Planning Time

Almost two years old.

This year, we will do a birthday party with friends - since X has friends! I'm so happy to get to know all of these other small people and their moms and dads.

We have been to a few birthday parties in the last couple of weeks. Oddly, a lot of the kids X knows have birthdays near his own. I mention this by way of noting that he knows what a birthday party is now, so he will be excited for his own. And he LOVES birthday cake!

We will keep it simple - just a small party at home, grilling hot dogs and hamburgers and traditional sides. The cake is starting to take shape in my mind. I don't know that I can make a cake myself that will reflect what I hope the decorations will be, so I am guessing we will have to spend to have it made.

The scary part is that this is getting real, really quickly.  In 3 weeks I am going to be wishing my baby a happy second birthday. I need to get going on this now!

Handprint

Today as X napped, I was folding laundry.  Although I had just cleaned the one glass-topped table we still have from before he was born a little earlier in the day, I glanced over and saw a tiny handprint.  It made me smile to know that our house is filled with little reminders of my best boy.

Row Row Row

X can sing! Well, he can chant. The sitter revealed his new trick today when we went to pick him up this afternoon: he sings along to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."

Row row row row row OAT!

Love.

Growing and Growing

It has been so long since I last posted, I hardly know where to begin. X is growing up so fast, it's hard to believe he was just a baby this time last year! He had just begun rolling over on his own. He wasn't quite sitting up by himself, and certainly wasn't crawling or standing.

Now, he does all of those and more with such ease - it's second nature. He can walk -- no, run -- and climb and open and close doors and talk and brush his teeth. There are so many things he can do!

I am grateful, so grateful, for my smart, funny, strong, sweet, crazy little boy. I will just try to store up the moments we have now as memories to smile about tomorrow, and next month, and next year and in all the years to come.

Trials

X was sick all weekend, and though he was improving last night - his appetite returned, fever went away - he is still clearly not 100%. Since he couldn't go to the sitter today, being fewer than 24 hours throw-up and fever-free, I stayed home.

He has been miserable. Doesn't want to drink water, but also doesn't want to drink his bottle. Doesn't want to eat, but is clearly very hungry. I'm happy to say I managed to get a graham cracker and a container of pureed green beans into him, plus a couple of ounces of fluids. He has also been SCREAMING and crying, because he is obviously just so tired.

But, in between, there are moments of adorableness. After I swept up all of the food he threw onto the floor and put it in the garbage, he wanted to use the broom and help! When I decided to show him how to use crayons, he pulled them out of the box one by one, delighted at the different colors. And so, we now have X's very first work of art: