Baby's First Birthday

We were blessed to have visitors to help us celebrate Philip's 1st birthday.  My sister, brother-in-law, and niece arrived on a Thursday and my parents followed the next day.  It was so much fun to be together and to see the two kiddos interact.  We haven't all been together since Philip's baptism in October, so a lot has changed!

Breakfast time!

Having two babies in my backseat was like a dream!

On their first full day together, we took the babies to a local children's museum. It wasn't the greatest museum, but the kids had a great time!

Row, row, row your boat

This is in what we dubbed the "room of horrors."  Philip didn't like sitting in the dentist's chair.

The following day, my sister and her husband went into DC, so my parents and I took care of my niece.  We took the kids to a park in the morning and hung around at home for the rest of the day.

Watching the ducks

Swinging

Proof of a successful morning - they both fell asleep on the way home

We celebrated Philip's birthday on Sunday.  

After going to church, we grilled out and enjoyed lunch on the deck. 

After naps and a walk, we opened presents and then had dinner and cake.  Then we all watched a video that I compiled of Philip's first year.

Both kids were enthralled with Philip's new workbench

Andy and I got Philip a water table for his birthday

My first double-decker cake.  A little lopsided, but it tasted good!

Philip immediately flipped his cupcake upside down.  He wasn't sure what to do with it until Andy put a piece in his mouth.  Then he had no problem finishing it off!

Olivia got a personal cupcake too

Yummo!

The following day we had family pictures taken.  Hopefully we will get some keepers!  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the week taken by the amateur photographers of the family (me & Dad).

My sister and her family left on the morning of Philip's birthday.  We were sorry to see them go - especially since Philip had just gotten used to having people in his house (he doesn't adapt well to change)! 

One last night together

Olivia was sad to be leaving us - you can just read it in her body language

Andy took Philip's birthday off from work and we went to a great children's museum in Baltimore. 

They had rain jackets and Crocs to borrow in the water room.

The rain jacket went down to his feet - too cute!

Philip had a great time and it really tuckered him out. He was asleep before we even left the parking garage.

My parents stayed the rest of the week and it was lots of fun to be together and watch Philip interact with his grandparents.  They even baby-sat while I went into the office for a few hours one day.  Andy and I also went out to a movie after Philip went to bed one night. 

Philip loves being with his Grandpa. 

He is the only person that Philip allows to hold him other than Andy & I.

Dad kept himself busy helping us with our list of home improvement projects. On Friday, my Mom and I went out shopping. Mom spoiled me with new clothes and we also got Philip his first pair of shoes! They are adorable. He is still getting used to them - he keeps trying to kick them off!

I can't believe his birthday has already come and gone.  We had so much fun with our family and can't wait to get together with everyone again!

12 Months

Philip is 1 year old!  My oh my, a year goes by so quickly!  It has been an awesome year for us as we became a family of three and celebrated all of the milestones that Philip reached. 

This past month has been active as usual.  Philip started standing up on his own without holding onto anything.  He also pushes the walker around the room on his own.  One day I even saw him attempt a step on his own. He fell immediately, but I am sure I saw a real step!  Speaking of steps, he loves to climb up the stairs.  In the past, he has gone up one or two steps at a time.  When my Dad came to town last month he climbed a full flight of stairs.  He hadn't attempted such a climb again until a couple weeks ago. Now he scales the stairway with ease and he usually lets out a little fuss when he reaches the top and realizes he has no more stairs to climb.

He started waking up one time a night instead of two.  He has slept through the night a few times, so I feel like we are getting close. I cut him down to one nap a day and I am so glad I did!  I was hoping he would keep napping twice a day for a while longer, but it wasn't working out. After a period of adjustment, he now normally naps 2-2.5 hours during the day and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

In the food department, we finally introduced yogurt.  I had shied away from it for a long time since he refused pureed baby food, but he loves it.  I found that it is a great way to hide vegetables, so I feel better about his veggie intake this month!  A few days before his birthday, we had a family party and he got his first taste of pizza and cake.  No surprise to find out he liked them both!  More details about the party in my next post.

Philip's Stats
Hair:  Brownish/reddish and starting to curl up around the ears
Eye Color: Still changing, but we think they are on their way to brown.  They are kind of hazel right now.
Weight: 22 lbs (45th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (25th percentile)
Head:  48 cm (90th percentile!)
Number of Teeth: Seven
Favorite Song:  Good Morning, Good Morning
Favorite Book: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
Favorite Toys: Blocks, Walker, Cars, Ball Popper
Favorite Foods: Puffs, yogurt, and fruit
Favorite Instrument: Guitar
Favorite Animal: Herbie the cat

He is Playful

Curious

Strong-Willed

A Mamma's Boy (loves his Daddy too)

Happy

Physical

Fun-Loving

Sweet

He is friendly to strangers, as long as they don't get too close.  And nobody but his Mom, Dad, or Grandpa is allowed to pick him up!

He is shy in unfamiliar situations.

He likes good-looking young girls, especially waitresses.  He is also a big fan of the ushers at church.

He loves to see images of Jesus and smiles like crazy every time we say the blessing before our meals.

He loves being outside, feeling the grass beneath his feet, and going on walks. 

His smile and laugh are absolutely contagious. I don't think there is any better sound in the world than a baby's laugh!

He has his Mom's eyes and his Dad's smile and he is absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself!

He is a gift and a treasure.  A blessing in our life!

Wild Child

Grandma brought some rub-on tatoos when she came to visit.  This one fit him perfectly.  He is such a Mama's baby and I love it! 

Mr. Snarky Face

A couple months ago Philip started making a face to express his disapproval.  He purses his lips, curls up his nose, and huffs and puffs.  We call it his snarky face. Recently we have seen a major increase in the use of the snarky face and I was able to get it on camera.

Want to see?

I know he uses it to show us he isn't happy about something, but I can't help but laugh every time I see this cute face!