More firsts!

We went to the beach today with Grammi and Grampy--Island Beach this time. For the first time, A got wet! He also crawled in the sand and had a grand old time doing it. He was so focused on crawling that he didn't seem to mind at all when the waves splashed him.

We also went to the boardwalk and A went on his first Carousel ride! Pictures coming soon. He LOVED it, and would crack up every time we passed Daddy, Grammi, and Grampy.

He was fascinated by the rides, and just watched them go.

He ALSO had his first taste of ice cream (Kohr's!) and ice cream cone, as well as his first taste of Sawmill pizza.

Doctor's Appointment

I don't remember the exact numbers and don't have them right here, but I think A is 28" tall and weighs 18lbs 9 oz. He is in the 50 percentile for head circumference, 25 percentile for height, and FIFTH percentile for weight.

My little peanut!

He got his MMR shot today. I was nervous about it, so asked to split up it and the other two shots he was supposed to get today. He was sort of drowsy today after it, but got a good nap in the car and wasn't too irritable.

Blog award

I won a blog award! Hee hee... Rachel is mom to twin boys a few weeks older than A and has a daughter on the way (my fingers were crossed that she'd come on my birthday, but alas, the doctors thought differently), and gave me this award. (She also inspired my Way Back When-sday post below, so check out her blog.)



My duty now is to grant this award to 5 blogger friends...




These are the rules:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator The Babblings of Mere

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:
1. Must display a cheerful attitude. (not necessarily at all times--we are all human)

2. Must love one another

3. Must make mistakes

4. Must learn from others

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world

6. Must love life

7. Must love kids


So, I'll give the award to:

1. Lauren. She lives in the next town and has a boy almost a year older than A. We're both high school teachers, and she used to teach in M's high school (although after he started working at a different high school). She's also a Rachael Ray lover and her food blog has inspired many meals in the Feisty house. Finally, she's a fellow booky, and we have a lot of the same reading tastes.

2. Erica. We became friends because our sons are about the same age, and she's helped me out in ways from helping to paint our family room, through watching A while I was in Colorado, to loaning us stuff for A's party, and lots of ways in between.


Yikes, I'm out for right now, so I'll have to think on this one and add more later.

Way Back When-esday

This idea is stolen from my friend (and fellow July 2007 mom) Rachel's blog.

This is A from his very first few minutes home. In fact, I think he's still sleeping from the car ride home from the hospital.

Look for a corresponding picture soon---we are changing carseats tomorrow and I plan to take a picture of him in this seat to show how much he's grown in a year.

And just for good measure, here's one of my all time favorite pictures... it's from Aug 10, 2007.

New stuff!

A definitely got some awesome toys for his birthday. Everything he's been given to play with has either held his interest for quite some time, been gone after, or has him cracking up.

No video as yet, and I haven't uploaded the pictures of him playing, but he's loving everything!!

Who wants a $50 gift card???

I found a contest!! WOOHOO.
It's for a $50 Target gift card.

Check it out here
and please say that Christina from feistybaby.blogspot.com sent ya!

So cute, so mischeivous

A just looks like he's up to no good... but also so darn cute too.

First baseball game!

We went to A's first baseball game yesterday to see the Phillies play the Braves. In the middle of the second inning, we were faced with a TWO HOUR RAIN DELAY. We toughed it out, and A was absolutely fantastic the whole time. He didn't very much like when the rain hit him (but then again, it was cold and neither did I), but he made fast friends with everyone around us... always the mayor.

This was when we first arrived... notice the blue sky!






It hadn't yet started to rain, but look at the sky now. M and I turned our caps backward so they wouldn't blow away, and you can see the wind in A's hair.



Here's The Mayor during the rain delay.


And this is once the game started up again... my big boy standing at the chairs!

Birthday party pictures

Wow, look! It actually looks like The Cat's hat!!



















The look of sheer exhaustion.






I'm uploading my pictures, but here are some of the best I've received from others at the party!

1st b-day party

It was such a wonderful day. We could NOT have asked for more perfect weather--it was beautiful and sunny but not hot and not humid. The kids had a great time in the pools and sprinklers, and the grownups had a great time playing Holey Board.

The birthday boy LOOOOVED his cupcake. It was tentative at first, but once Mommy put his hand in it, he was thrilled to dig in.

He is a boy after Mommy and Daddy's heart--he kept asking everyone who held him to get him cheese... not sure HOW this was communicated that cheese was what was wanted, but that's what it was.

I was pleasantly surprised that A was in a great mood for almost his entire party. The only time we came close to a meltdown was around 2, when I tried to put him in the pool when he really wanted a nap. Other than that, though, he tolerated being held by everyone and seemed to have a grand time!

Catch up

A few stories:

A has truly discovered giving the raspberry. If he hears us do it, he repeats it. Well, as I was bathing him the other night, he stood up in the tub and passed gas. He then looked at me and gave me raspberries. I thought it was the funniest thing.

Elmo has been discovered in this house. We don't put A in front of the television (although it is sometimes on when he's in the room) so he's never really met Elmo. He received a box of birthday gifts yesterday, and in it were two Elmo stuffed animals. When I showed them to him, his face lit up like nothing I've ever seen before. He loved them.

I continue to be "Daddy." I thought he was just saying it because he can say it so well, but now I realize that he's looking at me and saying DADDEE... and then even louder and with more force if I don't respond.

Daddy's boy

Since I left in June, A has definitely gone from Mommy's boy to Daddy's. He now cries for Daddy and will even squirm from my arms to get to his. We came home from a wedding today and while I got really big smiles, Daddy got smiles, bouncing, and giggles. Alas, my time in the sun has ended.

We left A with Grandpa today so we could attend the wedding. He did ok--"kvetching" for two hours or so, having a great time chasing the cat, and eating a ton.

He is definitively "cruising" now as well. We put him behind his walking toy and he takes steps across the room and he has also started walking along the couch by holding on. Like with standing, he needs motivation to move along the couch--typically remote controls, telephones, or whatever strikes his fancy on the table between the two couches.

T minus 10 days...............................

Sand

We took another trip to the beach this week. It seems that I'm actually figuring out how to get all our crap there without TOO much effort.

Anyway, A just loves to sit on his blanket and do his thing. He eventually moves over to the side and puts his hand in the sand, then holds it out with an expression of "EWWW, get this OFFA me!" It's really funny.

I haven't been able to get him to take a nap in the cabana again. I even brought his little pink blanket this week, with no success. Thumb in mouth, and he even got really quiet, but no nap.

New Pictures

We went back to Picture People today for A's first birthday pictures. Here are some of the pictures we DIDN'T pick....








He was cracking up in this one, but can you tell that he was just crying?




These three must be Picture People's standard poses... how different he looks from the same pose in January (red shirt) and April!

Vote for Uncle Tim!

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (a minor league baseball team) are having a vote on their website for Mascot President. I encourage all of you to please vote for my favorite—“Rocky Bluewinkle”, the true president of Blue Rock Country. The poll is at www.bluerocks.com and is on the left hand side toward the bottom of the page. Please get as many people as you can to vote and vote as often as you can!

Ps--A's Uncle Tim is Rocky Bluewinkle!!

What's in a name?

Megan (Jack's mom) posted about a site that predicts personality based on a baby's name. So here's A's prediction:

The name ADS is highly sensitive, promotes cooperation and diplomacy, and makes everyone feel safe and appreciated. Flexible and passionate, ADS promotes adaptability and survival against all odds. The name indicates understanding, compassion, and intimacy, and tends to draw support with tact and subtle persuasion rather than force and confrontation. Having an intuitive ability to avoid land mines and pitfalls, and a strong sense of balance, this name promotes a careful and competent decision-making process.

To some people, the name ADS feels weak and incompetent. As a result, it is often underestimated.

ADS's most positive characteristics: Cooperation, tact, flexibility, tolerance, insight into the human psyche.

ADS's most negative characteristics: Fear. Lacks confidence, lacks aggressiveness when needed.

Interesting!! I definitely think he's cooperative, flexible, tolerant... I don't know about fear; this kid seems to have none.

So, let's see what MY name predicts...

CMR is a name that reflects analytical powers and a quest for knowledge and information, a search for truth and wisdom. The name CMR makes one feel like one is in the company of greatness and unconventional intelligence. Inventive. Emotion takes a back seat to mental prowess.

The name CMR inspires study and research, open-mindedness, daring new concepts, and a devotion to discovering the unknown.

But the name CMR also gives a sense of philosophy and religious search. Here too, the path to seeking the meaning of the Divine is unconventional.

CMR's most positive characteristics: Intelligence, depth, spirituality. Always in search of knowledge.

CMR's most negative characteristics: Arrogant, self-centered, eccentric, introvert.

Yikes... those negatives are pretty bad, huh. Dunno if they're completely untrue but ouch! I don't think all that stuff is true about me, but hey who knows...

What about M?

Responsible, caring, loving, nurturing, healing and comforting, the name MDS is warm and makes one feel loved and special. Harmonious and peaceful, the name MDS feels good to anyone, but doesn't call up any particular feeling strongly. MDS is neutral, suitable for those for whom stability and harmony are high priorities.

Good sense of business, but slow and not particularly adaptable. Strong sense of beauty, but not passionate. Idealistic, with a strong sense of justice.

The name MDS makes one feel like a home away from home. It offers protection and love. It takes away anxiety and fears, and heals the broken-hearted. If you want others to feel like this is their home, this is their safe haven, then this is an excellent name.

The name MDS attracts money slowly, predictably, the result of effort and common sense.

MDS's most positive characteristics: Protective, harmonious, comfortable to all.

MDS's most negative characteristics: Stick-in-the-mud. No passion.

Hmmm, this seems pretty off to me. This guy is nothing if he's not passionate. And, um... harmonious? This is a rock the boat sorta guy, even when he's not trying.

At any rate, it's interesting and fun stuff.

Who does he look like?

Here's Daddy at one year. Clearly, A didn't get his daddy's full hair... at least, not yet. He doesn't look much like his daddy in this picture.



As I was getting ready to scan, however, M pointed to this picture and said, "now THAT picture, he looks like." So, he looks like Daddy in profile, but not head on. This is M at 15 months.


Here's Mommy at one year (Hi Grammi!). A definitely got his Mommy's hair. M thinks he looks a lot like I do in this picture, but I'm not so sure. I think my nose looks a lot different than A's, but M thinks it looks the same (or maybe that A has a combination of our noses?) and that A definitely has my cheeks and lips. I don't know why, but I'm wearing this expression in ALL the pictures from my first birthday party!!

So much to say...

Grammi and Grampy came up here to visit us, and brought Olivia along too. In the two days they were here, A did quite a few new things.

Sounds/words:

• He seemed to be saying Livia
  
• He echoed Grampy's "Uh-oh!"
• He seems to be working on a version of "Grammi"

Abilities:

• In his effort to pull himself up on the couch, A brought throw pillows over and tried using them to lift himself up

Today is the first of A's baby friends' FIRST BIRTHDAYS (well, his party anyway...). Here we are with our newborns in September '07.



Happy Birthday, Best Bud!

Then and Now

July 31, 2007



July 1, 2008

11 month pictures

Somehow, A got ahold of Daddy's watch, which was the most fun thing ever. I can't believe he's bigger than Tempy now.