Family time

Several members of my family came to visit me for my birthday last week. (See, I told you this first birthday thing was a big deal!) My mommy came from Colorado, and my Daddy came from Nevada. But my Tutu Katy and Auntie Annie get the prize for most miles - they came all the way from Hawaii!

Here are some pictures from their visit.


Daddy and I were lookin' stylish in our Hawaiian shirts for my party.


Tutu Katy and I played with balloons before my party.


Later in the week, I was crawling around and I went under the couch (I love to do that). Tutu Katy followed me! Isn't she funny?


Auntie Annie was really good at helping me go around the dining room on my new walker/ride-on toy.

I had lots of fun with my family!

My big party!

Yesterday there was a big party at my house - and I was the guest of honor! The party was a Hawaiian luau, and Aunt Kati decorated the house to make it extra fun. There was lots of good food at my party. Uncle John made fruit kabobs and barbecue, plus Tutu Katy and Auntie Annie had brought traditional snacks from Hawaii (and they also brought the gorgeous Hawaiian flowers). There was also cake, but that part comes later in the story.





There were lots of balloons for decorations, too. I really liked playing with them!



My Tutu (that's Grandma to you non-Hawaiians) Katy came all the way from Hawaii to come to my party. She brought me lots of presents. One was a pair of sunglasses, which I liked to put on her and then take off again.



Because it was a luau party, some people dressed up to match the theme. Do you like my Hawaiian shirt and shorts?



And Daddy wore a Hawaiian type shirt, too.



There were leis for everyone, and my friend Emmet had lots of fun with them and with the flower decorations.



Mommy put on a bunch of the leis!



I had my dinner during the party.



And then after that, it was time for cake! Aunt Kati got 2 cakes, so that I could have one just for me!





There was another one of those small fires on my cake, and I wasn't sure what to think about that. But after everybody sang a song to me, Aunt Kati and I blew on the candle until the fire went away.



Then it was time to eat the cake. I started by checking the icing. It was soft, gooey, and deicious.



Then Aunt Kati broke it into pieces, so I could eat it by myself.



Here's a video of the whole process - people singing, the fire, and the eating!



Here's a picture of me after I was done eating cake. You can see it on my face...



...and in this picture, you can see that I got cake lots of cake on myself, even in my hair!



If that wasn't enough chocolate, there were also mini candy bars that everyone could take home. They had cute labels on them that said "Connor's 1st Birthday" on the top. On the sides, they said "April 21, 2009" and "Thank you for celebrating with me!"



After I got cleaned up from eating my cake, it was time to open my presents. My friends and family who came to the party all brought me gifts to celebrate being one year old. That was very exciting!



I got lots of really great things - books, toys, a hat, balls, stuffed animals, a tunnel, a walker/ride-on thing, a tricycle (and a horn for it), a drum, a fun bath toy, a T-ball set, a comfy pillow with pirate monkey fabric, and my very own laptop!







Here I am with Mommy, surrounded by all my presents. Check out those bows!




Whew...I am tired from all that blogging. I hope you enjoyed reading about my party as much as I enjoyed attending it!

12 months (aka 1 year) today!

Just in case you're wondering: no, we didn't forget about putting my picture with Squeakers at 12 months on the blog. Here it is!



Aunt Kati wants you to know that I was in a very playful mood when she was trying to take my picture with Squeakers, and I didn't want to sit still, so it is pretty amazing that she got that one. Here's an example of the other ones she was getting while hoping I would stop moving for just a minute!



Also, in case you think we forgot to post my 11 month picture, that's not the case either. The day I turned 11 months old was the same day that Aunt Kati and I left to drive to Charleston for the cruise. We had to get up really early, and I was cranky about that. So when Aunt Kati tried to take my picture with Squeakers, she didn't get any good ones. Here's the proof!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my first birthday! You probably already knew that, didn't you? Well, I definitely couldn't forget, because I was being celebrated all day! Aunt Kati sang the birthday song to me first thing this morning, and we just kept doing fun things all day after that. Here are some pictures.

Even the mantel said Happy Birthday to me!



Aunt Kati has to label my lunch and snacks for daycare. She had a little fun with the labeling today.



Aunt Kati and Uncle John made these cute cupcakes, which we took to daycare to share with my teachers and friends.



My friend Aidan enjoyed his cupcake very much!



And mine was delicious, too! Miss Merrian helped me to eat it.



Then, she broke it into pieces so I could feed them to myself. Yummy!



But that was only my first cupcake of the day! After dinner, Aunt Kati gave me another one.



Then Aunt Kati made a small fire on my cupcake. I wasn't quite sure what to think of that...



...but Aunt Kati blew it out for me.



You may have noticed my special day bib...that's the last one. I've now worn all of them.

And then I got to eat another cupcake! (After changing to an "everyday" bib, so I could get it dirty.)



Yummy, again!



I didn't get too messy. (This was supposed to be the "after" picture.) But Aunt Kati says it's a great picture of me anyway, especially my eyes!



After Aunt Kati cleaned me up, I looked at the cards that I got for my birthday. This cute, long Baby Einstein one is from my friends Julie, Alan, Patrick and Alex.



And this one was from my friends Steve, Ginger and Jamie.



Aunt Kati says that when you live in Ocracoke, your birthday is even mentioned on the chalkboard at the Community Store. Here's my mention:



Aunt Kati says we are not done celebrating yet. (Apparently, this first birthday thing is a big deal.) So watch for more pictures here, after my party!

I got my first...

...shiner! Don't worry, no one hit me. I got a mosquito bite on Sunday morning, and then I fell down and bumped myself today at daycare. Well, apparently, I bumped myself in just the wrong place, right on the mosquito bite, and the little bump combined with the allergic reaction to the bite got all swollen. So I look like someone punched me in the eye. Aunt Kati says that's called a "shiner" and she hopes I won't get any more, but she suspects I might get other bumps and bruises, since I am an active boy!

Here's a picture of my shiner



And here's one that Aunt Kati thought was funny. I didn't want her to take my picture, so I kept putting my hand up to cover the camera lens. Aunt Kati said I was practicing for the paparazzi. Because I'm famous, remember?

Maybe I'll be

Aunt Kati says that eventually I will be "grown up", and that I will do something as a "job" (whatever that means).

Maybe I'll be...

... a veterinarian...I really love my cats!





... a chef...



...or a food taster...



...or maybe a bartender!



... a drummer...



... or some other type of musician.



... an explorer, or maybe a spelunker (that's a big word for people who crawl around in caves). I like to crawl around through small spaces and under things...



... a pilot. I have lots of fun with my helicopter!



... or maybe I'll play a sport.



Aunt Kati said that although she sometimes wonders what I will do when I grow up, my job right now is to play. And I'm definitely really good at that!