that curious monkey

not george, but davis. he is attempting to climb on everything: sofas, chairs, step ladders, plastic storage crates, you name it.

last weekend we painted one of the bathrooms. and as curious and helpful as ever, davis wanted to lend a hand and a couple of legs. after joining forces to switch back and forth with either taping the bathroom, painting and watching davis - zach and i finally got the bathroom done. well, mainly zach got the bathroom painted. a one year old does come in handy when it's time to pick up all the tape thrown on the floor after unveiling zach's masterpiece.

davis isn't walking yet. but he's a pro at navigating the walker all through the house and working on the one-handed teeter. he loves to sit in his chair, but of course, not in the conventional manner. instead, he climbs aboard sits on the top edge of the chair and puts his feet in the seat of the chair. making sure our nerves are in check every so often. more often than so.

have a great 4th of july! we're hoping rio is over his firework phobia this year. or for no neighborhood fireworks at all.

the sticky situation

the emperor's new clothes

new photos have been added to davis' birthday collection in the photo gallery courtesy of our good friend, maria. be sure to check them out.

as you have seen davis had a great time with his first birthday (cup)cake - eating, wearing and inhaling it. literally. a few lucky guests can confirm the 1/4 cup of icing snot running out of his nose and across his cheek about 20 minutes after the big feast. mmm...lovely.

we are still trying to catch up on sleep and sanity after last weekend. no one told us that with a child's first birthday comes the first attitude(s) too. on sunday, zach and i attributed the fact davis didn't want to take a nap to being spoiled on his big day the day before. but each day brings a new attitude. monday, he doesn't want to eat his vegetables - only string cheese. tuesday, he will only drink out of a bottle. wednesday, he will only drink out of a sippy cup. thursday, we're backing to the string cheese thing again. i can only wait to see what this weekend brings. a nice long nap would be the best gift ever.

speaking of gifts, davis received way too many sensory-overloaded toys for his birthday. and if you are reading this, its probable that you are partly at fault. but he loves every single one of them. even if he makes up his own rules of how the toy is supposed to work and be played with. the ball popper works better when there are either no balls in it to "pop" or if his hand is covering up the pipe so the balls can't pop up. the chair is not meant to be sat in but stood on. the baseball is not meant to but hit with a bat, but only with the hand. and everything is a walker these days. from chairs to laundry baskets to ottomans, boxes and even dog bowls. and the dogs' only purpose for davis is to lay in the way of his "walker contraption" so that he can bump them again and again and again. they're pretty good sports for about two minutes or so. then they try to avoid whichever room he is in.

another surprise box found its way to our door today. the contents did not contain any flashing lights, moving parts, colorful buttons to play songs or anything that requires batteries for that matter. but it was a box of will and alex gee's outgrown clothes. i love having friends that had kids before me and zach. it also helps that the gees are in the process of moving so stephanie keeps a box with our name on it as she is packing up all of their things and just drops it in the mail. davis is so well dressed and the price tag is just perfect. what is even better is that they just added baby lauren to their family in march, so in a few months we'll receive a box overstuffed with pink things. recycling - its a good thing.

it's getting late so i should try to catch up on some good sleep tonight so i can be ready for whatever davis has in store for us this weekend. bon nuit.

and yet another first.....

birthday that is!!! click on "photo gallery" on the menu to the right to peek at many, many other photos from Davis' Big Day.

they say a photo is worth a thousand words, so in that gallery you will find my future posts for a very long time. ha ha! sorry i've been a slacker during the month of may.

a few firsts

so many davis "firsts" have occurred these past weeks:

- his first journey across the house on his hands and knees...there's no stopping him now
- his first fall from grace (and busted lip). not a pretty sight, but we're all better now
- his first merlefest (and alison krauss performance!!) although, i was very sad that gillian welch was a no-show at this year's festival.
- his first time to pull up in his crib... you can imagine a parent's look of surprise upon entering the room and seeing their quiet child standing on his own.
- make that his second time pulling up on his own. i guess he's curious to see what i am writing about him.
- his first toss of a tennis ball. he is now rio's new hero.
- his first tantrum. and it happened in a toys r us of all places.
- his first all solid food diet. no more of that mushy baby stuff! however, opening a jar was much easier and quicker than cooking and chopping up all of his food.
- his first little sister. it's a girl! he's so excited that i caught him playing with my heels today. at least i'm hoping that his fascination with my shoes is more about the thought of a baby sister than the shoes themselves.

it amazes us how much he changes everyday. all of these 'firsts' are now regular activities that he is perfecting everyday. well, davis is now bored with pulling all of the papers and stuff off the shelf next to me. we'll have to continue another day.

do they get much cuter than this?

. . . . thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you! for giving us this precious child.

lowcountry boy

davis made his first visit to charleston. he loved it so much that he didn't want to miss a wink. literally. he refused to lean back in his stroller for a much need nap on one of our strolls through the historic district. so instead, the stubborn child falls asleep slumped over on his arm and the side of the stroller. these pictures were taken at white point gardens (the battery) before that most comfy nap in the stroller.

charleston proved to be a very infant-friendly town. stroller-friendly? not so much. the oak roots and slate sidewalks gave davis' ride a good workout. i was a little worried that one of my favorite lunch spots was going to be a too small for us to go in. fast and french is about as wide as four arm lengths and there are five different counters that seat, um..., probably 30 to 35 people in the entire place. please imagine our problem as we were envisioning on where we were going to put away a stroller in this 13 foot wide cafe. but alas! as we were approaching the door another couple came out with a stroller and child too! there was hope. as we entered, the owner asked us "how many in your party? is a booster seat okay? alright, you sit there (pointing 3 ft away) and put bebe in the middle, okay?" yes! it was more than okay! jean marie mauclet was the hero of the day! now, the next problem arose. was i to have gazpacho and salad, or gazpacho and french cheese? lunch was wonderful. and even davis enjoyed goat cheese and olive paste toast, parts of a baguette, zach's honeydew and the littlest portion of gazpacho i was willing to share.

we enjoyed several play dates with friends. davis, molly and kate played so well together at mary's, and we couldnt' believe all three were on the same schedule. molly and kate were also very gracious to allow davis to swing the entire time on their new swing set while they took turns in the other seat. then on saturday night, we headed over to matt & barb's with the rest of the crew. it was quite a change in scenery. we had been used to going out with these seven couples after work and on the weekends seven years ago when zach & i first started dating. now here we were having an impromptu reunion with an additional eight pairs of legs and arms on hand. the kids almost had us outnumbered, but we finally figured the parents had it by 11:8. however, that only left 3 of us with free hands to help resolve any problems or search for wandering toddlers. matt & barb, you are the hosts of the year! how wonderful it was for you to have us big kids and 8 little kids (all under age 4) over to your beautiful home to wreck havoc and scatter toys, pizza crusts, cheerios and cookie crumbs ALL over the place. hannah was also the hostess with mostest to invite all to spend the night and wear extra pajamas.

a few more quick visits with janet, jessica, to king st., john's island, marion square, mount pleasant and the college of charleston rounded out our visit. we resisted packing up the car and heading home, but davis found a second wind as we did get back home. his face seemed to say, "hey! i know this place...this is my house. let's play with my stuff now, okay?"

davis' first easter (and basket)

what's this all about?

i think i'll like easter after all.