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.

Wanting to Walk and Hang Out with the Ladies

C is really wanting to walk on his own. Which is exciting, but also like non-stop accident prevention for us. We are constantly on the look out for the frequent moments where he randomly lunges forward as if to say," hey, let's just take a step RIGHT NOW."

In other development, things have gotten serious with his daycare girlfriend. We have had numerous reports that they are best buddies, but up until today her parents didn't know about C. But when his little girlfriend (LG) was picked up, she went over and gave C a hug, and when she left, C bawled! Her mother realized that she forgot something, so a teacher held LG in the hallway while the mom came back in the playroom. C calmed down, thinking "my LG must be coming back in." But no. So he started crying again. His teachers agreed with us that this was the saddest but cutest thing ever.

So for now, he cries whenever the two ladies in his life leave the room: Mom and the girlfriend. I know that this won't last forever!

We Love Fridays

It has now been a month since I have had Fridays off from work and it is still amazing to me. I can't imagine taking it for granted. Each Friday has been spent doing extra special things...first a visit from Aunt Kate, then a picnic and swing playdate, then a visit from on our our littlest friends from Denver. Even little things like having pancakes for breakfast or taking extra walks have been so nice.

We are getting really excited for the birthday party next weekend. We gave C one of his presents early: a walker. He has been going crazy with it, particularly since he just figured out how to stand (briefly!) on his own. Look at the excitement on his face. When he runs down the hallway with it, he makes the sounds, "OOOooooooo"

Trips and Parties

This is probably the biggest delay I have had in the blog for a awhile. July was a great month...week at the Cape, last week of work, week in New Orleans, week at new work. The only downside was that I dropped my camera in New Orleans and haven't gotten it fixed yet. I am putting it in the mail tomorrow, so it will be ready for the big 1st birthday. New Orleans was great...C loved the aquarium and swimming in the pool with "doggies" (he now says "doggie"..."Ma ma" doesn't even seem to be on the radar!) I am not sure if it is the age or if C got used to hanging out with Matt and I on these vacations, but he has become a bit fussy if one of us leaves the room now. What else is new...he discovered puzzles and all shorts of fun furniture that is his height at the local library, he loves "walking" /leaning down our hallways . He went to his second party this past weekend. And I can't wait until this Friday, it will be the first of our Fridays together now that I am on a 4 day work schedule. August is full of fun visitors, and then September is the big celebration month. What a great summer it has been!