Anderson Turns One!

I cannot believe that Anderson is already turning one!  I know that sounds like every other mom out there, but seriously...where has the time gone?  This year flew by and I am so thankful for my time with Anderson.  He is growing into such a fun, happy, sweet little boy and I thank God each and everyday for him.  He has filled a huge hole in my life and in my heart that I never knew were there until I became a mom.  He makes me laugh with joy, grunt with frustration, and yawn in exhaustion each and every day and I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am so lucky to be his mom and I blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of his life.

We started out the birthday celebrations with his Aunt Jackie.  She wasn't going to be able to make his birthday party so she planned a pre-party celebration for him.  It was so sweet and wonderful and we are so lucky to have people in our lives who love us that much.  I am overwhelmed by the generosity of my family and friends.
We went to Wings and Rings and Aunt Jackie helped him open his present.  He was thrilled with the card as every time he moved his hands, the card opened and closed!  Amazing!

Once he finished with his presents, Aunt Jackie presented him with his first cupcake (after all, what are aunts for)!  You might say he enjoyed it...you might say it was the single best moment of his life up until that point.  No matter what words you use, he was a happy camper!

Excuse me...I "mustache" you a question - bwahahaha!!

After our restaurant celebration, we went to McNatt Manor to swim and used the new flotation device that Aunt Jackie gave Anderson for his birthday!  We had a great time!

After our pre-party celebration, came his first birthday party!  We had a lot of our family and friends there and we were so happy to celebrate with them all!  We opened his presents from everyone.  Not to mention Anderson's name, but SOMEONE didn't really do his part and left most of the opening to me. Thankfully, Riley and Bailee were there to help!

Anderson made his rounds and spent time with everyone at the party.  I really think we may have a social butterfly on our hands.

There was a lot going on throughout the party, but I think most everyone would agree that the true highlight was (in best announcer voice) "THE EATING OF THE CAKE!"  It was a multi-step process so I will take you through it.

1. Get Anderson diaper naked and bring him out to the porch area.

2. Bring out the smash cake (thank you Aunt Cyndi for making a perfect little cake for Anderson to demolish).

3. Take some pictures of the before.

4. Anderson starts slow to savor the flavor and prepare the palate.

5. Anderson digs in and demolishes said smash cake.

6. Anderson gives kisses.

7. Everyone else actually gets to eat some cake (Thank you Courtney for making the delicious and beautiful safari themed cake)!

Once we got home, we had a very happy and tired boy!  He enjoyed his spoils and his family and friends!

Thank you to everyone who was a part of our celebration and who was thinking of us!  We are truly blessed!  Now, if I could just slow things down a little.

First Mother's Day

Well, this year marked my first official mother's day!  I was so excited to actually be a mother on mother's day that I think Richard could have purchased a bag of Doritos for me and I would have been happy.  He, however, went way above and beyond and ordered something much more meaningful and wonderful!

This blanket actually has the four pictures weaved into it with the words, "Happy First Mother's Day, Love, Richard and Anderson" written in the middle.  I am beyond blessed with these two men in my lives!

An Adventure-Filled Summer

So far, our summer has been absolutely wonderful and full of adventure!

Our family participated in the Run Through the Zoo (some of us participated faster than others) and we all made it to the end!  Afterwards, we took some pictures to commemorate the occasion.

We have taken several trips to the zoo and science center this summer (thanks to Anderson's Great Grammy) and have had a wonderful time!  It is so neat because each time we go, we get to experience something new.

We went to the zoo with our friends Cathy and Chase and we got to take some time to relax in the rocking chair right next to the elephant exhibit.  Anderson still has yet to recognize the existence of elephants in that space because he is so taken by the fence keeping them in.  I do have to admit that I would have never paid attention to the fences without the encouragement of my child, but now that I've seen them, they are very impressive.

We also got to play in the water fountain at the front of the park.  It was fantastic!  This wasn't our first rodeo with the afore-mentioned fountain as we had done it before.  It also wouldn't be our last (as you can see) because we did it again when we went to the zoo with David, Jen, and Oliver!

Anderson got an up-close-and-personal look at the camels!

We also went to the petting zoo to visit our friend Jenny (who works there) and got a first look at the baby goats!  Anderson loved the goats and really enjoyed petting them.  He, of course, thought it would be more fun to walk around the petting zoo shoeless.  I assured him that was NOT the case.

Anderson has also grown very attached to the water exhibit in the Kid's Zone at the science center.  I think we are doing something wrong as none of the other parents had to strip their kids in order to put their clothes under the hand dryer.

The science center also has an exhibit called "The Science of Play" and Anderson loved it! They had these pool noodle looking things hanging from the ceiling and Anderson really enjoyed going through it...over and over and over and over.

This may not seem like a big deal, but Anderson ate off of a plate for the first time and he just looked so big doing it.  I felt like it was blog worthy.  The movement of time seems to catch me with the small things.

Anderson has also been sharing a lot.  It is so sweet and I am glad to see that he is kind.  The problem...he usually feeds us something that he has already slobbered all over which makes it a super soggy morsel.  Lovely!

Even though this is a long summer break, I need for it to slow down.  It is moving way too fast and I need to be able to take it all in and remember every detail.