On the occasion of my firstborn's first birthday

yep - posted late as always. just wait till the new baby joins us - think i'll still post at all??

As I anticipate the birthday of baby boy Ethan in a few hours, all I can think is that it's such a miracle he's made it this far in one piece. Tonight, he decided he was done with his recliner and he gracefully swerved to the right and plopped solidly onto the floor head-first. Earlier today, he swung his hand right into my left eye and lightly abraded my cornea.

Makes me think of the line from Grosse Point Blank - 'You spend the first year just trying to keep these little guys alive.'

He has only one teensy tiny little scar so far... a collision with the corner of a coffee table has left him with a thin white line under his left eye.

The kid's such a daredevil that I'm sure we have many heart-stopping moments for his mama ahead. He's just getting better and better at climbing everything. Stairs are no challenge, and his talent at descending stairs/sofas/chairs (but maybe not so much recliners) is the most amazing thing to me - he taught himself to turn around and drop his legs down, and he can rapidly climb a flight of stairs then climb right back down.

showing his friend Benjamin how it's done.

One of his greatest frustrations is other people doing things for him. Kid is crazy independent. A few weeks ago at Gymboree he was at the top of a climbing structure and the teacher was telling me to turn him around so he could come back down. This made him very, very angry, and it wasn't till I let go and let him do it himself that he stopped crying.

While he's not quite walking on his own yet, he's so, so, so close. He stands and squats with ease, cruises everywhere, and will take 3 or 4 steps toward his dad or mom or nanny.

He can play ball with us fairly well and giggles joyfully at games of catch. Giggling is something he's very good at. His 2 half brothers are staying with us right now, and he loves to laugh when Jared entertains him. His other entertainment is watching the dogs, and something I'm not completely delighted that he's discovered is opening his mouth in front of Choxie, welcoming a lick (blecch).

Meal time is still hilarious. If he's standing at the bay window and eating, he has to take a break to walk over to the mirrored refrigerator to check himself out for a while. Either standing or sitting in his high chair, he feels it's very important to clear his plate, so whatever he doesn't want gets thrown onto the floor where he can laugh as the dogs clean up his discards.

Do any of y'all use Picasa? I love these little gif's that get automatically created for you!

He got an early birthday party this year, mostly because I wanted to make sure his mama actually got to attend the party (I'm 35 1/2 weeks' pregnant now!), and next weekend we're taking smash-cake photos with a professional photographer, so he's really scoring when it comes to cake and icing. I haven't heard many complaints from E.

We are so very fortunate to have such a beautiful, energetic, daring, and above all HAPPY one-year-old! Love, love, love this kid and can't wait to see what the future holds!

And a Very Important Addendum: Ethan's big birthday present to his dad and me was the gift of walking! He took his first steps on his own, tossing a toy across the room and walking to it! As of today (3 weeks later) he is Mister Mobile. He has explored every room of the house and loves his new freedom!

:) s