Happy 1st Birthday, Andrew!

My little boy is 1 year old!  I know it's cliche to say, but time really does fly!

His birthday was really fun - we had a Puppy Party for him, since he absolutely loves dogs.  I tried to get everything done the night before, so that we could really enjoy his birthDAY.  For lunch we got Chick-Fil-A and played at a playground/splash pad.  Then I took the kids to a store that sells puppies, and you can ask to hold and play with them in some rooms they have in the back.  It's really cute and Andrew loved chasing and playing with the little puppies.  And no, we're not buying a real puppy - we're not ready for that yet.

For his puppy party, we invited the Johnson's and Perkinson's over for a low key dinner party.  I am so grateful for them - I was feeling sad that we weren't near family to celebrate Andrew's birthday, and I can always count on them to be my Mesa family.

Of course he loved his cake.  Let's just say this is not his first taste of sugar - he loves popsicles/otter pops, suckers, ice cream and any/all desserts.  I found that I became much more lax with my second child, clearly!  Rachel had not touched any sugar before her first birthday, it just makes me laugh.

The party went off without a hitch, until an unnamed, unsupervised 3 year old made a bad choice that resulted in an early bedtime for her. :)  But all in all, it was a huge success and a really fun night.  

For his birthday he got two cool Hess light-up trucks, some new books, a stuffed puppy, other random toys and a couple new outfits.

Andrew is such a SWEETHEART and his teethy grin just melts my heart!  Here are some more tidbits about Andrew at 12 months:
- 27 lbs & 33 inches tall - he's a big boy for his age, but he is a softy
- He loves his blankie and he chews on it and is always sure to tuck it under his head (like a pillow) when he sleeps; he also sleeps with a stuffed monkey and puppy, which he loves
- Still takes two naps (most days), and is a good sleeper - we try to get him in bed by 7p because he has an internal alarm clock (like his daddy) that is set to around 6:55am, no matter what time he goes to bed
- For his birthday, he got all four molars in, so now he has 16 teeth - watch out!  (very fitting for his Halloween costume, he's going to be a dinosaur)
- For the last few weeks, he's carried around a small, green nerf ball that's the size of his hand - and he doesn't just carry it around sometimes, it's ALL the time and if he drops it he lets me know - it's incredible that he hasn't lost it somewhere
- The boy is a fantastic eater - the only thing I'd say he doesn't love is breads, his favorite healthy food is fruit
- Favorites:  I know it's silly but I think his favorite color is green - he loves playing with (and trying to eat) crayons and he always picks out the green ones; also his green nerf ball, any type of food, swinging, "jumping" on the tramp, puppies, airplanes and his big sister, Rachel
- He loves his daddy and does such a good job greeting him at the door each night, but if I'd have to choose, I'd say he's a momma's boy - sometimes when I leave for YW, he's ornery and cries until he goes to bed because he's sad I'm gone
- He wants to be outside all.the.time. - he just points or goes and stands by the back door
- Words / Animal Sounds:  mama, dada, up, dog, more, uh oh, fishy sound, elephant sound, sometimes dog sound