1 year old!

The shirt says it all. My "baby bud" has turned 1.

It seems impossible to believe, I know. I tried to live in denial, until January 19 crept closer and closer on the calendar, and all of a sudden I found myself online at midnight one night, trying to shop for party supplies and putting a rush order on everything. Denial costed me an extra $15 in shipping.

So, I ditched the denial in favor of full-on celebration mode. Certainly, there is a lot to celebrate about this little guy. One of them was that he was taking his first tentative steps. Matt caught this sequence as he took a few steps toward Daddy:

Others thought he was worth celebrating, too!  His sister, in her movie star sunglasses:

Cousin Madi:

Auntie Karen:

Uncle Roger:

... and my parents and brother, to name a few: 

All that late-night internet shopping paid off. We put together a very fun farm-themed party:

At first, all Alex cared about was the balloons:

That is, until the cake came out!

Matt had suggested we get a "1" candle, because we have a picture of him at that age with a "1" on his cake too! Check out the father and son pics:

Everyone gathered to sing happy birthday while Alex just stared at them all:

Time for Alex Mommy to blow out the candle - Alex had something else in mind!

mmmm, there's candy on that cake! As soon as it got close enough he snatched one, wasting no time to shove it in his mouth. That's my boy.

When we dished up his piece of cake, he wasted no time with that either.

Time for PRESENTS!

A laughing cow ball from Sister

A new riding toy from Mom and Dad

The box is just as much fun as the toys!

It was a very memorable day with family and friends to celebrate this little guy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!

Christmas in January

We didn't get to see Adam and Megan at Christmas, so our family instead gathered on a Saturday evening in January to enjoy some good food, exchange presents, and share some laughs.

Although ... THIS was not a laughing matter ... my brother seriously thought that 1/2 lb peanut butter cups was a good idea for our three year old?! Ha! Adam, I'm going to teach her to dial your number so she can wake you up while bouncing off the walls at bullet speed!

Awww, here's my sweet Hannah supervising the present opening ... I know it's really because she is hoping there is a present filled with milkbones or dog poop or other such delicacy, but I like to pretend it is because she loves us and wants to see what everyone is getting.

Sure enough, after she realized she couldn't eat the present, she went to a secluded corner:

And what was in that big present for Alex? His very own tractor!

Doesn't he look like a big boy riding on it?

The tractor came with four animals that have a secret little home inside the seat. VERY cool.

Adam took Alex on rides around the living room, which certainly got the biggest smiles of the night.

Victoria spent her evening happily playing with her princess play-doh set. What is a princess play-doh set, you ask? You can make ball gowns and dresses, shoes and bows and ribbons, then open the gates to show off your princess's fashions. In other words, three-year-old bliss.

There was also plenty of hiding and wrestling. Adam loves to creep up on Victoria while she is hiding, then scare her when she pops out!

Thank you, Adam and Megan, for hosting!