party time!

we finally celebrated miles' birthday the right way...with a party! I have to admit that I had a ton of fun planning all of the details. if only I could make a living planning kids' birthday parties...

...but I digress. we went with a mod monkey theme (shocker, I know) and only invited our immediate family members. that crowd alone is 20 people! needless to say, miles was the star of the party. he should enjoy being the only baby for now - his cousin is set to arrive any day and according to momma beth - yesterday would've been grrrreat. we grilled out and then dove into some banana cake. I tried my hand at fondant for the first time. I don't think it turned out half-bad, but it was a bit of a pain. lets just say that the cake boss is not going to be beating down my door anytime soon. miles was spoiled by everyone. the gifts were abundant and we are so thankful for everyone's generosity. in true robin fashion, the camera battery died during the party, so I'll have to update it later when I download the pictures from our other camera. in the meantime, here are some photos from the day:

chow time

miles' smash cake

grill 'em up!

this is mere seconds before he snapped the cord on his face. that was the end of the party hat.
take note of the mini-banana in his hand...he held onto it for most of the party!

in the words of miles = "eeeeeeat"
nykkole ventured out in her casts to join us.

he was very meticulous when unwrapping. he handed me each piece.

a pool/sandbox! fun!!!

tinker

just a little background: tinker had heat stroke a couple of summers ago. he was running and playing at my mom & dad's on a very hot day when he collapsed and couldn't control his body. he was panting uncontrollably and drooling all over the place. we rushed to the emergency vet and by the time we got there he seemed to be back to his old self. thankfully, the nurse took his temp, told us to monitor him, and didn't charge us a penny. a godsend given the fact that it costs $99 just to walk in the door! a few months ago he had another "spell" in the middle of the night. we thought he had overheated under the covers and I found him lying on the ground unable to stand up. we were close to panicking, but he recovered after cooling him off with some water. fast forward to last night. we went for a walk after dinner. we were about a block away when tinker pulled over to go to the bathroom. right after he was done, he took two steps and collapsed. he was writhing around and his eyes were fixed. he kept spasming. I scooped him up and we were rushing home. about two houses away he started writhing again. I laid him in our yard, ran in for some water, and he seemed to come to after a few minutes. it was scary. we really thought he wasn't going to make it. after a phone call with the vet, he seems to think it's probably seizures. we will be taking a urine sample in and having his blood drawn to try to find out what's going on. in the meantime...we will watch him carefully and pray it doesn't happen again!

the numbers are in

miles had his 12 month appointment today. he was less than thrilled with the shots, but just as unimpressed with the strangers who wanted to weigh him, measure him, and look in his ears (all clear!). he actually got over the needle thing relatively quickly and was back to signing "sleep" within seconds. note to self: make dr appointments earlier! he's tucked in bed now and will be out for awhile. here are the latest stats:

weight: 22lbs 14oz (52%)
height: 31.5 in (94%)
head: 19.3 in (>97%)

so basically this confirms our dilemma with pants - he's tall and thin. as the nurse measured him, she said, "well this is a first for me; I've never measured a one year old this tall!" anyone know where we can find a baby belt? seriously - it's almost comical! he usually looks like he's gone gangsta on us and sagged his pants. not a look we are going for. he's gained only about a pound and a half since 9 mo, but they aren't concerned. apparently that's normal given his change in eating habits and mobility. it was nice to get the all clear. and now just for fun:

the birthday boy

I can hardly believe that our baby is ONE! it is amazing how quickly this year went by. I know this sounds cliche, but it really does seem like just yesterday that we were in the hospital marveling at the fact that we were the parents of a beautiful newborn baby boy. the marvel has not stopped. we know that were have been blessed with an amazing son. miles has grown into a curious, gentle, good-natured, happy, and sweet little boy. he keeps us on our toes and laughing all the way. here is how we spent his special day:

I'm ONE today!
birthday wafflesbaby + syrup = bath!auntie beth, mommy, & I drove up to see auntie nykki in the hospital
grandma gave me some pop-beads!
I ate some pumpkin pie (yes, that's a make-shift candle)bye-bye nykki...get better SOON!
opening a few pre-party gifts:
a chicco chair and vanilla smileys from beth & seth
a vikings jersey from wisconsin cousins craig, courtney, & carly
a remote controlled car from the maiosan iPhone from papa...oh, maybe notfive silly monkeys book & puppet from mommy & daddy (movie with actions to follow)ate pizzahad a cupcakehad a bonfire
time for sleep!