Happy birthday Eric

I have a longer post in the works with some more specifics on our 12 months with Eric, but I wanted to get a quick one out about his actual birthday.  We celebrated his birthday early with the extended family, so on his actual birthday, Matt, Olivia and I had him (mostly) to ourselves!  Olivia woke up early and was SO excited to go into his room together singing and wake him up!  He was tired and not really sure what was going on, but he was a pretty good sport about it all.

Then we took him downstairs to show him his presents: a new "house" and his very own "Ah" (Alexa).

He recognized Alexa right away and was so happy! He immediately began shouting "Ah! Ah!"

It took him a few minutes to get into the playhouse, but once Olivia showed him how it was done, he got the hang of it. (Note: Yes, this is the exact same house we got Olivia for her 1st birthday.  Well not the exact same one.  Because even though that was my plan since before he was even born and I refused to let Matt donate or sell Olivia's for 5 years because I was intent on giving it to Eric, we LEFT IT AT QUEENSBURY after we sold it - left it in the garage, along with a whole pile of other baby/kid stuff I was saving for Eric!  So I found another house on our local mommy site and bought that one.  Insert all the eye roll emoji's here).

He was really into the mail - he liked putting it in the mail slot and playing peek-a-boo with it!

Unfortunately for Eric, mamma had a ton of work to do, so he didn't get to skip school for his first birthday but I was able to sneak out a little early.  Lucky for him, his teachers are obsessed with him and when he skipped his morning nap, they took him outside for a little birthday playtime with the whole playground to himself.  Spoiled?  No.  You must be thinking about someone else's child. ;)  This is the picture I got that morning from his teachers.  Please note the ridiculously cute mohawk thing he has going on courtesy of Miss Vivian.

After I picked him up that afternoon we went home for a little more playtime

And then headed to Lupe (we think this is his favorite restaurant) for some Mexican food - he chowed down on tortillas, queso, rice and beans, even offering to share with daddy!

Full belly, happy heart....

What a wonderful year it has been!  Time is a funny thing.  In some ways, it seems like just yesterday I was home with him.  I remember his birth and my days on maternity leave much more vividly than Olivia's.  I actually really long for those days.  But in other ways, it seems like he's been here much longer.  Maybe because we've been waiting for him for so long.  Regardless, this little guy has a huge piece of our hearts and I can't wait to see the fun we have in store.

I recently read this quote and immediately thought of Eric: “The most precious gift we can offer anyone is our attention. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)

More than anything this past year, Eric had attention - from family, friends and even complete strangers that he yelled at until they smiled at him - and what JOY we have had watching him bloom! Happy birthday to the happiest baby on the block who so perfectly found his place in our hearts!

Mother's Day

I think this was one of the best Mother's Day I've ever had.  Of course it was my first one with Eric, which made it extra special.  But Olivia and Matt planned such a sweet and relaxing day for me.

The celebration started on Friday with Moms & Muffins at Cathedral House.  Eric ate 3 blueberry muffins with me!

And I got this adorable Sunshine canvas

In an unusual twist, I had to work late on Friday night.  Luckily, Matt was in town and able to help with the kiddos.  When I finally pulled in the driveway that night, I heard the door burst open and Olivia ran outside to greet me with an envelope.  She begged me to open it and inside I found this: a note with Olivia's handwriting and spelling on it that has been turned into a plastic accessory for my key chain.  I adore it!

On Mother's Day morning, Matt came into the room around 7:00 with baby Eric in a diaper only and I snuggled with that naked baby for about 5 minutes until Olivia came downstairs - in her underwear only - crawled into bed, explained she had gotten too hot in the middle of the night - and cuddled up to me too.  I couldn't have planned it better if I tried! 

We cuddled together until it was time for brunch at one of  my favorite spots - Dish Society.  (don't mind the little chipmunk cheeks filled with Cheerios!)

Unfortunately, I then had to head into the office for a few hours, but when I got home I was presented with new PJs and a promise to go to the Galleria that afternoon to let me pick out some new sunglasses!  I figure if you give me PJs, you're really just asking me to take an afternoon nap, so while Eric took his afternoon nap, Olivia and I did too!

After that we shopped, ate dinner and had a nice relaxing evening with the people I love most.  Raising these kiddos with Matt is the greatest privilege of my life and having a day to acknowledge that was so special.

Eric's First Fiesta

We had an early Fiesta for Eric's first birthday this weekend!

We had fun decorating the house beforehand (with lots of direction from big sister!)

While we know Eric didn't really understand what was going on, the importance of the one year mark and the magnitude of the moment was not lost on Matt, Olivia and I, given how hard we worked to get this little guy.

  

We were happy to have both sets of grandparents + the Brown family to help us celebrate!

He gave high five's to Tutu

Got swung around by Grandpa

Played peek-a-boo

And of course danced!

Eric showed off his party tricks of yelling

And talking on the phone

And one moment I looked down and saw him staring up at all these people who love him so and I was almost overcome with emotion.

For food, we served some Mexican appetizers + beer/sangria

While he only lasted in his high chair for a little bit, he was happy to be held and fed by his many admirers:

Big sister helped him with the presents - he loved all the books & toys he got (and the empty boxes too!).  We added phone #6 to our toy collection!

Then it was time for cake -  a smash cake for baby + one for the rest of us too!

And a note for the memory book - a few days before the party, Olivia asked me if she could give a toast.  I said of course.  She worked on it and practice with Matt & I beforehand.  It was a precious little speech about how its hard to be zero because you have to drink from a bottle and you have to go to school and leave your mommy.  But we all really love Eric and we want to wish him a happy birthday.  I was curious if she would really do it at the party but she did.  Her face was red at first and she wouldn't let us take any pictures or tape it.  But she did SO great.  It was sincere and heartfelt and articulate - she even added in a line about how we were happy Camie, Connie and Aunt Linda came to celebrate with us too.  I loved it! :)

This was his face the entire time we sang to him - wide eyes, chewing on his finger.  I was a little surprised because we (meaning Matt, Olivia, Alexa and I) had been singing happy birthday to him all day and he LOVED it.  But I guess having all those people serenading him was a little unsettling.

He wasn't too sure about the cake - I think the frosting was incredibly sweet and he didn't really like the feel of all the frosting on his hands. 

So, wasn't as much of a "smash" as we expected.

More like "What the hell is this thing & why am I naked?"

He thought about just going in and trying it, but couldn't quite get there.

At one point he seemed to look to Olivia to help him.  She jumped right in to try and show him how it was done.

But despite her best efforts, he wasn't as into his smash cake as she was at her first birthday party!

Instead, he decided he was done with this cake and tried to push it off his tray!

He then smeared himself in the remaining frosting on his hands until I was scared it was going to get in his eyes and rescued him.  I think he was relieved.

After a quick bath, he was back at it - wearing only his birthday suit, playing with his new toys and yelling at his guests!

After the party ended, I couldn't help but recall all that it took to get here.  That night, Matt and I re-read my journal with our IVF statistics in awe of the journey it took to bring him to our family - a road that now seems so distant.  And, for the next few weeks as I put my almost one year old to bed, I know I will rub his back a little longer, stroke his hair a little more, and try to memorize the way his sweet, chubby little body melts into mine as he falls asleep.

 

And, I can't help but attach this picture of Olivia from later that night.  Maybe not my best planning, but we had tickets to Beauty & the Beast the night of Eric's party.  When I initially made the plans, I figured it would be fine - party from 3-5, everyone leave by 5:30, put Eric to bed at 6 and head to the play at 6:30.  But, of course, work blew up that week, Eric had many sleepless nights (so obviously Matt & I did too), and hosting a party is always just more stressful than I ever think its going to be.  So when it was all done as I stared at my mess of a house and then remembered I had to take Olivia and her friend to a play, I was having some major regrets.  But I decided to suck it up, put on a happy face, and enjoy it.  And I'm so glad I did.  This was a play at a new neighborhood theater, performed by local kids (middle schoolers).  We had front row seats and basically from the moment the play started, Olivia's face looked like this:

She laughed out loud, gasped, and intently followed each character's lines, songs and moves.  Just like that, life reminded me to be patient, enjoy the moments, and be excited about the future.  I was feeling sad and nostalgic about Eric's birthday, but right in front of me was this beautiful, tangible example of the fact that there are tons of things to look forward to beyond these baby days.  (Though don't get me wrong, if someone offered me a time machine, I would definitely take it! ;)