Happy Birthday!

Whew, we made it! One whole year!

That little blurb up at the top were notes I started taking the night of May 5, 2014. Funny story there; Our neighbor, Guillermo, had come over about 9:00PM to get a key to our house. He was going to watch the dog for us whenever your mom went into labor – which was still a couple of weeks away according to the calendar. He and his wife had had their first baby about six months earlier so he was very excited for us and eager to help in any way. Having the responsibility of the dog covered was pretty much the last thing I had on my mental “to-do” list. We thanked Guillermo repeatedly for his generosity and after he left, I closed the front door turned to your mom and putting my hand on her stomach I leaned down and said, “Alright, we’re all ready, you can come out now!” Less than 3 hours later your mom woke me up saying that she was pretty sure you were listening and sure enough 11 hours later at 10:50AM you arrived!

We’ve been reflecting on what we were doing a year ago and all of it was at the NICU. Having you home now is the best present for us and we’re pretty sure you also like it better here. Both your mom and I can’t believe how fast the time has gone by, but it’s relative I guess. When you were up all night, sick with your first ear ache, time was definitely not moving fast enough let me just say.

Anyhow, for your first birthday we took you to visit your other grandparents (my mom and dad) that live in Wisconsin. You traveled through six new states; Virginia, West Virgina, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin and complained about my driving rather minimally. You stayed at the house that I grew up in and met for the first time your Aunt Joyce, Aunt Pat, Uncle Gordy, Cousin Mary, Cousin Ron, Aunt BJ, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Mike, Cousin Schuyler and Cousin Kate. I guess you should preface all those I just named with “Great” and I’ll explain later. You also met some of your mom’s closest friends; Becca, Kerri, Christina, Mandy and all of their little kiddos. Before we left Wisconsin, you were also introduced to Grandma and Grandpa’s neighbor Rita and met my friend, Rob.

We took you to your first Zoo and you saw a real lion! We’re pretty sure that was your favorite animal because you do such a surprisingly life-like impression! You enjoyed malts from Culver’s and some breakfast from Monty’s, dinner at Senor Peppers and I can’t forget your birthday cupcakes, home-made by your momma! We both decided that you probably would have liked the cupcakes more if the frosting hadn’t been so thick. I think it was a little difficult for you to swallow.

You’re eating some more varieties of food now, but everything is still on the soft or pureed side. But now that you’re 1 there are big changes ahead! We will be trying to share what we have for dinner with you (blended of course!), milk will come from a cup – no more bottles and your mom will be slowly weaning you. It’s bittersweet for her as she moves away from a very close connection to you but will eventually be able to sleep through the night.

We are going to consider April 27 as the day you took your first steps. You were at Pop Pop’s and Mia’s, and while they were quick, short and you were headed down, they were steps none-the-less. Since then you have taken several steps at short distances and will occasionally find yourself standing, unaided, on your own two feet! It’s very exciting, but I have a feeling it will mean closer supervision…time will tell.