Milestones Pt. XV: 1st Birthday

We've now been a family of 3 for an entire year, as Justin Alexander hit the one-year mark yesterday. Mom has a birthday party planned for him this weekend, but of course we did our fair share of celebrating as a threesome in the meantime. The big question was whether or not he knew it was his birthday... to which I'd ordinarily guess "no, not a chance"... but the way he was running around like a mad man and making noise all day yesterday, you had to think he knew that something was special about June 24.

As for milestones, at 12 months old Justin Alexander...

• sprouted 2 teeth about 3 weeks ago; and he was sure to show them off in his birthday photos.
• went cold turkey on his baby bottles and became a full-fledged sippy cup man somewhere between 10 and 11 months (I forgot to mention this one during the last update).
• still sleeps a steady 11 to 12 hours a night with his bedtime anywhere between 7:45 and 8:45... but his daytime naps remain a little more sporadic and seem to be shrinking in length and number (I'd say two a day for a total of about 2 1/2 hours may be the norm).
• has abandoned his wobbly walking days, and he's now trying to sprint back and forth from point A to B... a necessary rite of passage, but certainly scary to watch at times.
• is 29.5 inches tall, and apparently has his parents' metabolism as he has yet to break past that 20-pound barrier. In fact, he possibly took a step backwards as his doctor put his official birthday weight at 19 pounds yesterday (yes.. we took him to get 3 shots and a finger prick on his birthday yesterday... what awful parents). That puts him in the single-digit percentiles in weight... but a quick reminder of who his parents are confirms the doctor's lack of concern. In fact, if you think about it his weight should be no surprise at all since V doesn't look like she broke the 30 pound mark until she was 3 years old and I didn't top 30 pounds until I was in the 10th grade or something like that. Simply put, I guess skinny kids produce skinny kids.
• is split about fifty-fifty these days between his table food and baby food, but he is becoming more lopsided toward the table food side everyday. Last night he had sloppy joes and french fries for dinner... but hey it was his birthday. We'll make sure he gets his fair share of broccoli today.
• And last but not least, he doesn't know how to point. This is more so an inside joke between me and V, but I had to include it here for the sake of remembrance. It was something the doctor talked about yesterday that we're apparently supposed to be working on when we read to him (wait... we're supposed to be reading to him?). So alas, as always, there's work to be done.
  
  

Anyway... Happy Birthday Justin Alexander!

Temp Gallery

As promised I finally got around to posting a few photos from our recent camping trip to Shenandoah National Park. You can click here to view photos from the trip. The gallery is still incomplete, lacking captions and missing a number of photos from our 4-day excursion to the hills... but I trust that you can use your imagination to fill in the blanks for now.

Of course I should mention that Justin Alexander turns one year old today... but more on that later. For now it's off to work. Enjoy.

Shenandoah II

Return From The Wilderness
We're back! or maybe I should say, we survived!... We endured some brutal nighttime temperatures, thunderstorms, lightning, and even a flash hailstorm... but somehow we still came out with a good time and some great memories. Both of my tent rookies were stellar in their camping debuts and are looking forward to our next opportunity to storm the outdoors. Justin is still having withdrawal symptoms, trying to figure out why there's no campfire every night before bedtime. But other than that, we're no worse for wear and already back into the swing of our everyday routines. 


As for photos, check back here in a few days. We got back Wednesday night, but have been busy ever since. I teach a 2-week summer program that I'm fervently preparing for, and V is steadily preparing for Justin's first birthday party and the onslaught of family and friends we're expecting... so nothing has been posted in the photo archives yet. But stay tuned. I promise it'll be up sooner than later.

On The Road Again

This first time Father's Day celebrator couldn't think of a better way to spend the holiday than by trekking through the woods with a pretty woman on my side and a baby on my back... so we're off to the mountains yet again to commemorate the occasion. This time it'll be our first family camping trip; tents, firewood and the whole nine yards. 

See you in a few days. And happy Father's Day to all.

Water Sport

With the heat index soaring into the 100's this week, the only cool place to be was submerged in water somewhere. To that end, Justin and I ventured to the Norfolk Botanical Garden twice for some fountain fun, and the 3 of us also made it to the Bayside Recreation Center for a few laps in the pool. Truth be told, Justin was more intrigued by the other kids at the fountain area than by the water, but he did manage to get wet despite his penchant for running away from the water. As you can tell from the last picture below, he did get a bit overwhelmed once the number of fountain jets increased... But don't worry... he was a really good sport about it. Over dinner I grabbed a video camera and he recapped the entire day for us. You have to listen really closely, but he tells a good story about how the water got in his eyes, how high the water shot up, etc. And he even pokes fun at himself and gives a reenactment of how he started crying when he got trapped in the fountain. Funny kid. I've got no clue where he gets his sense of humor.

Never A Break

"They always call me when I'm shopping."

Milestones Pt. XIV: Ridges

During his bath this morning, I ran my finger across his gums just for sport. And out of shock I almost fell into the bathtub with him when I realized that his silky smooth gum line was smooth no more. Surprise, surprise... It took all of 11 months, 1 week and 6 days... but I guess Justin Alexander will have teeth by his birthday barbecue after all.

Somebody pass the ribs.