"Mem" AKA Mommy To My ONE Year Old!!

I feel bad for having not written for so long. Things have been crazy busy here at our house. Tommy's more and more active during the day, I now care for children in my home daycare four days out of the week, and every weekend seems to be packed with exciting outdoor activities or Spring home improvements! We’re getting prepared and excited for Tommy’s big 1st birthday bash this Saturday. It’s family, extended family, and a few of Tommy’s “school” friends. Unfortunately, the weather isn’t looking very promising, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t affect our party plans too much. Tommy turned 1 on Tuesday the 21st. He had a pretty bad cold, and ear infections in both ears, poor little guy. He was cranky and slept for most of the day, but still enjoyed his first cupcake, visits from his Gramma and his Abuela, and a couple cool toys from Mom and Dad. We got him a little red swing which we attached to our pergola so that he has something to do while we enjoy the outdoors, and also a giant rubber ball which I picked up at Walmart for $2! I love how children his age are entertained by the simplest and most in-expensive things. For Tony and I, the first birthday is very very special – so we decided to go all out. We don’t plan on throwing a big party every year, in fact this year’s party – with its expected 85 guests…will most likely be the biggest party Tommy has until his wedding! Ha! We’re making most of the food and decorations ourselves…so when we’re not hanging out with the munchkin, we’ve been spending our "free" time preparing things and the house, for the party. I don’t want to put too many pictures up yet…because I want our guests to be surprised by everything we’ve got planned – not that it’s a lot…but presentation is key! I promise to post a ton of pictures afterwards for all to see. It’s going to be a great party, we’ve truly outdone ourselves this time!
We still feel so blessed that we were not only able to conceive a child, but that he is now a healthy, and happy 1 year old little boy. The year was a big one, a lot of learning and new experiences for all of us. We’re a small happy unit with wonderfully supportive and loving extended family and friends. I’m so grateful, and glad to be able to share some of our lives with them…even if it’s mostly through periodic phone calls, visits, and blog updates.

Little McTommy Had A Farm E-I-E-I-O

We’ve had a great start to the holiday weekend. Last night I met up with a couple girlfriends to get pedicures, then appetizers at a local restaurant. I loved the girl-time, and my toes look pretty now too! Then I woke up this morning to a sunny warm day, and a happy baby who cuddled up to me this morning when I retrieved him from his crib. After his morning nap we were off to the local grocery store in search of our Easter ham. Along the way I stopped when I saw a neighbor getting ready to leave some kids’ toys and things out for the trash. He had a huge “practically new” kitchen playset (apparently his kids never played with it and it was taking up too much room), a toy workbench, a little bike, and a tricycle/bike thing. He asked if I wanted all of it. To which I said “absolutely!!!” I wasn’t able to fit it into my jeep, so he loaded up his truck, drove over to our house (about 8 houses away) and unloaded all of the stuff for me. That was so neighborly and nice! Next, while we were at the grocery store, a woman saw me looking at yogurt and mentioned she had an extra coupon if I would like to have it she’d give it to me! We chatted about the baby for a moment or two, then she handed over her extra coupon and we were on our way. So on top of the other coupons I already had…I was able to save an addition couple dollars! Love that! The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and by the time Tony got home the weather was so lovely we decided to go for a nice long walk, then we played out in the backyard with Tommy and Mav for a while. It was wonderful! I took a bunch of pictures of Tommy and Tony playing together in the grass, and a couple of Tommy playing on the tractor, some with my cell phone so they don't look as good. Tommy was wearing these overalls that made him look like a little farmer. Hilarious! I hope everyone is having a great Friday too, and that you all have a great weekend with a very Happy Easter!

Tommy's Soooooo Big!

I had to share this picture from this morning of Tommy playing "so big." He cracks me up because each time he lifts his arms, he bends his head back so far that he he almost falls backward. Its hilarious! Our little class clown. You can thank his Aunt Carrie and his Gramma for teaching him this little gem. Until recently he would only play "so big" with them, but I finally won him over!

He's getting so much better at balancing himself when he's walking. Still he can only take about six steps before pitching forward, but he's very brave and tends to take off toward what he wants with little or no encouragement. It's fascinating to watch him transition from baby to toddler. He is always talking and singing, and sometimes the words are quite clear. He likes to say "Ma" now, continues to say "Dada," and does well with identifying with everyday objects (those he is use too) and activities - especially things starting with a "B." His favorites being "Bah Bah" (bottle/sippy cup), "Bayh" (Bath, he heads towards the stairs going up toward his bedroom and gets really excited when we turn the bath water on), "BawrBawr" (BearBear - our dog) and "Bawl" (Ball). He also REALLY loves when I ask if he would like some Juice. He starts calling "Dus." It's so cute. I can't wait for him to learn more words, it’s nice to communicate with him and actually know what it is that he wants. We're working on saying “Duck” now (just in time for Easter!). He has always been a big fan of Ducks, he plays with two rubber ones in the tub every night, has a couple small stuffed animal ducks, and we got him a cute little book about ducks for his Easter basket (we won't be doing candy Anytime soon...or ever if I have my way, except maybe peeps...I love peeps, all that sugary awesomeness).

Anyway, Tommy has pretty much transitioned out of drinking a bottle. He drinks “milk” (formula) three times a day, the only one he drinks out of a bottle is his nighttime one…so we’ve definitely made some excellent progress. He has only ever drank his juice out a Nuk sippy cup (it has a super soft rubber top but only comes in 5 oz cups), which I think helped him with the transition of his other bottles.

We spent much of this past weekend indoors working on home improvements, baby-proofing, and household chores. It was so windy and rainy (still is) this weekend that we really didn’t have any choice. Now that Tommy is more mobile and has better balance on his legs, he’s begun to explore more of his surroundings, including trying to open all of the kitchen cabinets and drawers, trying to bust out of the baby gates, and climbing up stairs. We thought we were pretty well baby-proofed…but we thought wrong. Just this weekend Tony had to purchase yet another baby gate for the stairs in the playroom, and add special child-proof hooks to all of the cabinets and drawers within Tommy’s reach. It’s worth the time, effort, and cost to keep him and the other children I care for safe.

I repainted our backdoor, and most of the window and doorway trim throughout the powder room and laundry room over the course of the weekend (during Tommy’s naps and at night). I was trying to win tickets to see the Allman Brothers Band, so I had lots of classic rock tunes playing while I painted everything a crisp white. The biggest improvement has to be the backdoor, it looked almost gray…now its stunningly white. I love it! (bad picture, sorry) BTW…I didn’t win the concert tickets, which stinks, but what can you do! At least I gave it a good try! We stopped over at produce junction to pick up some fruits and veggies on Sunday, and I saw some flowers I just HAD to have. A beautiful Orchid which I got for $8! I have no idea how to take care of it, so hopefully I don’t end up killing it (I don’t have much of a green thumb). I also picked up two yellow Begonias, and was able to plant them by our front steps outside in between rain storms. I want to plant all yellow flowers this year, so that our front lawn looks bright and sunny and welcoming. I fell in love with the Begonias. They are so pretty. The only had two of them in the yellow…so I might stop back and try to find them in another color, for my pots in the backyard. They were only $3 each, which is a steal for something so lush and colorful that’s also easy to care for! I can’t believe this upcoming weekend is Easter! I’m looking forward to attending church services (we took Tommy to church this past Sunday for Palm Sunday – one of my favorites – and he did really well…charming all the little old ladies!). We’re also going to spend some time with our families – including Tony’s cousin and his family (they have a son who is 3 mos. younger than Tommy), so that will be really nice. After this weekend I’ll be in full party-planning mode to get things set for Tommy’s big 1st birthday bash. The invitations are being mailed tomorrow (or Wednesday)…we’ve invited somewhere around 100 people (yikes), so hopefully the weather is decent and we can enjoy our spacious backyard…I don’t even want to think about trying to stuff 100 people into our house. Don’t get me wrong, our house is plenty big for us, and for various parties we’ve had in the past…but I’m not so sure it’s 100 people big! Hahaha…lets hope for sunshine!