Smashing of the Cake

1 Year Well Check

We had Manning's 1 year well check this morning and all looks great. He had 3 shots and a finger prick and did not like it ONE BIT!!! I think he hated the finger prick the most. He kept pulling the bandaid off and blood would go everywhere. Not fun! Here are his stats below:

Weight: 24 lbs 12 oz. - 75%

Height: 31 3/4 inches - 97%

Head: 18 1/4 - 55%

The Boy is ONE!

Dear Manning,

This week of your birthday has me reminicing about this time last year. The day you decided to make your grand entrance into this world was the day that our family was complete. You fit right in immediately and stole all of our hearts with your sweet disposition. And that disposition remains today. You are most certainly the sweetest, cuddliest, and most sensative little one year old around.

You have an infectious laugh and a genuine smile that light up the world. You are so cuddly and I can't get enough. You and I have a special bond and I know it's because I am with you every second of every day. I am the luckiest mom in the world and I am so thankful to your Daddy for allowing me to stay home with you and Henry. This past year has been amazing and I feel like i'm finally doing what I was put on this earth to do. Be your Mommy! It is so much fun to watch you every day soaking in everything you see like a sponge. You constantly point to everthing asking what it is. Your words include: hooott: hot mama dada daaa: ball woof woof: doggy tsh: fish You started walking at 11 months and are getting better everyday. The first few times I tried to put the red keds on you, you pitched a fit and wouldn't even stand up. Luckily you've come around to my way of thinking because I LOVE red keds on little boys. You are on whole milk now 3 times a day in your sippy cup. Yay for no more formula or bottles! You are an OK eater. You really like fruit, but don't care for most meats. Veggies are hit or miss. But, we'll keep trying everything b/c this mama is not a short order cook.

You are an awesome sleeper and I know as soon as I type this I'll jinx it, but you really are. You go down by 8 every night and usually up b/w 6:30 and 7:45. We've even gotten some 8:00am days and I love that!!! You still nap twice a day and usually for 1.5 to 2 hours each.

Manning, 4 years ago this month your brother made me a Mom. But, 1 year ago you made me a better one. We are all on this learning curve together, but you can count on one thing in this life. Your mama loves you more fiercly than anything in this world and I am your biggest fan!

So, Happy Birthday to you my angel! I can't wait to see what this year brings!

1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Manning's first year of life real low key style on Saturday. I didn't even send out invitations for this shindig! Poor second child:(

Nevertheless, the day was perfect. And my little one year old was PERFECT. He loved having all his friends and fam around and in a way I think he knew this day was all about him.

We had bbq and all the fixins and I ventured out of my comfort zone and made the smash cake and all of the cupcakes. I was nervous that they wouldn't turn out, but they really looked cute and tasted great.

Man Man on the other hand didn't think so. He dug right in, but quickly began slinging his hands to get the "mess" off. It was hilarious!!!

A rare good shot of our family of four.

The big kids had a BALL in the back yard and even got to eat their lunch out there.

And the babies stayed inside to eat their lunch.

We loved having Jean and her sweet boys for the day.

Aunt Hanna and Papa stayed the night and we had so much fun together:)

I can't believe I have a one year old!

Smash Cake

Yummy cupcakes

Sweet Boys in the Sunshine

Finally...

Henry has someone to fight lighsabers with. And notice he makes his little brother use the "dark side" red lightsaber.

Bowling Party/Complete and Total CHAOS

Last Wednesday Henry attended his first bowling party for his buddy Conner in his class. It was NUTS!!! 15-20 3 and 4 year olds bowling is nothing short of shear chaos! I am totally surprised no one lost a finger or mama's with flip flops (me) lost a toe.

*that's Ruby up above with the big bow. is she not the CUTEST?!?!

All of the kids had fun. They "bowled" some, ate pizza and cupcakes, and just ran around and acted crazy. Good party in my opinion!

And these two just sat back and watched and ate.

He Walks

He Speaks

Just want to record a few of Mannings first words. Precious little first words...nothin' better!

• daaaaa-ball (said with the slight raise of his voice inflection at the end)
• ca ca-cracker (says this for any type of food being offered to him)
• duh duh-doggy (he loves Lucy and this morning noticed some doggies on the Today Show and walked, yes walked, over the the tube to get a closer look.)
• guh-milk
• haaa-hot
  

You Are FOUR - A Year in Review

4 Year Old Well Check

Henry and I...and Manning...went to see Dr. Traynham for H's well check. It was interesting to say the least wrangling 2 boys in the waiting room, then in the exam room, then in the bathroom trying to catch tee tee in a cup while the little one crawled around on the nasty ground and tried to crawl into the toilet. Insane!!! If Manning doesn't turn up with a stomach bug or the flu form this trip it will be a miracle! This trip was not as smooth as some have been in the past, but all in all we have a healthy 4 year old. He got 4 shots and a finger prick and cried hard for a minute and then was all good. With a little TLC and some Motrin when we got home, he was all set! His iron levels were good and his tee tee looked good too.
However, he did have a ton of wax buildup in his right ear so Dr. T dug around in there and got a bunch of that out. He also failed the hearing test and we think it's b/c of a buildup of fluid in his ear canal. We have noticed that in the past month or so he has been having a hard time hearing us. I just put it off to "selective hearing", but it turns out he really is having trouble. He is on a steroid nasal spray for 3 weeks and then we will go back to re-test. Dr. T thinks it is definitely b/c of allergies, but we won't know for sure until we get all of this fluid cleared out. So, that wasn't fun but I was SO proud of Henry and how patient he was with all of the poking and prodding. He is such a big boy! I'll keep you posted on the ear situation. Here are his stats below:

Height: 41" 75%
Weight: 40.5 lbs 95%

*these stats were kinda of shocking to me b/c I totally think henry is a string bean. i mean, you can see his ribs. but, dr. t said it's nothing to worry about that he is just "solid". and he really is like a lead weight.

Henry's 4th B-day Party at Ready, Set, Rock n' Roll!

A jumping, sliding, wild time was had by all yesterday for Henry's 4th birthday party. He had all of his buddies and a couple "girlfriends" there to help him celebrate. Ready, Set, Rock n' Roll is the PERFECT place to have a party. They do EVERYTHING! All I had to do was show up with the cake and drinks and they do the rest. My kind of partay!

The Star Wars Cake

And this little Man had more fun than everyone, I think. He loved seeing all the big kids in action and practiced his walking a lot in the wide open area.

The Whole Crew

My sweet March Birthday Babies!

Can't believe I have a FOUR year old!

And, of course, Aunt Hanna and her little bun in the oven were here to celebrate the whole weekend!