Birthday Festivities

L1's birthday started off with some lovely gifts that he got to tear into with a lot of help and supervision from W1.

Then a beautiful free cake courtesy of Top's Supermarket (At the sight of which R1 exclaimed that it was the best cake L1 would probably ever have. In response to which K1 couldn't help but feel her cake-making abilities insulted. While fumbling around and trying to explain how this could in any way not be insulting, R1 dug himself a deeper hole. Which he is still in.)

The arguably wonderful cake was topped with one candle, which W1 blew out by coughing on it. L1 watched.

Then, we consumed.


Happily.


And directly afterwards, we cleaned. (Also happily.)


L1 seemed to really enjoy eating the cake and the frosting. W1 really liked the frosting, especially the blue frosting that spelled out Happy Birthday. He kept requesting to eat another letter.

An altogether successful celebration!

What?! L1? Turning 1?

That is how I feel.

But, a year ago today...


It seems like a long time ago, and at the same time, didn't it just happen? Time can be really squishy like that.

As soon as we got a little used to having a newborn, he grew up a little more.


And more.


And more. We really can't keep up.


He's a funny kid. We kind of like him. And we're glad he puts up with us.


So, Happy Birthday, my little boy. May all your wishes and dreams come true.

Quick summary of our DC trip

We spent the long weekend of President's Day in Washington, D.C. with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. It was a fantastic few days!

Some of my favorites were:

Our tour of the Capitol building. It is a very impressive building, and I was glad for the chance to see the inside.


The National Botanical Gardens. Because flowers and greenery are in such short supply this time of year, it was quite therapeutic to wander through and gaze at the beauty.

The Library of Congress. Especially the main reading room (which usually isn't open to the public, but we happened to stumble upon one of the rare days that it was). I am ashamed to say that I was most familiar to with the Library of Congress because of the National Treasure 2 movie. Yep, I get all my knowledge from pop culture.


The National Archives. Here we viewed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. And I really wanted to show you this picture with the absolutely clear blue sky. So nice. Not that it was warm. But sunshine sure is lovely.

We also ate at California Pizza Kitchen and Chipotle, two places unavailable to us in Rochester. And delicious!

W1 also had a few favorites:

Riding on the carousel with Grandma
The National Air and Space Museum (he still asks me every day for "airplanes, again?")
The transportation exhibit in the American History museum - locomotives inside!
Riding every day on buses and trains

L1's favorites:

Running around on the grass on the Mall
Hanging out with Grandpa, Grandma, and his aunt and uncle!


So, you guys, what do you say, same time next year?

Hey, R1 is really old.

And on February 11, he turned another year older.

We celebrated with sourdough waffles for breakfast, pizza for dinner, and buttermilk pie. W1 and L1 helped him to unwrap his presents.


We then spent the rest of the evening packing so we could leave early the next morning for a trip to Washington, DC.

I find it interesting that when I look at him now, I really don't think he looks much different from when we first met (except for the beard). So, to prove to myself that he does indeed look older (more mature? should I not keep saying old?), I have been looking at some old pictures. Here is a picture from 2003, on a camping trip to the San Rafael Swell in Utah.


He looks very serious. Perhaps he was focusing on not falling over the edge of the cliff.

Oh, and he still has the shirt he is wearing in this picture. And the shorts. I'm pretty sure I finally threw out those shoes he was wearing last summer.

So, R1, happy birthday! Aren't you so glad I blogged about it?

L1 wields his spoon like...

...a samurai wields a sword?


or maybe not so much.


Mealtimes have recently become extremely messy around here. If you come to dinner, don't forget to wear your goggles and a rain slicker.

L1 takes one for the team

Last Thursday we joined friends at the Jump Club, a wonderful haven for little kids during foul weather. It is my sanity-saver this winter. W1 played non-stop from 9:30 until 1, only stopping with extreme protest. And when we got home, he collapsed into an exhausted heap. Yes!

L1, who wasn't doing any bouncing, sliding or jumping, sustained this forehead injury by running into the corner of the wall. This picture wasn't taken until today, so the bruising and swelling have subsided significantly.


At the time, his head was compared with that of a Klingon by our "friend" April.


Huh.

Don't worry, it didn't seem to faze L1 at all. He even slept really well that night, which R1 nicely commented usually happens after sustaining a concussion...

Here is W1 today. Apparently we were being too noisy.

I, Caboose

W1 is a moderately train-obsessed boy. He likes to build train tracks, read books about trains, and watch Thomas the Tank Engine. Pretty mild, right?

After he learned to say his own name, sometime last fall, he was constantly talking in the third person. "W1 eat it", "W1 get shoes on", etc.

Then, in early January, he decided that he was a caboose, and decided his name, also, was Caboose. Our conversations went something like this:

K1: "W1, what do you want for breakfast?"

W1 (pointing to himself): "Caboose."

K1: "Caboose, what do you want for breakfast?"

W1: "Peanut butter toast."

W1 has also given train names to the rest of us. L1 is box car, R1 is tank car, and I am the train tracks. I'm not going to think too deeply about the meanings behind these name assignments.

It is perhaps telling that W1's current favorite book is Bill Peet's The Caboose Who Got Loose:

It (along with Peet's other books) is a very fun read.

We are now into the first week of February, and this little quirk of his is already starting to pass. I am just a tiny bit sad.