ONE year?!

Blake turned ONE year old on January 8th. ONE year! Where did the time go?

As I sit here and try to think of something witty or elegnat to write, all I can think of is

the bitter sweetness of my little baby turning into a toddler, a little boy. The things he does now, fights off his sisters, loves hammers and anything with wheels, can devour any food you put in front of him faster then you can give it to him, is trying his darndest to walk, climbs...climbs like his sisters never even attempted, crawls faster then I can walk at times, head butts with his daddy, gives the sweetest little kisses, hates getting his diaper changed and can make a mess in less then a minute.

The more the time flies by, the more babytraits are replaced by boy traits. I am watching a little boy form right before my eyes. I never imagined how different my little boy could be from my little girls. After we had Ally, I was shocked how two sisters from the same parents could be so very different. And surprisingly I have been shocked again by the vast difference my little boy has shown me thus far.

Blake found a strong love for Cake, pizza, strawberry flavored milk, hamburgers, french toast and anything else that his sisters eat! We have been feeding him anything and everything we eat the last couple weeks and he is loving it. I never would have dreamed of feeding some of those things to the girls this soon. But my little man spits out any baby or baby grauate food you try to give him, taking 'real' table food any day.

We threw him a huge birthday bash...two of them actually. One a couple days before his birthday for family and another a few ays after for all our friends and extended family. He had a blast playing with balloons, opening presents, eating cake and getting more attention then he knew how to handle. Thank you all who were part of those celebrations, it means a lot to us!

Family and Birthday

My mother's birthday was yesterday(September 8th) The kids and I went over to my parents house and made them a spaghetti dinner and cake to celebrate.
Then tonight, the kids, joe and I met my sister, brother and Addison at my parents house for a surprise 'party' for my mom. We had another cake, the girls decorated it, drinks and ice cream for all. I think we really surprised her and she enjoyed having us all together for her. =]

In May for Dad's birthday we did a similar thing. We went to Chester Frost Park and got a pavalion. Every day when dad got off work he would go visit my brother who was a ranger there(he is a cop with Red Bank now). Well, that day when he went to talk Mom had decorated the pavilion, grilled hot dogs and had a cake with much much more to surprise him. He was so not expecting that! =]

We love family get togethers. It allows us to spend that time together that we rarely get to spend together due to hectic lives. I wish Joe's family was closer to us so that we could do the same with them. But at least occasional visits take place to make up for it.

I ask Katie and Ally every night what their favorite part of the day was and they always say spending time with their family, or a certain activity they did with family that day or spending time with a certain family member that day. I am so glad that at such a young age they realize the importance of family.