z's first pumpkin patch

the day after z's birthday was a very busy one!

for whatever reason, z woke up at 5am. mommy was on duty again because daddy was sick with the cold mommy caught from her students & gave to both him & z. we had a bunch of showings that day, along with an open house, so we had to have everything perfectly picked up and clean after z's party. mommy did a lot of it the previous night, but some things she was just too tired to do then. she moved the cars out of the garage, while z was in his crib, and then brought out one of his new birthday toys to play with while mommy vacuumed & swept the garage. fun times. we had to be out of the house early - the first showing was at 9am, so we went to g'ma & g'pa tigard's house early, after picking up some caffeine for mommy & daddy, so that z could take his first 9am nap there. once z woke up, we drove to g'ma & g'pa canby's house & fed him some lunch. neither set of grandparents was home! after that, we headed over to a local pumpkin patch. after that, mommy & daddy got some lunch at the canby burgerville, before driving home, while z fell asleep in the car. we got home, only to find out that we needed to get out of the house again so a couple could see the house AGAIN at 6pm. while mommy straightened up the house, z & daddy headed out to a playground, and mommy picked them up to get some dinner at the mcmenamins pub. we finally got to go back home after that - yay! what a long long day!

z & daddy in front of the farm store.

z is practicing his walking skills.

z & daddy on the pumpkin train.

the front of the pumpkin train.

yay! this train thing is so much fun!

our conductor on the train...

wohoo! this thing is fast!

scary stage coach...

DEAD END!!!!

on the way to the pumpkin patch, we stopped to look at the animals. z wasn't so interested... he kept wanting to touch yucky stuff on the ground, which made mommy nervous. z & rabbits.

z and a goat.

z did express interest in the chickens & ran after the poor things...

z & mommy & lots of pumpkins

i love this pumpkin patch!

i'm tired of this pumpkin patch!

maybe it's not so bad...

daddy - let me down! i want to climb the haystack pyramid by myself!!!

posing...

ooohh.. this hay stuff feels really interesting!

mommy and the pumpkins...

here's a video of z riding the train. he loved it!

z's 1st birthday

on saturday oct 10, we celebrated z's very first birthday. yahoo! we've made it a whole year!!! mommy & daddy were there with z, along with g'ma & g'pa canby, g'ma & g'pa tigard, and aunt m & uncle j.

z's birthday cake. made by mommy. it was a pumpkin spice cake, for our little pumpkin!

here's a pic of the whole table.

here's z with all of his gifts & loving guests...

here's z & daddy, with aunt m in the background. z is not quite sure what to make of the birthday hat.

first taste of cake.

mmmmm!!!!

the onlookers...

and more onlookers...

all in all, he did a great job of eating. especially the ice cream, considering he had no utensils and had to pick it up with his fingers. everyone kept waiting for it to get messy, but it never really did. and thanks to g'ma tigard, who gave him lots of extra frosting, which perhaps was the reason he woke up at 5am the next morning. thanks.

z & g'ma canby

z pulling uncle j's nose. see? kids are so much fun!!!

thanks so much, everyone, for helping us celebrate our pumpkin's first birthday. we love you lots! you made it really special.

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY ZANE!!!

today is z's very first birthday. yay! we've survived a whole year, and the baby is still alive. here are some pics from his very first day in the real world...

fresh out of mommy!

taking a nap with daddy. he never ever slept with us again. don't know why. it's sad. he just doesn't like sleeping with people.

truly a tank. that's our mothra!

the whole family. his lips are so red in this picture!

mommyhood eve

this is what i looked like this time exactly one year ago. the day before my baby was born. i experienced all sorts of emotions that day. lots of excitement, but lots of fear. on one hand, it was relieving to know exactly when i was going to become a mommy - no water breaking out in public, no going into labor at an inopportune time, no long drawn out labor - a quick under-an-hour procedure. however, it was also stressful - how much would a c-section hurt? what would the recovery be like? would the incision break open later? would i be able to manage lying on my back for the whole operation (when i was unable to lie on my back pregnant for more than 4 seconds)? would i throw up & choke during the procedure? what if z turned out to be 7 pounds, making the whole operation unnecessary? would the spinal block go smoothly? would i bleed to death?

how could i possibly make the most of the Last Free Day Of My Life? i spent some time crying, mourning the end of my single life, releasing my fears of the procedure & becoming a mommy. i saw a movie (really bad) by myself, to keep myself distracted. i spent time imagining what it would be like to hold my son, to nurse him, to hear his cries.... it seemed so bizarre that one minute i was just a pregnant woman, and 40 min later i'd be a mother. boom- just like that, a mommy! that night i had a lot of anger that i was the one who had to get pregnant & go through with the c-section. why couldn't j do that? why me? why did my body have to get wrecked from expanding so far (really really far in z's case), getting a nice red scar & wrinkled skin where my flat belly used to be, while his gets to remain exactly the same? some women really love being pregnant, love feeling the baby kick, love the full baby belly feeling. that wasn't me. baby growing really really hurt. i liked the concept, but in reality, it was super painful. i've let go of most of that anger. z is such a special little person, and we love him so much! i'm so happy and fortunate to be able to experience parenthood.

eating apple slices.

this stage that z is in is so funny. if i'm eating & he isn't, he wants to eat what i'm eating. he just had to help me eat my bagel this morning, and just had to help me finish eating the apple left from his lunch this afternoon. we went walking to the mailbox, and he had to stop & pick every dandelion he saw (which meant i had to carry him most of the way). everything he picks up off the ground he wants to put in his mouth. he likes grilled zucchini & red pepper, and i don't need to cut it up anymore. he definitely has all four molars poking through, so he puts them to work (sometimes on mama's finger!). he can eat apple slices...

pre-nap weardown

fun in the bathroom

the things we find in the bathroom drawers...

sick.

both z & i are sick. i've been fighting something since last monday, and he just got it. yucky, fierce cold. no fun. j is playing with z while i rest on the sofa, so i thought i'd take the free moment to blog. last weekend we left z with grandma & grandpa tigard, while we flew across the country for a wedding. j's friend from college got married outside of washington d.c. we were lucky to get a straight flight, but the 5+ hours of travel both ways didn't allow for much more than a few extra hours of sleep each night & the wedding itself. we did get to have a nice dinner friday night which was most enjoyable. we really missed the little guy. our realtor was busy showing the house to three different parties, none of which have made an offer. time is running out. lots of people pick up flyers, but that's about it.

our little guy is almost one year old! this time last year, i was having to go to lots of appointments - fetal monitoring, ultrasound, acupuncture... eating no carbs, getting larger & larger each day. wondering about so many things... what would his birth be like? would he be colicky? would i be able to breast feed? would i be able to handle the lack of sleep? i was so worried about so many things. i was excited, too, but i have to admit i was more full of anxiety than joy. it's almost a year later now, and we're all three still alive. it's been a year of wonderful things, not so easy times, but all in all, the positives have definitely outweighed the negatives. z is such a beautiful, happy being. we're honored to have the opportunity to raise him.

some stats... he's still really big. last time i checked, i felt 3 molars coming through. he takes steps by himself every now & then, but not consistently enough to say he's "walking." now he sometimes says "mamama" on command, but isn't quite yet calling either of us mama or dada. he sometimes can wave, but isn't doing any signing yet. for the first time, i didn't finely dice his veggies in the cuisinart, and i think he's doing fine with the chewing.

we're going to have a very low key birthday celebration next saturday. just the grandparents, us, and perhaps aunt m & uncle j (unless the bendites surprise us...???). i feel like j & i deserve a night of partying for surviving the first year, but i fear we'll still be sicky poo next weekend. that, and we did just get a weekend away, which is more than lots of parents get, so i guess we've already celebrated. woohoo! (although we do still have 6 days left to mess things up...)