One Year Old!

Hard to believe that this little guy...

Is now this BIG guy...

Nathan turned one on Tuesday. I had planned to write something unique and poetic and amazing to document this milestone and all that it symbolized... But I just couldn't find the right words to express my thoughts and feelings. So instead, we'll focus on the fun details :)

We had a party last Saturday with several friends, neighbors, and a handful of family (January weather + barely 3 weeks post-holidays = not ideal travel time for extended family living elsewhere). There were a few last minute flu-related cancellations and it snowed heavily for a good portion of the day, so I was a bit worried about attendance. Nevertheless, there was still a decent turnout and Nathan received many gifts.

We did a "Flash" themed party with red and yellow accents for colors ("Flash" is what we called him in utero). For food, we made 5 different kinds of monkey bread (sweet, savory, and traditional versions) and had veggies and pretzels with dip on the side. There were also 3 cakes (the cake drama is worth a post of its own...): a red "Flash" cake that I ordered from a bakery, a Noah's Ark cake that my MIL made, and an ABC-themed smash cake (also from the bakery) that Nathan destroyed.

On Sunday we hosted the coffee hour after church in honor of Nathan's birthday. I took leftover Noah's Ark cake from the party and also made a sheet cake that Paul helped me "decorate". The church sang "Happy Birthday" to him and he got lots of hugs and attention. Then, on his actual birthday, it was just us and my mom (who had flown in for the festivities). I had saved a piece of the sheet cake from church which we adorned with a candle while we sang before letting him tear it up.

All in all, it was (I think) a great first birthday for the little man. I will try to post some more pictures later. For now, I'm going to sip my coffee and enjoy these last few minutes that he is still sleeping... :)

A Few Pictures to Share

Wednesday I had my third and final visit as a subject on a research study.  This visit included another ultrasound, this time in 3D.  It was really amazing!  The only bummer was that Paul wasn't able to get out of work to come to it.  He would have loved it.

Anyway, just wanted to share some of the pictures.  Flash was really "putting on a show" as the technician said, moving all over and waving arms and legs, etc.  So as a result, we ended up with some pretty funny shots...

 

 Flash says "Peace out dudes!"

 Yes, that would be a foot up by his/her face... future gymnast/contortionist?

It almost looks like Flash is flipping us the bird here... 

Paul says he/she is just practicing with the driving finger.

Mid yawn (or maybe scream).

There were other pictures, but those were some of my favorites.  The whole 3D ultrasound experience was very cool.  And of course, it was great to see Flash again.  He or she now weighs 1 lb 14 oz, according to the technician, and is very active.  Heart rate was still pretty solid in the 140s.  My MIL thinks he/she has my husband's lips, especially the fuller bottom lip.  My mom thinks he/she has my nose.  The one thing everyone seemed to agree on, based on these photos, is that Flash is a boy.  No, we don't have actual confirmation of that and the tech was very careful to avoid any accidental exposure of anything.  But everyone was getting a pretty strong "boy" vibe off these shots.  We will wait and see!

That's really all I am going to post at this point.  I said in my last post that I was having a crummy week, and well...  Let's just say it went from crummy to awful to are-you-f-ing-kidding-me by yesterday evening.  I'm not up to hashing out the details on here yet, but maybe later.  For now, I'm just going to enjoy looking at these pictures :)