One year OLD and Walking

Well, my baby turned one year old last friday and *sniff* *sniff*, it seems like we are rapidly leaving babyhood behind. He's been eating everything in sight recently and just yesterday, took his first 3 unassisted steps - a great birthday gift for me! Those baby days sure are fleeting. Amazing how they seem to last forever when you are in the middle of sleep deprivation, endless poopy diapers and unexplained crying. And then you wake up one morning and off they walk...

We had a great birthday party for Matthew on Saturday in our new backyard. All of his grandparents were in attendance and everyone enjoyed watching him taste his first cupcake. He loved it so much, he ate up all the cake that the other kids left on the table. We were thrilled to be able to celebrate this momentous day with everyone. It was great fun. Marchus cooked up a fantastic dinner for everyone to enjoy after the party festivities.

Adam is growing up so fast. He talks all the time about everything and LOVES to "talk about it". He's always saying, "Let's talk about it" and whatever "it" is, he wants to know more about it. He asks great questions - thank goodness for Google - I can usually come up with an answer. :) He talks in his sleep (yes, he really is a talker!). Last night, he had climbed into our bed in the middle of the night and out of nowhere, he broke into singing "Happy Birthday" to Mom! He didn't get through the whole song, but it woke both me and Marchus up and we had a good laugh about it. It was SO cute. Adam was really excited about my birthday as well and keeps asking when the children are coming over for my party. :) SO CUTE. We are having some of our neighbors over this weekend with their kids, so maybe that will satisfy his desire for another party. :)

We've had a great couple of weeks!

Almost a year ago...

In two short days, my baby boy will be turning 1 year old. It is hard to believe that this time last year I was waiting and waiting and waiting for his arrival. And in one short year he has grown into such a sparkling, personable little guy. He is so curious and quick with a smile or giggle. He's getting ready to walk any day now and although I am happy he is reaching such a milestone, it is bittersweet to know that his baby-days are coming to an end. He spent most of our July 4th block party pushing his little car all around the street while walking behind it. It was such a hoot. He rocked out to the music with his arms flailing about and just couldn't get enough of all the people to watch. My parents are all coming to help celebrate this milestone this weekend and I have photos to add as well, so I'll be updating this again soon.

Adam is REALLY excited about his little brother's birthday party and wants to talk about it all the time - especially about the cupcakes and presents. Adam bought his brother some books for his birthday and he is so excited to give them to Matthew. Adam loves a party and this is one that he's really looking forward to, as well.

AND our backyard is almost done!!! They are coming to pour cement for our patio tomorrow morning. The retaining wall is done, sprinklers and sod are in, and we are ready to enjoy it all. Of course, this is only phase one of our 3 phase backyard redo - but at least it is a good start. Our old backyard was not at all useable for enjoying these long summer nights. The new one will be just great for eating out, BBQs and enjoying living outdoors! So, we are really excited about that. Again, I'll post photos soon.

To top it off, Marchus has been hard at work painting our family room... the color... Orange! Oh, yes. it is. We've always been pretty brave when it comes to paint color but this was truly a leap, even for us. So far, it is looking great. It should be done by this weekend, so I'll post some photos of that as well.

We've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to post much, but I will try to post more photos since things are changing before my eyes - the kids, the yard, the house... it is such fun! Counting my blessings - we are so fortunate.