First Birthday Party

When I found out we had the chance to go to Mexico,  I was a little upset when I realized that we would be gone on Luke's first birthday.  I considered not going and had a lot of mom guilt, but finally decided that my boy would probably still go to college and grow up to be a responsible citizen without us, and realized we could have a great party when we returned.

Of course, I didn't have to worry that Luke would be neglected on his birthday - my family had a little party for him, complete with balloons and a cake.  We were lucky to have good Internet at our hotel so we were able to skype with him and my mom sent us pics of the festivities.  That made it a lot easier to be without the boy on his actual birthday.

Once I got over the guilt of missing his actual birthday, I started stressing about The Party.  I spent way too much time looking at peoples blogs and Facebook posts and started to think that I needed a party planner because it was all becoming so overwhelming.  Jami finally talked me off the ledge and reminded me that no one will remember the details of the party.  She suggested that I get a great cake, great food and to let the rest of the party be about the people.  Of course, she helped me out with the invitations.  

I spent one insomniac night looking for someone to make the cake and found this amazing lady,   Katherine.  I had decided that I wanted to incorporate Five Little Monkeys (one of Luke's favorite rhymes) but didn't have any ideas beyond that.  I told her my idea and she immediately started making specific suggestions. I basically told her that she had free reign - that is always a little scary, but I have learned to let a creative person create.  When I went to pick up the cake I was absolutely amazed - it was more than I could have ever imagined.  In fact, it was so amazing that we debated whether or not to even cut it.  Good news is, it tasted as good as it looked.

Anyway, the party was great.  Lots of family and friends, good food, chaos of kids, etc.  We have so much support and it was great to feel all of that to celebrate Luke.

Before dinner was even over, the kids were already anxious, wondering when we would open presents and cut the cake.  We opted for presents first before the kids were completely sugared up. Luke had lots of help from all the cousins, I think they were more excited about his gifts than he was. Last night Luke seemed to be a little overwhelmed by the new toys, but this morning he was super excited to explore everything.  

It took him awhile to figure out what to do with the cake.  I'm not sure he actually liked it, but he did seem to enjoy making a mess.  Perfect moment for a kid.

Happy Birthday stinker bum, thanks for letting us be a part of your party.

Twelve Months

Twelve months ago Luke arrived and completely changed our lives.  I knew it would be amazing to have a baby and that he would bring a lot of joy into our lives, but I really had no idea how intense the love for my boy would be.  It has been so much fun to watch him grow, learn, change, and discover - part of me wants to keep him my baby forever, the other part can hardly wait to see what he does next.  Some of the highlights of the last months have been:

*Discovered he does not like the feel of grass on his legs and feet - my mom says that my brother Sean was the same way.
*Has started crawling and the world has become his playground, he is fast and sneaky.
*Unfortunately, he has become the human vacuum cleaner. I used to think I had a clean floor, but he is constantly finding something on the floor to put in his mouth.  The worst so far has been dog food - more than once.
*He can pull himself up and is learning to sit back down.  He has no ear and tries to climb on everything.
*Tried Indian food, and liked it.
*Makes the sound of the dog, cow and sheep.
*Survived a week and his first birthday without mom and dad.  Since we returned home he has become a little clingy and definitely attached to his blankie.

I promise he loves Brycen,
He just wasn't sure he wanted to be held like a baby.

Mini Me
Much better!

See what I mean about the grass.

And the climbing

I couldn't be more in love.