It is FUN to be ONE!

Well, here is the summary of the first birthday:

The day dawned earlier than we would have liked. William was up at 6:20 am, about one hour earlier than we like to see him. When he got up, it was very noticeable that he was still running a fever from the night before. We managed to get an underarm reading of 101.4 and 101.6 from him (which translates to 102.4 and 102.6 as you add a degree to all underarm readings). Any type of temperature readings are difficult on a baby that doesn't sit still for the 9 seconds required for an accurate temperature reading. For breakfast, William had one of Mama's favorite foods for the first time: french toast! It was so yummy, even if he wasn't feeling great. Above is the new make ahead french toast recipe we tried out. It was yummy - if you want the recipe, you'll need to email Grandma Kim.

All done! One of William's newest words/signs! Here is the birthday boy wiping himself down after sticky french toast (or, throwing the washcloth on the ground).


Daddy modeling William's birthday crown: It's fun to be ONE!

Trying to get a picture of William's cute 1st birthday outfit. I don't think I got one I love....


The birthday boy!


It was tough not feeling good. This is what he did most of the time when he was put down on the ground.

This is all he really wanted to do. Cuddle with anyone. Here with Grandma.


Wearing the "It's fun to be ONE crown".


His super cute outfit also came with a super cute knit hat. This is the only time he left it on for more than a few seconds - to give Grandpa kisses through the sliding glass door.


Mmmmmm....with daddy

What is a party without games? This clown was drawn for one of the McGarry kids' birthday parties by Great Grandpa Tom. William was so excited to play this game with his friends and cousins at his party. William got to watch all of his cousins and friends put their noses on first so he would know what to do. Please note: William decided to put his nose on the chair right in front of him (it is red in his hand).


William's birthday cake. I got a little crazy and decided I wanted his cake to be homemade (from a box homemade) for his first birthday. It sure wasn't pretty, but it tasted good!


Everyone else's cake and Daddy's favorite kind of cake (and Mama's least favorite!)!


William checking his cake out. I was shocked that he didn't dive right in and make a mess.


Checking out the frosting...


If you're going to enlarge any of these, pick this one. It's worth it for his expression.


He seemed a little confused with what to do next, so I cut a little piece off the cake for his to play with. He liked that better as shown above.


Watching his cousins....


The cousins...

All done!

After the cake, William was pretty drained and fussy. It was past his naptime and he was falling apart fast. We decided to let the birthday boy go ahead and get a little nap in. I was worried some of our guests needed to get going with some reports of a little snowfall, so we went ahead and opened up his presents. I'm sad he didn't get to do it himself for his birthday, but there will always be next year. He sure did get spoiled! Thank you to everyone who came! We had a lot of fun!

Later in the evening, we realized we didn't take any pictures of our family together. So at 8:46pm, we took a birthday shot at the exact time he was born.

I love this face.

Our family!

The next morning, William still had a fever when he woke up. We decided before we drove home, we wanted to get him checked out. I didn't want to regret not being seen halfway through Iowa where there really isn't even a place to get gas, not to mention any type of medical facility. So, we spent part of the morning at the Urgent Care Clinic where William checked out as having a fever but nothing else noticeable. We came home for a nap and then William got to open his present from Grandpa and Grandma: A CAR! He was totally in love, although the car had to be put away for a little while as he figured out how to tip it over on himself that same evening. He only gets to use it right now with some pretty close supervision.

PS Monday morning William woke up without a fever. We're starting to get back on track, I hope!

364

Sneaking a Snack this morning

Brrr! It's cold!

364 days old today. Hard to believe tomorrow is the big day. We're busy trying to pull it all together. It snowed here (in MN) today, so Grandpa got out the sled to give William a taste of the Minnesota winter. Fun stuff...

Looking at the flakes...

Weeeeeeeee!

Down the driveway we go!

Without thumbs in your mittens, it is hard to hang on to anything!

Still fun, even if you're laying down. And yes, he is wearing socks over his shoes as he doesn't have any boots!

A big push from Grandpa

Daddy and Grandpa talking about pulling the sled back up the driveway

It wasn't funny then

One night last week, I was making dinner while William toddled around the kitchen. John was outside staining the shelves for our bookshelf. William made his way into the hallway from the kitchen, back to the kitchen, into the laundry room across the hall and back again. I was watching him, but not with eagle eyes as he wandered in and out of the different areas right around the kitchen. Sometimes he was empty handed and other times he had toys/tupperware lids/one of his socks/a 5 pound bag of potatoes in his hands. At some point, I heard some noise coming from outside and I distinctly remember thinking "I wonder what is going on outside? Who is making all that noise?"

A few seconds later John came into the house via the laundry room door stomping and yelling "What are you doing?"

It was right then I noticed William sitting quietly on the floor in the hallway with my keychain in his sweetly dimpled hands. I grabbed the keys and ran to the garage where I tried to remember what to push to turn the alarm off. As I pressed buttons the alarm continued to sound. Figuring the garage door being shut wasn't helping matters, I opened the door. This revealed the problem. Both cars parked in the driveway were sounding their alarms. Somehow, William had managed to set both of them off in record time....sure wasn't funny then. Kind of is now, except he set mine off today again while John was in the garage again.

Proving that it isn't all fun and games with car alarms around here. Actual progress on our bookshelf. There are shelves installed! Just waiting on some doors for the lower portion and some crown molding to install and it will be done!

All in a Day's Work

One thing on our project list since this summer was to find a way to guard our fireplace corners better. We weren't happy with the choices we found in the stores and resolved to build something of our own. Then we got a little busy with everything else going on and it just hasn't gotten done. Until today. John started banging around in the basement after a late lunch and we finished before 10:30 this evening. Not bad for just one days work. I think it even looks pretty good (if you don't look too closely). The true test will come tomorrow when the childproofing expert will have access to our work. Then we'll see how things go. Pictures below! Goodnight.

Hi Everyone!

Tonight we made a run to L0we$ for a few item to finish (maybe) our shelving project. While we stood in the lumber aisle for a long time contemplating the virtues of different options, William entertained himself by watching the other people in the aisle walking by. One woman walked by and said "Aren't you cute?"

I was feeling friendly, so I said "Can you say Hi?" to William.

And he did. William said "Hi" and waved his arm wildly around. Like he has been doing it forever all by himself. Except he hasn't. He then greeted several other people walking by with "Hi" as well. So cute. Except he wouldn't do it again once we got home. I still say it counts.

3.0

At this precise time last year, we were timing contractions. Real live actual contractions. Contractions that weren't taking me anywhere soon, but that took my mom and dad through Iowa in one of the worst ice storms in the history of ever. The contractions ended and my parents arrived. What a deal. This year I can tell you 100% for sure that the baby will not be having a birthday until next week. Last year I wasn't so great at reading the future. Takes practice, I guess.

To celebrate, I'm going to let you in on one of my New Year's Resolutions. A personal goal of mine. Last spring, I started working out again at the Y. At that time, I felt like things were kind of a lost cause. I jogged halfheartedly around the track while parts of my body swayed along with me. It was not a pretty feeling. At that time, I resolved to get back into some kind of shape and run a 5K Race as a family.

On December 31st, 2007, I proudly announced my resolution idea to John. His response: "It isn't fair for you to make resolutions for me." Hmmmm...point taken. At that point, the resolution became

-I resolve to get myself in shape enough that I can slowly jog a 5K race without throwing up, passing out or making a fool out of myself.

and the training began. As a celebration to the beginning of my labor with my baby boy, I jogged 3.0 miles today. Enough progress has been made to fully confess here what my intentions are. Will I follow through and jog a race? Who knows, but I'll be ready...

Speaking of the baby boy, here are some pictures from this week:

For comparison, here is William at 5 weeks old in his bouncy seat. I then let a friend use it for awhile as William didn't fit in it anymore. We just got it back and here is the current state.

An updated picture of him in his bouncy seat

Yes, he is holding my cell phone. It is one of only three ways I know how to make him hold still for a few seconds.

A different angle. Loving the attitude.



A few people have asked me when we are going to cut his hair. The answer: when I'm ready. I thought I would be ready at the 1 year mark. Then last week I noticed these sweet curls starting in the back. It might be a lot longer.


More sweet baby curls.

PS Teething update: Molar #2 is almost completely through. Molar #3 and #4 will be arriving shortly. Warning: 4 more bumps sighted in the canine positions. Bring it on baby.

....

Do you hear that?................................................................

Isn't is beautiful? It is finally quiet in our house.

Its been a rough few days. Car trouble and crabby babies shouldn't go together. These molars (I think) are making everything difficult. This afternoon I was ready to put a sign in the front yard "Free to Any Home: 1 Crying Baby, no questions asked". Thankfully naptime arrived and I could put away the extra thick sharpie and poster board. Everyone here is exhausted and relieved that bedtime is over until tomorrow.




PS Just like everything that is worth having, there are ups and downs to this whole kid thing. We sure do love him bunches and bunches - just not currently loving these teeth.

PPS Car trouble crisis is now repaired.