Our Big One Year Old!

William is one! That was so fast! Wasn't he just born? Oh he is such a sweet little boy and definitely more a little boy now than a baby.  He smiles so much and loves to play games.  When I put him to bed, he likes to pop his pacifier out of his mouth and try to put it in my mouth while I sing to him (do you think that is a judgement on my singing ability?), then he giggles and puts it back in his mouth.  He snuggles in so sweet while I rock him, and he plays a game where he tucks his head on each shoulder back and forth while smiling at me.  He gives kisses on command and will blow raspberries nonstop.  His favorite thing to do is walk.  As long as someone holds his hands, he would walk for miles on end.  I think he is the cutest (boy) baby ever (Eliana was pretty darn cute herself at that age).  Oh how time just flies by!  Where did my baby go?

We saw the pediatrician yesterday for his one year check up.  William weighed 21 lb 14 oz (56%) and was 30 in long (40%).  He got his shots, which were quite terrible.  He was giggling before and then wailing crying after.  I cried a little too because he was so upset.  Luckily that was short lived and by the evening he was fine.  We did find out that his iron level was low, so the pediatrician has recommended he start a vitamin supplement.  I have not had much luck so far with the liquid vitamin.  William gagged so hard on it this morning that he threw up out his nose.  I think I will try mixing it with applesauce tomorrow.  Maybe instead I should try mixing some steak with his applesauce... that might be a little tastier and more likely to be eaten.

Getting his one year photo was nearly impossible.  He is always trying to climb on things - this from a kid who barely crawls!  I got just a couple of good shots before he did is head dive trick again.

What a cheeseball.  This was the best I could do.

Hey mom, what are you doing?  Want me to come check it out?

For William's birthday, Eliana wanted to get him a balloon.  When we went to the store, Eliana picked the balloon out all by herself.  She insisted William would like a Frozen balloon best of all.  She was right, he really like it!  She is a pretty thoughtful girl.

Eliana also made him a "Happy Birthday" sign.  She worked very hard on it for a long time, which I really appreciated.

For Eliana's first birthday, I had a fairly elaborate birthday party involving an ABC theme, crafts, and lots of people.  She didn't nap well with the party and felt pretty overwhelmed, so it was kind of a bust.  William, the ever short changed second child, had a much more sedate party.  His dad didn't even show up for it until the very end! (Poor David, he was really disappointed that he got stuck at work late).  Uncle Michael, Aunt Melissa, and Cousin Claire did come over for dinner and cake.  I made William's favorite - spaghetti and meatballs.  Then we had cupcakes.  Eliana helped me make them while William was napping.  My first attempt was using this recipe for a "healthy first birthday smash cake."  The recipe involved a lot of whole wheat, bananas, peaches, and no added sugar.  While I might have over baked them just a tad, I would definitely not call them a cake by any sense of the word.  They were like dry bread with a touch of banana.  They were so bad in fact that even Eliana, the ultimate lover of cupcakes, refused to eat them.  So I decided to make my own version based off of that recipe.  I switched half of the whole wheat for white flour, added 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and doubled the wet ingredients while keeping the dry amt the same.  I didn't have any peaches left, so I used applesauce instead.  The result was definitely better.  Still not a great tasting cupcake, but at least edible.  William loved them though!  I just used regular icing, which was way too sweet for the healthy "cupcake" but mostly I just wanted it for the pictures.  David made it home just in time to see William with icing all over his face.

The end result.  William knows how to blow on food when we say "hot" so he actually did a great job trying to blow out his candle.  Even though he couldn't actually blow it out, he had the right idea.

Trying to put the whole thing in his mouth.

Happy Birthday Will!

Time for a bath.  By the way, blue food coloring will dye your child AND your tub blue!

While his party wasn't as big as Eliana's first birthday, I think William had more fun.  He definitely cried less.  We celebrated his birthday several other times as well with different family members.  An added bonus of having a small party.  I love this sweet little boy so much.  Happy Birthday Big Willy!