The big splash first birthday bash!

I've delayed far too long in posting these great photos from Ethan's birthday party last month. I had a blast putting together water-themed foods, drinks, and decorations. I'm so grateful to Mr Leaven for doing so much to get the house and backyard party-ready - everything looked wonderful!

I got a chance to do a little baking for the party, making beachy cupcakes and blackberry (sand)bars from local blackberries we'd picked ourselves.

We're also so grateful to Cherryleigh's Cookies and Cupcakes for providing a beautiful tray of cookies, which was the star of the dessert table. A week before the party I chanced upon an online baking auction raising funds for Habitat for Humanity to rebuild homes in Granbury destroyed by tornadoes. With this particular item fitting the party theme perfectly, I thought it would be a great tribute to donate to Habitat in Ethan's honor and also get some awesome cookies for the party! She even made some special personalized cookies for his first birthday. She's based right outside of Dallas (it worked out perfectly that she was visiting friends in north Houston so could swing by my office to drop off the cookies!) - if any of my Dallas friends/family have cookie or cake needs, I highly recommend Cherryleigh's!!

Some of my other favorites from the party planning: the towel party favors (brilliant idea of Mr Leaven's), which were cute and practical; blue punch with bath toys floating on top; a bucket of swim goggles in all sizes for kids to borrow as needed; the octopus hummus; plastic buckets with snacks, including the very popular neon orange 'beach balls'...

A few days before the party, Mr Leaven and I completed a small home renovation project, converting our patio into a cabana with outdoor curtains and a big sectional sofa. We love the space and it was perfect as a slightly shaded area from which grown-ups could watch the kids swim. Of course, Mr Leaven did most of the work - he's a keeper!

The party itself was a blast. I stayed inside most of the time (by the food tables!), spending time with the non-swimmers, and Mr Leaven was outside with most of the younger guests. There was much swimming, eating, and general festivity. E enjoyed a very blue cupcake and then got thoroughly washed. He slept very well that night.

Thank you to everyone who brought gifts (contrary to the invitation instructions!) and to those who didn't or who brought a pool toy (excellent job!). It appears that the new trend in gift-giving is not to include a card or tag (I am definitely a big follower of this trend as well) - this makes my terrible inability to write thank-you notes quite a bit easier - I have no clue who gave E such cute gifts, but please know that he loves them all!

And a very special thanks to sis-in-law Jessica, who was the unofficial party photographer and without whom I wouldn't have a single photo from the event! I'm looking through the pics again now and am so very grateful for all the memories she captured!!

grandma carrying ocean jello

deviled egg sailboats

you can't see it, but there was also chocolate panna cotta AKA Galveston water

Itty bitty cousin Piper - only a month old!

 

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

11 months!!

Wow, baby boy is hardly a baby anymore. Less than 1 month (because I'm late as usual) till his 1st birthday - I can't believe how fast this year has gone.

Tonight, I opted to wait till after he was asleep to type up the blog post, since my last attempt was deleted by said adorable 11-month-old baby, who loves helping out on the computer.

I've tried to keep up with these month-by-month posts primarily because this is the only baby book little E has, and it's a great way to document his milestones. So what has he accomplished this month??

- He's still not walking but pulls himself up on everything and everyone and cruises like a champ. Just in the past week he will stand on his own for anywhere from 2 seconds to 15 seconds or so - though I don't think he realizes he's doing it just yet.

- He's such a little climber. At his weekly Gymboree class, he schools all the other kids on climbing the stairs, the ladder thingies, the kiddie rock wall. He always wants to be at the highest point. When one of us is on the couch, he'll climb up to our shoulders, to the back of the couch, and if we would let him he'd transfer to the bookshelf and scale that.

- We're not sure yet if he's had any true first words, but the talking never ceases. We love listening to his inflections now, as he mimics our speech. There have definitely been moments when he looks at me and says 'mama' or at Joe and says 'dada', and maybe a 'dah' for dog and 'dow' for when he's trying to descend the stairs, but we don't know whether he just got lucky or he's using real words. We do know when he starts he's not going to stop.

- When it comes to social interaction, he's absolutely his father's son. He has to greet everyone, particularly the pretty ladies, and he's still smiling more than anyone else I know. He's got a little stranger anxiety when it comes to men he's never met, and he sometimes cries when people he's not close to hold him, but generally he's got a grin and a wave for everyone.

- He figured out pretty much on his own how to turn around and get down from couches or descend stairs backwards. And he's so independent that he gets very angry if you try to do it for him - he will turn around himself or he's not going anywhere.

- His communication with us is becoming so much more clear. He's picked up a few baby signs, and he'll put his hands out to tell us 'all done' at the end of a meal. When he's hungry, he'll either find an empty box of raisins left on the floor and present it to us, or he'll crawl over to his meal counter and yell. Tonight he pulled himself up right under where we keep the bottles, which I think meant he was ready for his bottle...

- He's got 6 teeth now and if profuse drooling is any indication there's more on their way. He's also got quite a head of hair (considering I was bald till I was 2 years old), which is excellent because we can use his growing hair to hide the bumps and scratches he always seems to have on his forehead.

- He's a stellar eater. We're down to 16 ounces a day of formula (the goal is to have him off bottles when the new baby comes, in 2 months) and there's an awful lot of eating in between bottles. Some of his favorites include the more expected food choices, like Chex, goldfish, dried fruit. Then there are the somewhat more adventurous options, like roasted zucchini, red peppers, hummus and pita chips, bacon. And finally there's the ridiculous stuff - he can't get enough of edamame. The other day, we made Kraft mac & cheese and while feeding him that the edamame was ready. As soon as he saw that he wouldn't take another bite of mac & cheese. He likes fresh tomatoes, slices of lime, and corn fresh off the cob - he's loving the summer produce we have around here! His other favorite is roasted seaweed that we buy at Trader Joe's. His eager face and grabby little hands are so hilarious when we pull out the sheets of roasted seaweed. He shoves the stuff in his mouth like he'll never get an opportunity like this again. Joe and I love the stuff too, although our nanny and our family can't stand it - apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I guess. Oh, speaking of apples and trees, we got some fresh Texas peaches last week. I showed Joe a ripe one and E grabbed it from me and proceeded to devour the whole thing, down to the pit. He's had a lot of peaches since then - so convenient that we don't even have to cut them up before we give them to him!

- He's just about done with his infant safety swim lessons, where they teach him to roll over and float if he falls into the water. It's amazing to see him flip himself over, though I admit I'm glad I don't go to the lessons in person (our nanny takes him) because it's hard to watch them put him under the water. I couldn't be prouder of him for learning from his awesome instructor and, though I hope he never has to use what he's learnt, I'm definitely more comfortable knowing he could if he had to.

Oof, long post. I could brag about this beautiful kid forever, but for the few family members still with me to this point, I will break at this point and resume next month, at the big one-year post.

:) s