has it really been 372 days?

Guess who turned one last week?Here he is with cake #1 (we had two celebrations for him-- one on his actual birthday, and one the next day when some family and friends came for a swimming party). Whenever someone would say, "Are you one?" to him, he would immediately hold up both of his pointer fingers and shake them up and down (a trick that we have been learning for the past few weeks in preparation for the big day).Ripping off wrapping paper was most exciting.Imagine his delight when he realized that he not only got to keep the wrapping paper and box, but there was a stuffed monkey inside for him to play with as well! I have never known a baby who loves stuffed animals as much as Baby G.And here we with birthday cake #2 (actually, they are cupcakes). Notice him proudly displaying his age, once again.Using a paring knife, I painstakingly carved tiny fish out of a fruit roll up to make these. And no, Baby G did not seem to notice (sorry it's sideways... blogger will NOT let me rotate it for some reason).Here is a sampling of some of the other sea creature cupcakes that my partner in cake/cupcake decorating crime (Aunt K), and I made. I wasn't going to have Baby G do the whole "eat the cake by yourself because you are one" thing, but my sister-in-law said it was pretty much a commandment. So I obeyed.
And the babe seemed to be glad about it all. So glad, in fact, that he thanked us by flexing his muscles for all to see.
Word to the Wise: If you want to be the giver of a one-year old's favorite gift, simply purchase one of those cards that sings a song when you open it. Thank you, Grandma.

Following a necessary post-cake eating rinse in the sinkit was time to go swimming with friends. Here are the three boys playing in the little wading pool.
It is sort of surreal to me that a whole year has passed since I pushed a tiny baby out of an unmentionable place. Looking at my 23 pound one-year old it almost doesn't seem real to me that he was that same newborn, and that that much time has gone by. But then I think about all of the milestones we have reached together, all of the memories we have made, and the enormous amount of love that has grown in our family since Baby G's arrival, and it almost feels like we have had him forever. Oh how we treasure this little person!

Here are some tidbits about our boy:

*he folds his arms when we ask him to for prayers.

*he says about 12-15 words, including "cool" and "shoot." Thank you, dad.

*he has taken up to 16 steps on his own.

*he dances on command and can shake his hips like crazy.

*he says "da da" constantly when his dad is around, but only says "ma ma" if he is tired or hungry.

*he LOVES water-- doesn't matter if it's cold or warm, put him in the water and he's happy.

*he squints when he is fake laughing or crying.

*he makes a machine gun sound when he wants to pretend to laugh.

*as soon as he wakes up he wants to give his lion and horse stuffed animals a giant hug.

*when he gives "loves" he lays on your shoulder and hums.

*he has 5 teeth.

*he loves tools-- chalk that up to the fact that for his entire life his dad has been handing him tools to keep him occupied while working on the house.

*he loves "The Wiggles" much to his daddy's dismay.

*he gives open mouth, slobbery kisses.

*he likes to hold as many things in one hand as possible.

*he thinks that all animals say "baaaaaa."

*he relentlessly points at whatever it is he wants.

*he likes men more than women, and is especially fond of men with facial hair.

*he is finally starting to get used to all the cheering at ReAl games-- he used to cry everytime people cheered loudly, but now he mostly just looks around with startled eyes.

*he is truly a happy baby-- he rarely just gets fussy.

*he loves blueberries and cottage cheese-- he's a pretty good eater (albeit slow).

*he loves other babies.

*he sleeps with his "lovie" every night.

*he is a good sleeper-- he goes 10-12 hours every night.

*he is sometimes a good napper-- some days they only last 45 minutes, but most days are more like an hour and a half.

*he makes messes. I can't believe how many times a day I put away the contents of our entertainment unit cupboards.

*he has a sweet, calm disposition (he gets that from his daddy)-- even though he is mobile now he will still sit in my lap and give cuddles.

*he thinks the nursery rhyme "One, Two Buckle My Shoe" is hysterical.

*when he gets really tired he gets loopy-- he laughs at everything and acts like a crazy man.

*he still nurses like a champ (about 3 times a day).

*he loves drinking out of straws.

*he brightens our lives and makes us happy-- he is the joy of our home.

Happy Birthday, little man!

Here he is in his ReAl jersey that he got for his birthday:

And here he is sporting it at the game: