from our house. I had found this playground while house hunting in this neighborhood and only vaguely remembered what all was there, but I was determined to not go home in a bad mood, so to the playground we went.

This playground was a huge success. It is the perfect size for Zane, with soft rubbery ground cover under everything so falling down wasn't painful, but kind of fun. The other important part, no one else was there, so we had free range of the place. It took Zane a little bit to fully understand what you were suppose to do at a playground, but once he caught on he had a blast.

He played with the ladders, the rubber covered chains, walked under and on all the equipment, worked on crawling up and down stairs, and slid down a slide, by himself, for the first time!!!!! So exciting. We played for about 20 minutes, until he had a little head bonk, which coupled with being hot and hungry, pushed him over the edge. So we headed home, I am sure to return very soon, probably earlier in the day next time.

I took a ton of pictures here are some highlights, but check out my June Picasa album for the whole set, they are too adorable.

                                                                                                          Just thinking about life and hang out.

 Climbing down stairs                                                               And climbing up stairs

 So proud of himself sliding down a slid all by himself.

Barn Rules

 Zane's favorite upstairs activity currently is playing with his new little barn and the farm animals that go with it. Over the past week we have had to come up with a few 'barn rules.'

 1. The barn must stay on the coffee table. This rule was started after multiple accidents where Zane tried to walk and push the barn around the floor, leading to falls and tears. However, this has also led to our coffee table taking quite the beating, but it had a good run, it's a play table now.

2. Rule number one leads directly into rule number two which is: You cannot pull the barn off the coffee table and onto yourself. This is a hard and fast rule that we have had many conversations about. Everytime he goes to pull it off he looks at me, with a look that says "can I pull it off now?" The answer is always no, he was trapped under the barn one time and that was enough. He seems to have accepted this rule because he hasn't tried to pull it off today.

3. The third rule is really more for me than Zane. All animals must be put back into the barn at the end of the night. If we didn't do this they would all be lost in a day, rendering the barn useless. This has led to some funny evening animal searching. For example last night the goat was lost, so Zach and I went on a hunt for him. During the hunt the goat was named Gary and don't worry he was found under the ottoman. 

The moment Zane starts playing with it the next day the animals are spread around the house again. The horse, for some reason, is always his choice to go with us on our outings, and he seems to think Farmer Joe should go in the bath tub. None of the other animals have names yet, but I'm sure we will come up with some soon.

And that is the story of little Zaney's barn. What a fun stage!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Zane has become a little book worm over the past week. I think he picked up this wonderful hobby from watching Maggie and Brendan sit quietly, listening to their parents read them books, during their recent visit. He now picks a book off the shelf, toddles it over to us and then after we are done reading it (usually multiple times) he toddles it back over to the book shelf area. He hasn't mastered getting the book back on an actual shelf, but he is close. Sunday we took a trip to the bookstore to get some new books for our, currently pretty pathetic, book collection. P.S. books are unnecessarily expensive

 

2. I finally sorted Zane's toys and put his baby toys away. Zane watched very carefully as I put them all in a big plastic storage bag. He was fine too see them all go, except he had to rescue Dolarus, his duck friend. She was his faithful companion to all of his doctor's appointments, including pre-op day at the hospital. He reached into the big bag of toys, dug around, and rescued her. It was the cutest the ever. He hasn't played with her since, but I guess he couldn't bare the thought of her stored away with all the toys.

 

3. Zach, Zane, and I had a wonderfully calm weekend. We cleaned house, played in the basement, went to the Zoo, played in the pool, read books, and had wonderful family time. This is is a rarity since almost every weekend I am not working we have some where to go or something to do. I work this weekend, inlcuding the 4th, and the next weekend I will be in OK for a quick visit.

 

4. I have recently been wanting to take Zane to a park to play, but couldn't figure where there was a park close to us that didn't have rocks or sand under their play equipment. Today I found a wonderful website that has a map of all the parks, what kind of amenities they have, pictures of the play areas, and has multiple ideas of other outdoor activities. For example Zane totally should be part of the STL Garden club next year, they meet the first Saturday of every month and talk about plants and gardening with kids. Who knew the St. Louis County Parks department was that pulled together. Here is the site for anyone in STL looking for a fun park or outdoor activity near you

 

5. Zane is going to have his one year pictures taken on Friday. That is if he doesn't have too bad of a bruise or scratch on his face at that time. He had a little bruise between his eyes on Sunday, a run in with the pan he was "cooking in" outside, but it has since gotten better. Then yesterday I got home from work and he had scratched the side of his head on the wall, all battle wounds from trying to learn how to walk and really wanting to run. My plan for now is to take him as he is, because some bumps and bruises are just part of being a toddler. I am sure he will be very adorable. We are having them taken at the Botanical Gardens so I am sure they will be lovely. Maybe we can capture one of Zane's new favorite outside activities, hugging trees, literally. Grandma B would be so proud.

 

6. Also, over the weekend Zane learned how to get out of his pool one leg at a time instead of head first. It only took him a few trips tumbling out before he learned that this new technique works much better. It would be helpful if his legs were just a tad bit longer, but he makes it work. Maybe this will help decrease the number of bumps and bruises in the future.

 

 7. Zane is officially been off bottles for a week and I can't say it is going great. I don't think he drink nearly enough during the day, though I constantly offer him milk and water. He has been drinking at least half a sippy cup of milk before bedtime, but has also started randomly waking up crying during the night. He usually will go back to sleep if we give him his binki, but sometimes (like this morning) he thinks 4:45 is the morning. Or like the night before when he randomly was up and down for an hour. This is NOT ok. We had a talk about it this evening before we put him down, hopefully it gets better. Zach thinks Zane is punishing us for taking away his bottles, he may have a point.

8. While I am in OK Zach is going to go down to SEMO to pick up our half a cow of grass fed beef, fresh from the butcher. I am so excited. I grew up on fresh beef and if you have never had it you have no idea what you are missing. I can't wait to have a freezer full of delicious beef to use anytime. Thanks Amy and Mike!

9. This weekend a smaller floor at the hospital is going to come up to our floor for the summer, in order to save money by not having to keep that unit open in the summer when the census is low. This coincides with July 1st, the day that brand new doctors get set loose in the hospital. Oh did I mention it is a holiday weekend. It is going to be a debacle, I can already tell. Send prayers to SLCH this weekend.

10. Tomorrow is officially go time on the swim suit hunt. I am sick to my stomach already. Poor Zane is going to have to witness that, he is going to be scared for life.

 

A much happier June 25th

Today is a year since Zane was diagnosed with TOF. I knew the date was coming up and planned a fun filled day at the zoo to celebrate/get our minds off of what we were doing last year at this time. Last year we spent the morning waiting in a doctors office, holding our baby down for an echo/ekg, and then more waiting before our worlds were rocked with the unwelcome test results.

A year later we spent our morning at the zoo, on a beautiful day I might add. We got there at 10:30 and the place was already packed. The weather was perfect, not to hot, with a little breeze. We sprayed down Zane with sunscreen, including his blond little head since he refused to wear a hat, and set off to see the sites. I decided to become a zoo friend, so I could have free parking, which means Zane and I can go to the zoo for short little trips whenever we want. As part of our membership we got free passes into the children's zoo so that is where we started. I had never been in before and was pleasantly surprised with all the animals and fun things for kids to do. This is Zane very excited about the zoo while we waited in a long line of cars to park.

Zane enjoyed petting the goats the most. A lot of the other activities I am sure he will enjoy when he is bigger, but for right now nothing beats pulling on a goats ear. He petted a few goats, chased a few goats, and a grand time. I personally am not a fan of goats, what with having been drug down a shale road by one as a child, but Zane seems to be a fan. These are the second set of goats he has petted just this week. Here he is with his new friends.

 My favorite part of the children's zoo was the otter exhibit. You could watch them swim around and they looked like they were having the time of their lives! Zane loved watching them swim and when he gets a little bigger I am sure he will enjoy the big slide that goes down through the rocks by the otter pool and the sprinklers that he can run threw. Here we are with the otter statue, reminds me of my Grandma Dotter's Dotter Otter statue from the Okeene library.

We had a quick lunch at the zoo where Zach and I talked about how crazy it is that Zane's surgery is a huge event in our lives, but Zane will have no memory of it and is sure to get tired of us talking about what a blessed little boy he is. I keep trying to decide when to take him to make his free build a bear that he gets for staying in the CICU. I want him to understand what it means and get a lot out the experience, when in reality the he will not care about it at all. Maybe I should just make him one myself.

After lunch we had a tired baby boy on our hands and headed home. This afternoon we played in the pool, before it got cloudy and started to storm. The rest of the day was full of playing (mainly with his new favorite toy, a whisk), reading books, and tons of cuddles. This was a much better June 25th, what a difference a year makes!!! Here is Zane on the way home, totally beat.

A year of parenthood

When I got married I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My life long dream of being a doctor had been crushed and I had no ideas of what else I could do. Everyone would ask me, "well what else did you want to do besides being a doctor." After months of thought on this question, I didn't land on an idea for a career, I landed on the idea that the only other thing I had ever wanted to do, besides being a doctor, was being a mother. Of course I took this to mean that I should just have kids and be a stay at home mom, though we were obviously not in any position for me to do that at the time. Believe me I tried to convince Zach that we should just have a kid and let the chips fall where they may, but being the responsible, rational one, he assured me that when the time was right, and just as soon as we could afford it, we would have a baby.

Four years later the time seemed perfect and we welcomed our little man into our lives. I had some vague ideas of what I thought parenthood would be like. All those ideas where thrown out the window once I was actually a mother. Things were not as I had planned and I quickly learned the first lesson of parenthood which is things won't always work out as you had planned so you must be flexible. Whether that it life throwing you unexpected challenges or your son getting a stomach bug the night before you are suppose to be flying home. You can try to plan your day or your life, but be prepared for unexpected changes.

The other lesson that I have recently learned after this difficult year is the value, and importance, of being present in every moment. This is something I did not do well over the past year, but it is a goal I have for the future. To try not to mourn the past or stress about the days ahead, but to stay present with those you love, now. With a baby this entails staying present in the phase they are in at that point. The phases change so quickly, if you spend time hoping the next one will come soon or missing the last one, you will completely miss what they are doing now.

This year I have learned many things about not only parenthood, but life in general, not all of them are profound, or even really that important, but I thought I would jot some down here for fun.

-All sippy cups leak. This infuriates me and I think Zach should engineer a truly no leak sippy cup, then I could afford to be a stay at home mom.

-When it rains it pours. For example, if your child just had a blow out diaper, prepare yourself because he will probably be throwing up on you soon. Or if one person is sick, every body is sick. You just have to keep on keeping on.

-You can never stop doing laundry. If you get a few days behind on laundry you will drowned in the next time you get around to doing it and all of your kids clothes will have stains on them.

-Be gentle and patient with not only your child but yourself. I had to learn that I can't let the mommy guilt of all that I missed while at work ruin the time that I have with Zane when I am home. I will never enjoy the thought of my child at daycare, but I have to let that go, knowing it is what is best for him and our family right now.

- Don't spend a lot of money on toys for kids because their favorite toys really can be found in the kitchen. There is nothing like banging on pots and pans, taking bowls out of cabinets, and digging in drawers.

- Write down every time that you pay a medical bill. Not something that I thought I would learn this year, but it has become a very important part of our book keeping. Hospitals and doctors will send you the same bill multiple times and if you haven't kept good books then you will end up paying something twice. Lesson learned!

- You can't let your messy house drive you crazy. I like a very neat pulled together house. Pre-child I could clean my entire house in a couple hours and then go about my day. Now it is a marathon instead of a sprint, as are so many things in parenthood. I am constantly picking up, sweeping, and picking up again. At the end of a long day I find that I want to clean the whole house so it is clean when we start over the next day, but I have to realize that at some point I just need to go to sleep and let it go. This, like the rest of my life, is still a work in progress.

-Be willing to take help when it is offered. I didn't think I would be good at this going into parenthood, but with all the difficult things I had to face this year I became a pro at it. I was forced to allow myself to let others do so much for me over the past year and I truly feel that being able to do this was healing not only for me, but for the people who were helping me as well. People cooked us food, cleaned our house, watched our son, and so much more, all of which helped me weather some horribly difficult storms.

-I have said this before on this blog, but it is truly a large lesson I have learned this year, each day is a new day. This means that if yesterday I was a basket case or not so great of a mommy, it's ok because tomorrow is a new day with a new chance to be happy and a better mommy. 

-And the biggest life lesson of all, Strive to be happy!!! My Grandma Blakley use to tell me all the time, 'just be happy.' It seems like such a simple thing, but at times this is hard work. As a parent this means slowing down, taking time to actually play with your kids not just watching them play, laugh with them, smile with them, hug and kiss, and be silly. I strive to be happy each day and I am lucky to have a wonderfully happy boy to help me with this each day.

Picnic and pinwheels

Zane's first birthday party: Picnic and Pinwheels

Last Saturday we celebrated Zane's first year of life with a fun filled day, surrounded by family. It was a big day, weeks in the making. The theme of the party was picnic because it really was just a bbq and then I found a picture of an adorable picnic cake that I was pretty sure I could recreate. While at Hobby Lobby a few weeks later I saw all sorts of adorable pinwheels and decided the 'cotheme' would be pinwheels. They scream summer time picnic, they brighten up the yard, and kids love to play with them. Decorating was tons of fun, minus the crazy amount of work that went into the birthday banner. We had pinwheels in the yard, a banner with balloons on the front of the house, pictures of Zane everywhere, and picnic clothes with ants and bugs on the tables. Very festive! 

The Guests:
We were very excited that all of Zane's Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and cousins could be here for the party. This meant that there were seven kids, eight years or younger (including Zane), three uncles, three aunts, three grandparents, and one great grandmother. Many thanks to everyone for flying or driving long distances, with small children, to be at the big event. You made Zane's birthday party and extra special day. I really wanted to get a picture with Zane and all his aunts and uncles, but didn't manage to make that happen. I got everyone but Aunt Trina and Uncle JR, but I did get this adorable picture of all my nieces and nephews together.

The Cakes:
On Friday Abbey, Anna, and I started working on the cakes. Going with the picnic theme, the main cake looked like a picnic table, complete with a plate full of hot dogs and hamburgers and ants going across it. The back up cake turned out equally adorable, yellow with sprinkles, a one, hot dogs/hamburgers, and more ants. Some of my friends from work, who are currently taking cake decorating classes, really wanted to be part of Zane's special day so they made a 'smash cake' just for him. It matched our picnic cake and we topped it with a little one candle.  Yes, that means Zane had three cakes for his first birthday, I know this is insane, but don't worry none of them went to waste.

The Menu:
I tried to keep the menu simple so we weren't killing ourselves cooking and I think I did a pretty good job. Zach and Able were in charge of the meat, of course. They started smoking ribs and pork tenderloin at 0500 on Saturday morning amidst thunder, lightening, rain, and gale force winds. I chalked it up to Dad making an appearance at the party, going a little over board, but in the end it was a beautifully sunny day. Abbey of coarse was in charge of making and icing both cakes. Anna and I made the miniature hot dogs and hamburgers, Able and mom tag teamed the potato salad, Brendan and Abbey made rice krispy treats, Amy brought her famous baked beans, and Trina brought hot dogs and drinks for the kids. Add some chips and veggies to the mix and we had ourselves quite the spread. I feel completely off the wagon and days later have yet to get back on it. Everything was delicious and Zane thoroughly enjoyed all the food.

The eating of the cake:
As is tradition at first birthday parties Zane got to make a huge mess with his piece of cake. We brought him a large piece out of his smash cake, as the whole thing wouldn't fit on his high chair tray. Everyone sang him happy birthday and he blew out his candle, with some help from his cousins. He seemed to be much more interested in the miniature hot dog (made with a vanilla wafer and a red Starburst) and hamburger (made with slightly melted snickers and vanilla wafers). The entire event was pretty anticlimactic. He got pretty messy, making for some good pictures, but I don't think he really ate any cake. He did chew on the red Starburst for awhile, but again didn't eat it. It ended with a minor melt down and quickly being put into the tub for a bath. Here are some classic first birthday shots.

The Presents:

 After cake it was present time. Zane got a ton of wonderful presents. Zach and I got him a kiddy pool, not expensive, but he has really enjoyed it, and a dump truck from Target's one spot. Aunt Anna got him an alligator push toy, which turns out is kind of loud, but oh so cute to watch him use. He pushes it around like a lawn mower and the little alligators chomp. The Prance clan got him a Thomas the train starter set. The Prances are the masters of Thomas the Train so I trust they got him off to a great start. Now Zach just has to build a train table! Grammi and Papa had brought Zane a picnic table earlier in the summer, which we had already used a  lot, but they also brought him some more CAT machines which he has been crawling around the house with since the party. The Richards clan got him the barn magnet set I had been wanting to buy him for months, a talking book, and of course a couple of other regular books for our not so impressive book collection. Uncle Able added to our pillow pet collection with Fred Bird the Red bird, who I wanted to buy but couldn't rationalize it. Great Grandma Baker got him fun pool toys and a beach towel. And last but not least Grandma Blakley got him the Fisher Price Little People Animal Sound Barn, again something I had wanted to buy but was holding out for his birthday. He has so many new toys he doesn't know what to do with himself.

The party:
After all the cake was eaten and all the presents were open it was time to head out to the back yard for a little pool party. All the kids splashed in the pool, participated in an epic water gun fight, snow cone time, and pure family fun. I think all the kids got along well though Maggie and Levi had a two year old off, arguing about the fact that each of their cups were their own. It was so cute! I loved that all my nieces and nephews were here at once, playing with each other and have a blast. It was perfect. Zane was slightly overwhelmed by all of the kids, water fights, and splashing, but I think he had a pretty good time toddling around through the chaos. Of course after all of this the birthday boy was completely beat and had to sneak off for a nap.

So to make a long story unnecessarily long the party was a big hit. Everyone had a great time and I cannot wait to do it again. There were moments where I felt like the day might be terrifying Zane, but over all he did very well with everything and seemed to have a good time. Thanks so much to our families who went out of their way to celebrate with us. It meant the world to us that you could be here at our little man's bday party. We love you all!

Ten on Tuesday

1. This weekend was jam packed with birthday fun and I plan on doing a birthday party post soon. I was back to work today and found myself missing Zane horribly. I started brainstorming how I could work less, but haven't come up with any ideas. Zane was awake for about 20 minutes when I got home, but then he hit the wall and had to go to bed. That was devastating to me, but I did get a couple little boy hugs before he went to bed.

 

2. Zane got a little swimming pool for his birthday, which on the day of the party he was slightly terrified of (probably because all of his cousins were swimming in it) but since then he has played in it every day. He splashes around, crawls in the water, plays with his toys, gets in and out of the it ( not so gracefully), and looks oh so cute in his multiple bathing suits.

 

 3. Zane now has fun new toys to play with which is good because he was thoroughly bored with his baby toys. He has had a blast playing with his new barn, his push alligator toy, new CAT machines, and trains. He also now has three pillow pets, a panda, a frog, and a Fred Bird the Red Bird, all of whom he cuddles on the floor from time to time. Thanks to all his aunts, uncles, and grandparents for stocking him with fun new toys!

 

4. Mom headed home this morning so all my visitors are gone. It is always so much fun to have a full house of friends and family. I really wish it could happen more than twice a year. We are happy to have visitors so if anyone is in STL come on by and see our fun little house. We have a big basement with room for a lot of people to sleep.

 

5. I realized this weekend that my trip to Nova Scotia is only about a month away.  I am super excited about the trip, but it also poses a few problems; how to pay for said trip, the fact that I haven't spent more than a day away from Zane in his life, and the worst part of all, I have to buy a swimming suit. I had a swim suit that fit my fat body, but I am pretty confident that I threw it away last summer in a fit of hormonal rage about how I would never wear a swim suit again. I am sure there aren't many in stores because when I try to buy summer clothes in summer the stores have already moved onto winter coats. Here's hoping for a swimsuit clearance sale. 

6. I wish I lived closer to mom so I could take part in farm came next week. Mom is watching Abbey's kids for 3 days while her and Brent are in CA which led to the idea of farm camp. Camp is going to include all the fun things I did as a child, play in the creek, collect bugs, look for animal tracks, play on hay bales, feed baby cows, swim in ponds, arts and crafts, and tons of other fun farm activities. There are going to be matching shirts as well. I will have to plan vacation for next summer so Zane can take part in farm camp 2012.

7. On Friday, while we were waiting for mom, Able, and Anna to arrive, Zane and I went with the Richards clan to the magic house. We had gone with them last July and Brendan had had a blast, Maggie was just old enough to play in the toddler section, and Zane was a baby. This time Brendan was even more adventurous, Maggie was all over the place, and Zane played in the toddler section and toddled around a few other sections as well. Everyone had a wonderful time. I will have to buy season passes next year. Here is Zane captioning a ship and playing in the tire changing station.

 

9. Over the weekend I won an epic battle of bean bags. I should start by saying I have never won a bean bag game before, let alone beaten Able. I did both of those things in this match, which was a fight to the death. Everyone else had gone inside to bath and put kids to bed so no one got to witness by victory, but don't worry we gathered everyone up and told them the tale of the my epic win. 

10. I want to wish a Happy Belated Birthday to Zane's buddy Kyser who turned one two day's before him, Zane's birthday buddy Jen, and Jamie who also celebrates a birthday close to Zaney boy. Hope you guys had as great of birthdays as Zane did, sorry I forgot to tell you on the actual day, but things were a little crazy here!

One year doctor's visit

Today Zane went to his one year doctor's appointment to get checked out and get some vaccines. This is the first time that Zane has gone to the doctor since he has been able to walk and he had a great time playing with all the toys and checking in with all the other kids in the waiting area. We even met a little boy, Cole, who was born on the same day, at the same hospital, as Zane. They were nursery buddies I'm sure and caught up on all that had gone on over the past year, in their own little language. Cole also had a binki that looked like a baseball that Zane thought he really needed to go with the new Cardinal's outfit he was wearing.

Once we finally got back to the room Zane had to get a finger stick to check his iron and lead levels, which was no fun, and required leaving a band-aid on his little finger for a bit, which was beyond annoying to Zane. Then we got his vital statistics:

Height: 31.5cm - 95%
Weight: 24.5 lbs - 75%
-These are the percentiles he has been in both categories all year long. He is a very consistent, tall boy.

The doctor assessed to make sure he was meeting all his milestones, like feeding himself, picking things up with two fingers, drinking out of a sippy cup, crawling, walking, saying a few words ect. He of course is doing all those things and more and was very proud of himself as he showed her how well he could walk and talk. We are going to continue the pepcid since after about two weeks off of it he started throwing up again, but we aren't going to increase the dose as he gains weight, so it is essentially a wean.  He got four shots today, leading to a pretty sad/mad little boy on the way home.

It is hard to believe it was a year ago tomorrow that we were talking to this doctor about finding a cardiologist for Zane. Time has flown by at times and dragged by at others. Zane won't have to go back to see her until he is 18 months old and after his cardiology appointment in August he will only have to see the cardiologist once a year, so pretty much a normal doctor's schedule. That is such a blessing!

Today was Zane's first full day with no bottles and all things considered he did an amazing job. He didn't nap very well today, what with all our outings, and his little legs hurt from the doctor's visit so he was pretty emotional. He needed a lot of cuddles and 100% of my attention most of the time, but he drank whole milk out of his sippy cup and seemed to enjoy it. He even went to bed without much of a fight, so hopefully by the end of the week our new routine will be fully in effect and we can pack up the bottles.

Happy Birthday Zane

Dear Zaney,

Happy first birthday my sweet baby boy. This year has been rough at times, but you have kept a smile on everyone's face through it all. You are the bright spot in our lives and have taught us so much. We have loved watching you grow from a little baby to a busy, happy one year old. We are truly blessed to be your mommy and daddy.

 You spent your first birthday with all of your family surrounding you, celebrating your first amazing year. We went to Grant's Farm with all your cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and had a wonderful time. You got to pet the goats, see the clydesdales, and ride the tram. Everyone was so happy that they could be here to celebrate with you on your first birthday. You are always such a great sport, whether you are tired, hungry, hot, or bored, you power through like a little trooper.

This afternoon your played in your new whale pool, learning the art of easing into cold water, playing with your new toys, and toddling around the yard exploring everything. You are so busy everyday, learning, and growing quickly. You gave me hugs and kisses a lot today, as I celebrated the miracle that is your life. We love you so much little boy. We will always be with you, supporting you, cheering you on, helping you up when you fall, and loving you unconditionally. Happy first birthday my sweet blond headed boy!

Love
Mommy and Daddy