Deacon: One Year Pictures

Despite the fact that he had a cold and a (treated) case of pink eye, Deacon was a trooper and held it together for us to get his one-year pictures taken yesterday. I think they came out pretty darned cute. Enjoy.

 

Overall, the session went great. The last few pics we tried to take were on the stool shown above. However, Deke fell off and face-planted on the ground. The led to huge tears. We attempted to take a few more shots, and then all were pretty pitiful after that and looked like this. 

Poor guy. We ended the photo session after that and just had lots of cuddles and snuggles to make up for my bad idea of using the stool. All in all, he is such a handsome guy with some great photos. 

Deacon: One Year Old

As you saw in the last post, Deacon had his first birthday. 

He's a growing boy and slowly but surely becoming a toddler. Here are his latest stats:

Birth: 7lbs 9oz, 20.5 inches

2 weeks: 8lbs 9oz (49%), 20.25 inches (32%)
1 month: 10lbs 8oz (66%), 21 inches (31%)
2 months: 13lbs 1.6oz (70%), 23 inches (47%)
4 months: 15lbs 13oz (61%), 25 inches (46%)
6 months: 18 lbs 9oz (71%), 27 inches (68%)

9 months: 21 lbs 15oz (85%), 28.5 inches (57%)

12 months: 23lbs 1oz (76%), 29.75 inches (43%)

While I know he's getting older, he's still a bit behind on some milestones, so he seems like a baby in many ways, which I don't mind because it means more baby snuggles and smiles and less toddler tantrums and mood swings. Deacon still isn't crawling, pulling up, or even close to walking. He's in weekly physical therapy for "low tone," to help with all this, and I suspect in the new week or two, we'll have a crawler on our hands.He works so hard in PT, and you can tell he really wants to be mobile. He does roll and army crawl, and can make it across the room in two seconds flat.

While Deacon may not be on the move, he is starting to do better with eating finger foods. As of yesterday, he's officially off formula (except his bedtime bottle) and onto whole milk and finger foods. We'll see how it goes, since he really LOVE his bottle and formula. 

Speaking of things Deacon loves, he loves to "talk. He will banter back and forth with us and babble all day long. Eric and I also hear him "sing" to music, and we swear he is singing "Let it Go" every so often. I really need to record that and let all of you decide if that's what he is singing or not.

Overall, Deacon is still our MVB and just the best baby ever. So sweet, so snuggly, so cute. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Happy Birthday, Deacon!

I can't believe it but Deacon turns one year old today. The past year has flown by so quickly. Deacon, someday when you are older and read this, I want you to know that you're mama's little angel, and while we may not always be able to give you the attention you deserve, we love you so, so much.

Okay, enough of the sappy stuff. We're sort of doing a bunch of birthday celebrations this week. We kick-started it on Sunday with Eric's parents. We began with dinner and cake.

Deacon LOVED cake. For a boy who doesn't really eat any solids, he certainly found a way to get all that yummy goodness into his mouth.

We then moved onto presents. Deacon got lots of good stuff from us and Eric's parents. 

By the time we were done unwrapping, Deacon had enough. He had a big day of his first swimming trip and lots of outdoor time, so he was exhausted and ready for bed.

That was all on Sunday. This morning was his real birthday. We got a few cute pictures of him after he woke up.

Tonight, we'll do cake and candles again and give Deacon extra snuggles to show him how much we love him and are so happy we've all survived the past year's chaos. And then, our next celebration will be over the weekend when my mom comes to visit. Deke is a lucky boy to have so many parties. And, we're a lucky family to have our "MVB" (most valuable baby).

Memorial Day Weekend

To say we had a great Memorial Day weekend would be an understatement. We just did so much and had such a terrific time together as a family that there are no words to describe how happy we all were.

We started with attending the Viva Vienna town festival on Saturday. Piper and Fletch loved the rides and begged to keep going on them. But, alas, rides are expensive--$3/ride! Were they always so pricey? If Dad were here, I'd ask him since I have fond memories of him taking me to the carnival in Woburn, which now seems a little shady.

Anyway, after the festival on Saturday, we spent the rest of the day relaxing. In the evening, our neighbors had a cookout so we could meet our new neighbor across the street. It was also really fun, especially seeing Piper and Fletch play in their backyard all evening while Eric and I got to have some adult conversation. A great was to end the day.

On Sunday, we got up and out early and went strawberry picking.

Piper was a picking machine, while Fletch loved to eat them. After picking, we hung out at the farm's playground and enjoyed delicious milkshakes. Piper declared it the "BEST DAY EVER" several times. I had to agree with her--it was really good. After strawberry picking, we hung out at home and walked to the neighborhood playground. I love that we have a cute playground close enough to walk to on nice nights.

On Monday, it was time to take Piper and Fletch to their first parade. We picked up Eric's parents and headed to DC's National Memorial Day Parade. It was a bit warm and very crowded, but we had a great time there too. The kids loved waving flags, watching the "drum men" as Fletch called them, and seeing everything. I loved carrying on the tradition of going to a parade on Memorial Day.

By Monday evening, we were all pooped, but in a good way. I can't wait for the next long weekend with the kids to see what other adventures are in store.

Fantastic Lady Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and it was just fantastic. The weather was beautiful, and I got to spend time with some of my favorite people and do some of my favorite things: sipping iced coffee, looking at tulips, shopping, napping, and eating.

We started the day with a trip to Dunkin Donuts, which was delicious. Then we hit the road for a pick-your-own-tulip farm about an hour away. Anyone who knows me knows that I love tulips.

Piper and Fletch were into picking tulips for about five minutes but then lost interest when we told them couldn't pick EVERY tulip (b/c they cost $1/stem). But, I loved it. I could have stayed all day just looking at the flowers. But, eventually, we had to go, so we headed from there to some outlets. I did some shopping, while Eric, the kids, and all the other dads hung out at the play area waiting for their wives.

When we got home, Eric's parents came over and I took a nap and went to Target. We ended the evening with a yummy dinner on the deck. A perfect end to a perfect mom's day. 

Calm Fun Before the Storm

It's been a crazy week--very busy at work, Eric getting ready for school this weekend, and all topped off with me getting deathly ill with some type of stomach bug, for the third time in six weeks. It all really came to a head on Tuesday night when I decided it was time to head to the ER because I was getting increasingly dehydrated and zombie like. After getting two bags of fluids, lots of anti-nausea meds, painkillers for my headache, some tests run, and hearing some interesting stories from my fellow ER patients, I was feeling much better.

All of that is the reason that I'm a few days late in posting these pics from last weekend, which was the exact opposite of this week. It was beautiful weather and full of super fun stuff because Mom came to visit.

On Saturday, we took the kids to swim lessons, went to the playground, and then to a local festival where Piper and Fletch (and I) rode some awesome rides. On Sunday, the weather was glorious again, and we spent the day in Baltimore at the Maryland Science Center. It was SO MUCH FUN with mom and the kids. We all had a blast.

Anyway, here are the pictures of just a few of the good times from those two days.

Saturday:

Piper took a few minutes to warm up to this but then she had fun, although she was distracted by the little girls nearby singing Let it Go.

Fletch immediately loved this, which was a surprise since we barely got him on the merry-go-round last weekend, and even then he would only sit on the bench and not a horse.

In honor of Dad who always rode the Tilt-a-Whirl with me at carnivals, I took Piper and Fletch on this. Wow, was I dizzy a lot faster than I remember. The kids loved it though.

Sunday:

 

 

 We had such a great time last weekend. Mom left the next morning, and Fletch asked when he woke up, "Is GrandmaBoston coming back in a few weeks?" She sure will be, and we can't wait.