1st Birthday..."I Got Another Package!"

Hi Abby, Aunt Alison and Uncle Al! 

 Thanks You Thank You for the birthday package!  I love the book, and the Olympic lion is SO cool!

Do I look like an elf with my ears out?!  I really like my hat...

...especially taking it off! :) Mommy and Daddy are wondering how in the world I'm going to stay warm this winter! :)  hee hee. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!  (Mommy says to tell you that the gifts are perfect!  She LOVES the hat and mittens and thinks the book is wonderful too!  You are really good at picking things that she would pick out herself!  Thank you)

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!