ONE

I know, I know! We are coming up on two weeks beyond Grayson's first birthday, but things have been a little wild around here. The point of this post is not to go on and on about our roller coaster or a life, but to talk about our little man hitting his latest milestone.

Grayson's birthday celebration kicked off the Saturday before his birthday with a big bash at Pullen Park. His Nana came up the night before to play with Grayson while mommy and daddy prepped for the party. Grayson's party was sailboat themed, just like his nursery, and I made sailboat cakes for his big day. It was such a blast. Nearly 50 family and friends came to the park (most driving around forever to find parking), we had beautiful weather, and lots of yummy food. The full parking lot gave me a little extra time to set things up (with the help of my sis and some other family members), which was a good thing because when we first arrived with only 1 hours to set-up someone was using our shelter. Quickly resolved with the "I am sorry we have this reserved" statement.

That party was such a reminder of what wonderful friends and family we have who love our little fella. Daddy was the chef for the day cooking up hot dogs and hamburgers, with the help of Grandpa who I don't think has ever attended a cookout that he didn't work really hard at (Thanks /Grandpa/Daddy!) Grayson’s Nana, Grammy, Granny, and Aunt Ret brought in the yummy side dishes. Grayson had a blast seeing all of his favorite people and littlest friends. We had loved ones drive in from all over the state to include Charlotte and Lake Gaston. He plunged right into his cake making a huge mess and seemed to enjoy every minute of the celebration, especially all the amazing gifts. Then to wrap thins up in the best way, many of our wonderful family members helped us get everything cleaned and packed up. I can't thank everyone enough for making my son's party such a fantastic success.

Grayson’s celebration continued on Tuesday (the day before his actual birthday) with a "Mommy Day". We did story time at Barnes and Noble, had a picnic lunch, and played in the park. Grayson is hilarious to watch at story time. He sits so nicely in his stroller listening intently to EVERY word the storyteller shares. His attention is only interrupted by the unruly kids who get up and parade around in front of him talking loudly while the story is being told. You should see the look on his face. He always looks over at me like, "Mommy, can you believe these kids?" On this particular day a little girl got up and stood right in front of him looking in his face like she wanted to chat. Grayson politely pushed her to the side to look around her at the storyteller. PRICELESS!

On Grayson's actual birthday he was awakened to the, at that point, familiar tune of Happy Birthday to which he sat right up in his crib and grinned like he knew it was his special day. He got a blueberry muffin with a candle for breakfast. He didn't eat a bit of it. Looks like he isn't a muffin eater, yet.

Unfortunately Mommy and Daddy had to work on Grayson's birthday. Mommy took off Monday to stay home with Grayson because he wasn't feeling well so she had to go in on Wednesday. After breakfast he was dressed in his special birthday outfit (Thanks Grammy and Pa Pa) and sent off to baby school. It wasn't a terrible day for him there. He was able to visit his new class with is older friends. He is now the little guy on the block again. He also got to win the popularity vote by having his mommy bring cupcakes to impress his new friends. At snack time I was able to leave work and take over cupcakes for his birthday celebration at baby school. Picture six one-year olds sitting around a tiny table eating cupcakes. It was hilarious (yes I have pictures). Then Grayson got to leave school early.

In the evening we had Grayson's birthday dinner, which was pretty much the same stuff he typically eats and then we opened all the cards that had come for him in the mail and his birthday presents from Mommy and Daddy.

The week was wrapped up with the not so fun, but necessary one-year check-up. Grayson did pretty well. He did not like getting the three shots, but who would? He is still under the growth chart for weight at 118lbs, 4 ounces. I don't think the doctor is really worried about that anymore because he is at least staying on his curve, as little as that curve may be. Most of his development was right on track, with the exception of speech (why would a speech therapist's son talk on time?) because he was not consistently saying a real word yet. Go figure the next day he started with "ball" and has been imitating a ton of other words and using ball ever since.

All in all, Grayson had a fabulous birthday, birth week, and birth month celebration. I on the other hand, am a little saddened to see my little fella growing up so fast. It seems like he is doing and learning something new everyday, but like it was just yesterday that we brought that tiny little baby home. I am thankful now to have sleep filled nights, a genius little guy learning all sorts of fun things, and the blessing of a healthy one year old, but I must admit that there are times when I miss the late night feedings and quiet moments just watching him breathe.