Benjamins Birthday!

So my baby is 1 year old.  I know, crazy! We were able to throw a "roar'n good time" birthday party and we  were so excited to have so many family and friends there...Family from MN, Family from IA, and families from our small group here in Ames.  I went a little crazy making cakes (I had no idea how many cakes fed 35ish people!) and none of them turned out as I had wanted, but then again, they weren't miserable failures either.  Benjamin LOVED his cake and really did pretty well unwrapping some of the presents.  We haven't taken them all out of the package yet (I decided to keep the excitement going as long as possible with new gifts every few weeks), but so far the fire truck and cell phone are two HUGE hits...As much as he loves his cell phone though, Mom's is still the desired object.  We have started to show some STRONG emotion when Mom won't let us play with hers.  He loves his new little lap top, but is only good at pushing the power button over and over and over.  Since it says "hello" and "goodbye" every time you do so, I only get it out for emergencies!  It will definitely be a gift that gets more and more exciting with age!  He also got a pretty sweet MN Twins #7 Mauer Shirt that Dad LOVES to put him in. ( Mom thinks its pretty cute too!) 

Benjamin had his 1yr apt the week of his birthday and he continues to be a BIG BOY!  95th percentile to be exact.  He weighs around 26 lbs and his height and head are also around 95% on the charts.  He is a lug to carry around!  We also got some more shots but we're  still "behind schedule".  I just cant bear to do more than 3 at a time.  

Other "skills" of his include:

• SO BIG!
• Clapping to "If you're happy and you know it..."
• sticking out his tongue
• shrugging his shoulders...sometimes with questioning hands (it might be the cutest thing he does)
• "It's Bubbling" hand motions (this is kinda weak, but there is effort)
• Blowing kisses (He uses the back of his hand to kiss)

Last but not least - Walking.  So far, Benjamin only has about 3 - 8 steps down, but he thinks he's pretty cool.  We "boulder" quickly around furniture and love playing "the circuit game" with Daddy, of going from furniture piece to furniture piece to Daddy, and back around.  He's really pretty stable when he's independently walking until he gets near his goal and then usually nose dives, or jolts forward.  I was very o.k. waiting to learn this independent skill until the last two weeks.  He wants to walk/run and get energy out, but wants my hand to help.  I'm ready to stop walking round and round!

Hope everyone is having a great May!  I'm ready for warm sun, garden tomatoes, and summer road trips!  AHHH!