Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you!!

We had Christopher's 1st Birthday party this Saturday. What a week leading up to it! We had a storm Monday, the first storm of the season and the worst we've seen in years, all on the same day. We had two trees down just on our block, a tree went down on our stairs at work, and half the area lost electricity. By Wednesday it was over 80 in Monterey and we were worried it would be TOO hot on Saturday! It was beautiful. It did get a little warm, but the day turned out great. The party was fun, food was amazing and watching Junior smash (or play with) his cake was worth all the planning.


He was a little unsure at first. It might have been the overall size of the cake, or the crown of 25 people oohing and aahing.


He starting to dig into it a bit...


Then started to nibble...


I think David was a little more excited about the cake than Junior.


Whom Junior decided he could probably share just a little of his birthday cake.


Mommy was excited too!!!


Eventually, Junior made quite a dent in his cupcake cake...


And then he was... done.

He was such a trooper. He even gave high-fives to a few guests.



Posed for some photos with Grandma and family...


Loved the hat on Grandma instead of himself.


Then we opened gifts. He loved his new chair from the Stahls.


His new truck...


And then started to fade. He did so well. He helped Mommy open his gifts and then went right down for his nap at 1:30 (thank you Grandma!).

Thank you everyone who came to help celebrate the one year since we welcomed Junior into this world. It's been such an amazing journey and we are all so excited to see what Year #2 brings us!

Balance...

Junior is trying really hard to do this walking thing. I think he does best when he just isn't thinking about it.


Yeah!!


Trying!

He's hiding his toys in the couch, but then can't get them out.



Almost!

Walking 101

More walking, more attempts, more falls, more laughs.


Look ma, no hands!


Attempt... and fall...

I think we have it... a little bit.


He's on the move!

What's life like with a one year old?

FAST!



ENJOYABLE!


A BLUR!


A lot of shots of Christopher's back!


New abilities!


And quick!


whew... I need a break!

Junior and his daddy...

This was so cute. Junior loves to just flop around, and he has the most infectious laugh ever.





David is such a great Dad!

Walking 101

Christopher is testing out his walking legs.

as you can see...

Toys... dog toys, trash, other stuff...

Christopher got a new toy from Leonard and Alexander. He loves it. He was into it the minute he got it and is trying so hard to get the pieces right!


I LOVE the excitement in his face. I'm not sure what was going on but he was very happy.


He gets the idea, but is still learning which one where.


Then he found another toy that we hadn't given him yet. It doesn't have batteries yet, but it doesn't stop him. I don't think we are going to put batteries in it, he already likes it, plus it doesn't annoy mommy and daddy this way.


Oh, that's not a toy junior. Geez, he loves to play with the controller!


And that's a dog toy!!! oh well... I think everything is a toy to a 12 month old.


Trash! Really? Trash as a toy? I give up!



I love the thought going into this.

Standing...

I took some photos of Junior. I was trying for some nice 1 year old shots, but he's a 1 year old... wasn't happening.

the best I got:


Some others:







And he was outta there!

12 Months Old!

A little late I know, but here are the best from his 12 month shots.


Thank goodness this is the last month I'll be doing this. I think I would have had to use duct tape next month!

Outtakes:

Having just a little fun...


Ohh, paper! I love paper!


I love my new shoes my Aunties got me!


I love paper! oh, did I already say that?

And practicing my walkin' skills.

New walking shoes...

Or socks as the case may be...


It started with some nice happy smiles...


and some more smiles...

Then some playing..


more playing...


some attempted escaping...


and ended in tears.

Poor munchkin. He'll go go go till he literally has no more. He went right to bed at this point.

Grilled cheese and apple juice

Christopher had his first grilled cheese sandwich the other day. I grilled it up and gave it to him and he LOVED it. As you can see in the video below, he's also very good at sharing.

The One Sock Wonder!

My son and his socks. He loves his socks. He takes them off, then tries to put them back on. David got up with junior this particular weekend morning. I couldn't sleep after they were up so I got up to see what they were up to and I found this.



Loved it.

Later, while the Michigan State game was on, we just hung out, played and relaxed.


Junior takes off his sock (just one) and proceeds to play without it, or with it as the case may be.




He practiced some walking...


and took a rest on one of the dog beds. What is it with him and the dog beds?? :)


Played with Daddy's hat...


Then just sat back and watched some of the game. He is definitely a Spartans fan.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday baby boy!



One year ago...