A sunny, family day!

We had a very nice and SUNNY day together as a family yesterday! The sun can do so much to lift your spirits, can't it? We miss it here sometimes!!! With the holidays and Dan working so much lately, it has been hard for us to have some good family time, just the three of us. So this last Sunday, with the sun shining and the temperature reaching all the way up to a balmy 50 degrees, we decided to make an overdue trip to the new Olympic Sculpture Park on the Seattle Waterfront. It is a really nicely put together park, and a fantastic way for us to introduce Quincy to the fine arts at a price we can afford.... FREE! Quin loved walking on the gravel, until the 2nd or 3rd stumble, then he refused to budge. There were lots of other children there, and he is fascinated by them. He just watches their every move, and yells his baby jibberish so matter-o-factly, as if to say "Hey Guys! Over here... I want to play, too!" Dan and I are in constant awe of him and he provides us endless entertainment. I recently read a magazine article written that summed up this last year perfectly. As Quincy is busy discovering all the things this world has to offer, we are busy as parents discovering all the things he has for us. He is new to this planet, and we are new to him. To the parents of multiple children, we are probably absurd to see as we fuss over him, everyday he learns something new and we treat it as though he has discovered the solution to world hunger. He is a genius (of course!) I watch him like a hawk, nervous in my recognition that he is already learning independence. We gloat to anyone who will listen about how he just yesterday pointed at his bottles and said "baba" telling us what he wanted (thankfully ending a bit of a fit he was having), how he is so silly and tries to make us laugh by doing things like trying to "feed" mommy his bottle, how well he walks after such a short time... enjoying a game of "chase", and how the pediatrician confirmed at his 12 month check up that he is a genius. Ok... so maybe not exactly , but he did say he is very developed in his verbal skills, especially for a boy, saying "ball" "dog" and "uh-oh". We are so lucky and so happy with him, even on the hard days. I have felt all kinds of love. Love for my parents, siblings, friends, boyfriend, husband. But NOTHING is like the love I have for my baby. It is amazing. It is cliche. It is true.

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Quincy!!!

As we start the new year, I am amazed that I now officially have a toddler! We had a good New Years, just spending some time with friends. I know my life is changed forever as a parent, by looking at how we spend New Years. We actually were in bed mostly asleep at midnight. Mostly because the power was out when we got home at 11:00, but also because we were just TIRED! Now come the New Years resolutions! For me, I just want to work on dropping this extra baby weight I am still holding onto!

My mom came to visit and be here for Quincy's first birthday. It has been nice, of course. Having an extra pair of hands is ALWAYS nice as Quincy continued to wear us out running around all day long! Today we the big day, and we officially have a one year old. Its hard to keep from getting emotional when I think about how far we have come in the last year. I was so afraid a year ago about what motherhood would be like, and how capable I would be. I felt not at all ready for it, yet I suprised myself and motherhood came pretty natural. Fatherhood was natural to Dan as well, and I remember just falling in love with him all over again as I saw him tenderly hold and love our newborn child. As for our first birthday celebration...We had a fun party, with all kinds of friends and family here to help us celebrate. Quincy gobbled up his birthday cake in less than a minute. The boy loves sweets just like his mommy! He kept up pretty well, only get overwhelmed and crabby a few times during the party... afterwords is another story! So much action makes for a weary and fussy boy! It was so much fun, and so special to have everyone here.