One Year Wonder

Here is the requisite reminiscing paragraph: one year ago today, I was lying in a hospital bed, physically and mentally exhausted after over a day and a half of labor and subsequent delivery chaos.  Still trying to compute the fact that I was no longer pregnant and instead, officially, a mom.  And holding this amazing, gorgeous, bald little blue-eyed bundle of joy that we decided to call Keyven.

Fast forward one year.  Oh my, what a year it has been.

I don’t know what I would have done without this sweet, adorable kid to keep me focused and sane in the midst of this year.  His smile & laugh brighten the worst of days.  His cry makes me realize that what is important in his world suddenly becomes important in mine.  I would even venture to say that he has helped me figure out what my priorities are for our family and for life in general.  Life-changing, indeed.

For a while I wasn’t sure what I would do about his birthday.  I have decidedly not done well with major holidays/events during Tim’s absence.  The thought of Tim missing the fun of Keyven’s first cake made me sad.  So I decided we’d celebrate here, just without the cake.  That’ll be done when Tim is back, probably a co-birthday of sorts on my *gulp* upcoming big 3-0.  I wanted to keep things around the actual date pretty low-key.  What we ended up with were a few days of mini-celebrations.  I think Keyven made out pretty well.

Sunday, we had Uncle Matt, Aunt Angie, and Aunt Victoria over for dinner & presents.  Nana made a yummy roast with potatoes and carrots.  Keyven insisted on feeding himself like a big boy.  He has started grabbing spoons and wanting to do it.  Until he gets really hungry and either uses his hands or lets mommy do it again.

Presents were fun.   It has taken him a couple of days to realize that the things IN the boxes are actually more fun than the paper that they were wrapped in.  I’m not one to buy fifty-million toys or something new every time I go to the store, but he was needing some new things to distract him from the fact that I baby-proofed the kitchen.  Nana & Pops got him some really good ones… a “Farmer in the Dell” See ‘n’ Say (I think everyone from my generation had one of those growing up!) and a neat music center with a keyboard and lights and a drum and a little microphone, among others.   For dessert, we had some yummy banana-split dessert, which Keyven approved of and highly recommends if you haven’t tried it.  He also got some much-needed new pajamas.  When I pulled them out, I thought surely they would be WAY too big for a while.  At bedtime we decided to try them on… and they fit!  Perfectly! They were size 18 months!

Today, on his official b-day, we woke up to an e-mail from Tim-daddy with a special recorded birthday message and song for Keyven.  It was sweet.  We also got a phone call from Tim-daddy during which “we” put Keyven down for a nap while I talked to Tim for almost two hours.  Those are the best.  🙂  After nap & lunch, we made a trip to the park with Aunt Victoria… in his forward-facing carseat!  Wow, what a difference that makes.  He really loves being able to see up to the front now.

For birthday dinner, Keyven decided he wanted to go to his favorite Mexican restaurant, El Pueblito.  He told me so himself.  All the staff there know our family and come by to say hi to him whenever we’re there.  The manager, Fabian, often carries Keyven to our table and he has a little thing where he comes over and says, “Tope, tope!” and Keyven touches foreheads with him.  I knew that they would come out and sing him happy birthday with a sombrero and bring a big bowl of fried ice cream covered in whipped cream.

What I didn’t know is that approximately two minutes before they did this, Keyven would decide it was prime time to swallow most of a cracker when I wasn’t looking and start to choke on it.  And that I would try sweeping his mouth, scraping him and making him bleed, and then beat the heck out of his back while everyone else freaked out until finally the bloody cracker piece came flying out of his mouth and he dissolved in to sobbing, terrified tears in my arms.  Enter loud, singing Mexicans with maracas and a tambourine!  Keyven had barely recovered from his meltdown when all this happened and when they put the hat on my head, I guess that was a little too much to ask.  Cue Meltdown #2, during a rousing Latin American rendition of “Happy Birthday to You.”  So, if he grows up with an aversion to sombreros, I’ll know why.

He cheered right up when he saw the fried ice cream.  Grabbed a spoon, in fact, and dug right in.  It was so funny to watch.  The fried ice cream itself is shrouded in a thick layer of fresh whipped cream and topped with some sprinkles and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.  We got a couple of clips of the culinary destruction on my camera for your viewing pleasure.  And, for the record, this is not standard fare for Keyven.  He came home, played like a madman for two hours with all toys, new and old, and then crashed.  Literally.  He just stopped, mid-play, and laid down flat-out on the floor.  He never does that.  So, off to bed he went, hardly knowing that he was closing the chapter on a monumental first year of life.

Happy birthday, bug.  I hope one day you are reading all about our adventures and it helps you understand why I tell you I love you so much, and why I kiss you even when you don’t want me to, and why I squeeze you extra tight when you hug me.   You are my sunshine.

Photos, Top to Bottom & Left to Right: My piece of stillness when the world is spinning too fast; The spoon is just for looks; Starting him out in construction early — next summer he’ll be helping mommy with a house; Oh boy! Presents!; Showing Aunt Victoria his favorite book, en route to the park; Suddenly, this whole spoon thing makes sense.