Anthony was just reminding me that at about this time one year ago I had finally given up the idea of a VBAC and told the doctor to take me to surgery. His words were more like, "Wow a year ago you were just about to get cut into!!"
Really, though, this was a great day for celebrating. I felt pretty nostalgic today as we celebrated Jack turning one. It's hard to imagine that only a year ago I was in Iowa City surrounded by flood waters, 4 days past my due date, with a move to North Carolina only a week away. I still can't believe I left my house there to go to the hospital and never saw it again. Crazy.
On to this cute boy...wow. If someone told me to make up a little boy I would never have come up with Jack. He is so cool. I'm sure years from now, that statement will read something like "he's so groovy", but for some reason that is one of the words that always comes to mind when I'm thinking about Jack. He's such a happy kid. He'll play by himself with the most random things forever. He loves to play chase with Addie and has the most contagious laugh. I'm lucky to often hear him laughing at Addie as we're out running errands in the car. It's so cute.
He's been cruising along furniture and walls for months. Then today he just crawled up to me, stood up, and took his first 3 steps over to the couch. That's just so Jack. About the time I think he's never going to do something, he just does it and catches right up. He ate only stage 2 babyfood for what seemed like forever. Then one day he decided to move on to goldfish, crackers, and pretzels. Just like that. So Jack.
His favorite things to play with right now: remote controls and car keys. I've invested good money in kid-safe, non-toxic, drool friendly versions of both. He wants nothing to do with any of them. Much to my dismay, Jack has no interest in movies. On occasion I might catch him looking up at the DVD player in the car, but that's just because he's strapped in and can't go anywhere. He can say mama, dada, nana (usually as a protest, not the actual name!) and he signs milk, more, and all done.
When we found out Jack would be joining our family, it was the most pleasant surprise - and that's just what he is. This past year has taught me to roll with the punches more than I would like, but when I start feeling like I can't be flexible any more I just look at Jack. He's Mr. Flexible and no doubt that's why he's so happy. Thanks for joining us Jack!
Oh, and as you can see I did not produce the cute sailboat cupcakes. I decided instead to take a swing at
NieNie's Mud Cake Magnifique from Conversations With a Cupcake. I figure if I'm stretching my culinary muscles, it might as well taste good. So, I had my first go at mud cake, mousse, and ganache all in one take. It went well. The only thing missing was about 10 other people to enjoy this insanely rich cake that we couldn't even put a dent in.
