I am awed at how fast time flies. My baby boy turned 1 today. Wow. Has it really been a year since the weekend at the cabin when I woke up with contractions? I was scared to bring him into the world. One child was a huge adjustment, but I wasn't quite ready to have two children. This year has been hard. It's been challenging. But with this little guy around who is ready and willing to melt my heart with his irresistible smiles at any given moment, it's certainly been worth it. The first year is full of changes. I don't think Dexter has stayed the same from one day to the next. Always learning/doing something new. The minute he figured out how to crawl, his learning spiked and he took off: climbing stairs, standing, making bigger messes, babbling like crazy, waving bye-bye, and he has this weird fascination with anything above him. He likes to point to lights and babble on and on and on about who knows what. (Sam thinks he's going to be an electrician). It's weird to think he's really 1. He's really not my baby anymore. The poor little guy had an awful night puking, and so he spent the day snuggled up to his mommy (which I thoroughly loved)! We did manage to make it out of the house for a little B-day party with his cousin Ginger. It was totally low key. And I loved it. We celebrated with my family last weekend, and with Sammy's family this weekend. It was great. It was perfect. And even if Dexter's tummy wasn't feeling great...he still managed to eat one bite of ice cream and open up some fabulous presents. Happy B-day, Dexter!!

Hi. I'm Dexter. I know my face is a little bit dirty, but I'm a boy. I don't have time to stop and let my mom clean my face. I'm almost 1, and I finally have a tooth poking through. Yes, my teeth have been a little bit slow coming, and it has been a bit troublesome to mash up all my yummy food without any teeth, but I am about ready to have a non-toothless grin. I've been a bit more cranky than usual...but come on! It's painful cutting teeth. My gums get all swollen and red and simply hurt!! But it hasn't slowed me down. I still manage to crawl faster than my mom can walk after me, and I'm really good about dumping EVERYTHING on to the floor. I've decided I'm too big for toys, they're only good for dumping out of their containers, and then I must move on to find the next thing I can make a mess out of. Oh...and I love to eat rocks, dirt, wood chips, and grass. Did I mention I was a boy? Yeah...my mom keeps trying to tell me they're gross and kaka...but they're actually quite tasty!! I've tried to share some with her, but she doesn't appreciate having rocks shoved in her face. Oh, well. It's her loss. Well, I'm off to take a rest...it's pretty exhausting being this cute...but I thought I'd let the world get a glimpse of me. Adios.