A Toddler Now

I found a quote recently that I think perfectly describes parenthood. "The days are long, but the years are short."  I don't know where it came from, but it is especially true during these early years. My baby boy turned a year old on Saturday. I still can't wrap my head around it. He's officially a toddler now. A TODDLER?! How did that happen so fast? One minute he's laying in his bassinet cooing and kicking his little frog legs about, and then I swear all I did was blink and now he's practically running around the house, hurling toys from one end to the other. I love each age and stage more than the last, but at the same time I miss the cuddly infant he used to be. Now I have to beg for his kisses, sticking my face in his until he gives up trying to push me out of the way and just plants a big wet one on me. I do what I have to, people!

Anyway, as I was saying, Haeden turned a year old on Saturday. We spent the day in St. Augustine and did some fun outlet shopping. I have been dying to get him some baby Converse, however, quickly learned that his feet are too fat to fit into them.  Don't they realize that babies have chubby feet? Luckily we made due with a pretty awesome pair of tennies from the Nike outlet. After shopping we stopped at the World Golf Village to have lunch at the Caddyshack restaurant. It was some damn good food and the atmosphere is just plain fun, much less stuffy than I was expecting being that it's smack dab in the middle of a golf resort. Haeden enjoyed the memorabilia on the walls and got a big kick out of the alligator hanging from the ceiling. And, of course, Haeden charmed all of the waiters and old ladies alike. I looked down at one point and realized that he was hiding the food he didn't want to eat. Not an unusual thing for him as he usually sticks it beside him in the highchair. This time he decided he'd reach over and put it on the side of my chair though!  Upon catching him in the act, he just looked up at me and grinned. What a ham.

I spent the evening wrapping up last minute preparations for Haeden's party while he played with his big brothers and Daddy in the living room. I would like to say that in the evening I took the time to reflect on this past year and how much our lives have changed, but I did not. I mostly just worried about the party I'd be throwing the next day. Rain or shine. In the park. And wondering if we'd have picnic tables. More on that later...

ZOObie doobie do

Two weekends ago we took Haeden and the boys to the Jacksonville Zoo.  This was Haeden's first experience and we wanted Daniel and Patrick to be a part of that even though it pretty much cost us an arm and a leg to get in. Why is that place so dang expensive?! We went ahead and got everyone a yearly pass because if we go just one more time this year, it almost pays for it. And I love an excuse to go to the zoo! I'm still holding onto the hope that one day they'll let me take a baby giraffe or elephant home. Our back yard is a pretty good size, I think we could handle it.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and being that we went on the morning of Easter Sunday, it wasn't busy at all. Haeden enjoyed himself quite a bit and I'm sure his arm got tired from all the pointing.

He definitely got a kick out of a lot of the animals. The ostrich was quite a sight to him and so were the jaguars. Patrick is still his favorite animal though. He even got to pet him!

One of my favorite parts of the zoo is walking out onto the pier at the river. I have some great memories of coming to the zoo with my grandparents and cousins by boat. You even get in free when you come that way, although it's not advertised and probably frowned upon by the staff. We got a pretty good family shot out there. Too bad we coulding get the house boat in the background. That rickety old thing has probably been there as long as I've been alive!

We had Easter Dinner with Dan's mom that evening and it was a good thing, too, because we were all pretty pooped after all the walking, picture taking and sunscreen applications!

Cute, Cute & MORE Cute!

Last night I started to think about how I needed to document some of Haeden's recent cuteness. Just as I cannot imagine loving him any more, I also cannot imagine him being more adorable or hilarious. He really is quite the little jokester for such a babe. I adore him. Let me count the ways:

1. Haeden already thinks it is funny to burp. In fact, after a real burp he giggles and then tries to make himself burp again. I'm thinking Grandpa John taught him this one. I'm sure he's very proud.
2.  I realized yesterday that he thinks it is funny to be chased. I was in his room picking things up when he came in and stole a washcloth (his favorite toy) and left to go make trouble in the other room.  I called his name and went after him when he started to try and run from me! He's not that coordinated yet, so he promptly fell right over and started crawling as quickly as he could.  All the while he was laughing hysterically! We're going to have to get this on video soon. Daddy tried it with him too and Haeden's laugh is just infectious!
3. Haeden has really found his voice the last couple of weeks. He isn't really saying any words yet. He prefers the sounds of his own high pitched screams. They are happy screams, but oh my gosh, I'm surprised he hasn't broken any glass yet! He especially loves to showcase this new ability in restaurants and the car.
4. For the past month or so he has been pointing at EVERYTHING! Usually it's followed with a very emphatic "AT!"
5. Not sure where this one came from, but Haeden suddenly started to look up at us and then blink both eyes at the same time and then open them up and laugh. It's the funniest thing.  Think Bewitched, but without the nose twitch.
6. The wave. We've been working on this one for a while. For the longest time he'd just stare at us like we were crazy. Then he started raising his hand for a second. Now he is full-fledged waving and he's so excited that he is pretty much jumping up and down when he's doing it. Not quite sure how to take that! Grandma's house is fun apparently!

The list goes on and on, of course, but you've probably hit your CUTE quota for the day. Just in case you haven't though, this should push you just over the edge...

The Weekend in Review

I quite enjoyed this last weekend. We decided to start it off right and head out for dinner Friday evening. European Street, guys. Yum! I challenge you to find something on that menu that doesn't taste a little bit like heaven (with the exception of anything involving sauerkraut. eww). Haeden provided entertainment as always, flirting with neighboring customers and randomly shrieking in a pitch so high that I'm surprised water glasses weren't breaking all over the restaurant. Seriously, this kid can channel Mariah Carey like it's nothing. You can't really shush an eleven month-old, so I'm glad that we chose to sit in a back corner!  Also, he's so damn cute that it's pretty impossible to be annoyed anyways.

Saturday Haeden and I did some shopping for his upcoming birthday party. We picked up some supplies and holy crap, do you know how much they try to charge for plates and napkins? I don't even have a theme and it cost me thirty bucks for everything I needed. Yes, I know I could have gone to the dollar store, but have you met me? These things have to match! Color coordination is key, people. Besides, I don't want to completely cheap out on people who are coming to eat cake celebrate Haeden's 1st birthday! As you know, shopping can be quite exhausting. Before we arrived home, Haeden fell fast asleep in his car seat. He must have been hungry though too, since this is how I found him:

Sunday involved a little more house cleaning and yard work than I prefer, but I suppose it is a necessary evil. Plus, once it is all said and done, it feels wonderful! Is it weird that I get a little bit of a high when the house is sparkling clean? Maybe it's the bleach. Anyway, Sunday's highlight was actually our first family bike ride! The day was overcast and would have been perfect for pictures, but unfortunately we were under constant gnat-attack. Haeden looked a little concerned at first. He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but half way through the ride he started to grin from ear to ear and began pointing at every little thing, saying, "Whassssttttaaat?" Too cute! We'll definitely be trying again (and with the big guys) this coming weekend!

Hoping this coming weekend will involve more pictures, Easter candy, the zoo and checking several items off of the ever-growing list of to-do's for Haeden's birthday! May the work week go quickly and painlessly!