1 Year Checkup

We went to the pediatrician for Mr. Mister's 1 year check up last week. His percentiles haven't changed since the last visit - now weighing 25 lbs, 7 oz, he is still in the 90th percentile for his weight and at 29 and 3/8 inches, he's still in the 50th percentile for his length. Overall he is still healthy and his development is right on track.

The only surprise was that while the doctor was checking his ears, she found an infection in his left one. I never would have known...he wasn't showing any signs of pain. She prescribed an antibiotic, assuring me that they taste much better these days, so we shouldn't have any problem getting him to take it.

When I opened the pink liquid amoxicillin, I took a sniff to see if it smelled like it would taste good. The smell immediately brought back memories of taking this stuff as a kid. It tasted very much like medicine then and I suspected it hasn't changed quite that much.

Well, either they really did change the taste or Mr. Mister really does like to eat everything, because he drank it from the dispensing spoon quickly and did his sign for more when he was done. Now that it's been a few days of giving it to him, he knows what's coming when I pull the bottle out of the refrigerator and pour it in the spoon. He gets so excited and starts clapping and smiling. You would think it was birthday cake in there!

Cheerios

When Mr. Mister first started eating finger food, Cheerios were the most exciting part of his day. Now that he has expanded his menu, he won't eat them when I put them on his tray unless they are the last or only option. However, he still eagerly eats them when he discovers a bowl of them while digging through his diaper bag or when he finds stray Cheerios on the floor. I guess the pursuit makes those taste better than the ones I give him.

Birthday Pictures

Here are some pictures from Mr. Mister's birthday! He really enjoyed that first piece of cake :)

Happy 1st Birthday!

August 22nd, 2007....

The day our lives changed forever. I am so thankful for Mr. Mister and praise God for creating him and blessing us with him. On this day a year ago, I could never have imagined the joy and fullness that he would bring to our lives. I know that he has no idea that today is any different from any other day, but I want to spend the day celebrating his life and all the things I love about him, which are too many to list here.

Look at this little guy...

Everyone says the same thing about how quickly time passes, but it's so true. After a difficult delivery with Mr. Mister and long, painful recovery process, I wasn't sure I'd make it through the first month (at one point, my mom was worried that I wanted to send him back!). Now we've already made it through an entire year. It has not been without its challenges, but those are greatly overshadowed by my love for him and and the joy I find in him. I often wonder what we did before we had a baby. I know it's cliché, but it really is hard to imagine life without him.

Psalm 139:13-16

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Here's to the days ordained for you, Mr. Mister...may they be filled with the knowledge of the One who created you, experiencing Jesus and the abundant life that is found only in Him.

Happy Birthday. I love you.

Happy Birthday Eve!

Tomorrow my little man turns one. Happy Birthday Eve, Mr. Mister!

Colorado

Mr. Mister and I went to Colorado with my mom for a week to visit my brother, his wife, and their two boys. My younger sister met us out there later in the week also. It was so much fun seeing them and Mr. Mister loved playing with his older cousins. And as always, the Rocky Mountains were beautiful and refreshing.

While we were there, Mr. Mister started imitating more words, including my favorite - Baba for Grandma (my mom says Baba is fine for now but it can't stick! I don't blame her). He also said something along the lines of "bounce" when he would bounce up and down on the mattress, "achoo" when we would pretend to sneeze, and "banana," his favorite food.

You can tell by Mr. Mister's clothes in the pictures below (besides the first pic) that it was cold! With temperatures in the 50s a couple days, a hail storm, and overnight snow on the mountain peaks, it felt like late fall. It was a refreshing break from the August heat here, but I'm not quite ready for winter yet.

Mr. Mister did great with all the traveling, and loved spending the week with his Grandma. But when we got home and he saw his daddy, he couldn't stop smiling and giving him hugs. When we tried to hand him to my mom to say goodbye, he turned back to his daddy and held on tight. It was the cutest!

Here are some pictures from the week....

This is the view when you walk out of their house. It makes me laugh when I think that my nephews will grow up thinking that everyone has mountains like this outside their windows!

Here is Mr. Mister throwing rocks in the river with Grandma. The first day was warm enough to spend a lot of time outside. Throwing rocks in the river is my nephew K's favorite activity.

Mr. Mister and his cousins, showing how big they are!

On the road.....

We just got home from a fun, but very quick, weekend in Pittsburgh. We went for a wedding and to spend some time with Daddy's family there. It was our first road trip since the infamous NC trip, and Mr. Mister did much better. He slept almost all the way there and we made it with only one stop. He was awake for more of the trip home, which made for a couple fussy points. But we found a great remedy: the Elizabeth Mitchell CD that I wrote about in my last post. He loves it and starts dancing the minute he hears it. At one point, he was upset and I put in the CD and he couldn't help but start dancing. It's so cute and I love having something else that helps make him happy.

We're home just long enough to unpack and repack and then Mr. Mister and I are heading off to Colorado with my mom to visit my brother and his family for a week. I'm so excited to spend a whole week with them. They have visited here, but it's been almost 2 years since I've been out there, so a week in the mountains is much needed!

The Library

I think that public libraries have to be one of the best kept secrets in the world. After every trip we take there, I am amazed that you can check out CD's, DVDs, and books for completely free. Not only does it supply all of our entertainment, it's a great place to go on a hot day when you want to get out of the house but want to avoid the stifling summer humidity.

Mr. Mister and I find all kinds of fun books in the children's area of our library. Our favorites are the touch and feel books and the Spanish or bilingual children's books. Walking through the children's books brings back so many clear memories of the excitement of going to the library when I was little and picking out new books every week. I'm excited for Mr. Mister to experience that as well.

We recently came across this CD by Elizabeth Mitchell in the children's area and LOVE it. It's children's folk music and all the songs are short and cute, but not cheesy or annoying. (I may even listen to it when Mr. Mister isn't around.) The first song is called Liza Jane, and every time we play it or sing it, Mr. Mister starts dancing! I highly recommend it.

Photography Shoutout

My friend Elissa's comment on the grandparent pictures made me realize that I have not given credit where credit is due. I want to take this opportunity to recognize my wonderful husband as the photographer in 99% of the pictures posted on this blog. He is really talented and has a natural eye for good photography. Many people have suggested he do it as a side business. Maybe after the business he just started gets up and running, he can pursue photography a little more. Until then, he's content taking lots of pictures of our son...good thing Mr. Mister is good material :)

Mr. Mister Loves His Grandparents

In honor of two fun weekends in a row with grandparents, I thought I'd post these sweet pictures of Mr. Mister with each of his grandparents (even though none of the pictures are from these past weekends). The first two are Grandma and Grandpa T and the bottom two are my mom and dad....Grandma and Nonno (Italian for grandpa).

P.S. - I should note that we love his grandparents too....they both love him and help us so much with him. Thanks grandmas and grandpas for being the best!