Year One in the Books

First off let me give a belated "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" to you all...it is definitely one of our favorite holidays (I mean, it's a reason to drink Guinness...if you really need a reason)....sorry we didn't get in a green post yesterday, but as you'll see...we've been busy! Also, yesterday was our sweet boy Jack's 6th birthday! This isn't a recent picture, but it is one of my all-time favorites of him...and I think it totally captures the complexity that is Jack. He's got the drool hanging out of his mouth, he's lounging back, and is in the pool (his all-time favorite location)....Happy Birthday Jackie Boy!

As for Year One being in the books...

Where has the time gone? Seriously, I’m not sure I am ready to be the father of a one year old already…oh well, I guess I don’t really have a choice….because today is Landon’s 1st birthday! Landon had a great day today, playing with all of his friends at daycare. They sang "Happy Birthday" to him, played a ton, and even made a birthday card (with all the kids signing their names with a hand print)! This evening we had a nice meal (grilled chicken, stove top, and brussel sprouts)...of which Landon ate good amounts of everything...then we topped it off with a piece of birthday cake...since yesterday was Jack's birthday, we even let our fat dogs get in on the action (yes, we know it's not going to help their weight). All in all, the entire family got to celebrate Landon and Jack's birthdays, and it was a ton of fun. The picture to the right shows Landon (he's the one with cake all over his face) wearing his "Happy 1st Birthday Landon" shirt that we ordered for him....and I'm sticking my tongue out at him behind the camera, which helps explain why he's doing it back to me. :)

We also had a party for him at our house on Saturday the 14th. Michaela’s parents Rachael, Steve, and Skip flew in for the event, as well as Landon’s Great-Grandma June. Even Uncle Adam (who we last saw in August) drove down and brought his puppy Midori with him! It was so great to see all the friends and family, and I think we ended up having around 30 or so people…which for our tiny house was fairly cramped. But the weather semi-cooperated (no rain, but windy and a little cold), so we were able to spend most of the time outside on our back patio.

Landon absolutely refused to take a nap earlier in the day, so he was fairly tired and cranky at the party…but he did hold up for the most part, and really perked up when his buddy Nicholas and his new friend Ulysses came over to play. The three boys had a great time playing with Landon’s toys, munching on crackers, snacks, and birthday cake, and basically just running wild for a few hours. Here's a picture of all three (trust me when I say it was hard to get all three of them in one frame)...that's Ulysses hanging out with his Dad Mack, and Nicholas is in awe of Landon's upside down drinking ability. The only other child that made it was my cousin Jill’s middle son Ethan, and he was really great about playing with the little kids, then heading over to chat with the adults.

As for the birthday festivities, we let Landon try the cake on his own, but I guess he doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth (sorry Nicole)…he tried the icing and the cake itself, but really didn’t go to town on it too much…and since he was tired and cranky, we really didn’t think he needed a ton of sugar anyways, so the cake-eating was a short-lived event. We also decided to open his gifts later after he was more rested. We figured that since the party was only scheduled to last about 2 hours, it made more sense to spend that time visiting with our guests, rather than taking up half the time opening gifts. But Landon did open them that evening, and he loved them all…he’s already playing with most of them, and Michaela and I now have to go through the house to figure out which ones will be donated to make room for the new ones.

All in all, it was a great day with good company, yummy snacks, and very tasty drinks! That may be the only birthday where Landon had no say in the festivities, so we sure enjoyed it while it lasted.

I also wanted to take a quick trip down memory lane to revisit our first year with Landon…

This year we got to watch him grow (and boy did he grow!), teethe (not one of the more fun things that they do the first year, but definitely a necessity), and use those teeth on just about everything (including new flavors and new foods). We sent him off to daycare after only a few short months at home (where his teachers have fallen in love with him, and he has made all kinds of new friends). We got to hear his first words, and then learn a whole lot more (I still love hearing “DADA” when picking him up from daycare). We watched him learn how to use his body (first his hands, then feet, then head), then figure out how to sit up on his own, and then roll over (which is where the trouble started). Before we knew it he was crawling all over the place (which way did he go?), and getting into all kinds of mischief. Most recently, he took his first steps, and is now walking everywhere (which has led to more falls, stumbles, and boo-boo’s than anything else so far).

Wow. Look at all we got to be a part of this year! Landon has developed at an amazing pace this year, and we can only assume that it’ll be more of the same in year 2. I wonder what tricks he has up his sleeve for the coming year…I’m sure we’ll get to see his vocabulary develop, as well as fine-tuning his walking (which will eventually lead into running…and a very tired couple of parents!). We’ll continue to try him on new foods, and I know I’ll get those mini golf clubs in his hands at some point. He’ll probably get to have his first dentist visit and hair cut (assuming it ever grows out!)…and who knows, maybe we’ll even teach him to swim this summer…sounds like a blast!

And Landon wasn’t the only one that changed this year. Becoming parents is probably the most life-changing event that I’ve ever experienced…even more so than getting married. It’s a weird thing to watch as the center of your universe shifts from you, to you and your wife, to a tiny little replica of the two of you. Gone are the days of coming home and “vegging out” after a long day. Now most everything revolves around our routine with Landon, and making sure that his needs are met before our own…oh yeah, and let’s not forget that whole lack of sleep thing (which has definitely reared its ugly head lately with his molars coming in)! But even with all that has happened, I wouldn’t change a minute of it, and it really has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life watching our son grow.


I wanted to say a quick “Thank You” for reading this word-vomit that I have been throwing up here this past year. I know that some posts have been funny, some have been serious, and some have been just plain boring. But I think they’ve done a pretty good job of demonstrating the ups and downs that we’ve gone through this first year. Originally, this blog was only going to chronicle our first year with the baby, but Michaela and I talked it over, and we have decided to keep the blog running for the foreseeable future.

As I’ve said plenty of times, any comments that you post are greatly appreciated, as it lets us know that someone (other than us) is reading this thing.

Thanks Again, and we’ll see you in Year Two!