I am THIS many....

Sure...by "this many", I mean one...but c'mon...

When I get older, I may be annoyed at the day after Christmas thing, but this year...no way. We continued our holiday festivities without skipping a beat by jumping into my first birthday head-first!


SO many people came to my party! My Auntie Steph had it at her house, and did the decorating...she also took the time to bake a bunch of cookies in the shape of letters to celebrate my first birthday (As seen above) Who does that?!

We had a jungle theme, to celebrate our former apartment across the street from the zoo...everything from the streamers, to the cake, to the centerpiece and napkins all had a jungle theme! Neat, right?




There were so many people from both sides of the family, and lots of friends too! Everyone got to eat some good food, celebrate my birthday, and hang out. It was tons of fun!
Since I was a year old, I decided to start experimenting with some more food...

I had some meatballs, and pasta, but skipped the deviled eggs...something told me that was a bad idea...You can see my "Birthday Boy" outfit above, but Dad was bummed that he, and he alone forgot to grab the bib that went along with it...Regardless, I soldered on.

As the party went on, we knew the moment was coming...and sure enough it did...everyone sang a lovely, if uninspired and slightly repetitive song called "Happy Birthday" (Wonder what the words are? Trust me..they're not hard to figure out if you know the name of the song, and throw a couple more random ones in there for good measure...) Either way, everyone sang with the right blend of of calm and enthusiasm...I had a little help blowing out my candles from the people around me, and everyone applauded quietly so as not to make me cry...

Many thanks for that. :-)


And then the moment of truth came...it was such a lovely cake, but they started cutting it up into single serving pieces and handing them out to people around the room. (If you look closely at the picture, you can see the little jungle animal figures that they put on the cake)

Not only that, but they gave me a nice fat piece of cake, which I hadn't expected at all! I was pretty hesitant, as I am not usually supposed to make a mess. But here it was...a big piece of tempting, frosted goodness, and me without any utensils of any kind. (Not that I would know how to use them anyway)

So I did what Dad had been talking about for weeks...I put my hand into the cake! It was so soft and sticky, that I just played with it in my hands for a few minutes, because I thought it felt kind of cool. I wouldn't, however, give anyone the satisfaction of making a mess of myself.

Until my face got itchy.

Logically, I reached up to scratch it, and before I knew what was happening, my entire face was covered in cake and frosting...

I was a little shocked that it happened so quickly, but as more frosting ended up on my face, I got itchier, and one thing led to another...Uncle Mat was nice enough to help me get a few good-sized chunks of frosting in my mouth. It was tasty, but a bit too sweet for my palate.

Just when I started getting tired of the frosting game, the fam sensed my growing desire to not be covered in sugary confections, and came to my rescue.

Yes...there was frosting up my nose. Yes, I was a bit annoyed. Yes, I smelled like frosting for the rest of the party.

After the cake, came presents! Mom and Dad took me into the living room, where everyone who had the cheap seats for my frosting debacle, now suddenly had the best seats in the house!

Dad helped me unwrap TONS of presents! He almost looks more excited than I do, at this point. But really, what can I say...I was still tired and fighting off a cold, man!


There were also a lot of adorable cards, and other gifts that people were nice enough to give me. Dad loves the gift bags for some weird reason. It's one of his favorite parts of opening presents. I can kind of see his point, as the bags make that crinkling sound I do enjoy so very much, but really, Dad...c'mon now.

Everyone helped me unwrap stuff, and we had a TON of fun!

Once again, Mom and Dad's family and friends (Who are also my friends and family, let's not forget) have proven how generous, fun and sweet they are...so many toys that made so many noises, and had so many lights...books that I could read (or have read to me) toy cars, clothes, you name it. It was given to me, and I hope I was able to thank everyone for everything. (If not, I'm sure my parents will do it for me. :-) )


After a long day of visiting with friends and family (Some of whom I'm sure I didn't see nearly enough, since there were so many people to visit with) lots of crawling/running around (With some assistance from everyone else) and gifts and food galore...I was tuckered out, and the party broke up...

I can't wait to do it again next year (Albeit, on a slightly smaller scale, since this one was such a big deal, being my first one and all.)

Thanks to EVERYONE who came out, especially Auntie Steph for hosting and decorating, Da Gramma for getting the food, Laura for some mad skills cleaning up, and to everyone for the gifts, and good thoughts...thank you fore spending some time with me the day after Christmas...I know it's a busy time of year, and I thank you all so very much...

I am one...or twelve months old, if you like. :-)

My first Christmas!!

In 2009, I spent Christmas creating waves through my Mom's tummy, and (while I allowed everyone to open presents and finish dinner) finally sending everyone calmly heading towards the hospital in order for me to make my grand appearance. While I found that to be a memorable way to spend Christmas, I was very excited to get to spend this year doing things in a slightly more conventional way...

Visiting family, and opening an absurd amount of presents!

For the first time in recorded history, (Or the last five years, or so) Dad had both Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day off...so, he decided to make it a long weekend, and take my birthday off as well...we planned to go up to Connecticut mid-week, and spend some quality time up there...

I started the week off with a bit of a cold, so Mom and Dad were a bit worried that I would be sick for my first Christmas, and my birthday...they decided to drive back up to Connecticut on Christmas Eve morning, instead of the night before to let me get some sleep, which was quite kind of them, I must say...I felt much better when I woke up.

The drive up wasn't too bad, as I slept for most of it, feeling even better when I woke up again. When we arrived, we immediately dove in to a flurry of activity...

CHRISTMAS EVE

Christmas Eve saw us arrive at my Great-Aunt Patty's for the huge festivities on my Mom's side of the family...there were TONS of people there, including my Uncle Mat who has been away training to be a Marine for awhile, and who I missed very much...everyone was worried that I wouldn't remember him, but I did (Though, I do recall him having a bit more hair last time I saw him)


I enjoyed opening my first presents with him, and was flattered to find out that all he wanted for Christmas was to open presents with me. Well, wish granted, Uncle Mat. :-) We even got to read a little bit together...this is impressive, considering the organized chaos that was carrying on around us...


I can't even begin to tell you how generous people were! (Even Mom and Dad got presents...I think it's cool that Moms and Dads still get presents...I had been concerned that the gift-giving stopped at a certain age, but was relieved to find out that, while it won't always be such an absurd amount of presents, that they would always be there. Phew!)

Gramma Mindy gave me my cornucopia of Elmo toys, which she won (Much to my Mom's chagrin, as she is not a fan of Elmo...) and I dug right into them...pretty much everything you could put Elmo's face on, they did....everything from bubbles, to bath foam, to stuffed animals...it was a VERY Elmo-ey basket...


Gramma Mindy loved the fact that I grabbed onto Elmo's eyes and shook him around, indicating of course that I don't mind Elmo anywhere NEAR as much as my Mom does...And really, if it's soft and has big eyes, I'm a fan...so, you know...whatever. My joy is evident in how blurry the picture is. Which is pretty blurry, since I'm so full of joy!

It was so much fun spending time with Mom's family...as quickly as the party came together, it broke up, and I am told that this is how things go, around here. No worries...we enjoyed seeing people, and getting presents...I can't wait until I'm old enough to become part of their "Secret Santa" dealie...

CHRISTMAS DAY

I awoke Christmas Day to my first White Christmas (and apparently the first one that has been seen around these parts in some time) at my Gramma Mindy's. She had her Christmas tree all set up, and I could see that there were some presents under there with my name on it...

(And hey....who's that handsome devil gracing the upper right-hand corner of the photo...?)

We took a quick side trip to see my cousins, who Mom and Dad haven't seen in some time, and while I slept for the first part of the visit, Mom and Dad got to eat and visit for awhile. Mom and Dad also had purchased a Baby's First Christmas ornament, which they took from tree to tree as we visited puir


After that trip, it was off to Da Gramma's house to see Uncle Steve, Aunt Amy, Da Gramma and NotDaGramma (Auntie Steph was working, but I knew I was going to see her on Saturday for my birthday, so that was OK.) While the tree was smaller, there wasn't any shortage of presents under there, nor was there a shortage of that festive Christmas feeling! Da Gramma had put the tree on a kind of pedestal, and put the presents underneath...


I also arrived to find that I had received an official mini-Christmas Tree Stocking Ornament... how neat is that!? You DEFINTELY know you're in when you have one of these guys hanging on the tree! Everyone in the family has one, and Da Gramma adds one whenever you join the family (Thus, the reason Mom has one, too!)

And before you ask...YES! There were even more presents! I couldn't believe it! Da Gramma helped me open some up, but at this point I had kind of gotten the hang of it...

Later in the day, Uncle Steve and Aunt Amy made their arrival, and we all got to hang out together. Uncle Steve and I get reacquainted, with some good old fashioned tummy tickling...good thing Da Gramma is holding me back, or I'd get Uncle Steve back pretty good!


Great-Gramma Case was there too, and she got such a kick out of seeing me! She kept laughing at how adorable I was! I can't say I blame her, I mean...you read the blog. You know what's up. We also get a rare shot of Grandpa. He is seldom photographed, and when he is, it is always a special occasion. He and I have an understanding...we get along pretty well, and he seems to enjoy seeing me a great deal. I feel the same way, and show it with laughter, and grabbing tightly onto his outstretched finger.

After presents, I had Da Gramma walk me around for a little while (Something I would keep her doing for the next 48 hours)


I must say, it was an amazing first Christmas...everyone was so much fun, and so nice to me...and even if I hadn't gotten any presents, I would have had just as much fun....to you all I say...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!

Baby Tour 2009_Leg_7_Just_Visiting_

In the last of my series of catching up, we have a quick series of pictures that goes along with my Uncle Steve getting married (http://thepgdot.blogspot.com/2009/10/baby-tour-2009leg6unclestevegetsmarried.html) Mom and Dad stuck around for a day or so after the wedding, so Mom could have a day or two off before traveling again, and so that Dad could head out with some of his friends for Haunted House Hoppin' 2009 (Basically, this tradition started off with Dad and some friends trying to go to as many of those Haunted House deals as they could in October...and these days it's limited to just one or two a year...Dad started this tradition in the late 80's, and even though the group of people he goes with is fluid, he has somehow never missed a year. Wow...that was FOREVER ago!)

We got to hang out with the Dumas' some more...Mr. D is sportin' one of the tophats from Uncle Steve's wedding, which makes him look like an old man in a mob picture. I'm not judging, I'm just saying. Dad's friend Chris is holding me, which he loves doing. They told me something tremendously sweet, recently...that they have pictures of me on their fridge.

Just like everyone should.

I also got some more time with DaGramma, and got to play with some of the toys that live up in Connecticut. It's nice to have different toys in different places...it helps keep things interesting, and our apartment ever so slightly neater...

Also notice the cameo from the monkey that was at Uncle Steve's wedding...Man, I LOVE that guy!

I also got to have a visit with my Godmother Amber, who was nice enough to not only draw me a picture, but she let me play with the crayons, too! Now, I didn't come up with anything more than scribbles for the time being, but really...I was ten months old...give me a break.
JustRichy and I played the piano for awhile. He handled all of the lower notes, while I took the higher ones. Gramma Mindy provides backup. (And by backup, I mean she held onto the back of my shirt while I played. I tend to get into the performance a bit, and with all the moving around I do, there's always a decent possibility that I will fall over...good lookin' out, Gramma Mindy.
As I watched JustyRichy finish up his end of our piece together, (There were more low notes than there were high notes, sue me...) Mom and Gramma Mindy were both amused and impressed at my contributions. They liked JustRichy's too, but he's been playing piano for AGES...been there, heard that. :-)

My first visit with Santa!

So...what do two sane grown-ups do at 9:00pm after an evening of Christmas shopping when their kid is tired?

Why, buy him a cheap Christmas shirt from Macy's, comb his hair, and stick him on Santa's lap, of course!

This was more for my Dad than anything else, although my Mom did eventually see the value of another of my first Christmas memories immortalized forever. We had been kind of playing it by ear as to whether or not I'd be visiting Santa, since most plans have to be run by me these days. After Mom fed and changed me (in a fitting room, no less...Mom is a TOTAL pro at this point...she can do that stuff anywhere!) we ran over to Santa as he was packing up. The lady taking pictures said we had a few minutes, so like a well-oiled machine, Mom and Dad deftly put the new shirt on me, combed my hair, and brought me in to see Santa...

Now, let's talk about how awesome this Santa was...now, Dad has shown me some pictures of some sketchy characters that have stood in for Santa over the years as he was brought to various malls to have his picture taken...but THIS guy was the real deal...Look at that beard! That giant hat! The suit that was just the right color of red and white! Amazing!

Mom and Dad walked up, and even though it was the end of the night, this guy smiled so brightly, and took time to get me comfortable with him. He gently tickled my stomach with his finger, and he let me touch the soft edging on his sleeve...it was SO soft...he did it so fast, but never made me feel uncomfortable or upset...

It was quite magical.

Since gaining my trust currently involves tickling me, and giving me free presents once a year, he had me at "Ho..."...he took me, and propped me up on his lap, and even though I looked exhausted in the picture, I was so excited...he was just so nice. Mom got my attention from behind the camera, and after a few snaps, we were all done! He didn't make us feel rushed, and at the end, when Dad asked me to tell him what I wanted for Christmas, he even let me tell him...

Dad whisked me away, thanked Santa and wished him a Merry Christmas while Mom picked out the best picture...yes, the above one was the best...shut up, I was exhausted.

What did I ask for for Christmas, you ask? That's a secret between Santa and I, silly. :-)

I can't put my arms down!!

Yeah I look adorable, and yeah I'm a winter baby, so I can handle this kind of stuff...but c'mon people...

:-(

Zoo Lights!

As our time living across the street from the National Zoo winds down, Mom and Dad thought that it would be fun to make our last visit to the Zoo while we lived there (Because I intend to make frequent visits there, even once we move to Bethesda) to The Zoo Lights. We had already gone during the day one last time, but they thought that this would be a fun way to spend an evening, as a nice little family unit. It also got us out of the apartment, and away from the madness of moving, and Christmas shopping, and all that nonsense...

What is Zoo Lights, you ask? Well...Mom and Dad went there a few years ago, but skipped last year since they were a BIT busy (and Mom was a BIT pregnant) and they described it to me as a light show that combined lighted shapes (In most cases animals...as seen below)...

...and just general light displays around the Zoo. Some of the buildings were decorated with beautiful light displays, and open for us to see the animals, but since we'd done that so often, we decided to just focus on the lights outside.

They bundled up, bundled me up, slung me into the Baby Bjorn, and we were off!

We spent a couple hours there walking around, and it was nice to see everyone in such a festive moodMy favorites were the simple ones, the trees that were just so wrapped in lights, that it looked like it was day time out there! Here is a rare "Social Networking-Style" picture of the three of us having a blast at Zoo Lights. I, as always, was distracted by the lights, and had no interest in looking at the camera...but you can at least see that I was having fun.

I also really enjoyed the "dancing lights" This is a trend that I can't possibly understand getting involved in, but I DO love watching it! The Christmas display basically blinks and flashes in time to whatever music they have playing...in this case, it was "My Favorite Things" (Which Mom has vetoed as a Christmas song) and something by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

Yes...there were only two songs...and yes, I made Mom and Dad watch it twice through with me. It really was awesome.

This was a quick shot me enthralled at a tree wrapped in really pretty green lights...note, that I did spend most of the evening with this expression on my face....

All in all, it was a great evening. Mom and Dad shared some kettle corn, I saw a little bit of a puppet show, but what we really enjoyed were all those sparkling lights...

And for some reason...this guy.

Last time Mom and Dad came to Zoo Lights, this guy was here, but he had snow flying around him, so it would be like a living snow globe. Why he had no snow this time, and why he was just tucked over in a corner in a "Snow Globe" minus the "Snow" was "Confusing" to say the least...

Still...we had a lot of fun that night...no quotes at all...just pure fun. :-)

Our last night in The District....

As Mom and Dad continue to pack furiously around me, I have stopped to reflect on my time here at 3000 Connecticut Ave...

It seems like just yesterday that Mom and Dad were hoisting me into this place for the first time, and now, just a year later, we're moving on. So many memories were made here, and so many firsts occurred here, that I'll never forget this place. It's old, and it's creaky, but it has its charms, and I'm going to miss them all. The sights, the smells, the people who think I'm so adorable (although, really, I'm sure I could find those types of people anywhere...) the storefronts right downstairs that Dad would always take me to...

And of course, I will miss the Zoo most of all...though Mom and Dad swear that we'll be coming back here frequently once the weather gets nice to come visit again. Dad is bummed that he may actually have to use the restrooms at the Zoo instead of just walking across the street afterward.

This is the only home I have known so far, but as much as I'm going to miss it, I am excited about our new place! As nervous as I am about not sleeping in Mom and Dad's room anymore, I am SO excited to get to have my own space for once! I'll have room for all my toys, all my clothes, and get to have some privacy when I want to settle down with a nice book...

So....I cherish the fond memories of this place, but now I get to experience "moving on to new adventures" for the first time...Bethesda will be home, because we'll make it home....I look forward to creating new memories, and having new adventures in a new place!

And besides...I'll be walking soon...I have to take my first unassisted steps somewhere...right? :-)

Also, since it's our last night in the neighborhood, Mom and Dad got pizza from their favorite neighborhood pizza place. It's a little Italian Deli called "Vace", and even though we're moving several miles away, they have every intention of still getting a pie or two from there every now and again...

Oh...and on that note...

I TRIED PIZZA FOR THE FIRST TIME...AND LOVED IT!!