Happy FIRST Birthday Son!

Today was your big day and you celebrated in true Maverick form by being the life of the party all day long. It was like you knew today was different, you were happy from the moment you woke up and a true joy to be around all day long. We had a pretty low key day, which helped. We didn't have too much planned for the day and yesterday I actually panicked that we didn't have anything planned and started looking into going away for a night or weekend or something. But when I really thought about it, I decided it would be best to stay here. You are still baby enough that you love your routine and anything familiar. And you are always a happy little guy, but especially in your own element. So, we planned on having absolutely no plans and just focusing on you. And it was a very special day for all of us.

Last night Mommy and Daddy were out with friends for awhile and we didn't get home till late so we were up till 2 am decorating your cakes and wrapping presents (and taking them out of their boxes for you so they were ready to be played with). We wrapped a couple gifts and set them out in a little pile for you to see when we came down the stairs in the morning. I will confess I was exhausted when you woke extra early on your big day, around 6:30. Daddy went down and got you a bottle and we all laid in bed, Sister too, and snuggled while you drank it. Tula knew it was your birthday, and kept telling you "happy Birthday Maverick" or "Happy Birthday Baby" and trying to sing the song to you. She even was snuggling you nicely and kissing you and saying it while you had your bottle and you didn't seem to mind at all. It was so precious to watch.

We hauled out of bed and downstairs around 7:30 and let you open your presents right away. There were a couple little Monster Truck toys we had picked up and not wrapped and those were cool enough to distract you from the rest of the process. Which was a good thing, since we were having a hard time getting your sister to stop opening you gifts for you. You got a Tonka truck, a train track, a few cars, and a big bobcat that makes lots of cool sounds. It was very fun for you to have some cool car toys. Really, up till now you have been playing with your sister's toys and she doesn't have many of those things. There are a couple, in all of our bins we have, trucks and you seems to find them all the time and like to drive them on the tile. So you were happy to see some of the steel and yellow and wheels and all that fun boy stuff that we have just never really had in the house before. It was fun to watch, of course Tula was just as excited about all the new stuff but you guys played so nice together and you were just loving it. You guys played with your toys for a LONG time, probably an hour or so. Daddy LOVED getting to show you the dump truck and how it worked and the bobcat and what it did. You guys had fun playing together with all your construction stuff. Your one truck came with a little hardhat and Daddy was so excited to go out to the garage and get stickers from his truck and decorate yours hat just like his. Then we had breakfast and headed upstairs. Last night when we were taking the toys out of their boxes there was a DVD in the Monster Truck cars and Daddy wanted to keep it when I said to throw it out. Well, turns out he was right. He brought it upstairs after playtime and wanted to pop it in, it was just a video with music and a bunch of Monster Trucks and you watched...stared intently...through the whole 29 minute DVD. I have never seen a kid so into a TV show. So, that may have been your favorite birthday present after all. I guess we will keep it after all.

You guys watched your movie for a while then we went down and did a "cake smash photo shoot" outside. I let you have your cake outside and took a bunch of pictures. I think you liked that I was letting you play in your food more than the actual taste of the cake, but either way, you ate it up. And we got some awesome pictures of it. Tula came in and helped out as well so it was twice the mess. But we just hosed you guys off and were on with the day, no messy clean up, it was all outside and thrown away with the paper you were sitting on. As you can tell, the day was kind of out of order, maybe not how a normal birthday would go, but perfect for you and your routine. Your cake was your snack, as opposed to dessert after dinner, to avoid a disastrous bedtime and induce a sugar rush that would result in a great, big, afternoon nap!

We cleaned up and went for lunch at the food court for some Opa. My poor baby, you fell asleep on the 10 min car ride there and we had to wake you. You are in the middle of transitioning from one nap to two naps per day right now and it is an adjustment time for us all. You can't last till 2 like Tula, and certainly not if we get in the car at all anytime after 10 am. So we woke you up, but you were no fuss, ate some lunch, went for a car wash and headed home and put both kids down for a great big nap. Mommy and Daddy relaxed, we were both exhausted from staying up late, and got ready for our big dinner out on the town with you two.

We decided to take you to Benihana for your birthday dinner. It's a Japanese hibatchi restaurant where the cooks cook your dinner right in front of you on a grill on the table. It is so fun! We had went once with Tula when she was around one and she liked it and hadn't been back. We like the food and wanted to see your reaction. You were so interested in every bit of it, and only cried once when the cook did a big loud production that involved a bunch of banging and then everyone clapped. Other than that, your little fingers were white you were holding on to the table so hard and watching everything the guy did so closely. You are your sister couldn't get enough of the chicken fried rice and both sat so well and behaved perfectly in the restaurant. When we drove home, we talked about how easy the day and night were. How different the restaurant experience is without a baby. And not just because it is your birthday and you aren't anymore, but you really have turned into a big boy whole can feed himself and sit in his highchair and watch and just hang. You did so great all day, but dinner was a treat.

We got home a bit late and you had a shower and Daddy snuggled you to sleep. For the most part, the day was not emotional for me, or as emotional as I thought it would be. I know birthdays are bittersweet for most Mommies, of course we love to celebrate the day and what it stands for, but the fact that it marks a year...the first...then another...then another...is sad to me. And I know from having another baby only one year older than you that those years come and go quickly. I remember when Tula turned one, I was about 7 months pregnant with you, so every time I felt sad that my "baby" (at the time) was no longer a baby, I was able to remind myself that there was a new baby on the way. And somehow, that made me feel better. That is not the case this year. I am not pregnant, and although one day soon I want you to be a big brother, that is not the case yet. So you are my baby, and you are no longer a baby, and there are no other babies on the horizon, and I got a little sad about it today.

Maverick, your baby year went by too fast. There could never be enough minutes in enough days filled with your smiles and laughter to make me not wanting more. But I have learned that there never will be enough of these moments, and that time will never stop going by quickly with babies. We have had a wonderful year. My precious son, you have brought a love into my life that I don't know how I ever lived without. You are so full of joy. You love me so much it melts me. You have brought a sense of completion and comfort to my world, I feel like you really made us a family in many ways, and I have said it before but I rest easier at night knowing that you and Tula have each other, forever, no matter what. You are special to me in many ways. I love that you resemble me, that you act like me, that you remind people of me...or my Dad..who I look like. When I see you I see all the good in me too. You are so perfect.

When I left for Brazil one of my biggest concerns was leaving you, especially because you had not been weaned. I was afraid I would come home to a changed boy. Maybe detached, maybe insecure, or maybe just not as generally happy. That has not been the case at all! Your have calmed my heart about all those worries by staying true to who you were before I left, and finding new ways to bond and have quiet time with me now that nursing is not in the picture. You love to come over and just rest your head on me. Sometimes if I am sitting on the floor playing with you guys you will just crawl over and lay your head on my lap. You like to give kisses...though you think they are hilarious. And you love to snuggle still in the mornings in bed while you have your bottle. You still love to be rocked to sleep. And you could ride around on my hip ALL DAY LONG. You love to have any sort of physical contact with me, and sometimes you don't even like me to walk away from you. You love me, in your own special way that is totally different than your sister's. And you are a totally different baby than she was. I have learned so much this year about the similarities in kids, and the differences as well. You have showed me that it is so true what they say... "You love them all the same, but differently."

Maverick, I look forward to getting to know your sweet spirit even better as the years pass. My prayer for you is that you will never, ever lose your smiling, joyful, happy disposition in life. That you will continue to be filled with happiness and giggles. Thank you so much for a wonderful, memorable, incredible first year. I love you, my son.

~Mommy