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...