Happy ONE Aaron!

We had such a fun weekend celebrating Aaron.  Spent all day Saturday lounging in our jammies until his big party that evening.  Family and lots of friends joined us for a light Chick-fil-a dinner and frog cake.  Aaron was great with all the attention and dug into his cake on que.   I was planning on giving him a bath right after cake since I didn't want a bib on him, but he really didn't get that messy.  A neat baby - yay!

We were excited to have a few neighbor friends stay way late, so Aaron went to bed well after his bed time and was content the whole time following brother and the bigger boys around the house.

I'll have his stats later this week after his one year appointment, but he's in the 25 pound range.  He stands on his own and wants to take a step so badly, but just hasn't quite figured it out yet.   I give him a week or so.   He's opening all my kitchen cabinets and either emptying them or banging on the contents if it's too heavy to remove.  Pewter salad servers on pewter cake server - LOUD.  But whatever keeps him entertained while I cook is fine by me!

He has 5 teeth - two top and three bottom.  Aaron is our garbage disposal and eats anything and everything on his plate.  Veggies are getting less exciting, so I'm having to be creative making casseroles with them.  Dropping things during dinner is a new discovery.  A few beans for Lucy, a sippie cup, a spoon - gravity is so  cool.  So here begins our break from eating out for a while.

A week ago I started mixing his formula with whole milk.   He spit up a lot last week, so just as he was on sensative formula I think I'll have to find an alternative to plain milk.  I bought Lactaid yesterday and he hasn't spit up since, so I'm praying the Dr. will tell me Lactaid is a good option for toddlers.   Aaron is down to just one 7 oz. bottle in the morning and uses a sippie cup the rest of the day.  He's so cute tilting his head back all the way for a drink, but will come up without having swallowed and with his mouth open so milk comes pouring out the sides of his mouth.  He thinks this is just the most fun.  My adoring glances aren't exactly discouraging this practice unfortunately.

Aaron waves hi and bye, but isn't ready to say it yet.  This morning he was yelling at Andrew and waving so hard, "DaaaaDaaaaa!"  He says dog, kind of.  Andrew thinks he said Lucy.  He's starting "uh oh." Peek a boo is a favorite game, especially with napkins at restaurants.  Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star are the songs he's most excited about.  For both songs he "blinks" his hands in the air (like twinkling stars maybe - hard motion to describe) and claps at the end.

We are so grateful for the amazing gift God gave us with Aaron.  He continues to be just plain easy.  A delight to be around.  He's funny and makes us think we're funny, too.  He's my snuggle bug and a little bit of a daddy's boy right now.  

I will write more later this week (. . .sure, sure. . .)

First Cake - "Don't mind if I do!"

Let's get this party started, mom!

Big Brother Logan helps with the candle

Grant and Lexie  

Lantz and Hailey  

(Looking through these pictures I'm reminded of how lucky my girlfriends and I are to have very hands-on husbands.   And Andrew who was behind the camera at the party - thank you for all of your help with bed time and bath time and packing lunch time and play time.  You're an excellent husband and a SUPER dad!)