My sweet little handsome-pants is officially one today, but we have been celebrating pretty much all weekend. It started off with a trip to Dog Beach, so that all of the kiddos could run around and play in the sand for a bit. It was the first time Rome got to play at the beach, and he absolutely loved it. He could not get enough of squishing the sand between his toes and fingers, and even though the water was a little cold, he just kept sitting down in the low tide to play. It was a lot of fun watching him play. When we got home, we were surprised with a little package, so Romey opened his gifts from Auntie Ra and Uncle Erik on Friday (thanks guys!!), then we (Marc, Rome, Peggy, Bill, Kyle, and I) headed to the WAP on Saturday. We saw some animals, ate some junk food, and then Roman had a melt down because he was tired, so we decided to go home and let him rest for a bit. Then Rome opened his gift from me and Marc, and that was followed by some super yummy Mexican food... followed by some crying from Rome because the Mariachi Band was just a wee bit too loud for him. Then we came home and gave Roman his first ever cupcake. Since Erica's kids have been scarred for life seeing one of Jana's kids (Benji or Packer?) grab the candle on his birthday cake, we were extra cautious to be sure that Rome wasn't actually close enough to get a hold of that sucker. Today we (Peggy, Roman, and I) headed out to the park and had some Panera for lunch. I think it was a great way to spend a First Birthday.
And even though time has absolutely flown by, and sometimes it seems a bit crazy that he's already one, Roman definitely seems like a one year old; he's starting to have opinions and an attitude and is super-aware of everything around him, and he points to everything and asks "Dat?" ("that?") constantly, and it seems like all of this happened overnight; one day he'll just have a new trick, and it happens everyday. Just yesterday when he was supposed to be taking a nap, Marc saw that the light was on in his room, so he figured that I went in there to help Rome fall asleep, but then Marc realized that I was sitting with Peggy in the living-room, so he goes to the door and sees the light switch off and then back on; That's right, Roman has figured out how to turn on and off the light in his room, so we had to move the crib so that the switch was no longer within reach. It's little things like this that make me realize that he isn't a little baby anymore, and that I may not be prepared for him to be so smart. But I guess, ready or not, here a toddler comes.
Our big boy one year old Roman: doesn't need his Barnaby nearly as often, which is very sad for me; is trying to talk, but the only really clear words are "Mama" and "Dog"; will growl when you ask him what a lion or tiger says; will stick out his tongue when you ask him what a frog does; on a related note, sticks his tongue out all the time, when he's happy, when's he's concentrating, when he's dancing, whenever; will growl at pictures of lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc; is cruising all over the place and does laps around the coffee table everyday, but still hasn't been brave enough to take his first step alone; can pull himself up to standing; is just starting to figure out stacking; will open his picture-books and point and ask "dat" for all of the pictures... and all of the objects around him; is fascinated by cars; loves, loves, loves music and has recently started dancing, and it is hilarious... he's got some pretty sweet moves; wants to open every door and turn on every light; has six teeth (3 on top and 3 on the bottom); is now riding in his big boy car seat; can play toss; likes chasing after his battery-operated firetruck; wants to drum on everything; is getting really good at feeding himself with a spoon or fork; loves to look at the pictures in the house; still carries around his mini-pumpkin from the pumpkin patch (but I think it may be time to get rid of it); loves his yogurt bits and Cheerios; can give the best hugs ever.
Happy First Birthday Romey!! We love you bunches!