My Baby is ONE!

And before he's TWO, I better write about it :)

Well.... my baby boy has turned ONE. I don't know how that happened - wasn't he just born last week?

How did THIS happen??

Our sweet AJ has been such an amazing gift to us. I can't imagine life without him and thank our God for this time and this gift every day. Little Man - you are so very loved!

As you know from a previous post, I was a little hung up on how to celebrate his big milestone.  In the end, it worked out wonderfully! 

Saturday after our Sunday School picnic, our friends invited us up for supper and had a little party for AJ. He had special "1-year-old" balloons, a home-made cake (!) and a gift that he is still playing with daily! 

A big milestone occurred at this party... he ate steak. And horseradish. Yes - you read that correctly. Irv said it was mild - I wouldn't know since I don't try the stuff! But he would eat as much as Irv would share with him! Between my plate and Irv's - I think he ate about half a steak!! Not sure either was good for his little gut, but it was funny to watch. Definitely takes after his Daddy with a love for meat.

He wasn't quite sure what to do with this thing in front of him... the kids had to put the icing on him instead of him trying to experiment himself!

A Cookie-Monster that talks and "eats" cookies! :)

Thank you friends :)

Monday evening, June 11th, we had two families over to celebrate AJ's birthday. Unfortunately, we couldn't invite all the special people in his life who shower him with love and attention week after week at church, so we kept it very small. This much is sure - our little man has been blessed with many friends - young and old! And we are so thankful.

Getting into the spirit :)

These kids sure helped keep AJ entertained past his bedtime - he loves them!

A special gift bigger than him!

Getting some help from his little friend

E & B relaxing with coffee after a hard day of work

Thanks guys for making his night!

Aren't boxes the best?!

What IS this stuff? EW - get it off!

Surviving a late night celebration ;)

Daddy's Boy :)

Oh yes - it IS fun to be one! 

A big thank-you to our friends who spent the evening with us and loved on our boy. We appreciate you!

Happy Birthday Little Man - you're growing way too fast, but we're so proud of you. Love you so much!

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AJ - Just a few things for me to remember down the road:

- You're walking all over the place now - rarely crawling. You get up from the floor without needing furniture or the wall to get you up. You weave back and forth like you're doing the boogie sometimes to keep your balance - so cute. 

- You love yogurt and bananas. Not a big fan of veggies unless it's in soup. Cucumber is definitely a thing of the past for you - too bad since it's easy and not too messy! ;) You love pasta, rice and it seems like any kind of meat. Especially chicken. You still drink lots of water and like a smoothie occasionally. 

- You love being chased... you love playing peak-a-boo with anything that might work. The corner of the wall, the chair, a ball that covers your face, a book, a blanket... it is so much fun to hear your belly laugh! You even initiated peak-a-boo with Grampie on skype by ducking down below the couch and popping back up... fun!

- You love looking at books, though you don't really go page by page. More like cover to cover - open and close. Really - maybe it's more about the opening and closing that gets you, since you love opening and closing any door or drawer! If you're in a room - the door is happily shut by you within seconds.

- You LOVE outside. This past week has been too hot and humid to be outside, and you definitely got cabin fever. You love the park - going up the stairs to the very top and then down the biggest slide. No little slides for you! I think you'll be giving Mama lots of heart attacks.

- I love watching you. I find it amazing that in such little time you went from laying and not rolling over to walking along carrying things. When you play on the floor on your little knees and bounce up and down - my heart melts. When you go down on one knee to play and then pop back up so easily, I think "You're growing up too fast! But I love watching it!" You have started to talk with your hands a bit... if you get excited, your eyes get big and your hands fly. When you're concentrating on figuring something out, you are so focused. Your eyebrows go down and you breath really heavily. Unfortunately - that's a Ramsay trait and will someday embarrass you. :)

- You talk. A LOT. Not that we can understand anything, but you happily chatter away while you walk around the house playing, while you sit in your carseat, when you meet someone at the grocery store... you seem to love to talk. I see a lot of "Why's" in my future.... already praying for patience! ;)

- You love to watch people. I think that came from your mother's side... it keeps you entertained frequently which is often a good thing when we're out. Even at the beach - you play with your bucket and rocks for awhile, but spend a lot of time watching the other people on the beach.

- You are super ticklish and you love it. And we LOVE your laugh and giggles! :)

I think the list could go on forever... I'm doing my best to be present in each moment and am loving my time with you. You mean the world to your Dad and me - I hope you will always know that. x0x

Grossness

So.... we've been away every second Friday for a bit now, which means we've missed every real garbage pick-up. Consequently, this means our garage has been getting progressively stinkier (spell-check says this isn't a word)... Sorry for the image!

After an unsuccessful trip to the dump a few weeks ago (I misread the hours online - grrr!), I decided it was time to try again. I loaded the trunk with massive garbage bags, the stuck poor AJ in his seat surrounded by the aroma. This was no time for a leisurely drive to the dump - I considered the outing a health hazard! All windows down, speeding down the 407 - the fastest route to the dump. AJ thought he was in a wind tunnel. I guess he was.

Ok. It's been a long long time since I've been to a waste disposal location. I must say, it is the grossest place EVER. I would have taken pictures to prove the grossness, but I was too busy holding my breath and keeping my heaving stomach down as I tossed out the bags while standing in this "muck" they had me back into. Guys there, but no help.

But I couldn't get too annoyed... after all, they have to work in the place all day! I was only there for about 4 minutes. They should a break.

I escaped back across the scale, paid the fee and sped out of there... apologizing to AJ the whole time. Poor kid!!

Grossest. Place. Ever. 

Then... after a little lunch outing, I stop at the grocery store. As I get out and close my car door, my hand slides through recently deposited bird poo. Seriously???? TODAY?!

Yup. I may not be able to eat for a week after those two experiences. At least it will be good for the waistline!

And to top off our outing for the day, with my cart full of groceries, a tired boy and coffee in hand, I reach for my keys on the way to the car. Not there. hmm. I stop, and look again. Nope. I go through my bag - nothing. I look around AJ in case he found them and was playing with them. Nope. Aaahh. Don't panic. I search and search. Nothing. I go back in the store and retrace every step. Nope.  I ask the cashiers and customer service clerk if a set of keys has been turned in. Nadda.

I take deep breaths and refuse to panic. I go out to the car where it won't matter if AJ melts down while I look. Thankfully, after going through every pocket *again*, I found them in a place I never put them. RELIEF!

Just one of those days! It's been a couple hours and things seem to be looking up... let's hope it continues! :)

To compensate for my venting, if you haven't seen this on Facebook - here's a cute video of our happy walker. He is definitely spending more time on his feet than knees these days. I find it exciting! :)