Today we had a wonderful party to celebrate Brian's 1st year. Unfortunately our day didn't start out so great. Brian chipped his left front tooth this morning on the side of the bathtub. Gr! Can we please just go a month without some sort of trauma for the poor kid? I'm getting pretty tired of it! I guess that's what you get when you have a little monkey on your hands!
Since Brian is our little monkey, we decided the theme of his first Birthday party should be a monkey theme! Auntie Lauren made the most beautiful monkey cake! She was thrilled when Brian decapitated one of the monkeys while we sang to him. So funny! Brian clapped and cheered after we sang and continued to demolish fondant monkeys. As Lauren said, it was the highlight of the party. Another highlight was the beautiful weather. 40% chance of rain my foot! We had a beautiful breeze and lots of sunshine! I had my doubts about hosting party at the park, but it worked out really well!
Brian received so many wonderful gifts and we are so thankful to have so many family members and friends that love him. Everyone pitched in to get the party set up, and to clean up after it was over. It was a wonderful celebration for a pretty amazing little boy. Thank you to everyone that made it a special day!
Katie is house sitting at a farm in Union, so we thought it would be a fun Birthday activity to take Brian to see the horses. He loves animals, so we thought he would be excited about these new creatures. Let's just say excited probably isn't the word I'd use to describe his reaction. Scared, timid, QUIET, apprehensive...these are better words for the adventure. With Katie's help, he finally warmed up, and even pet Clarence, the male horse.
Seeing Brian with the horses was especially exciting for his godmother, Lauren. She, like her Mom, has a huge love of horses. She writes about it often on her Mom Blog.
My baby boy, as I look back on the past year, I am overwhelmed with emotion. You may have noticed as I have cried every night this week while I rocked you to sleep. Sorry buddy, that's just Mommy. You'll get used to it...
There are so many moments that were a part of your first year, and I can't possibly note them all. Here are some of the big ones...
I remember the day you were born. I never expected such a full waiting room. And wait they did. You were stubborn from day one, child. Mommy and Daddy were so happy when you finally arrived. You were so cute and little. We all know, the little didn't last long!
I remember your early visits to Dr. Price. You doubled your birth weight in record time! You ate A LOT in those first weeks of life!
I remember when you first smiled. You weren't old enough to smile. But what do they know? You've always been a happy boy. You couldn't keep from smiling.
I remember your Baptism. What a beautiful day. You wore your Daddy's Baptismal suit. Auntie Lauren and Uncle Jon were so proud to be your godparents. And what a crowd we had! You are one popular baby.
I remember your "firsts." Your first cereal and first solids. You weren't really a fan of either at first. You learned to love them. Your first rolling adventures, and when you first sat up...right around Christmas time. Your first Christmas was such a blessed time for our whole family. You made everything so much more meaningful just by being you.
I remember you saying Mama for the first time. And then doggie. And FINALLY Dada! You really made him wait for that one. Stubborn child that you are :)
I remember when you started to crawl. We were so excited! If we could just keep you still now, we'd really have it made. The stairs, dog food and toilet happen to be your favorites, Brian Thomas. Don't think I won't tell your future girl friends all about this!
I remember the lazy days we spent together. Lots of lazy days. Mommy naps have been a big thing this past year. I will never, ever forget the comfort I feel when you are napping on my shoulder.
There is so much more. Mostly, Brian, I remember realizing the day you were born, that the kind of love I feel for you, my baby, is absolutely indescribable. You have made every day of this past year better than it could have possibly ever been without you. Your smile, your personality, your sweetness, and your unconditional love are everything a mommy could ask for.
It's been one great year, little monkey. Here's to many more. Happy Birthday, Brian Thomas.
Yep, you read right! Brian took his first steps tonight :) I noticed that he was standing up for longer periods of time when I set him down a couple of times this evening. We're talking 5 or 6 seconds at a time. So, I called Shawn over to watch and told him I thought Brian was on the verge. I was right! He took about a step and half. The best part was that we both got to see it together!
Later the Banta kids came over to show us their new puppy, Schavo and Brian took a couple more steps for them. They were very excited to see his "second steps," and we were very excited to see the new puppy!
Now, he is no way "walking," but I think he'll be there soon enough. And the first Birthday is just around the corner too!
Brian explored another first this weekend as well. He took his first swim in a big pool. We went out to Shawn's Aunt Bibber's (and Uncle Bill's) for the first swim. Brian was a little apprehensive, but I think he enjoyed himself in the end. He was especially thrown off by Shawn going under water. It really got him upset at first.
Happy as can be in his swim gear. Note that this is BEFORE he was actually in the pool!
While we were there, Brian really enjoyed playing with his cousin Mari, and her fiance Kenny. Mari was terrified of babies before Brian was born! Look at her now :)
We ended this First Father's Day with our typical nighttime routine. With the bath dance. We've gotten in the habit of letting Brian stand by the edge of the tub while we fill it with water. He likes to throw all of his toys in and watch the tub fill. He gets really excited. We're talking bouncing up and down and loud shrieking and shouting. Most nights we strip him down while he stands there, and we end up laughing as we watch his cute tush bounce up and down in excitement. Tonight was no exception.
What? You didn't know there's a beach in Edgewood? Okay, you got me...it was the sand volleyball court at Presidents' Park. Thanks to Lauren for being our photographer, and for the idea :)
Here are some cute ones of my cute one on the swing...
...says the Nana. Who bought the new hat. He has to wear them all summer so we needed options :)
Who put Brian on a towel by his pool, fully clothed this evening so he could get used to it. :)
You see the results below. We knew he'd like the pool. It just had to be his idea! On his terms. Like every other "new" thing. I ask again, HOW did I end up with a stubborn child?
A family friend gave me the idea to take a picture of Brian in his glider each month as a means of measuring growth (much like Shawn and I took pictures of my growing belly every two weeks while I was pregnant). I haven't been super good about it, but here are the ones I have taken. It's not as easy as it used to be to actually keep him IN the chair!!!
Today we went to Children's for Brian's hearing test. This was supposed to be the re-test of the test from April. The one that we kept having to put off because of the mono. Brian had other ideas. He was completely uncooperative. Molly, the audiologist got very little information from the tests that she did. Brian was a wiggling, yelling, chattering machine. We did learn that he knows the word "fish" today. One of the toys they were trying to keep his attention with was a set of fish cards and he made sure everyone knew they were FISH. So, we have no new information re:Brian's hearing. We will retest in July. I'm not sure how that will be much better as he will likely be walking by then, but we'll see!
We also went to Dr. Robinison's office today to have Brian's stitches removed. He did really well with it. He cried, but calmed down pretty quickly. Dr. Robinson still says that Brian will probably not have any scars, or if he does they won't be very noticeable. His injuries are still pretty bright pink, but they don't seem to be bothering him, so we will just keep slathering on the Vitamin E creme and wait for them to heal :)
We put off his first haircut this week given the amount of trauma he had to endure already. Tomorrow, I will be rescheduled that. It's time for the baby mullet to go!
