1st Birthday...the Actual Big Day!

Celebrations were finished 2 weeks early, but we still had a fun day on Caleb's actual birthday.  Before heading to work we had a bit of fun together!  Nothing fancy, just a simple morning together with a couple things that Caleb enjoys! 

 First...his giraffes!  Most importantly, his first yellow giraffe which the cake was modeled after.  He likes the new one, but after holding them both for a while, it always gets tossed to the side and the original gets LOTS more love!

 We also took his 12 month pictures in the blue chair, which I posted earlier.  I was pleased at how easily and quickly we finished and even got a few extras here!  It's like he knew it was his special day or something. :)

 Next, we went on a walk, another one of Caleb's favorite things to do!  We have a Starbucks just around the corner, so for a treat Caleb enjoyed a yummy juice squeeze thing.  I've heard babies love them, and he was no exception.  Yum!  Of course I had to celebrate with a treat too!

 On the way back, we stopped at this little "park" area and Caleb had a blast just walking around...which he had only been doing for 2 weeks at the time.  Today he thinks he's getting good enough to start running, but I think he needs to wait a little longer.

 Climbing is fun too!

 Ya think he's enjoying himself?

 Walking is SO much fun!

 This is my favorite!

 And a little rest time on the bench!

 Self portrait effort.

 And on the way home he tried out his new fun game of throwing things on the ground so mommy will pick them up again! :)

 No worries...nothing against the giraffe! 

 And one more stop to check out some cool rocks...

 ....and to get the mail.  YAY!!!  Right on time!  A package for Caleb! 

 The rest of the afternoon was with Daddy, and then in the evening, thanks to Oma Judy and our friends Alex and Rebecca and kids, Caleb has some more presents to unwrap ON his birthday!  He was happy just opening the cards!  :)  He still plays with them today!

 PJs, magnet letters, socks, books, and fun letters for the bathtub!!!! ALL good things to CHEW on! :)  THANK YOU Oma Judy!

 I wish I would have had the camera ready the second he saw his new doggy!  It's the most excited and cute response he had out of all the gifts he opened.  You can kind of see his interest and excitement in these shots.

 He loves the nose....something else to chew on! :) Thanks DeMoss family!

And the Elmo card was also a hit!  Especially when Daddy makes Elmo talk in his Elmo voice.  Caleb loves it and tries to do it himself!  Super cute with a high squeaky voice! :)

Finally, right before bed, we had a little bit of birthday ice cream for a final celebration!  A good day for a tired birthday boy!!!

1st Birthday...the Park!

There are several parks that have small water features in the area, but this is by far the best one!  The day wasn't as hot as normal, so there weren't too many people around.  Caleb had fun exploring and enjoying the water...until he'd get cold and need to dry off. :)  Everyone else just watched and hung out. 

 Grandma loves spending time with her grandson!  I love that you took part in his exploring, mom! :)

 YES....this is the weekend he learned to walk!  I was so thrilled he decided to do it while family was around!  Just a few steps at first, but within the next few days he was walking all around the house.

 Hanging out talking. 

 The guys doing the same.

 Caleb loves his Aunt Cindy!

 Uncle Matt had more fun on the playground than Zoe and Joshua I think!

Too worn out from all the fun to care that Grandpa is messing with his ear! :)  A sign of a good day!

More birthday pictures to come....Birthday morning, gifts from afar, birthday night....

1st Birthday...Presents!

We all met at our place just for cake so we wouldn't have to bring it to the park.   Then we planned on gifts and fun at the park. 

 Caleb, all lathered up in sunscreen and ready to go!

 Once again, not much emotion during opening presents...Caleb that is. :)

 Yay, a new giraffe from Grandma and Grandpa to help when we wash his normal one.  Thanks, Grandma, for looking for one the same as his.  He loves this one even though it's different.

 This is from us.  Every time we saw one in a store he wanted to take it home.  It's continued to prove to be  a favorite.

 But I think Aunt Cindy's gift is the ultimate winner!  He loved it from the time he saw it and uses it every day to play with and dance to the music!  THANK YOU!  He can use it for years!

And another winner...his new basketball from the Parkins!  He first liked it mostly for TRYING to chew on, but is starting to use at as a ball! 

Gifts are open...now onto the waterpark!

1st Birthday...the CAKE!

Well, it seems that turning one changes how much time Caleb likes to spend with me...which means not much time for blogging.  I'd quit altogether to spend time with him, but I truly value having family and friends feel connected with us, so I'll keep trying to find some time when I can.  So finally, I'm getting to Caleb's birthday celebrations!  We'll see how long it takes to finish. :)

 First, the cake!  Making it was more for my own feelings of "momness" pride than Caleb caring about it.  Making fun cakes for kids is just one of those things that is in my head as a mom's job, so I was excited to do it!  The cake itself was easy to choose since Caleb has one favorite item...his stuffed giraffe from Grandma and Grandpa.  I looked online for some ideas, improvised a bit and here's what we came up with (Matt enjoys being part of these things as well).

 I personally like this picture just cuz of the colors and bowls.  Fun! 

 And here it is!  MUCH larger than what we needed, but live and learn. :)  I'm proud! You can see the giraffe at the top corner.

 Mom, Dad, and Cindy were in town for labor day weekend, and Matt's dad would be out of town for Caleb's birthday, so we decided to celebrate a couple weeks early.  I expected to get a GREAT cake picture with Caleb smearing cake all over his face and smiling a lot....but not reality. :)  He was very skeptical and not sure what to do.  Plus, I think having everyone watching him caused a bit of uncertainty about the whole situation.

He tried a little, especially once he had a spoon to hold onto. :)  I was surprised he kept the hat on! 

He was more excited to finish and get down from his chair!  No huge mess, which at least made me glad I didn't make an extra cake just for him as some people do lately.  We just gave him the ear of the cake since that's what he normally chews on anyway. :)  Next, on to the park for presents and water fun!

Apple Hill...trip #2

Well, this post is out of order, but it's the way I have to do it with random available times to post.  So this is actually our 2nd trip to Apple Hill this year, our first being with Mom, Dad and Cindy a few weeks ago.  I'll post those as soon as I get time to pick the best out of lots of pictures.  This was a quick trip last Sunday, since it's the season for my favorite apple and we just really enjoy going to Apple Hill to relax and have family time. 

 We visited a farm that had a small train for kids to enjoy.  We were going to wait until our next trip but the driver said we could go for free!!! It's not too busy yet, since it's still quite hot out.  In another month I'm guessing that the line for this ride will be MUCH longer (it was a total of one family with us this time).   Caleb will get much more enjoyment out of it when he's older, but it was still a fun way to relax together.

This is at another farm, where Caleb discovered pumpkins!

 More relaxing with mommy!  

And I even shared one of my favorite apples with him!  He thinks that it's much more fun to take bites out of whole pieces of food rather than when it's cut up.  He loves eating whole cucumbers, has tried to bite a cantelope, and who knows...maybe next it will be a watermelon.  :)

12 Months!!!

September 13!!!  It's MY Birthday!!!

Guess what I have...

This is my favorite stuffed animal on the left, AND my new giraffe from Grandma and Grandpa!

Do you wanna see them!??!!

Oh, you like them too?  I thought you would!

 BUT I LOVE THEM THE MOST!!!!

 I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM!!!! 

AAAaaaHHhhh!!!

 I'm so funny!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Good-Bye Ms Julie

Finally, I have some pictures of most of my co-workers.  Sadly, though, it was because one of them had her last day and moved to another city.  

 I was so sad to see Julie (on the right) leave since she was always a bright spot in my days at work.  She and Jaimee, on the left, became best friends working together.  Now I work in a room next to Jaimee, which is also quite fun.

 This is Cheryl!  She and I worked together with the school age group for the last 3 years, until she recently moved to a younger class.  I think she knows me more than anyone in Folsom, other than Matt. :)  She's been a great encourager, friend and support at work.

 This is almost everyone...I think just 2 are missing.  

Someone offered to take a family photo and this is what we got! :) He was a bit squirmy that night!  Too many people to watch and interact with.