Let's Celebrate!

It has been a BIG weekend in the Orr household!  On Friday David turned one.  We celebrated his birthday with a Duplo themed small play date with friends and a yummy grilled dinner with his Grandma, Papa, and GG Papa.  Our celebrations continued on Saturday with another grilled dinner and more company - his Grammie, Grandpa, and Uncle Robert joined us for the food and celebrations.  Dave designed and made a fabulous bright blue Duplo cake for Saturday night's celebration.  On Sunday we changed gears slightly and celebrated David's Baptism.  Carly was able to stand up at the front of the church in a dress matching David's outfit (thanks to their Grandma's wonderful sewing ability) and was the very proud.  She even held the skirt of her dress out while standing up front with David and our preacher.

Happy Birthday David Jr!

Dear David Jr,

It is hard to believe that a year ago from right now you had just finished getting your first bath while your Daddy and I packed up to move to a different room within the hospital.  Your birthday was quite the exciting day but it doesn't even seem to compare in the excitement you have brought our family during your first year with us.

Carly loves you to the moon and back (and then some more).  She loves to play with you, give you hugs and kisses regularly, and protect you from the world.  Everywhere we go she announces your allergies and will ask if you can eat any new food she encounters.

Your Dad and I just look at you in complete awe (especially when we see a newborn) and can't believe how much you have grown during your first 365 days.  You have gone from a happy, sleepy baby to a boy who can feed himself, speed crawls, recognizes the sounds of the dishwasher, baby gate, and laundry room door opening, asks to be picked up, and says "dada" as soon as your daddy comes home from work.  You no longer seem to be interested in baby food and have actually not consumed even 6 ounces total of pureed food in the past 7 days.  Unfortunately we are still working through your food allergies/intolerances, but hope to have more answers for you (and ourselves) on Thursday.

This past year has been a wonderful adventure, and I can't wait to see how you will continue to grow and develop during this next year!

Love,
Mommy

Swimming Lessons

Unfortunately at swimming lessons today Carly was not the model student.  Her lesson started off well; however, she a little too confident in her swimming abilities and not too interested in listening to her instructor.  While she was supposed to be sitting on the edge of the pool so another girl could have a turn swimming with the instructor Carly got up and walked to a different spot on the edge.  (She had done this earlier to work with the class's assistant, so I thought nothing of it.)  However, while both teachers were away from the edge of the pool with students Carly began to lower herself into the side of the pool by holding on to the edge.  As I glanced in her direction to give her the "mommy stare" she pushed herself off of the edge and swam about a yard and a half out into the water.  By this point I was at the edge of the pool and the instructor was within a foot of Carly's body.  She began to tread water for about a minute until she attempted to swim back to the edge.  At this point she began to sink down and was scooped up by the teacher.  There was a discussion with the teacher about how unsafe her choices had been before she was told her lesson for the day was over, a similar discussion on our ride home, and then again at bedtime with Dave.  I'm really hoping Monday will go smoother and that we haven't just frightened Carly away from the pool.

Still Allergic to Milk...

Well I knew this day would come, and yesterday it did.  David Jr, Carly, and I were at the park with some friends.  Carly was off playing and David was sitting on the ground with some other kids close to his age.  I glanced up to check on Carly and then looked back down at David.  I found a pile of goldfish crackers on the ground in front of him and his hand going for one.  I scooped him up, causing the cracker in his hand to drop to the ground and realized quickly he had one in his mouth.  With a quick scoop of my finger it was out of his mouth still intact, and slightly soggy.  Another mom had removed the crackers from the area and I began freaking out deep inside (not wanting anyone to know).  Carly had swimming in the afternoon so David would be in child watch, I had something at church so the kids were going to have a babysitter in the evening, and I really needed David Jr to take a nap when we got home so I could pick up the house some - all time that I couldn't helicopter over him and make sure he kept breathing, was getting a rash, etc.  Well David's lunch and nap time went fine,  and he woke up from nap with a nasty, blood speckled diaper.  Confirming that our little man is still allergic to milk.  I made mention of this episode to the girls at child watch and the kids' babysitter and neither reported back anything about his diaper, so I'm assuming he either didn't have a BM or it was comparable to what I had described.  He goes back for allergy testing a few days after his first birthday, but at the moment we know dairy will come back positive.

Chunky Monkey?

Our chunky monkey doesn't seem so chunky in this picture.  Today was the first time David showed off his little legs this season.  And as he motored by me I thought, "Where did those bird legs come from?"  David never seemed to develop the baby pudge in his legs like Carly and so many other babies do.  

Math

I have begun to talk more and more about David's up coming FIRST birthday party and it is making Carly quite excited.  There were some muffin/cupcake liners left out on the counter this morning from our breakfast muffins and Carly mentioned that she thought we would need more for David's birthday.  When asked why she thought this her response was "Because there will be what, 15 people here for cupcakes?" (A number I'm sure I've said at some point about the party, but do not know when exactly.)  My immediate response was, "How many do we have already?"  She then began counting the liners.  Once she was finished she looked at me and stated, "We have 10 mom, so we need 5 more." Talk about a quick snap of my mom/teacher head in her direction - I was not expecting to see my little 3 year old looking up after me after that statement.  But she was, and WOW!!