I pity da fool who don't wish me a happy birthday!

Sean and I learned a bit of random trivia yesterday that we thought was pretty funny. But first, a bit of background so this all makes sense to you. For several months now one of the nicknames we have used for Taylor is Mr. T and we joke around by saying things like "I pity da fool who don't change my diaper!" and other silly Mr. T-isms. Well, as it turns out, Taylor has the same birthday as the REAL Mr. T! That's right folks, according to Wikipedia.com, Laurence Tureaud (a.k.a. Mr. T) was born May 21, 1952.

Coincidence? I think not.

Happy birthday, kiddo!!

Taylor is officially one year old! We've had a pretty uneventful day, considering the fact that it's raining and Tay and I both have colds, but it's been a good birthday nonetheless. Sean and I gave him a Little Tykes outdoor swing that we'll hang from a tree in our backyard as soon as the weather is nice again. We also may stop by Macey's grocery store tonight and get a free cake (like I need more junk food in my house).

Happy birthday baby! I love you!!!

Tay's best friend

My best friend Christine comes over every week with her daughter Skylynn for a play date. It's really more for us mommies than the babies, but they are starting to interact with each other more and more every week. Today when Christine came over Taylor sat right by Skylynn and tried to talk to her and share his toys with her. He hasn't been around many other babies and I was surprised how gentle he was with her. I think they'll grow up to be really good friends.

My little spaghetti face

Last night we had spaghetti for dinner, and I decided to let Taylor have some too. He dug right in and really enjoyed being able to feed himself. It's great for Mommy too, because it means she can have a hot meal without being interrupted by hungry grumpy baby.

Here is another photo from last night - the first really good shot I've been able to get of his little tooth:

One!

Taylor's first birthday party was a success! The weather couldn't have been nicer on Saturday and most of our family came to help Tay celebrate. He was a little groggy and weirded out by all the on-lookers as he opened his gifts (he never smiled once) and ate his cake, but he was in a good mood which is really all I hoped for. The cake and cupcakes turned out really well and I was proud of myself for actually pulling it off. When it came time for Taylor to dig in to the cake, there was a lot less digging and a lot more picking. The majority of the time he just used his little thumb and forefinger to pick at the cake, sampling it while trying to stay as clean as possible.

It was a really fun day, and when we got home he insisted on playing with each new toy, even though he was practically falling asleep sitting up. I can't imagine how much that kind of excitement wears out a little person.

Part of me just can't even comprehend the fact that my baby has already been with us a year, and another part of me can't even imagine life before he came into our lives. Taylor is the most incredible little boy, and the level of love and adoration I feel for him is something that only another mother could understand. He is the absolute sunshine of my life and I have loved watching him grow and learn this past year. He's such a curious little person and always wants to know what things are and how they work. He is also a boy through and through, spending his days making car and dinosaur noises, getting into mischief, and craving the outdoors. He is also very compassionate and always gets so concerned when someone is hurt or upset in any way. Although he is very independent, he also loves to snuggle (something Mommy loves, too!) and give hugs and kisses.

I absolutely love being a mother. Yes, it is hard. And yes, sometimes I feel like I need a break. But at the root of it all, motherhood has helped me develop so many attributes that I lacked before - patience, understanding, confidence, and self worth to name a few. I think it's true that as much as we teach our children, we learn more from them than they'll ever learn from us.

Thanks to everyone who came to Tay's party! Taylor loves you all! His official birthday is the day after tomorrow, when I can officially say I have a one-year-old!

Party Preparations

Taylor's first birthday party is tomorrow afternoon, and I've been working like mad this last week to get everything prepared for it. I made a ton of chicken salad last night, and today I baked 4 dozen cupcakes and made millions of tiny white chocolate dots to "polka-dot" the cupcakes.

Taylor helped by stealing my oven mitt and trying to fit it over his foot, arm, and the cat.

I need to finish frosting the cupcakes and bake Taylor's cake tonight, and then tomorrow morning I'll frost his cake while my mom and aunt help set up for the party.

I was really stressed out for a while, but I'm finally feeling like everything is falling into place and I'm just looking forward to having a fun day with Taylor tomorrow. I can't believe my baby is almost a year old; it's a little bittersweet because he's growing up so fast, but I love watching him learn new things and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with him.

Also, I want to thank Sean, my mom, and my Aunt Holly for helping me so much, even when I've been stressed out and ornery. I love you all so much!

Grandma's Motorcycle Baby

I have the most awesome mom in the whole world, and part of her "coolness factor" comes from the fact that she's always driving something awesome - if she's not burning rubber in her Mustang she's cruising around on her Harley. Yep, she's a motorcycle mama. Well the other day she came over to our house on the Harley and we wondered what Taylor would think about it, so Mom took him outside and let him sit on it. He was all grins and giggles and Sean got some cute pictures of him. He's such a doll!


And yes, my mom is way cooler than your mom.