Waylon's Party

Waylon turned one just one day before Holden. Anna and Aaron hosted a fantastic first birthday party for him at their house on Sunday, February 25th. Holden and I met so many new babies, and it was fun to chat with all the moms. Waylon looked absolutely adorable; he had on the cutest outfit. We loved the delicious Mexican food lunch, and especially loved watching Waylon enjoy his cake. We had to leave shortly after cake because Holden started freaking out while I was eating a piece a cake. After each of my bites, if I didn't shovel a fork full into Holden's mouth he would start screaming. Luckily, we don't have birthday cake laying around the house that often, we have a cake monster.

Holden getting a wagon ride.

Singing to the birthday boy!

Just getting started....

Happy First Birthday, Holden Fletcher!

To celebrate Holden's first birthday we had a picnic at Powerhouse Park. The weather was great, it was a beautiful sunny day in Del Mar! Holden had so much fun, and loved playing with all of his friends and family. He enjoyed sitting in the big people chairs, sharing his toys with his friends, playing in the sandbox (and eating sand), watching bubbles, and eating cake for the first time. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake, but after his friend Carter Sammis showed him the ropes he had no problem digging in! We compared him to a marathon runner, he worked slowly but methodically to finish the cake. Lucky for us, we had no meltdowns afterward. We went home to open all of his wonderful birthday gifts. As it goes with one year olds, he got most of his joy from the bows and paper while my mom, grandma and I oohed and aahed over the gifts. After a quick dinner (he didn't have much of an appetite - I wonder why?!?) and a bath, we put Holden to bed around 7:00. He fell asleep quickly and didn't make a peep all night!

Michelle and Gavin Conley enjoying the sunshine!

Loving the Big Boy chair.

Avery Correia and Holden just chillin'. They go to daycare together.

Waylon Davis and Charlie Grace enjoying the Radio Flyer Retro Rocket.

Clay and Carter Sammis are teaching Holden all about the sandbox. (Carter had some pretty cool trains!)

Lori and Ryan Grace taking a break.

The big people cake.


"Like this, Holden!"

"Oh, I think I got it now."

Making serious progress....

"Woo-hoo, I love cake!"

We'll call this a success.

Nana Judy helped Holden open his presents.

There's nothing better than bows and wrapping paper in the eyes of a one year old.

I Forgot I Took These

Once every couple of weeks, I end my teaching day by sharing pictures of Holden with my students. I beam with joy, and the kids get a real kick out of seeing Holden's latest antics. Today I was going through my iphoto to see what I had to share, and I started cracking up. I totally forgot that I took these pictures. Holden just woke up from his morning nap, and I guess I just wanted to capture his cuteness. (You may have realized I do this a lot!) Our latest routine is that I ask him to "help mommy" get him dressed. I help him take his arms out of his pajamas, and then let him take off the rest. I think he totally gets it - he's becoming a great little undresser. He's eager to get right to work ripping the pant portion off, and seems genuinely proud of himself when he accomplishes the task. I usually put his shirt on while he's still in his crib because the least amount of time he has to spend on the changing table, the better (for me)! I think I was putting away some of his laundry too, so he stayed in his crib and played a little longer than usual. He was being so funny that I had to grab the camera. Time flies quickly when raising a baby, and for that reason I cherish these pictures that capture these little moments. Everyday moments.

Such a big boy!

Expressing his joy by shaking the crib rail, woo-hoo!

This is definitely worth enlarging. This face is priceless and is so Holden!

Ok Mom, I'm ready to get out...enough already!

We're in Trouble

I literally turned around for 5 seconds to put a glass away in the cupboard. We've got a climber....

New Favorites

Music & Dancing

Climbing

Baking for Mommy & Daddy

Birthday Parties!

Last Sunday (2/11), Holden was invited to two birthday parties. He napped through Will's 2nd birthday party at JW Tumbles. We did attend Morgan's 2nd birhtday party at Gymboree though. His favorite part? The bubbles! We'll be sure to have bubbles for his birthday bash next weekend!

First Round of Antibiotics

Holden is on his first round of antibiotics due to a double ear infection and bronchitis. Our poor baby has been so sick! Trey stayed home with him yesterday, and I stayed home today. It has been two days filled with lots of holding, rocking and cuddling. It's actually been a treat because Holden is usually on the go and we don't get to cuddle with him. Dr. Rubenstein said he could return to childcare tomorrow, since he's had a full 24 hours on his antibiotics. Hopefully, we'll get all these bugs out before his first birthday party!

UPDATE: Holden went to childcare on Wednesday, February 14th. Childcare called me at work at around 2:30 to say he was wheezing and havign a hard time breathing. I picked him up and took him back to the doctor. The good news was that his ear infections were clearing up, but his wheezing was due to a virus, RSV. It's also called brochiolitis, which means its deeper in his chest. It causes asthma-like symptoms. About 50% of the time, a breathing treatment will help clear his brochioli tubes, so we tried it. We used a nebulizer that had a little mask to hold over Holden's face. A mist of medicine came out that he was supposed to breathe in. The whole experience was pretty upsetting. He was bawling, gagging, and pretty much flailing everywhere. I felt like I was torturing him. In the end, the treatment didn't work; he was still wheezing at the end of it. We just have to wait for it to pass, it should run it's course in about 6 days.

When does cold and flu season end?

A Lazy Sunday

While the rest of the world is at a Super Bowl party, we are home having a lazy Sunday. Trey has the cold that Holden and I had, so we're home laying low. Trey and I are having fun playing with Holden, who has stayed in his pjs all day. The big news for today is that Holden said "Dada" for the first time. I was so excited my eyes welled up with tears. So cute! Holden started to get a little cabin fever so we played outside for a little bit. He had another new first out there too. He found the joy of rocks: picking up, throwing, chewing.