Happy 1st Birthday, Dawson!

On Friday, May 14th, Dawson had his first birthday! John and I cannot believe how quickly Dawson's first year went by. It seems so recent that we brought Dawson home from the hospital, watched as he learned to hold his head up on his own, saw him learn to roll over, witnessed him crawling for the first time, and cheered him on as he took his first steps. We have truly enjoyed every day playing with Dawson and watching him learn more and more each day. So, even though we still can't believe it, our little baby is now one, so here's how we celebrated...

On Friday (his actual birthday), John and I took Dawson to McDonalds for breakfast to have pancakes. Pancakes are, of course, his very favorite food. He ate two big pancakes while we were there. Later we took him to the UAH duck pond for a picnic and to feed the ducks. He LOVES animals, so he had a great time watching the ducks. We took some stale Cheerios to feed them, and we attracted every duck we could see! John fed the ducks while Dawson and I watched them come closer and closer, and Dawson loved it! We spent the rest of the day playing at home in the playroom and going for a walk (which Dawson also loves).

We celebrated Dawson's birthday on Saturday with a party. We decided the theme would be Dawson's First Birthday Barnyard Bash. Since Dawson loves animals so much the farm theme was perfect. Our invitations said:

Oink, Baa, Cock-a-doodle-doo;

Dawson wants to share his 1st birthday with "ewe"!

The party's on the fifteenth of May,

We'll see you at 1:00 on this special day!

Until the cows come home at 3:30 this party will last,

Because we'll be having an "udder" blast!

At 1:30 we will be serving lunch

To this rowdy barnyard bunch!

Bringing no gifts is our request,

Just wear your barnyard best!

RSVP Yeah or Neigh to Mother Hen

By May 10.

On the invitations was a picture of a barn and a few farm animals. We also stuffed hay in the envelopes like confetti. For his party we cooked hamburgers and hot dogs which we called Bessie Burgers and Bentley Dogs. We also had haystacks, chicken feed (chex mix), and farm fresh veggies (carrots and celery). Of course, we also had a farm theme cake and a smash cake which I made with a little help from my friend, Kelly. We set everything up in the backyard and had chairs and hay bales for seating. My favorite part of the party was our petting zoo! We had a petting zoo bring 2 bottle fed goats, a miniature pony, and a bunny for the kids to pet and feed. We were thrilled to have great weather since the forecast had called for rain and thunderstorms, but it ended up being hot and sunny which was perfect for everyone to be outside for most of the party. I think everyone had a great time, but I know that John, Dawson, and I had a GREAT day! We loved having all of our friends and Dawson's friends over for the afternoon. We are so thankful to have made so many good friends during the almost three years we've lived here in Alabama!

We took A LOT of pictures, and I've posted several below. Enjoy...

Above: John, Dawson, and I with the mini-pony named Snickers

at the petting zoo in our backyard.

This picture is out of order, but this was Dawson's smash cake.

Dawson enjoying his pancake birthday breakfast.



Dawson got hungry watching all the ducks

eat Cheerios, so we gave him a snack of his own!

Dawson squealing as he watched Daddy

feeding the ducks.

Dawson and I at the pond on his 1st birthday.

Dawson and I again at the pond on his birthday.

Dawson wanted to walk around the ducks.

Dawson opening a birthday gift.

Dawson and I with the smallest goat named

Squirt.

Dawson and I with Squirt again.

Dawson even got to ride the mini-pony

named Snickers.

Dawson with his Daddy looking in the petting zoo.

The bunny!

Dawson's birthday cake that I made.

It is all edible (except the hat), even the farmer and animals.

Dawson on a wagon ride with his friend, Sawyer, while

Sawyer's dad, Michael, pulled them around the yard.

Dawson's friend Sawyer wanted to help by pushing the wagon.

I thought this was so cute!

Dawson's highchair decorated and ready for him!

The small goat named Squirt was 3 months

old and just got weaned from the bottle

so she would come up and suck on your fingers.

Dawson LOVED her!

This was the big goat named Gracie. You can barely see her

tummy here, but she's pregnant.

The mini-pony named Snickers.

Dawson's friend, Sawyer, decided to pull the wagon

for Dawson. :)

The "Chicken Feed"

The Home Grown Veggies

The hay stacks.

The Burger and Hot Dogs

Dawson's cake with his one little candle burning ready

for him to blow out!

We took Dawson's shirt off and he wore a bandanna for a bib

while he ate his smash cake!

Dawson with his smash cake. At first he touched the cake

wasn't interested in getting his hands dirty.

Still not sure he wants to get his hands dirty.

But THEN he tried a bite, and realized it was worth getting his

hands dirty. He was more interested in eating it than smashing it.

More eating.

Look at that mess!

More smash cake!

We eventuall had to take it away from him, because

I think he would have eaten the whole thing, and he's never

really had very much sugar at all. He did enjoy it though!

John had the grill outside our fence so the kids wouldn't

touch it. So some of the guys congregated at the grill.

Inside the petting zoo in the backyard.

John with Snickers, the mini-pony.

Dawson riding the mini-pony, Snickers, and

petting his mane.

A Visit from Lolly, Pop, and Uncle Logan & A Happy Birthday to Pop

Over the weekend Dawson's Lolly, Pop, and Uncle Logan (my parents and brother) came down for a visit and to celebrate my dad's birthday on Sunday. So far, every year we've lived in Alabama, they have been able to come down for Dad's birthday, so we were excited that it worked out again this year. Dawson had a great time playing with them while they were here and showing off how he can walk. On Saturday after they got here we all went out to dinner to celebrate Dad's birthday and then came back to our house for cake and ice cream.
On Sunday, John unfortunately had to work, but everyone else got to stay at our house and visit. We had a pancake breakfast (Dawson's favorite) on Sunday morning. Then Sunday afternoon we went to the Stride Rite in Parkway Place Mall where Dawson got his first pair of real shoes! This was the rest of his birthday present from his Lolly, Pop, and Uncle Logan. Of course, we made sure to take a lot of pictures of him getting his first pair of shoes. John and I both got a lot of our shoes from Stride Rite when we were little, so we thought it was neat for him to get his first pair from this store. He measure in at a 5 Extra Wide. :) He did really well getting fitted for his shoes, but was really interested in the other kids who were in the store.
We had a great time visiting with everyone while they were here and hope they can come back to visit again soon. Oh, and of course we took several pictures while they were here. Enjoy...

Everyone at the restaurant for Pop's birthday!

Dawson eating at the restaurant.

John, Dawson, and me at Dad's birthday dinner.

John and Dawson. Dawson is chewing a cracker which

explains his weird face.

Dawson's first pair of real shoes!

Measuring the left foot.

Measuring the right foot.

The two shoes we liked and were trying to decide between.

All Play

We have had another busy, but fun week with Dawson. Last Friday John worked the night shift, and so he was off on Saturday! Dawson and I were so excited to have him home on a weekend day. We had big plans to do things that you can only do on Saturdays that we never get to do as a family since John works weekends. We were going to go to the farmer's market and Panoply, but unfortunately we had rain and storms all day which kept us inside. However, we did decide to try our new restaurant, Cheddars, for lunch. It was good, but the most exciting thing about Cheddars, was that it was the first time Dawson ordered off the kid's menu! :) He ordered a grilled cheese and mashed potatoes, and loved his food!
On Tuesday morning we went to toddler story time at the library again. Dawson did a great job listening to the librarian read, and he paid attention most of the time. At one point he did wonder over to a little girl on the rug who had on a polka dot dress, when he got to her he pointed to/poked one of the dots on her dress and looked at me. The little girl just looked at him. :) For the arts and crafts project, the kids were to color a dog. I let Dawson pick a crayon, and he picked purple for the dog. I put the crayon in his hand and moved it on the paper so we could color, but he wasn't really interested in coloring this week since he still wanted to eat the Crayon. :)
Then on Tuesday afternoon, John had some work to do so Dawson and I headed back over to KidVenture. There were a lot more kids there this week and he had fun "playing" with a 10 month old little girl and a 20 month old little boy. I had fun just watching him with the other kids.
On Tuesdays evening we have our small group Bible study at our church. During this time Dawson goes to the church nursery. Unfortunately, recently we have started a trend where we usually get paged to come and get him because he is so upset we have left him. I have read that separation anxiety flares back up again around 12 months, so I think that's what is going on with Dawson...and what can I say? He wants to be with John and I! :) I really don't mind getting paged because I know one day he won't think twice about us leaving him at church, but I just hate that he gets so upset. Well, this Tuesday when we took him to the nursery, one of the girls told me they had a plan for Dawson. They decided to move him up to the walkers/one year old class. He walks a lot now, but he's still crawling a lot too which is why he was still in the crawlers class. They thought he might be happier with bigger and older kids, and he was! They didn't have to page us and they said he was the busiest kid in the room! The nursery room he was in had a little kids kitchen set complete with a play grill, and apparently that was his favorite toy the whole night. We were relieved to hear that Dawson actually had a good time and wasn't miserable the whole time he was in nursery (and I'm sure the nursery workers were relieved as well!).
On Wednesday, John's parents (Dawson's Nana and Grandad) came down for a visit, and we had a great time! We spent the day playing with Dawson inside and outside, and they got to see how he plays in his playroom. Dawson was also very sweet and gave his Nana several kisses and hugs (which he now loves to do--and I don't mind it at all). Dawson also got a piggy back ride for the first time on his Grandad's shoulders, and loved it! We were sad to see them go but look forward to seeing them again at the end of the month.
On Thursday John got to go play golf with a former co-worker, and had a great time playing at the Sunset Landing course. He came home pretty happy since he shot a 90!
Friday morning Parkway Place Mall in Huntsville had a grand opening of their new children's play area which is space-themed. We figured since it was the first time kids would be allowed to play on the toys that they should be relatively germ-free, so we took Dawson. We ended up having a great time because not only did they have the play area open, but the Chick-fil-A cow, KoKo (we're not sure what this character was supposed to be...we thought maybe a cricket?? it actually kind of looked like a roach, :) so we weren't sure), and Bearamy from Build-a-Bear were all there walking around. Dawson again surprised us by how much he LOVED these characters. We took him up to see and hug all three, but then each time they would walk by he would squeal/yell and smile and reach for them. He actually kept reaching for the bear to hold him. There was also a clown there named Dololly who made Dawson a balloon animal, but he didn't really get to play with it because he was trying to pop it so we took it away. He wasn't very interested in the clown, but he wasn't afraid either. Dawson also surprised us while we were there because in the kids area we put him down and he just went off crawling/walking on his own to play. After a little while he did look back and crawl back over to us, but he was very happy to go off to play with the other kids. He had a great time and was so worn out he couldn't stay awake on the drive home.
This week was all play, but now it's Saturday, and John's working, and I'm getting caught up on everything we didn't do during the week since I was playing with Dawson all week. We are also looking forward to my parents (Dawson's Lolly and Pop) and my brother (Dawson's Uncle Logan) coming to visit this evening and tomorrow.
Enjoy the pictures from this week...

Dawson has started to try to sit Indian Style

like I always do on the floor. Also, one top tooth

is finally through the gums, but the other is stil

trying to break through, so he is constantly chewing

his fingers.

And chewing the left hand.

Close up: You can see his two bottom teeth!

Dawson was so excited about the bear that

he wouldn't be still for the camera, so this

doesn't really show his excitement. At least

we were able to get a picture though!

Dawson playing in the space play area all

by himself!

Dawson's first picnic at his new table in our yard!

We had ribs and mashed potatoes which were messy

(and perfect to eat outside). Obviously, Dawson couldn't

get enough!

Dawson and Mommy picnicing!

Dawson and his grandad!

(I think this is the firsttime Dawson's had enough hair

to blow in the wind! Look at it standing up on

top of his head!) He loved being on Grandad's shoulders.

Dawson and Nana playing. (Dawson's chewing

on a toy.)

Dawson peeking over the caterpillar tunnel

at KidVenture.

Dawson's artwork from the library on our fridge.

Apparently I wasn't fast enough at giving

him Cheerios, he had to get them himself!

Dawson in his pjs one morning drinking

water from his cup all by himself!