Our Baby Turns ONE!

A year like no other...

In my last post, I talked about all the things that made this year so extraordinary to me, highlighting the victorious Jayhawks and historical and inspiring presidential election. Now for the most special part of this year, of course, and that is our son Reed....aka Mr. Fantastic. A very happy first year to you, little man!

So I am writing this a bit late and fudging on the entry date to hide my procrastination a bit. I have been thinking of all the great things there are to say about our sweet baby, now active toddler but always a baby to me, and I could really bore you with a super long entry but will just sum it all up in my "Top 12". Why twelve? Well, because he was born on November 12th, he is now officially twelve months old, and I have had "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in my head since hearing it on the radio recently. For all these reasons, I deemed this the magic number to go with...

Twelve Thoughts on Mr. Fantastic's First Year:

1) love those bright, piercing blue eyes that people often comment on...they are like no other and will be a hit with the ladies one day (oh no! :))

2) his distinct monkey screech is a vivid first year memory of mine, though hasn't let itself out in months and for that I am very thankful for this

3) fire and water seem to be Reed's "elements", definitely a water baby and loves all things that have to do with this...bath, pool, ocean, hose, sprinkler, shower w/ mom or dad, Tucker's water bowl, etc.. And the fire is in his wild eyes and constant energy. This he gets from Daddy :)

4) Besides streams of "mamamama", and "dadadada" that he used interchangeably, Reed's first words were "No" and "Tucker" which we find amusing as that is mostly what he heard from us over the course of his life thus far. He often intentionally prompts the "No!" from us by doing something he knows he is not supposed to, with a naughty smile of course.

5) Nothing sweeter than his affectionate "wrestling" with Dad...the "come and get me AGAIN" tackle is priceless

6) Mr. Fantastic has been a very proficient sleeper and eater from Day One. For this, we are so so lucky. I am already anticipating his future sibling will not be so. Oh well...fair's fair, right? :)

7) Reed loves strangers. There is a lesson to be learned in this, I know, but for now it is darling to see him approach anyone he can get his speedy self to in public and grace them with his schmoozing laugh as if all the people in the world share an inside joke with him.

8) Humor. This kid is funny in his babble and over-expression and I can't wait to hear what all he has to say once he talks more...this could come back to haunt me so don't quote me on this in the future, please :)

9) While he has grown in to those big feet and hands for the most part, they still remain his cute and quirky signature to me.

10) As crazy and on-the-go as Reeders is, he will sit still and completely focus when being read to. It is sweet and interesting to see this total absorption and I always wonder what he is thinking as he studies the pages and listens to our words.

11) Many now teach their kids sign language and so I went with the trend and focused on a few "words". Amazed at how they just came to him, right around his first bday to the day. His few signs are still cute and oh-so-genious to me :)

12) "Sweets for the Sweet"...Reed's (main, there are a few!) nickname is "Sweet Bo", don't know where I got it from, but that's how nicknames just go sometimes. Anyhow, our Sweet Bo LOVED his birthday sweets and we (okay, I) took would would have been two film's woth in the 'old' days, of him devouring his birthday cake. I know we all do this for our baby's first birthdays, but I still found it thrilling. He even licked the plate at the end! He also ate up all the attention from guests, happily smiling along to his birthday song...his crazy mother even made the guests sing to him twice. Such a "Stage Mom" :)

As you know, my list could go on and on but I am sure you'd agree that it has enough already :).
We had a great celebration of family and friends for Reed's 1st and went to dinner at Red Robin on his actual day, too, and I am including pics of both. Spoiled little one...must be the first (and currently only) child.

Happy First Year, Mr. Fantastic!

"Barack Chalk, Jayhawk"...yep, you read that right

Well, we really did it this year. And by "we" I mean those dear to me who I have been cheering on with all the heart and spirit I have, my Jayhawks and Barack, of course!

For those of you who have had your fill of my political postings and emails, I get it. I can only swallow so much from "the other side", too :), but I assure you this is the last for a long while...wait, have I said that before? I promise this time, really, but it has been one of the most memorable years of my life...The Year of The Jayhawk+Obama '08= "Barack Chalk Jayhawk", of course. (And yes, not to be forgotten, the wonderful year of Mr. Fantastic as well...but I will save my entire next entry to his greatness as his birthday is nearing).

"Barack Chalk Jayhawk" was coined by a witty, or several clever, KU fans and I loved it immediately, as I am sure all who love both the 'Hawks and Obama do, too. Let me begin by admitting that we can be fanatic fans...a tad obnoxious even...and tend to integrate all other things we know and love into KU. For example, a long while back one St. Patrick's Day I was wearing my bright green "Shamrock Jayhawk" shirt to watch a March Madness game. A friend asked me out of true curiosity and jokes aside, "what does St. Patty's Day have to do with Kansas?", he went on, "I know the Notre Dame Irish significance, but explain to me KU's". Ummm, well, let's see, hmmm...we like celebrating St. Patrick's day as most do and also love our Jayhawks, so it seems totally normal to send it to the tee printing press, right? And so it was with the Barack Chalk slogan....gotta love (or loathe, depending on your take) the spirit of it all.

And so it went that the year brought Lawrence Lovers an Orange Bowl football win and the NCAA Basketball Title. And then more recently some of those same Larry L-er's welcomed the historical, memorable, heart-strings-a-pullin' victory of our new president, Barack Obama. (btw, we usually celebrate our 'crimson and blue' but cheered on the blue while that electoral map was turning one or the other, next time the rest of Kansas will hopefully join the spirit of things in color!). Barack even addressed us fanatics in a crowd at a rally a few months back, recognising "So you all must be those 'Barack Chalk, Jayhawks' I have been hearing about?". Yes, and like our shamrock shirts and numerous other examples of such, the connection seems so natural yet again.

Seeing that all major events that we hold close to us have gone our way this year, my fellow Barack Chalk Jayhawkers, let's bask in all the glory while we can as many more 'seasons' are around the corner and I am thinking I'll never know again a year quite like this!

(and until then, I will be keeping my tribute to Obama song playing on this blog and both my 'obama mama' and ncaa tourney tees worn frequently :)).