Family Birthday Gathering

A party for our Mickey included . . . 
. . . Crawling, because he was still into that stage at the time. 

 . . . Standing and making funny faces at his aunts and uncles.

 . . . Posed pictures with his aunts

 . . . Opening presents (his favorite snacks)

 . . . More pictures.

 . . . Eating aforementioned favorite snack.

 . . . Ripping wrapping paper (this took a bit of coaxing as he didn't understand the purpose).

 . . . And a whole lot of playing with his new favorite toy! Hooray for freedom to walk where you want! It's a much faster way of transportation.

 Then we stripped him down to his diaper for his birthday "cake" (peach cobbler made from fresh peaches - the latter being his favorite), and . . . he pushed it around with the spoon (he didn't even want to put his hands in) but didn't even taste it. I know, anti-climatic right?

 I tried to feed him some at one point, but he preferred to play with it. Although, he quite enjoyed the left-overs he got to eat every day for about a week. :)

1st Birthday!!

We had a birthday in the house! Our little one turned ONE! Wow, time has flown. We really wanted to celebrate in a way that brought our family together, did something Munchkin enjoys, and was something out of the ordinary. Therefore, we decided to visit the Children's Museum - it was a hit! Fun for the little one, intriguing for the adults, and bringing out the child in everyone.

We were also very lucky to enlist Grandpa J for this excursion. Boy, what fun!

They had this awesome vacuum tube that sucked up the plastic balls placed into the entrance tube and then sent the balls on an adventure through tubing above everyone's heads. Even I enjoyed watching it!

So many plastic, colorful balls! Munchkin absolutely LOVED it! We soon discovered that he didn't necessarily care about following the ball's path of decent through the tubes, he only wanted to put the balls in the hole.  :)

Next stop: water world! Bringing Munchkin to this beautiful work of art was like taking children to Disneyland. He LOVES water and this was the perfect place for him to play in it!

Baby-sized piano in the child-sized house

Old McDonald had a farm . . . oops, sorry! There was a fun farm area there though!

Following the museum festivities, we held a little get-together to celebrate the birthday. More on that in the next post.

Now that our little man is officially 1-year-old, he gets his official blog nickname (he's SO excited, let me tell you). Drum roll please . . . Mickey! From now on, our happy, social "Munchkin" will be "Mickey" (M-I-C-K-E-Y . . . anyone?).

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What a crazy week; it's been quite emotional for a variety of reasons. There are a few things I think I understand, and a lot of things that I know I do not understand. Yet I do wish to do as Elder Holland directs and lead with my belief instead of my "unbelief."

I do know that we all have a Father in Heaven who loves us very much, who is keenly aware of every moment in our daily lives. I know each of us on earth chose to come, to experience mortality, and to learn to become who we can be. With that choice comes the experiences we may think we are ready for mentally, but come to see as the Savior did in Gethsemane that emotionally, spiritually, or in other ways we didn't quite understand what the fullness of the experience would truly feel like. I also know that because of our Savior, my Savior, all that is unfair in mortality can be made right in eternity. In this life, the Savior can also be a comfort, guide, and companion so we do not have to experience our trials alone as He did. I know that my Redeemer lives and I am beginning to better understand what a great mercy and blessing His life, Atonement, and Resurrection are to me.

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the spiritual equivalent of this boy’s affliction or this parent’s desperation [speaking of the story in Mark 9:14-24] is going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes." - Elder Jeffery R. Holland, "Lord, I Believe," April 2013 General Conference.