Jackson's First Birthday

For Jack's first birthday he had a party at school on the actual day - well not a party really but an extra special snack where he got to wear a hat and we all sang happy birthday to him.

Then on the weekend after, we had a party for him at the house. We had a fantastic turnout - about 25 people I think - all crammed into our little house. But it was lots of fun and included all those we love so who can complain?

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by.....I still vividly remember bringing Jack home and those first few months with him. They were the toughest I think I've ever had but so worth the effort. To see how he is thriving today makes all those sleepless nights seem like a minor price to pay in exchange.

He started crawling around 9 months and basically full-fledged walking the day before his party. And now there is no looking back. After less than a week of walking he wants to just run everywhere and is frustrated that he doesn't yet have the coordination to do so. I see having this little boy involved in lots of activities in my future. His energy is seemingly bottomless as is his curiosity and interest in learning how things work.

I look at this milestone with not only pride but a little nostalgia. We will never experience all of the firsts of this past year with him again but I know the future holds lots of new firsts to look forward to.

It is definitely true what they say - the days are long but the years are short.

2010 Holidays

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I lasted updated this! Well the holidays were all a blur but I think Jackson enjoyed them for the most part. We took Jack to his first boat parade in Fells Point where we waited outside for an hour for the boats to come by us. The wait in the cold didn't seem to affect Jack though!

We also went to ROcky Ridge with mom-mom and pop-pop to walk through some Christmas lights. I think he was still a bit young for this but overall seemed to have a good time (although you wouldn't know it looking at this picture....)

Thanksgiving – both Jack and Mike were sick several days beforehand which did not make for a very happy mommy. But both recovered by turkey day and were able to enjoy it – well, some more than others……

There was still a lot of stranger anxiety going on at Thanksgiving and Jack wouldn’t let anyone except his cousin Sharon (aka the baby whisperer) near him. Oh yeah…and he let the dogs that were there lick his face.

Christmas – again both Jack and Mike didn’t feel well – Jack actually ended up having a severe ear infection so that made part of the Christmas break not so great. Yeah….Jack’s school closes for a week and a half at Christmas so we were “enjoying” him nonstop for that time.

On Christmas day we went to cousin Sheila’s house and had a really nice time. Food was great and Jack was MUCH better with everyone – after the initial drama of being in a new place surrounded by new people after just waking up from a nap. Being the only kid there was great as he was the center of attention (which he LOVES). We sang nursery rhymes to make him laugh and dance and everyone played with his toys with him. He also got to help Aunt Grace play Santa which lasted for about 10 minutes. Yup – that’s about right. At least he let her hold him whereas on his visit to Santa, daddy had to be in the picture too!

I think the present he liked best was his new Mickey Mouse armchair. He holds his remote and climbs in and out of it ALL THE TIME. He is already becoming a typical man – grunting while pointing the remote at the tv. Other awesome presents he got were a dancing Mickey Mouse, a Mickey mouse car that he can ride in, a busy box, a wagon of blocks, some “tools”, clothes, puzzles and lots lots more. It looks like the toy section of Toys R Us at our house……

Zoey got a stocking as well and seemed to enjoy her presents. This is her 5th Christmas with us :)

All in all I think this year of firsts has been great and we are looking forward to many more. Can’t wait to see what 2011 brings!