stir it up.

Baby P has become a copycat. Monkey see, monkey do. I clean up a spill on the floor. He wipes his hand on the floor. He watches his daddy tie his shoelaces. P grabs his shoelaces. I shake up his soymilk or antibiotic. He shakes his fist in response. He is very observant of others. His favorite copycat routine of the week is stirring. He watches me while I cook dinner, and he loves to mimic me. He pulls out all of the pots and pans. Stacks them, unstacks them, then restacks them. He stirs with a whisk. He actually has his own whisk. He is a little attached to his whisk. Carries it around everywhere. I think we may have a little chef on our hands.





It has been a rough weekend. The whole fam is getting over sinus infections/ear infections and I am going on NO sleep. To make matters worse, P is cutting FOUR teeth all at once. Poor baby! I am praying for a restful night's sleep for everyone.

favorite things.

At one year, baby P has lots of favorite things. Most of them either involve food or motion. I guess he is like all one-year-olds. Into everything and constantly hungry. I created this little collage as a representation of some of P's interests right now.

First, if I had to guess, I would say that red is his favorite color. As you well know, his wagon is his best friend, and it is definitely red. The new firetruck that Beme gave him is also red, and it has quickly become a close second favorite toy. Also, we are a little partial to red since Taylor and I both went to UGA. We bleed RED, and black. So, red is the theme.

NUK
As much as I hate it, P loves his pacifier. You would think that the older he gets, the less he would need it. Wrong. P is the opposite. He craves his paci. I have tried to hide it from him and give it to him only for naps and at bedtime. But if he gets his hand on one, you cannot take it away without a meltdown ensuing. I guess it's sort of his security blanket. Some kids suck their thumb, others carry around a woobie, Phoenix is addicted to his pacifier. I guess this is ok, for now. I just don't want a 4-year old with a binky.

Firetruck
This was the hit at the birthday party. Every kid had to have a turn. P's favorite thing is ringing the big silver bell. It has definitely become a favorite in our house.

Radio Flyer wagon
No explanation necessary.

All Clad
Baby P is really into pots and pans. He loves to mimic his momma in the kitchen. He bangs them around. Stacks them inside of each other, then unstacks them, then repeats the process over and over. He stirs with a whisk. Shakes the colander. But, not just any pots and pans will do. Out of two whole cabinets full of cookware, only the All Clad will suffice. I guess he has refined taste.

Slide
Yes, that's what that tunnel thing is. I couldn't find a good picture of a slide, so this one will have to do. He loves to slide at the park. He also loves to climb back up the slide. When he slips and falls, he gets mad and tries harder. He is one determined little boy.

Silk soymilk
P is officially done with formula. Hallelujah! That stuff is expensive. Plus it smells really, really bad. Baby P has a terrible intolerance to cow's milk, so soy is the next best thing. Some people actually believe it is the best thing. I don't really care which is the best choice, because in our situation, there is no option. Any milk or milk product comes back up. It has since he was born, and still does. I'm hoping he will outgrow this, because I feel like he is missing out on the yummiest beverage ever. But until then, Silk is his milk.

Wellies
Initially, P was not very fond of his rain boots. They are heavy and hot. And he can't run in them. I think that they are slowly growing on him. Plus, they are just so darn cute. I had to include them in my collage of favorites. Maybe because they're my favorite.

Goldfish
These were also not a favorite a couple of weeks ago. He would scrape them out of his mouth and cringe in disgust. We had a ton of fish left over from the birthday party, so I've been grabbing a handful every now and then. Now P wants to try them. And he is hooked.

This post will be interesting to look back on in a couple of months. His interests are changing everyday as he learns and discovers new things. This is a fun age!

By the way, I created the collage using this really cool tool called Polyvore. It has become my new obsession. I think my brain works in Polyvore mode. I love to group things together by common theme, color, time of day, etc. to organize my thoughts. And I love the fact that my thoughts can be described in pictures. I think this site was designed for people like me. I even made a polyvore for an upcoming baby shower that I am hosting. Check it out at www.polyvore.com.

professional pics.

Phoenix's one year pictures are online! Check them out on her blog at www.jennmcpherson.com. She rocks! She is a wonderfully genuine and sweet person. We just love her! And her photography is amazing! A link to her homepage is also in my sidebar.

happy birthday to you.

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, to Phoenix. Happy birthday to you. I think I sang this to P about a gazillion times today. He just giggled. I cannot believe my little man is a year old today! Time really flies. About this time last year I was lying in bed at Henry Medical Center, really needing to sleep, but I couldn't. I couldn't get enough of my new baby boy. I just lied there and stared at him. Every breath. Every facial expression. Every gurgle. Can you believe how many crazy noises come out of a newborn? I was scared to death of each new noise. Is something wrong with him? The nurses would tell me it was normal. I have finally come to that realization. Everything is normal. Normal for someone's kid, at least. I remember not even wanting to put Phoenix down in his bassinet. I wanted to hold him close. Constantly. We co-slept for the first four months. It was the greatest thing we ever did. But four months was plenty. I was ready to let it go. Let him have his own bed. And Taylor and I get our bed back. Motherhood has taught me a lot in one short year. Selflessness, patience, a new sense of love, adoration, and kindness. It is wonderful. I think motherhood has been my greatest accomplishment. Even bigger than my doctorate. Bigger than anything. It is a challenge. But with the challenge comes the biggest sense of pride and love that you will ever feel. Taylor and I still look at each other and ask, "Is he really ours?". I can remember the first night home from the hospital. It was the first time we really got a chance to soak it all in. Taylor and I just stared at Phoenix in amazement. We both cried. Are we ready for this, we asked? We were born ready. Parenthood is wonderful. God has blessed us with the most perfect family and the perfect son. We are so lucky for what God has given us. Happy birthday, baby P. I love you more than life.

party details.

Here are the details from P's birthday bash that I promised I would post. That post last night kept me up entirely too late, so I thought I would do a better job with a clear head on a good night's rest. (That didn't happen, but that's another story and another post.)

Wagon cake
The cake was created by Mark at Classic Cheesecakes in Atlanta. His company also did our wedding cake in May 2005 and did a wonderful job! I knew that I needed someone creative and competent at designing something from scratch. I knew he would get the job done. When he first brought the cake out for me to see, I thought that he was carrying one of the miniature Radio Flyer wagons like I used on the tables! He is wonderful and fairly reasonable. Oh, and the smash cake was a little wagon wheel. How fun! The black icing made for hilarious pictures! Check him out at www.classiccheesecakesandcakes.com



Invites
I am a HUGE fan of Etsy. I love original and artistic products, and I envy the crafty women (and men) that are capable of designing such products. I have always prided myself on shopping locally, or in this case, Etsy-ly. If you've never checked out this site, please do! You can find some really great stuff! Anyway, the invites were done by InkSpot Workshop out of Atlanta. I have used her for a ton of gifts in the past, and I just knew she would do a wonderful job on the invites. Heck, the whole party revolved around her awesome invites. I gave her a theme and some color options, and she ran with it. She created a what she calls a party pack, complete with invites, hand-lined envelopes, favor tags, and thank-you cards. Reasonably priced and excellent communication and customer service. What else can you ask for?
www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5750053



Pictures
Taylor asked a friend of his to come and take pictures the day of the party. We just knew that our hands would be full, and we didn't want to miss out on all of the fun because we were too occupied with snapping photos. This was the greatest decision we made. We had tons of time to spend with our baby boy, and lots of pictures, 360 actually, to keep for our memories. Michie did a wonderful job. Even better, he gave us a cd with all 360 images. We can use them how we like! (Like post them to my blog!) His name is Michie Turpin and you can reach him at (678)770-0731. Oh, and by the way. The pictures from the birthday post were a combination of his, mine, and my dad's pictures. Mostly Michie's, but there were a few other pics I just had to include!

Birthday hat and bib
Another Etsy shop. Goldenshop is the name. Another wonderfully talented and crafty stay-at-home momma. I sent her a copy of the invite and she created the cutest bib ever! She even hand-selected a different font for each individual flag. Such a perfectionist. I can't speak. If I can get the black icing stains out, I would love for Phoenix to wear it everyday!! The hat didn't stay on for long, but it is adorable, as well. (P hates hats.)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5744498


I think that those are the main things. If I am leaving anything out, please let me know. The birthday banner, high chair bunting, guest party hats, wagon centerpieces, and favors were courtesy of a la moi. I have a very, very tiny part of my brain that screams "crafty!!". It usually stays hidden, due to lack of time and zero initiative. But, I had a lot of fun designing and creating for the party. I also have really become best buds with this machine they call the Cricut. Anyone ever heard of it? I borrowed it from my cousin, Rachel, and wow, it can do magic. If you are into scrapbooking, which I'm not AT ALL, you would LOVE this machine. I think it's a little pricey, though. I may have gone just a tad bit overboard on my one-year old's birthday party, but I thought my sweet prince's first year of life was something that deserved an awesome celebration. After all, he is my number one boy!

1st birthday party.

I've finally sifted through all 360 plus pictures of P's birthday party and narrowed it down to 100 or so that I absolutely love! Not sure how many blogger will let me post, but we'll give it a whirl. This will be a mile long post, so grab a beverage, sit back, and enjoy. Sorry for the picture and detail overload, but this one's definitely going in the blog book for memory's sake.

P's first birthday party was none other than a wagon-themed outdoor festivity down at the lakefront pavilion in our neighborhood. As you can probably tell from previous blog entries, we absolutely love it down at the lake. It was the perfect spot for 12 kids and 30 or so adults to celebrate P's first year.

Details have been changed for privacy reasons, but here is a pic of the invites.

And the pavilion.


Setting up. Hmmm, I look a little stressed....

My wonderful dad and father-in-law worked very hard to get the jumper going. None of the extension cords worked. I was about to call it a loss....thank goodness I didn't. The kids loved it!

The birthday boy himself. It is impossible to get shoes on this kid unless I sing the Hokey Pokey. "You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out, you put your left foot in, and you shake it all about." It works every time.

The birthday boy was a little overwhelmed at first.

But warmed up quickly.

Baby P and Nanny.

Four generations of Rices.

Taylor and baby P. They really are best buds.

Details, details, details.








The firetruck from Beme and Grandaddy Rice was the hit of the party. Every kid wanted to play on it.




Officer, I swear it's just a kid's birthday party. We're not being rowdy. No, the cop came by to check on things because my dad opened the door to the kitchen in the pavilion, which was supposed to be locked, and set the alarm off. It's kind of ironic that the cops show up at a one-year old's bash!

The bubble machine was wild! Look at all of the bubbles! The kids loved it....unless they stood too close to the machine and got shot in the eye with bubble detergent. That thing was powerful!



"Speed unwrapping", is what Taylor called it. We knew P's attention span was pushed to the max. Whew! We hurried and avoided a meltdown.


Time for a milk break, which we left at the house, by the way. Taylor had to go back and get a sippy cup and some milk. He was getting very, very sleepy....

I think he got a second wind! Check out that killer milk mustache. I wonder if we could get him in an ad? Too bad its soy.


A few of the little guests.







Smash cake time.








Once most of the guests had left, mommy got some P time in the jumper.

This must have been the 80th time he lost his shoe. I just left it off.


The party was a blast! I still can't believe we are already celebrating my baby boy's first birthday! Where does the time go? It is late and I am exhausted, but I promise I will post later with links and more info on where I got the cake, decorations, bib, hats, etc. Hope you're not too pictured out!