Devin's First Birthday

Devin started his birthday playing with the Piper dog.

His yummy birthday cake.

Not sure about this cake thing.

Grandpa giving me a taste. Mmmmm.
Devin really wasn't into the singing...he actually started crying. Go figure! And then he wasn't really that interested in the cake. But Mom is trying to talk him into it here.

Tastes pretty good I guess.

And he especially liked the cake when Grandma fed him a bite or two. I was surprised that there was no crazy cake smashing. Just a few bites and he was good.

On Sunday, we took Devin and James to the Land Park Zoo for the first time. Here are the boys in their ride.

The boys watching the flamingos. So cute.

Cathy, Rich, Devin and Roger

James and Devin posing for a picture. This will be hilarious to show them when they are older.

Devin and Mommy with James and Cathy in the background.

It is official, our sweet baby boy is one year old. It is hard to believe how much Devin has changed since we welcomed him into the world. We marvel at his new experiences and accomplishments every day. We just love him so much!

Devin has been very busy lately learning how to walk. He will take about seven to ten steps at a time. He loves to walk back and forth to Rich and I. And he giggles and smiles so proud with each step. I'm sure it will be just a matter of weeks before he is running all over.

Devin is still a really good eater. He is not a big fan of the mushy foods, but in general will give anything a try. We've already had him out for italian, indian, and thai food. And he ate a bunch of bruschetta with a ton of garlic today (he is his daddy's son). We started him on organic whole milk and he seems to be doing great with it. I've tried transitioning him to a sippy cup, but he much prefers his milk in a bottle for now. My new effort to wind down the bottle will be the straw....his other favorite.

I had quite a bit of travels these past few weeks for work. Devin came with me to Arizona and then was with Rich at his parents for the second week. So we are trying to get Devin back to sleeping well in his crib. I never thought he'd prefer a Pack N Play over his crib. But we are getting there. And Devin is pretty much down to one nap a day for a few hours. This weekend, he really only got one nap for an hour each day. And he was a total sport keeping a happy face the whole time. Impressive. I'm sure he'll nap a lot this coming week to catch up.

Devin's Grandparents (Jen's parents and Rich's parents) are watching him while Rich and I are at work. We truely appreciate the commitment they've made to helping us raise our son. We are very fortunate and can't thank them enough!

With the big first birthday milestone, we turned Devin's carseat around to be forward facing. I can't wait to see what he thinks of that. For a while now, he's been trying to look forward, so the new set up will be a treat I'm sure.

Bathtimes are a big favorite right now. Devin will crawl into the bathroom and stand up at the tub with such excitement. He even helps me undress him...it is very sweet. Then he loves to splash and play in the water. I hope he'll take to swimming like his dad.

Overall, we are really starting to see Devin's personality more and more each day. He is a very sweet boy who will lean his forehead on yours. And he will sleep next to you (if he gets the chance) with his arm around your neck. He so easily melts our hearts. Devin has an outgoing personality and loves to explore. In fact, being outside is where he prefers to be.

Thanks everyone for the first birthday wishes. What a wonderful weekend filled with family and friends.