1 year old baby

Now that he is one, do I have to stop calling him the baby?

Of course he is still the baby of the family, no matter what age.  And he had a wonderful birthday.  As far as we can tell at least.  He didn't complain at all.  Since this month has been super busy and he shares his birthday with his daddy, we had originally planned just a small family dinner.  But on Monday Stan decided he wanted to grill out steaks.  We asked D and E and their 15 month old son, Lil' E, to come enjoy dinner and cake with us, so we ended up with a small party after all.  Unfortunately most everyone else that lives here was out of town or had other plans.  But no matter, it was a perfect group and we had a great dinner.

Dinner got finished late, due to our not-quick-starting charcoal (the box lied!) so we did gifts and cake kinda late... for Judah at least.  His little friend E was so sweet to bring him a great gift!  Mommy had plans to buy a gift while in KM this weekend (there is a wonderful toy store with American brand toys) but the trip got canceled.  I don't think Judah minds though. 

You can see he is quite happy with his new xylophone and book.

(He got a couple of things in the mail today, too, but I didn't get pictures yet.  They will come soon cause it's quite funny.)

I debated over what kind of cake to make.  I found a great recipe for a Sour Cream Pound Cake and I was all excited to make it until I realized I was a few eggs short and didn't have time to go back out and get them.  Oh well, PTL for a Devil's Food Cake mix E gave me a few weeks back.  Judah didn't mind.  He would now like to give you lessons on how to eat a Chocolate birthday cake...

First, grab at your candle.  Don't worry, mom and brother will help you blow it out before your burn your hand.

Second, using your awesome pincer skills shove big chunks right into your mouth.  Don't worry if you don't have a lot of teeth yet.  I only have 2 and a half teeth and this part was no problem for me.

Third, once all the big pieces are eaten it's really fun to make a mess.  Squealing and laughing will only heighten your enjoyment.

Fourth, when mom removes your tray be sure to rub chocolate into your jeans.  She'll like this I promise.  She will be so overjoyed she won't know where to start...should she first clean up the incredibly chocolaty baby or start trying to get it off of the floor so it doesn't get tracked all over the house.  It's a toss up!

Needless to say, E helped me get started until we realized the best thing was to immediately strip Judah to his diaper and get him in the bath!  Lil' E was also getting tired so they got him home and Stan took over getting the chocolate cake bits off of the floor, counter, table and ceiling.  OK, none on the ceiling but it was a mess for sure!

I snapped this after his bath and had to include it so I could show just how swollen Judah Bug's top gums are.  All 4 of his top teeth are in competition to see which one can irritate him the most by being the slowest to emerge.  His poor gums have been like this for over a week!  So glad it only seems to bother him at meal time.

I forgot to take his stats on his actual birthday so I got them tonight.  Well except measuring his noggin.  He thought I was trying to torture him and wouldn't be still. 

Weight: 10.6 kg or 23.4 lbs (54%)

Height:  82 cm or 32.25 inches (96%)

Head:  Wiggling around like crazy.

So if you look back to his 11 months stats you will see that he is the same exact weight but 3.25 inches taller.  What?!?  So he just went through a growth spurt for sure. I even measured twice cause I just didn't think it was possible.  It looks like his height is finally surpassing his weight.  He is wearing all 18 months clothes.  I recently watched a video of K and B shortly after we moved here.  Bennett was 19 months old and had on a pair of pants that Judah wears.  Now.  They are a tad long on Judah now, but not 7 months growth worth.  I'm starting to wonder if we will have to get out the 2T clothes before the end of the winter!

Sweet Judah you are our Da Dou (Big Bean), we love you and thank Jesus for you being a part of our family.  You tolerate the torture of your big brothers like a champ and your Daddy and me look forward to the day when we get to watch you give it right back to them.  They better watch out, you may be bigger than both of them!  Your loving spirit and easy ways brings a calming effect to our home, but be careful, you know if you play too well for too long you get forgotten in the chaos that is your brothers.  But seriously, we could never forget you really.  How can you forget the cutest baby alive?!?

Happy first birthday Judah Wallace!