Happy Birthday!

One. Year. Old.

Seriously? Honestly?

Oh little man, you make my world go round.

This weekend was beyond fun. It's way more fun celebrating your kid's birthday than you own (at least any birthday after 21 or so... :) Friday we spent the day running errands, cleaning the house, decorating getting ready for Dawson's birthday party. Daryn and I went a bit overboard with the decorations, but isn't that's what birthdays are for?

Saturday was completely perfect. The timing of the entire day was spot on. Our families came over at 4 for Dawson's party. His birthday was baseball themed....obviously, right?

We ate. And ate. Celebrated. And ate. Opened gifts. Celebrated. Ate more (cake).

Dawson was a bit overwhelmed and didn't have much interest in opening his gifts (good thing Veda and Averi were there for moral support :). But he did enjoy playing with the wrapping and tissue paper and the toys once we removed all the tape, cardboard, twist ties, plastic bits...(are they supposed to keep the kids out or the parents? Don't they know the longer the parents struggle to take the toys out of the box, the angrier their kid gets? Sort of a lose-lose all around...)

After we opened all of D's totally awesome gifts, we had cake and ice cream. I found a really cute idea for a baseball glove/ball cake online and went for it. It was a little more difficult than I anticipated, but I was pleased with how it turned out. It was pretty sureal making a birthday cake for my son though I must say...

Unfortunately, after all that work Dawson wanted nothing to do with his cake. Between all the commotion of the day we was completely done...but on the upside, there wasn't much of a mess to clean up! :)

 

Dawson loved all of his gifts! He already seems like a whole new kid with new toys that occupy him for more than 30 seconds at a time...can you tell that he loves them? :)

 

We spent Dawson's actual birthday visiting with Grandparents, playing with new toys and hanging out. After church we went out to dinner at Chipotle. Dawson got his own kids meal complete with all of his favorite things: cheese quesadilla, black beans, rice, chips and apple juice. He scarfed down!

This past year has been quite the journey for Daryn and I. Parenthood is all that I expected and way more than I ever could have imagined. It's a lot of hard work, but the rewards are well worth it! :) Dawson has taught us so much...patience, living in the moment, and what really matters. We love you so much little man!

11 months

Well, here we are. Just one month shy of the big one.

Literally.

It's hard not to get a bit emotional thinking of the past year and how it's not only flow, but completely (and obviously) changed our life. I have heard it from many mom's about how fast it flies...and they are so dead on. But they were right about something else too. Everyday gets more and more fun. Dawson is slowly shedding the baby and turning little boy on us. It is sort of like watching grass grow...you don't really notice it day to day, but then all the sudden you realize how much it's grown.

We are so there.

Life with Dawson is changing so much. Here is a few things that he is up too...
- Starting to stand some on his own for a few seconds.
- Flying around the house behind his push toy
- Pointing and everything and saying "Whuzat?" is a little whisper...it's adorable.
- Has been sleeping in til 9 or later. One morning he got about at 9:45. Mom could get used to that...
- Sleeps about three hours broken up between generally two naps.
- Talks a ton! He attempts to say quite a bit. In between jibber jabber, we'll find him saying, Oh wow, good, hey dude, fan (he's obsessed and constantly pointing them out), various animal sounds and noises
- Copies the noises we make...clearing our throat, "ahhhh", vibrating our lips together, etc.
- Loves to throw food off his tray. He shoots his arm out with food in his hand hoovering over the floor as a threat with a sly little look...what a stinker. It's hard to keep a straight face!
- Took off to get into something he shouldn't. I started after him saying "Nah, uh ah!". He turned at looked at me and mimicked me right back. My jaw hit the floor. I didn't know if I should laugh or be mad...the laughing won!
- I am working on transitioning him to a sippy cup and losing the bottle. After he is used to taking a sippy cup with each meal (instead of formula between meals), I will start to make the switch to whole milk.

Dinner date with Dawson's lady, Averi...

Helping in the kitchen...or something like that.

At the zoo with Dad.

First time on a merry-go-round...

This was my chair from when I was D's age that my mom brought over for him. Can you tell that he thinks he is big stuff?

Bottoms up!

At the Children's Museum with his buddy, Liam.

Handsome little stud.

Some day D will kill me for taking this photo, but I had to. He had a bath at Averi and Veda's house and had to borrow some PJs. Doesn't he pull off pink and ruffles well?

Boston or bust!

A few weeks ago we went to Boston to visit our friends Lisa, Zach and Brody. They were incredible gracious hosts, taking care of our every need. Dawson and Brody didn't seem too interested in each other, but did have some moments of playing together and checking each other out.

Dawson's first plane ride went better than I expected. On the way there he did pretty well, was very active and wiggly but quite for the most part (at least in between the moments Mom was shoving food in his mouth so he would chew instead of whine!). On the way to Boston we sat in the row right behind first class so we had extra leg room for all of our necessities (a million books, loads of snacks, and un-annoying toys, i.e. one's that don't make noise!).

I have to say, we did way more in Boston then I ever expected, but the boys were troopers and up for just about anything...

Boston Commons...how beautiful!

Our sight seeing boys, Dawson and Brody.

D overseeing the city of Boston on the top of the Prudential Building.

Momma and D in the Prudential Building.

Playing in one of the many beautiful fountains in the city of Boston. (I should have taken an after photo so you could have seen how soaked he was after this!)

Daryn taking part in a dance at Plymouth Plantation. Oh how this makes me smile...

Zach, Lisa and Brody at Plymouth Plantation.

D out like a rock at Plymouth Rock...

Belly buddies with our little men!

Playtime!

Chow time!

Our last meal in Boston. Lisa is an amazing cook. She made us a feast each night, and the last night was no exception! It was our first time eating lobster, and now I'm spoiled for life! Check out the size comparison with the plates...yeah, it was good.

We had such a great time with such great people. A vacation that we will never forget!

Lion days of summer?

Life with Dawson is nothing short of an adventure...rescuing him from the room where he just closed the door and has no way out. Protecting him from the evil toilet water (yes, he knows how to open the lid now and I've caught him splashing around a few times...at least there were no "leftovers" in the bowl!) And conquering "the nap".

But some adventures are more fun. Like watching him take steps behind his push toy. Seeing the gears turn as he copies most every move we make and thing we say. Or at least makes a solid attempt.

Last weekend we spent on Lake Wisconsin with my family. It was quite the weekend...I would say there was not much relaxing involved but Grandma was there with some relief. We have gone the two previous years sans kid, and let's just say it was a big adjustment this year. But Dawson did love lounging on the hammock, kickin' it in his floaty and discovering all sorts of "no's" at a new place (in case you were wondering, he did find the toilet at the cabin).

Next week, Dawson is taking his first airplane trip! We are headed to Boston to visit my friend Lisa and her little man Brody. When we first found out we were pregnant, but didn't feel far along enough to share, I spent lots of time on the What to Expect When You're Expecting website and found a message board for expectant moms in September 2009. I was dying to talk to someone since baby was all I could think about. It was great to compare stories with people and ask the questions you are afraid to ask people you know for fear of great embarrassment. Enter Lisa. I was joining in a discussion one morning and there was the other mom-to-be that had similar thoughts with a sense of humor that made my nerves disappear (at least for 30 seconds or so). We exchanged emails and were a little surprised by how much we had in common: same birthday, anniversary a week apart to high school crushes, pregnant with our first with the same due day (and both with a boy we would eventually find out) to name a few...

We hit it off instantly and emailed several times a day throughout out whole pregnancy. And since our little men were born we have been on the phone basically every day since keeping each other sane, exchanging ideas, fears and frustrations.

So next week we take off to visit Lisa and Brody (born 4 days before Dawson). We are so thrilled to have our little men meet and to hang out in person!

A few new things D is up to...
- Will "roar" and "moo" (although the "moo" is more like brrooo") when he sees a picture of them in a book or when we ask him what they say
- Is starting to "oink" too...although it sounds more like "ink, ink"...it's stinkin' cute
- We have been doing a few signs with Dawson (more, all done, please, thank you, etc) and he has caught on to all done. Once he is done eating, he will very exaggeratedly sign all done and say "ah-duh". It's really funny...he rocks his highchair when he signs....I wasn't kidding when I said "exaggeratedly" (which who even knew was a word?)
- Points at things that interest him

Check out some photos from our time on the lake....Thanks for checking in!

Life is good.

The gang's all here...

D and Uncle J...one of my most favorite pics

Water break with Mom

Yeah...that's my Grandma. She's pretty neat.

D rockin' his floaty and living the dream...

Hurry and take the photo before he grabs the glasses!

"What? You got to be joking Grandpa! This lawn needs some stage 3 fertilizer and a good mow at a 45 degree angle stat. How could you not see that?"

10 months and "soo big"!

Life with this little 10 month old man is such a joy. His personality is showing more and more each day as he cruses around everywhere discovering anything he can get into. He pulls himself up onto furniture, walls, his crib, doors, drawers, etc with total ease. He walks along furniture some, but still is a little slow to do so. Dawson is kind of a timid little dude. He needs to be fairly confident he can do something before he attempts to actually do it. But then there is the occasional situation where he thinks he can fly off the edge of our bed or couch...in which case mom or dad come in to "save the day" before things get ugly. Our timing so far as been working in our favor...


Dawson continues to be a champion eater. This boy can chow down food. A few recent favorites: black beans, peas, toast, bananas, quesadillas, veggie straws (chips) and as much cheese and he can fit into his mouth at a time. He is basically eating "table food" with the exception of the few jars we are finishing up. He still takes four 8oz bottles a day with about 4 small meals mixed in.


Dawson's sense of humor is starting to come through too. It's so completely charming. Goofy faces, dancing to music, silly noises. He laughs at funny things and does some tricks of his own. A few days ago, he started feeding mom his breakfast and thought that was pretty funny. He laughs with us (or maybe it is as us?) which is the best sound a parent can hear.


This past month has been full of adventure for D. Mom and Dad had a getaway to the Ozarks with some wonderful friends of ours (Andes, Havercamps and Laudonios) for a long weekend while Daws camped out with G&G Towns. He also attended Pete & Caty's rehearsal dinner, the zoo, swiming, Chula Vista water park with his ladies (Averi & Veda) and many, many walks! Dad was gone for a week long trip to Colorado to Young Life Wilderness Ranch. Me and D kept busy with various things but were so happy to have Dad back home!


At 10 months, Dawson...
- Loves having dance parties in the kitchen with Mom and Dad
- Waves...all the time.
- Can do "Soooo big"
- Smacks his lips together to a big kiss! It's adorable. Check out the video of when he first learned it at Grandma's house!
- Is such a copy cat! Mimicking faces, words, actions...it's too funny!
- Is getting to be a much better napper. Takes two naps a day, 1.5-2 hours each! This makes for a happy momma!
- Is so close to having his top two teeth come in. You can see them setting through his gums. But I think they are getting close as we had a rough night last night and a case of the whines today...poor baby.

D with Caty the bride!

Hello Mr. Giraffe!

Look Ma, it's a goat!

The arranged marriage has begun! :)

We still can't believe how big he is getting and how fast he is growing. We are soaking up every minute we can get with this handsome boy!

10 Month Photos

Our friends, Josh and Nikki, have a really nice camera that they were so kind to let us use for a little photo shoot this past weekend at their house. Josh took most of these photos and then I had some fun editing them. I am so excited with how they turned out!