Thankful

It's been awhile - we were on the road last Monday (literally - driving from Clarion to West Virginia to Joel & Renee's family's lodge) and yesterday we were getting settled back in at home.

We had a perfect Thanksgiving - and part of what made it perfect was the fact that it was over a week long! We left last Friday and spent 3 nights in Clarion. William had a great time cruising around Gula & Grandpa's house, playing with all of his toys, and spending time with his grandparents and Aunt Erika. He even got to ride on his Daddy's special rocking horse from when he was little, AND learned to play the harmonica. (No joke! Remember that Fisher Price drum set from the 80s/90s with the cymbals, maracas, etc.? His grandparents taught him how to blow into the harmonica and he was so tickled that he was making music. It was pretty cute).



We ate lots of good food, went on walks, helped Grandpa and Gula set up their Christmas decorations, relaxed and watched the PSU and Steelers games. Had a great time, and couldn't believe it was already time to leave when Monday rolled around.

From Clarion we drove (I believe it was between 3-4 hours) to the Riffee's gorgeous lodge in the mountains of WV. Their entire family was there (the place was huge as well as beautiful!) - 5 kids including William, 2 dogs, and Joel's siblings and parents. We were bursting to see Joel and Renee, especially pregnant Renee! They're both doing well and are expecting their little girl, Marley, in February. We felt like part of the family and even got to participate in a little surprise baby shower for them. Thank you so much to the Riffees!


From WV we had another 4 hour drive to State College, to the Grim's for Thanksgiving. We were so excited to arrive and see everyone, including Gran, who came all the way from Florida, and who we hadn't seen since April! Of course Nanna's house was beautiful and her meal was perfect.

We were happy to see Aunt Amy, Uncle Dan, and cousins Luke and Morgan. William loved them! He spent his days playing with everyone - Nain, Taid, Uncle Tib and Aunt Mary. We even got to see cousin Taylor who came for the weekend for the last PSU home game. It was special to see so many family members all together at the same time. William was quite a ham and was eating up all of the attention.

In fact, he decided on the day after Thanksgiving as the day that he'd take his first steps! I'm so glad I was in the room to see it amongst all the happy visiting and commotion - he took 3 steps from his Aunt Mary to his Daddy, and was SO proud. We have been pestering the poor guy ever since, having him walk from person to person. So far he's really not that interested, and his record is 4 steps. He'd much rather crawl; it's faster at this point and he is a pro. He wrestled and lounged with Uncle David and Uncle Andrew, laughed at the doggies, watched football, and sampled some of the Thanksgiving feast. (Results: he loves turkey but was not a fan of real sweet potatoes.)

Click the collage to enlarge!

To say we are thankful is an understatement. We have the most loving families in the world. We have a happy, healthy, hilarious little boy. We have a roof over our heads and a bright future to look forward to.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone, and here's to the beginning of the holiday season!

My First Birthday Party!

I say "my" for William, but it was also special to Esch and I as our first baby's first birthday!

I had so much fun with the preparations, and of course even more fun having our families here to share in the special day for our W.

We watched a movie of his first year (I tried to keep it watchably short! It was only 12 minutes! ;) and it seemed to be a hit. We opened presents, ate lunch, and then sang Happy Birthday to the guest of honor! He wasn't especially thrilled with his "smash cake" and we didn't get the huge mess we were hoping for (honestly, little one! The ONE time I encourage you to throw your food and rub it all over your face!) but he liked his "William" candles.

He LOVES his gifts and loved playing with his grandparents, great-grandparents and uncles! We are now counting down until Thanksgiving when William gets to see his Great-Gran and Aunt Erika!

12 month photos

Had to do the last in his 12 month series to complete the year!

He looks like such a little boy to me in these - where is our baby?

Yay for me!

1st Birthday Boy

Taken right around the exact time he was born on November 9, 2010! Not the best light at mid-day, but we had fun.

String Bean!

We had WW's 12 month appointment today. Even Daddy came on his lunch break (what a good Dad!) and it went so well.

I have been a nervous wreck about William's weight since starting at 4 months, he was pretty low in the percentiles. I'm always pestering the poor thing to eat more. He's always been up there for height, but was a little skinny minny!

Today I'm thrilled to report that his stats are:

Weight - 21 lbs 9 oz (33rd percentile! Yay!)
Height - drum roll... 32 3/4 inches. 99th percentile! Big boy!

Such a relief!

We were given the go-ahead to make the switch to whole milk. No more bottles for my baby!

In other related updates, W now has 6 teeth. He's had his 2 top and 2 bottom for awhile, but last week we saw a new (left) bottom one, and on his birthday, Daddy saw a tiny top (also left) poking out!

We had such a nice day yesterday as a family. Of course we had to do a 1-year photo shoot, but I'd like to wait to post those pictures until after his party this Sunday. There is a sneak peek on Facebook, though. :)

Thank you so, so much to our friends and family for the outpouring of sweet messages to William on his first birthday! It was an emotional day looking back at all that's changed in the past 365 days, and it is so nice to know that so many people love our little boy.

Happy Birthday, Dear William...

Dear William,

Today is November 9th. I've seen this date on the calendar. I've been staring at it in disbelief.

To almost everyone in the world, November 9th is a day like any other. One year ago - November 9, 2009 - was just a Monday. It was warm in Austin, TX. The night before, most people slept in their beds; nothing was out of the ordinary. And that morning, most people were waking up and beginning their work week routines. However, inside a house on Montoro Drive, two people - your Mommy and Daddy, had the most extraordinary day of their lives. In the very early morning hours, you decided to tell me that you'd chosen your birthday. It was time to meet your parents, and to meet the world.

From 2 a.m. to 5 a.m., I lay on the couch (the very couch I'm sitting on now as I write this!) timing the contractions I was feeling, and they became stronger and stronger. I finally decided to hike (slowly) back upstairs to nudge your Daddy and tell him that it was time. That second was the end of his normal Monday morning - and, let's be honest - the end of everything we knew as "normal!"

We carried our bags, packed with tiny socks and tiny clothes (was this real?!), pillows, and snacks to the car. The bags had been sitting in our bedroom, waiting for this moment. Your nursery was ready, empty, and waiting. We left your dog, Georgia, alone in the house, waiting.

At the hospital, Mommy stood nervously at the check-in desk. We were seen by a nurse, who confirmed that yes, today would be your birthday. Today was November 9th, and to us it was suddenly the most important date in the history of mankind.

For a few hours, Mommy was just in survival mode, and the time passed in a haze of doctors, nurses, IVs, and glances at the clock. Daddy sat next to me (despite for a short break when he fainted - poor Daddy!) and held my hand.

And then it was 1:02 p.m.

At 1:02, the world stopped. Outside, cars were speeding by on the highway. People were probably out to lunch. Grocery shopping. Sitting at their desks. But at 1:02 p.m. on Monday, November 9th, you came to meet us. In your first seconds, Dr. Cutler's hands caught you. Your Daddy beamed, and your Mommy stared. And we both cried. Just a little. You were weighed. You were bundled in a blanket, and handed to me. I held you. I kissed you, and Daddy kissed us both, and the world stopped.

You were tiny and beautiful.

One year ago today was the first day of your life, and the beginning of the rest of our lives.

We called your Grandparents and somehow got the words out. I remember calling your Nanna, who was at school, and just said, "He's here."

It was no longer a normal Monday, a normal November 9th. It was the happiest day of our lives.

We've spent the last year loving you more and more each day. I've filled your baby calendar with milestones and special moments. I've excitedly peeled off the "first smile," "first tooth," and "crawls" stickers. And now we're back to November. There are no more pages in the calendar. Time for a new one. Another year filled with firsts, and with that joy that makes my heart burst when you laugh.

Happy First Birthday to our baby boy. We love you more than we can possibly tell you, so I hope that we'll show you, and that you'll always know it.

Happy Birthday to you.

Mommy

Countdown to One: Love, Daddy

Dear William,

You have brought so much joy to this family since your arrival a year ago. Even months before your birth, the effect you had on your mother and I was substantial. You were in our hearts and in our thoughts long before we first saw your face, your smile, your fingers, and your toes. We love you.

The best moments of my day are the first few minutes when I get home from work. Most days, I text your mom to let her know I am almost home. We are currently living in a small, second floor apartment in Macungie, PA, so, when your mom gets my text, she brings you to the window to wave to me as I walk in. I love seeing the excitement and happiness on your face. It lets me know that while you are so well taken care of by your mom, I'm important to you as well. You wave, you scream with excitement, and you laugh and smile when you see me below.

As I open the door Georgia begins to bark and I can hear your screams of happiness. Mom says to you, “Who is it? Who is at the door?” You know it is me, and with Georgia you crawl to the gate separating the living room from the stairs. As I come toward you your smile shines through the bars of the gate. Happy sounds come flowing from your mouth as you attempt to evade Georgia’s ferociously swinging tail. “Eh! Eh!” you say to me with arms extended to the air above. Once in my arms, your head turns left and right looking around with a smile that only a one year old could have. You laugh when I kiss your mom, and kick with excitement as we kneel together to pet your dog.

Those sixty seconds a day, 300 seconds a week, 15,000 seconds a year make up the best and most precious moments a father could have. As you get older, get busier, gain new interests, gain a sister or brother, and have other things to do – as those 15,000 seconds become 10,000 and then 5,000 - I will always think back to this past year (and hopefully the next few) and smile at the little boy who has grown into a young man and made us so proud. We’ll always have time together and remain close, but I know the sixty seconds a day that I enjoy so much right now won’t last forever. I have treasured the last 15,000 and look forward to the next.

Happy birthday, little monster.

Dad

The Day After Tomorrow

...William will be one. His first birthday. The first time we get to sing "Happy Birthday" to our little boy.

How did we get here already?

We just found out that Esch took Tuesday off to spend the big day with us! What a nice Daddy. Very excited. William's party is not until next weekend, when our families will join us. I kind of like the idea of his real birthday being just the 3 of us, like the day he was born. We're not sure what we're going to do yet.

We spent this weekend relaxing and playing at home in "The Mac." Here are a few shots of just a day in the life of Dubya.

Sunday mornings mean Mommy and Daddy watching CBS Sunday Morning, drinking coffee, and playing with this little terror. What a disaster area!




After his morning nap, we went to Trexler Park in Allentown.

Thanks for taking these pictures of us together, Dad!

Countdown to One Continues

Um. Today is November 6th.

This date last year was a Friday. Funny how clearly I remember the days around William's birth. I thought that I still had a week left in the office - I had decided on a last day before my due date, but it wasn't going to be for another full week. My office wasn't cleaned out (which turned out to be a win for my coworkers, who later confessed to eating my stash of chocolate-covered pretzels, granola bars, and who knows what else I had in that desk).

We had had a company jack-o'-lantern contest for Halloween, and my department won, so on this particular Friday, we went out to a nice lunch as our prize. Looking back, it was a pretty great last day. I seem to recall a delicious chocolate-caramel torte with sea salt. (Who gets dessert at lunch?) Whoa. Being pregnant was awesome.

That weekend, Esch and I were nesting. I was pretty sure that WWM would be late, so the thought didn't enter my mind that it would be so soon. In fact, the same Friday as the lunch out, I had my 38 week appointment, and they told me the 2 most dreaded words of women past 37 weeks... "No progress."

I was disappointed, but not surprised, and Esch and I spent the weekend prepping. Our bags were finally packed (luckily), I ran errands, we refinished some furniture. It was warm out (Oh, Texas in November) and I was stressing that if W was indeed late and we had to go to our induction date, that Thanksgiving would be rough with a brand-new little one in the house, along with our many visitors.

The last picture of myself pregnant that I have is a good week before he was born. I was huge! I remember literally waddling up the stairs and that it was a bit of a process to get up into the bed. Can't believe that I look like a normal human being again. I still regret not taking more belly shots, though. At that point, I was doing them once a week, and next time to be safe, I think I'll do them daily at the end. It'd be neat to see a "before" from the same day he was born. Oh well.

Today, November 6th, is a Saturday. It's sunny and beautiful, but this year we're in PA. It's very much Fall. It's chilly out. Lots of things are different, but namely there is a beautiful, happy little boy taking his morning nap about 20 feet down the hall.

Wow.

Only one week...

Walking up the lane to see Nain & Taid

...Until our baby is one year old. A week from tomorrow is THE DAY.

We spent the weekend in State College for the Michigan game - (and a PSU win! yay!). W wore his costume tailgating, and managed to survive several good-natured but precarious encounters with drunk college students who wanted to see the "cute baby monkey."

While William naps, and I sit here in denial about the impending birthday, a few more shots from the past week:

W is very into patty-cake lately

Pondering life on a sunny day at the park

This little squirrel vest was Esch's :)