ONE!

Last weekend we celebrated Nate's first birthday. In many way--well, most ways, really--I can't believe it has only been a year since Nate was born. Not in the bad way, like 'it has ONLY been a year?! How are we going to make it through the next 17 years?!' It just seems like so much has happened since then.  Since Nate was born, we've had hospital stints for both of the kids, 2 long flights from Singapore to the USA, a death in the family, a move back to the US of A, a new city, a new job...ok ya, a lot has happened. So there is that. But also, it just feels like Nate has been around longer than a year. Like he has been a part of our family for longer than 12 months. It is hard to even imagine what it was like before he was with us.

Nonetheless, we wanted to mark the occasion with the proper celebration that one's first trip around the sun warrants. Planning birthday parties is not my forte, however. Especially for a one year old where too much excitement and sugar may very likely ruin the day, if not the entire week. As luck would have it, last weekend was family weekend at the University of St. Thomas and Saturday (Nate's birthday) happened to coincide with the annual birthday bash for St Augustine. So we (I) figured that St. Augustine wouldn't mind sharing his birthday celebration with an adorable one year old who bears a large and saintly name. Right?!

Big sister was a big help for most of the day, seeing as Nate's birthday is the next best thing to having her own birthday, replete with even a few presents thrown her way. We started the day by decorating the birthday cupcakes. I'm sorry to say that these don't look amazing. But they did have lots of chocolate frosting! Adrienne was particularly helpful in monitoring and disposing of (by way of her mouth) errant sprinkles or M&Ms that were not up to birthday cake standards. As such, about one out of every four M&Ms made it to the cupcakes and often even those got removed later in further quality control tests. Oh well, everybody ought to eat chocolate for breakfast every once in awhile.

Following that, we walked over to St. Augustine's/Nate's birthday party. This was perfect for the kids--toys, games, train rides, bounce houses, face painting, balloons, a giant pinata, and, of course, birthday cake! The kids loved it. I probably should have put more thought on that part. I think Adrienne may think this is what birthday parties should look like. She may even expect something similar for her birthday next month. You know, 'Nate got bounce houses and a train ride and all I got was this lousy cake?!' Luckily, Adrienne will get Grandma and Granddad's undivided attention for her birthday so that will be extra special. We followed up Nate's big day with presents, birthday cupcakes, and a few friends. It was a fun day for all of us to celebrate the passing of a big year with many changes, the best of which is, hands down, our little guy. Happy birthday, Nate, we love you very much!

Fall weather

I haven't been around here lately. We have been out enjoying the lovely fall weather. And by 'fall', I mean 'upper 80s'. The only reason we are in long sleeves in these photos is because of the mosquitos. After five years near the equator, I am anxious for some cooler weather! But in the meantime, we are trying to make the most of what we got. And what we have got, as you can clearly see from these photos, is an adorable almost one-year old who really wants to walk! We still haven't seen those first unassisted and wobbly first steps but I know they they will be making their appearance soon. Then again, don't hold your breath. Nate seems to barrel around just fine on his hands and knees.

Return to Chaos

Since I left you, my dearly neglected blog, with the calm and tidiness that comes with just managing one small baby for a well-enjoyed five days, I should mention that we have officially returned to chaos around here. Adrienne and Dad had a wonderful trip to Chicago. I suppose we should have expected as much, but Adrienne definitely has the travel gene. The night before they were leaving, we let her 'pack' her own suitcase. She finished in minutes, dumping several buckets of toys in her suitcase and securely stowing it by the front door for the early morning taxi ride to the airport. When 3am arrived too quickly, as it always does when you have to head out the door at that unforsaken hour of the morning, I went to wake Adrienne up. Before I could finish the sentence "It's time to go to the air.....", she was out of bed and on her way to the front door, happy and excited. Too bad I can't say the same for her dad at that hour of the day! Apparently she was a good traveler and, predictably, was spoiled rotten the entire time. No wonder she didn't feel like talking to Mom the entire trip! Of course since I wasn't there, I don't have much in the way of pictures or details about the trip. However, my hubby did text me this picture and I think it pretty much sums up the what the whole trip was probably like: mid-day cotton candy for no apparent reason.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Ever since she has been home, she has been claiming that she was "so happy to see me when she got back from Chicago!". Now I know this is a lie. She simply couldn't find the time to talk to me while she was there because she was so busy eating cotton candy and basking in the attention of her cousins. Also, she literally was crying when she returned to our front step where I was waiting for her. And she tried to hit me for not letting her eat more candy, which promptly got her sent to the naughty corner. So while I am partially swayed by this belated sentiment, I think she is actually trying to butter me up so she can take another trip. She is already talking about wanting to go to New York City to see Uncle Ryan and Aunt Lilly. Either New York City or the moon, she says. Sigh. I'm sure this kid is going to grow up and want to go see the world.

In other news, Regis and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary on the 17th of September. I was planning to post something to commemorate it. You know, something funny and sweet and endearing in all the right ways. But that never happened, as you can tell. Oh well, maybe for our 8th anniversary. On the plus side, we did manage to celebrate with a night out--an evening very much enjoyed with the man I am still deeply in love with. Happy Anniversary, Hubby!