Birthday Bash

Little man turned one this weekend. REALLY? I am amazed. The world really does move faster every passing year, but it was a fun year filled with so many wonderful memories. My parents couldn't make the party due to my dad's hectic travel schedule, so I posted a lengthy video, full of cake smashing clips, for them.

Reece ate up all the attention and gave us a pretty good show. He danced for "Happy Birthday" and after he figured out the cake was for eating, not playing, it was hard to separate him from the icing! He went directly to the tub after cake time and he was so in love with his new discovery that he was desperately trying to salvage the crumbs from his arms and hair before I rinsed them away.

We put out a sundae bar at the party, and Reece indulged in his first bite of vanilla ice cream. "num, num, num, num" he repeated while ravenously shoving spoonfuls into his mouth. I underestimated the strength of a one year old when I pried the spoon away.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all our generous friends and family who showered this guy with gifts. What a sport he was at ripping up the tissue and playing with the gift bags. The joy of playing with the toys came after we finally tossed the packaging. How is it that I have had two boys, and plenty of gift occasions, and have yet to appreciate the value of a great box!?!

Reece is a pretty typical one year old. He has a gentle, sweet spirit and rarely gets upset. He loves to wrestle and dog pile with anyone who will lie on the floor with him. He tackles his big brother, and cackles if you blow raspberries back and forth with him. He waves and points at everything he is curious about and is always smiling and calm. He is extremely cuddly and offers plenty of bear hugs while patting your back. Makes my heart melt.

Walking is getting pretty good. He can travel across the room easily, but is still mastering standing up without pulling on something. He loves to climb on anything to get a good view of things and will happily boogie to just about any music or song you sing. I adore how he looks around for praise and cheers (and claps for himself) when he does new things. When he is being flirtatious, he pretends to be shy while laughing, or he poses by leaning up against something with his hands behind his head, flashing a toothless grin.

Teeth? Well, he is finally cutting his four front teeth; two on top, two on bottom. He hardly seems phased by all his swollen gums. Now that the top two are peeking out, he is fascinated with grinding the bottom two on them. Sounds scratchy and awful and the expression it creates is a little strange, but priceless.

He is still pretty tiny. Funny that he was the same weight as his brother at birth, falling in the 75th% for height and weight, but has weighed-in around the tenth percentile since. The pediatrician says he anticipates a HUGE growth spurt this year and that we will get a better sense of his size when he is two. Isn't it impressive that our bodies grow to 50% of our full height by the age of two?? I don't mind my teeny Little Bit though. 28 inches tall and 19lbs, 14oz is pretty sweet and cuddly.

He babbles a lot and is pointing to everything he wants to know the word for. He makes a pretty good attempt at repeating you, even if its just the syllables he gets right. I hear lots of "dada"s, "da"s - dog, "ack" - Zach, "num, num" - yum, "baw"-ball, a few "mamama"s, and so many other sounds I haven't quite translated yet...

All in all, a sweet little soul added to our family and a wonderfully happy, playful year. I can't wait for the next. My only wish would be for time to pass a little less quickly.