12 month stats and life as normal

We finally had our 12 month checkup today at the peds. Here's the new stats:

Weight: 22 lbs 10 oz
Height: 31 inches

Some things that we're into lately....He is walking everywhere! Which means he is into everything as well. Childproofing has clearly not been perfected in our house, it's a work in progress. We have gotten completely off of formula and bottles, and now Steven drinks just whole milk from a sippy cup! I honestly thought that this day would never come, but I was a little sad when I was putting the bottles away. Steven is one of the funniest and happiest kids I think I know (I'm his mother, of course I'd say that :-)). He has been sleeping through the night and still taking two naps a day. He loves to play peekaboo, clap his hands, and he is starting to "hi-five"(which he thinks is pretty hilarious). He says "uh-oh" VERY clearly, and is now starting to say "thank you," mostly when you give him food. He'll say Mama sometimes, but usually only when he cries. He wakes up every morning in the best mood, playful and ready to go. He truly is a joy in our lives and  I cannot imagine life without him in it!

Steven and his cousin Lila checking out the digital picture frame. It's all pictures of Steven, and they LOVE to look at them!

Haha, Steven chasing his birthday balloons around. It was entertainment, but I'm not sure if it was more for my benefit or his.

Thanks for my sippy cup of juice, mom! I would like to note, this was the first and only time I opted to give him red juice, and the lid was not on correctly, and you know where this is going. :-(

He loves to climb into the wagon and just hang out, watch tv, or whatever. It's hilarious.

Cousin love. This was actually a very gentle touch, for once!

 Love this face!!!

Guess we should mention Gator...he is the major stressor in our lives! this is how he chooses to nap since we took the divider out of his crate.

MMMmm carrots! He was so funny eating these carrots!!

Life has been pretty normal lately. Same schedules, same old thing. Sounds pretty perfect to me!!!

Happy Birthday!!!

It has been a strange few weeks. We have been so busy traveling and preparing for the birthday party, time just seemed to slip on by once again. I sat down a few days ago to update the calendar with all of Steven's milestones, and realized that I was on the LAST PAGE of the one year calendar. I lost it. I have not had a cry like that in a long time. Why? I would love an answer. I am so happy that my son is celebrating his first birthday, and yet there is something just so sad to me about it. His babyhood is gone, replaced with this toddler (!!?!) already. I don't think that I was prepared for this, I really don't. I got this out of my system, though, and we made it through all of birthday weekend with no tears! I was proud of myself.

The small family party that I started planning turned into a little bit bigger of a celebration, but we had a wonderful time!

Steven had a blast at his party, even though it was the hottest day we've had in a long time. So many friends and family members came to celebrate with us, and we are so lucky to have a little boy who is so well loved. Our party had a jungle theme, which was a blast to plan and put together.



Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty proud of this cake!!! It took me approximately 15+ hours, with 2 hours for each animal. It was so much fun to put this together for him, I just wish he could truly appreciate it!!!



He got so much stuff for his birthday we are holding on to some of it for later....he'll never know the difference!! So glad that we could have an awesome celebration weekend! 

Cake Building 101

I got it into my head that I had to make Steven's cake for his birthday party, but I didn't want it to just be any old cake. I found a cake on Wilton's website, fell in love, and the rest is history. I wanted to document my progress step by step, so here are a few shots of the process, which spanned approximately two weeks.

With my first cake project finally under my belt, I am thinking of taking some classes! I had a great time doing this, and am now looking for a good excuse to try another cake. :-)