Walking to the Pasta Line

OK, so we aren't literally walking to a pasta line, but we might as well be. C's too favorite things recently are trying to walk and eating pasta. Yesterday he took 5 steps on his own, which was very exciting. He had Elmo -faces pasta on Friday night, and raviolis tonight. It is a total mess disaster to watch, but he loves it. The only downside is that he is going through a phase in which as soon as he is done eating he SCREAMS at the top of his lungs if we don't' take him out of this chair immediately. And when he has just eaten pasta, he rubs his face in exhaustion WITH the pasta covered hands, and then loses it even more because that can't feel good. From my chair it doesn't even feel good to look at. I guess he looks forward to pasta as much as I did for Elsies pasta bar in high school!

Teeth and Toys

This past Friday was not too much fun. C has some teeth coming in, so he was super drooling and running a bit of a fever. As his teachers said, he just wasn't himself. But by the end of the weekend he has back to his normal self, driving his fire truck all over the kitchen. This truck has lots of buttons. The one C likes the most looks like an ignition key. When you turn it, a signal says "ready set GO" and the signal goes from red to yellow to green. Unfortunately, he hasn't figured out how to turn it himself yet, but he has master honking the horn, which gets the lights and siren going. Our favorite is pushing the button that looks like Minnie Mouse. Dance music come on, which we call the "fireman dance party" or "hero party." It has been really fun to watch C play with some toys he has had for a LONG time, but that he has learned how to do new things with, like push balls down the music tree, put rings on the ring toss, and stack cups.

In tiny girlfriend news. apparently she was upset last week when C wasn't in on one of his normal days at home. So she crawled about the day care room, took the photo of C off the wall, and held it as she played. I can't make this stuff up.

The Day After

The day after the big first birthday party started with a bang and ended with a whimper. When C got up it was like Christmas morning. He worked his way around the living room in his pjs, playing with the music table from Granpa and the fire engine (the current front runner of all presents). But then we went downtown to go on a Duck Boat ride and it all went downhill from there. The weather was beautiful and the ride a fun thing to do. But C was exhausted and spent a good amount of the 80 minutes in my arms crying, looking at me with real tears coming down as if to say "Mom, I am TIRED! Why aren't you putting me in my room for a nap!"

Later in the afternoon, an unexpected hero emerged to save his day. There was an aging hippie one-man-band playing in the Boston Public Garden. He had hula hoops and bells for kids to pay with in front of his "Peace Wave Generator." C just stared wide eyed at the Peace Man and his dancing kiddie fans, and C would shake his hand in the air. Whatever gets us through the post-party day, right?

The Party

The first birthday party, better known as the puppy party, was a big success. C loved his doggie balloon, did not like his party hat, and really seemed to like his cake. He didn't make a mess of it...but he did start eating the cake faster and faster and faster! He ate a lot, and what he didn't eat ended up under his chin. He had a great time with his favorite older and younger friend, and Mimi and Granpa and his Uncles. By the time he opened his presents, he was pretty beat. The next morning was like Christmas...he came down and was wide eyed...he didn't know what to play with first. My fabulous friends took such great pictures that I couldn't narrow them down. What a great year it has been.