Kates and I have been doing a lot of reflecting during the last week, reminiscing on the emotions and experiences we were sharing a year ago. I also have been spending much of my free time working feverishly on updates on Phoebe’s baby book, adding the pictures and filling in the blanks for her monuments …
In the last week we’ve watched her boldly attempt to climb steps. She’s now scaling our furniture, TV and walls to get around the living room. And her new favorite word, or phrase, or whatever it is, is “a-daup!” Or its counterpart “a-gop!”
If only we knew what it meant.
Now, tonight, as we watch her crawl with abandon around our living room and kitchen floors we’re standing back in wonder and amazement that we’re the parents of a 1-year-old.
It was one year ago yesterday that she was born.
Leading up to the big day on Saturday, we were having a good time recalling where we were as each of the hours passed. Like the euphoria that ensued when Kates water broke at about 4:45 in the afternoon. And then as we headed to bed at about 11 Saturday night that by then Kates had received the epidural and the nurses were telling her to get some sleep because she only had a few more hours.
Pheebs was born at 3:44 a.m.. Of course, Kates and I hardly considered waking ourselves or Phoebe up in the middle of the night to mark the time. We won’t do that for at least another 17 years.We started yesterday morning with an Easter egg hunt for Phoebe. Kates had positioned a handful of plastic eggs throughout the living room with some of Phoebe’s favorite treats inside. Puffs, Cheerios, crackers. …As soon as Phoebe figured out how to open each egg, she was set for the next several minutes picking and placing each bit in her mouth.
Then, it was off to our Easter worship. We dressed Phoebe in a springy, pink dress with white dots and a white sweater to cover her arms, and her favorite silver shoes. … As usual, she smiled and delighted every face that greeted her.After that, we returned home, served her lunch and we put her down for a birthday nap as Kates and I made final preparations for her big party …
We had both sets of grandparents and her Uncle Orrin over for the afternoon … When the gift-opening commenced, she got lot of toys, including a Playskool walker that folds into a car from Kates and I, a rocking horse from Orrin and some McDonalds Happy Meal toys from my Aunt Kathy -- which right now appear to be her new favorites. She also got lots of bright, colorful clothes for the summer, and some new stuffed animals that also appear to be a hit.
For the Easter/birthday dinner, we had a full entrée of ham and asparagus and mashed potatoes and German potato salad and Jell-o.
And then … it was time for the cake. Kates made a chocolate midnight cake with marshmallow frosting.Now Phoebe is a pretty good eater and has shown us she’s pretty willing to try new things. But we were still a little leery about how she might react to the cake.
Forget it … Once Kates slid a piece of the cake in front of Phoebe, the birthday girl didn’t even blink. She began slowly, picking small crumbs and putting them into her mouth. But only a few more seconds passed before she was shoveling pieces that were bigger than her little mouth. At one point, she tried picking up the entire piece of cake and pulling it to her mouth, only to have some of it fall apart on her bib.
After awhile, Phoebe was in a zone, staring blankly ahead as she picked her cake and put the pieces in her mouth as though she wasn’t even thinking about it. Seriously, she wasn’t even blinking. And the area around her mouth was so covered with brown and white cake mix, Orrin started calling her Captain Blackbeard.
Phoebe ate every last crumb.
When it was over and lifted Phoebe from her hi-chair, the cake crumbs were all over her dress and white tights …
Kates took her straight to the tub. And I took to cleaning the dirty dishes and kitchen.
Here's some video ...
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