Don't You Wish You Were a Factorial?

I recently celebrated my birthday. I have a friend who is a numbers/math girl (unlike me) and she introduced me to the wonderful habit of figuring out something cool about every birthday year. This year I am a factorial. Since I will not be a factorial again until I have become a centenarian (which may never happen), I think this is one of the coolest birthday years I've ever celebrated.

For my birthday, Patrick wins the "Best Husband Ever Award" because he went to get my gift on black Friday because he saw an ad for something he thought I'd like and it was hugely on sale. (As in, this gift is usually about 90 dollars and with Black Friday rebates, he got it for 20.) This meant, that the weekend when we were sick, he got up at 5:30 am and went to Office Depot. This may not seem that early for Black Friday fanatics but it was a weekend, he was sick, and he was going to Office Depot so he didn't think it would be that busy, and it didn't open until 6:00 anyway. After he got there, he couldn't find the product he wanted. He got in line to check out something he had found instead and talked to a lady who had been there since 4 am and was the fourth or fifth person in line. This made him realize why the product probably wasn't there-- he just wasn't gung-ho enough. Fortunately, he asked an employee just to be sure, and the employee went in back and found the last one. The product he got because he didn't think the one he'd come for was there was a photo editing program. The one he came for and ended up getting successfully was a scrapbooking program. The gifts were great, but, I have to admit, the effort was the most flattering thing.

Patrick also gets another star because he went in to work his job the night before my birthday so he could stay home with me later on the morning of my birthday. He also canceled a study group so he could come home earlier on my birthday even though he is desperately in need of studying because we were all sick over Thanksgiving break. (Did I mention how wonderful that turned out to be, by the way? I loved being confined to the house with my husband and son. We had a great time just hanging out and being together as a family, even though we all felt physically crummy.) Anyway, in sum, I have the best husband ever.

I opened presents, we had an early dinner going out to eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries (second choice after Subway, which we couldn't find), and then had friends over for cake and ice cream. I also, as it turns out, have some awesome friends. One friend is a Mary Kay lady, and she gave me lip gloss. The same friend called the night before and offered to make my cake, but I had already made it so she made me homemade oreos instead. One friend is a sewing master, and he made me an awesome purse, so now I can have something cooler than my old-lady purse when I'm not using the diaper bag. Another friend dropped by a really sweet card on my birthday. I also got all sorts of generous and thoughtful gifts and cards from our families on my birthday. Following cake with the two couples who came to share it with us, we finished off the night playing games with our friends Kyle and Kathleen. All in all, a pretty stinkin' sweet day. I was super satisfied with how this birthday went, and now I get to revel in 4! for the duration of this next year of my life. Just think, I'll never get to do that again.

What Do You Do When You're Sick

Wish You Didn't Get So Many Sale Notices

Well, one thing you do is look longingly at the amazing ads that are going up for Thanksgiving weekend and think, "If only I had the energy . . . and if only I didn't care about spreading sickness."

Call and Cancel Your Plans for Thanksgiving

And feel inexpressibly grateful that you have such nice friends that they offer to bring you dinner on Thanksgiving even though they tell you not to worry about contributing, and even though they are already feeding eight adults at their house, and even though their family is coming into town from north and south to share this meal with them so they could be covetous of their time with them.

Look Longingly at Your Birthday Gifts

Um, this has more to do with the fact that my parents' gifts arrived six days early than it has to do with me being sick, but the fact that I may be lounging around the house for the next six days will make the temptation to open them ever so much greater. Not that I will do it, of course . . .

Sleep a Lot

The kiddo has been sick since about Saturday. Yesterday, I went to the doctor and she gave me decongestant for him. Huzzah! (This did not happen last season when he was sick because he was too little for meds like that; there are just so many things to love about having a one-year-old.) Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I was lucky to get him to sleep a half hour 2-5 times a day. And when he wasn't sleeping he was right on the brink of tears about 90% of the time. Happily, now that he has medication, he sleeps (and isn't an emotional mess) and his daddy and I get to sleep too. Thank goodness that Dad has a vacation. I have already taken two naps today, and I am lucky to ever manage one nap when I'm healthy because my body revolts against "laziness."

Read! Read! Read!

A while ago, I looked at my Goodreads.com list of books to read and thought I should start whittling away at it, so I put a bunch of books on hold at the library. I have now read The Book Thief and The Hunger Games. I am currently reading The Professor and the Madman and have started The Tipping Point, though I haven't been impressed with the second one. Gilead and Catching Fire are now sitting in the house, waiting in line. Patrick is reading Catching Fire, and since that ones a sequel to The Hunger Games, it may get moved up in front of The Tipping Point for me, which, honestly with all these other books waiting in my house, might be tipped right back to the library.

Reading has been a relief because I was starting to get stir crazy. I wanted to get out of the house but I didn't want people to hate me and my sniffly baby. The kiddo has gotten stir crazy too, but he's holding up better now that he's getting naps. So, all in all, life is working out all right for us despite pounding headaches, runny noses, and achey bodies. Even so, we do hope they pass soon, especially for Patrick who has exams starting in exactly two weeks and feels an urgent need to study but not an urgent enough need that it overpowers his even more urgent need to sleep and rest.

A Story of Success

Today was an exceptionally great day. I washed laundry, put away the clean dishes, made a call about insurance, made a doctor's appointment for the munchkin, went to the grocery store, went to Target, went to the library and played with Caleb inside and out, watched the kiddo walk more than he ever has before, made the most successful dinner I've made in weeks, had family night (Family Home Evening, aka FHE) together, got invited to our friends' house for ice cream, saw some friends we rarely see, and heard some good news to round out the evening.

But my story of success is most specifically about my grocery shopping experience. An enormous fad among our friends here is what is known as "couponing." I jumped on the bandwagon about two weeks ago. Though I missed out on two little workshops on the subject, I got starter tidbits from two different friends who made it, so I determined to get started. My first shopping experience was not delightful, to say the least. First, I had a one-year-old who screamed every time we were in an aisle alone together and then smiled coyly every time he saw anyone else, two-faced little bugger. This was especially unpleasant because it was not a busy time at the store so I was listening to him scream about 90% of our trip. Second, I didn't have very many coupons. Third, I had to buy meat which is not, as it turns out, a common couponing item.

My second trip was hardly less stressful, though I was able to leave the acoustics at home with his dad. Though I did have more coupons and my bill was not hiked up by meat, my stomach started hurting and I spent what felt like a decade on every possible item determining what was actually covered by my coupon and what would be cheapest due to couponing and sales. (Math and I have a stormy relationship so this is not a fast process for me even with a coupon. Headache, headache, headache.)

Despite these first two painful experiences, I was comforted to attend a workshop with the local couponing queen and be reassured that it does take time but that it is worth it -- after all, she estimates that her famiy of five spends $200-$300 a month on groceries and that includes diapers and personal hygiene items. As that is currently about what we spend for the three of us, I determined to persevere. It helped that I could see her set-up and hear a few more of her tips. I may never master it as she has, but her knowledge is valuable no matter how you apply it.

And, in any case, I've been fully converted today. Why you ask? Because I spent $.30 -- yes, that's right-- $.30 on two jars of Ragu spaghetti sauce. (For those of you who suffer from math dysfunction as I do, that is 15 cents per jar.) That's all I bought today because I will go back to take advantage of Farm Fresh's double couponing deal (a $1.00 coupon goes to $2.00) on Wednesday, but today was the last day I could use the store's coupon, so pairing that with the manufacturer's coupon, and the fact that Farm Fresh doubles up to $.99 the rest of the week, and VOILA! I'm a believer! Apparently, all it takes is one good experience to get addicted. Feel the savings. Taste the savings. Be the savings.

We added this picture just for you, Kathleen.

Ode to October

One of our great adventures in October was going to the William & Mary football game. Note to all moms unfamiliar with this game: a live football game with a toddler isn't the place to learn about it. I was completely oblivious to what was going on 99% of the time. It seemed that every time I looked up nothing was happening and every time the crowd cheered, I was focused on the kiddo. So it happens that I remain completely ignorant on the issue of football strategy, terminology, and, well, everything else even slightly football-related.

After the Tribe's win, Patrick and some friends got together and played some flag football themselves. One thing I love about my husband is that he's really much more interested in playing than in watching (though he does like to watch it as well). Loving to play football as he does, Patrick was very excited beforehand about this informal game, and he wasn't disappointed afterward either-- he had a great time.

While Patrick played football, Caleb and I played in the leaves. Near the end of the game was when Caleb learned the sign "go." It mostly involves moving your hand to point, so it isn't too difficult. We played a game where Caleb signed "GO!" and I would run with him, then I would say, "Stop," and we would stand still. He learned the sign quickly this way because it turned out to be such a fun game for him. Overall, a very successful time period for us all.

Another vocabulary word I missed last time was "bubbles," or rather "ba-ba(s)" (the "s" isn't consistently there). We played with bubbles a lot this month because we came across goodies from last years Halloween with a little pumpkin bubble container.

This picture just makes me think that Caleb is becoming a little boy. (Okay, I admit I threw a block in his pocket so he would reach in to retrieve it, but I think it makes him look so big. He's less and less a baby all the time, even though he isn't technically "toddling" much yet.)

As mentioned in a previous blog post, we also hosted aunt (er, great-aunt) Jenny this month too. She came to visit us after checking out the Funny Farm in Wisconsin. We spent two fantastically fun days touring CW (Colonial Williamsburg) and learning all about the Randolph's, the capital building, and the Governor.
Oh, and we learned about the jail where Jen was incarcerated. Not a pretty thing to be carted off to the noose, as it turns out. Eeew.

Caleb and Jen bonded and are now buddies. It didn't hurt that she gave him fantastic maraccas from her recent trip to Peru. She also bought and read him Goodnight, Moon. It's now a good pre-naptime storybook. She also played the GO!-game with him (mentioned above). I got a video of that, but it didn't turn out well at all, so it's not gonna make the cut. And she just generally gave him a lot of attention and smiled at him a lot which is basically Caleb's idea of heaven.
At the very end of the month, our friends Jason and Melissa invited us over for a Halloween party. Here's Caleb posing in his adorable costume. The vest and pants were inherited from his uncles (my brothers). The shirt was a thrift buy that Grandma bought him. The mocassins came many months ago from my aunt and uncle as a gift with an appropriate matching outfit. And the hat was a Dollar Tree acquisition. The rocking horse belonged to me (and my brothers too?) when we were kids and my parents offered to send it our way when we made the move. All in all, this costume cost us $1. We call that success.
Here Caleb is with his most familiar friends. This is the best I managed with them. I have new respect for photographers of children. What insanity! They were all generally happy at least, but they are also all mobile and wiggly, so they weren't exactly posing for the doting parents and their glued on lenses. Ah well, you get the idea.

And now that Halloween is over . . . on to CHRISTMAS! I love the beauty of fall and the fun of Halloween, but I adore Christmas. I love carols and decorations and the food and the parties and the vacation and the presents and the family and the friends -- all those magical, marvelous parts of Christmas. I admit we have even set up our tree prior to Halloween one year. I don't forget Thanksgiving, I just see that as more build-up to Christmas time. I know some people think it's silly, but, hey, after I'm dead if my kids roll their eyes remembering that I celebrated Christmas ridiculously long I'll be so pleased to have that listed among my quirks.

Hope you're October was as fantastic as ours and hope you are as excited about the holidays as we are.

Recent Milestones

My mom is a sign language interpreter, so she thinks its especially cool that Caleb is picking up sign language. So this post is for her. Behold! Two more demonstrations of his increasing vocabulary. (Really, you would probably prefer these without sound again.)


Book



Baby

Also, I was making a list of the vocabulary I know he has already and here are the things that came to mind, with an effort at making them slightly chronological as far as when he began to communicate these words:

(Disclaimer: I use the terms "signed" and "spoken" loosely for our 14-month-old. Most of these signs aren't done "right" and most of the words aren't spoken "right." They are baby signs and baby words. So when I say that he says or signs these things, I mean that I usually understand what he is communicating with these words, but not necessarily that other native English speakers or native signers would.)

mama (signed/spoken)
dada (signed/spoken)
more (signed)
eat (signed)
ball (signed/spoken)
play (signed)
book (signed/spoken)
baby (signed)
Jesus (signed/spoken)
girl (signed)
again (signed)
flower (signed)
fruit (signed)

The body parts he recognizes and will usually touch when I ask him to are his head, toes, nose, ears, and belly. Sometimes his tongue or teeth. He's recently learned possession a little because he will often touch Mama's ears or nose and Daddy's ears or nose if we ask him to as well.

The animals he tries to make sounds for are cats, pigs, cows, horses, sheep, and chickens.

October Pictures

Our boy loves to read. Lately, he's more about flipping pages than reading, but either way he loves books.

At least once a week, he gets to play with a friend. Usually more often than that, but at least once a week. This is his friend who is one month older than him. She's very sweet and gentle.

This is a gruesome picture of the munchkin banging on the keyboard with eye-balls.

Here he is with his precocious nine-month-old walking friend. We are impressed with her skills.

We still continue to take sweet sleeping pictures from time to time. Even if he's growing and talking, he's still our baby.

His ring toy works as decoration too.

Chilling and reading with my friend Laurel and her little daughter while her son is browsing the bookshelf in the background. Aren't they adorable?

Our friends Kyle and Kathleen (yes, the infamous picture-loving Kathleen) on the ferry from Jamestown. I deserve a prize, I got a picture of the girl despite her resistance. It was a very, very cold day.

Pumpkin carving with Kyle and Kathleen. Everyone (except me) hard at work.

Mine and Patrick's pumpkins. Our neighbor told me that our pumpkin looked like Michael Jackson risen from the dead. And, well, Patrick's pumpkin is what happens when you place sharp objects in the hands of an impatient man. There is a face there-- it just isn't carved. Do you see it?

Okay, family, this is what Caleb looks like when you talk to him on the phone. He's intrigued. Occasionally, there's a shy smile, but then back to focusing on this weird phone object and the voices which come through it.

Yeehaw, ride 'em, cowboy! This is to give you a taste of what's to come with Halloween (more pictures to follow). Thanks to Stacy for suggesting the Dollar Tree for a cowboy hat.

A close-up of my pumpkin. I was afraid that it wasn't scary, but Kathleen assured me that the nose made it terrifying.

More bragging about my kiddo: he tried to put the puzzle bench back together. Albeit, he was unsuccessful, but he did try.

One morning our friend came over to play in the morning. . . and they both loved the lion.

It's Official

#1. Our Apartment is More Guest-Friendly

For those of you who have come to our place and thought what a stupid set-up we had (don't worry, I've thought the same thing), you can now come over and enjoy a more spacious and pleasant atmosphere. I don't know if this is the final result because it's not amazing, but it is a big improvement. In other words, whoever is reading this should come visit us and enjoy it with us . . . and really just come hang out with me and Caleb.

Furthermore, I would like to brag that I made all the changes myself. After a get-together where I watched our furniture arrangement divide people up so that it was difficult to visit, I woke up the next morning and started moving things, including a bookcase, couch, toy chest, tacky "coffee table" (really just a plastic bin with blankets stored inside and one blanket covering the top), and an extra chair from Caleb's room. Basically, I am a female version of Hercules. And it was worth it. Voila! A new and improved living room. (I do sincerely apologize that there are no pictures, but I guess that just means you'll have to come over and see it for yourself.)

#2. I am Not The Only Awkward Person in the World

Really, I seriously stress about all of the awkward things I do. Every night, Patrick has to listen to all the stupid things I said that I shouldn't have said or that came out wrong and seemed to imply things that I don't actually believe. Poor man. When I get into this state of mind, I start to notice all the really stupid things I've said and then I start to feel really socially awkward and then I start to act even more awkward until I really, truly am an awkward person. It's a vicious cycle. Patrick assures me that no one else thinks what I think they think I said, or even if they do they aren't thinking about it any more. The most recent argument he's made to settle down my over-stressed brain was that everyone is awkward and says stupid things. Awkwardness is human. Two awkward situations came up very soon after my conversation with him, and I realized, he's right: Awkwardness happens. It's life. Get over it. Happily, I have not been as stressed since then, and happily for him he hasn't had to listen to the boring list of dumb things I said. That's not to say that I won't ever stress about these things anymore, but it is somewhat reassuring to realize I'm not alone.

#3. One of the Coolest People in the World is Coming to Visit Me

I've been thinking a lot about this visitor and what an awesome person she is and I just wanted to share it with my long list of faithful fans. This woman came into town for my birth, she flew me to San Francisco to spend a week with her early in high school, she spent three weeks with me in Turkey when my grandfather invited me to travel with the two of them, she hiked the Grand Canyon with us and my parents when we were engaged, she was one of five of my extended family members who came into town for my wedding (all of whom were valued because they made the effort to celebrate with us even though they couldn't actually attend the wedding), she came to town for my college graduation, and now she's coming to visit us here for a few days even though it's all the way across the country. Besides that, she was always someone my mom held up to me as a role model when I was a kid because she was very successful and did adventurous things and lived in exotic places like Hong Kong, Thailand, France, and Australia. Even when she lived far away from us (as in all the way across the world) and had a lot going on with work, she always made my brothers and I feel like she cared about us. Ah hem, this person is my fantastic and wonderful Aunt Jennifer. In sum, I wish everybody could have such cool people in their lives as I have in mine.

Why Can't Raising Children Pay For Itself?

You remember the scripture where God tells Adam that now that he ate the fruit of the tree of life, he's going to have to labor "by the sweat of thy brow"? Understandable. Work is an important element of life; now that we have it, we know that. Maybe not all of us--after all, Tevye dreams of having the easy life. But those of us with a little moderation can have the perspective to realize that, yeah, I'll take meaningful work over bumming around all day.

But, hey, I have a kid and he makes me sweat (at least as much as anybody sitting at a computer in an air conditioned office and often more). I'm working by the sweat of my brow and my pockets are still empty. Heck, if I didn't have a spouse in law school meriting a fellowship and loans up the wazoo, my fridge would be empty too. Many other mothers and potential mothers I know either are working while raising kids or are planning on working while having kids. Most everyone in a position like ours could really use the money, but many people choose to do both because they prefer it. People like that make me feel lazy because in reality what I want to spend most of my time doing is raising a passel of children. (Yes, that's right. I did just say "passel.")

In my ideal world, children would come with their own health insurance and there'd be an hourly wage for mothers per chore and per child. A friend of mine at church is working as a nanny for two kids. I can't help thinking, "She's doing my ideal job--in fact, my actual and current job (minus #2 kid)--but she's getting paid to do it." Of course, I realize there isn't anyone to pay me, and I realize that part of the benefit of being a parent is the sacrifice without monetary rewards. But I don't need the money as reward so much as I could really use it for, um, groceries or rent. Okay, I admit, a new Sunday skirt just might come out of this imaginary wage, but considering that my most recent acquisition in the skirt department is a few years old (not counting the clothes my mom got me for while I was pregnant), I hardly think that could qualify as a "reward," per se.

Realistically, I know that women who are raising kids and working are taking on more work than I am, but realistically the idea of me doing it gives me a migraine -- and I don't even get migraines. Partially, this is my own long-established bias that homes with stay-at-home moms who like staying-at-home are healthier and more ideal (with the caveat that mothers must socialize outside their families for this to be the case). Partially, this might be laziness, but I've never really thought of myself as lazy. I've always tried to do my work well. Perhaps that's the real issue. I am pretty sure that spreading myself so thinly would stretch me too taut to do a great job of being a mother, which, as I said, is really the only job I care about right now. I mean, as it is, I'm a live-in housekeeper of sorts and a full-time babysitter of sorts -- those are two pretty demanding jobs on their own. Sometimes I feel like that spreads me thin enough.

Admittedly, wanting to be exclusively a full-time mom is not a politically correct desire. (I read some article by a lady saying that women who choose to stay at home are deluded and stupid and ruining the world for every other woman -- the idiot's version of feminism.) And I know it really isn't how everybody else feels. But I suspect that everybody who has kids (even if they want to work outside the home) would be delighted if they could make some money doing it. But, as that isn't going to happen anytime soon, we'll just have to be a little creative with our saving techniques and possibly with our money-making devices. Ah, if only I were the Mary Kay or Lia Sophia type. But, alas, as anyone who knows me knows, I'm simply not. Something else incredibly flexible is just gonna have to present itself . . . oh, wait, anybody want to pay me for this novel-like blog entry? That's pretty much the next best thing. Let me just get my bank account information, so you can transfer the funds . . .

(Dear Kathleen, now that I know how much it annoys you not to have pictures, I suspect I will get a perverse pleasure out of any entry that doesn't have pictures. Isn't it nice to know I'm thinking of you?)

A Very Cheap One-Year Photo Shoot

Dedicated to Grandparents (again)

Mini Cinema

Dedicated to the Grandmas
(i.e. the videos will probably bore everyone else to tears and my voice in the background will probably make you want to mute it. But it's even more impressive than pictures. *Pats self on back*)

Demonstrating his sign for "ball." (It's at the very end so be patient)



One of the musical cards received for his birthday. This one from Patrick's parents.

Exciting Things Happening In Our Lives

To encourage active participation in our blog and to avoid any accusations of completely boring posts (which I've been told are ones that have no pictures -- Sorry, I'm guilty, Kathleen!), I have decided to make this a multiple choice test. Sorry for those of you still in school who totally dread these things.


1. What is the latest exciting development in our lives:

A.) I'm pregnant
B.) As the epitome of a normal, healthy family, we've been asked to start a settlement on Mars.
C.) Caleb has taken a few steps on his own.

Answer: C.

( When you read just the first two, I know you were like this is easy, obviously it's Mars, who would have two kids while in law school anyway. Then you read C and were like, oh, shoot, which one is it. Well, yes, it's true. Caleb has started walking. No, I'm not pregnant, but I will someday have two kids while in law school. And, well, Patrick's not all that interested in traveling to Africa or Asia, so I'm pretty sure that even if somebody were fooled into thinking we were normal, we would turn down the offer to stay on Planet Earth in the good ol' USA.)


2. My attitude towards books is:

A.) They're lame and I'd rather watch TV.
B.) I'm an addict who has to read boring books so I don't neglect my child.
C.) I think they're useful for some people.

Answer: B

(How is this exciting? Well, I gave up on Williamsburg books which are mostly dissertations, and, hey, I'm not in school; I don't feel the need to drudge through dull writing when there are things that spark my interest and are valuable creatively or intellectually out there for me to read. So I've gone towards biographies for awhile: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The library has enough biographies to keep me busy for awhile, but I don't think this phase of interest will last long enough to get me through that. I'm enjoying learning about these important people in our history though. Be my friend on Goodreads to share what you're reading with me and learn about my introduction to important American figures. By the way, John Adams still remains my favorite, but, hey, he had Abigail and they're a hard team to beat.) -- Honestly, I was kind of just making a plug for goodreads because I'm nosy and I like to know what other people are reading. Join it. Be my friend..


3. What is the coolest word that Caleb is working on

A.) hippopatomus (I don't even know how to spell that)
B.) supercalifragilisticexpealidocious (you'll be suprised to know that I don't know how to spell that either)
C.) Jesus

Answer: C.

( I know, it was a toughy. You were like, well, he is a genius. But then he's so far more of a people/face critter than he is an animal critter -- shhh, don't tell my mom. I am working on teaching him animal signs, but I don't even know the sign for hippopatomus, so that's not one he's likely to pick up on anytime soon. No, instead of animals and random meaningless long words he tries to say Jesus while also trying to do the sign. He loves pictures, and we have quite a few pictures of Jesus on our walls so it's nice to be able to point to them while I'm carrying him and say, "Jesus" while doing the sign. It's all a mush of sounds and hand wiggling, but he'll get there. He's also starting to sign baby (though what he says is more like "didi") and he signs daddy while saying it very clearly. He also signs milk and tries to sign drink. We ended up with a pretty verbal kiddo which is interesting since I didn't talk until I was a bit old, maybe even like three-years-old.)


4. What do Mom and Dad have to look forward to on the weekends now

A.) 3 Date nights a month while friends watch the kiddo and 1 weekend where we watch our friends' kiddos.
B.) Weekend flights to BYU to watch the football games.
C.) Broadway moving to Williamsburg and giving tickets to students of William & Mary for free.

Answer: A.

( I know, shocking. To be honest, I'm not really a big football person. I know, you thought I was. Now the cat's out of the bag. Recently a friend explained the game to me and, not surprisingly, that made the BYU/Oklahoma game much more interesting to me. I would love Broadway of course, especially for free. Specifically, I really, really, really would like to see this show I've heard tell of named Wicked which it seems everyone in the world has seen at least once but me. But, while that is not to be any time soon, I do get to go on other dates that involve an exclusive one-on-one period of time with my favorite person in the world. If you have date ideas, by the way, we would love to hear them.)


Okay, I know you were enthralled by that glimpse into our startlingly exciting lives, but that's all for now. And, well, I have to go feed my kid something before he has a conniption, so there are no pictures. Don't hate, Kathleen. It ain't nice.

Happy Birthday, Dear Caleb,

This is late, but here are pictures from around his birthday:

Opening a present with Dad's help.

Introducing . . . a cupcake with candle. (Dad also helped blow out the candle.)

First bite: Mmm . . . good.

Second bite: Can't get enough. Need a bigger mouth.

Third bite: Satisfied and finished.
(In reality, it took a bunch more bites than that.)

Forget the fantastic presents. Let's play with tissue paper.

And phones.

Later on, reading before bed.

Okay, not birthday at all, but doesn't he look so cute. He won't always be able to pull this look off, but for now I thought he looked so happy and dressy that I thought he still qualifies as cute.

Peering at me out of his playpen. "Hello, Mom."

Showing the pillow some love. All pillows get love. Pillows are a happy part of life. Babies don't get pillows, but Caleb makes his own pillow out of his blankie in the crib. He will not be deprived!

Caleb saying "No no" when I reached for him and asked if he was done. (I put him in the washer when I was unloading the dryer because my friend said she does that with her son and he loves it. Mine did too.)

Caleb meets our friends' puppy.

More tickling tongue on ticklish feet.

Caleb has a menagerie of animals almost as good as his grandma's. Donkey, sheep, bears, birds, all he needs is a wallaby, some emus, and a zebra and he'll be about equivalent.

Here's our one-year-old. Getting so big and growing up before our eyes!