Thirtysomething

12 Months

This past weekend couldn't have been more perfect. It didn't start out that way. I had taken off from work Friday and then at 11p.m. Thursday night, I got called into work for an emergency. Working overnight was so NOT part of my long-weekend plans. But by 2a.m. I was back in bed, so things weren't all that bad.

Friday morning we got up, sang "Happy Birthday" to Rolo, got ourselves ready and headed to the zoo. We spent a lot more time there than I expected, but the weather was gorgeous and Rolo was in a good mood. He seemed a little unsure of the lions, but the monkeys were a big hit. Sidenote: the Philadelphia Zoo has an "individual" membership that costs $54.00 and allows the member to bring in one guest free each time. Also, all kids under 2 are free. So basically, by becoming members, Ron, Rolo and I can visit the zoo as many times as we want the next year on an individual membership. Since an adult one day ticket is almost $18 and it's 12 bucks to park (member parking is free), it's a great deal. We definitely plan on going next month.

On Saturday, we hosted a first birthday party/barbeque at my parents' house, and all of Ron's family came, which is to say that there were more people in my parents' house on Saturday than there has been collectively over the last 16 years. There were 11 children, they all played nice and there were no incidents. Same goes for the adults. I got to see some of my girlfriends, which was great, and although Rolo refused to nap and was uncharacteristically unpleasant, he perked up at the presents. The rain held out and everyone seemed to have a great time, including my folks, which was nice.

I talked Ron into walking with Rolo and I the 14 blocks to church on Sunday morning, and the weather was gorgeous again. I played hookey from church (with the intention of attending the evening mass) so we could have brunch at Marathon on the Square. The service was as slow as molasses and they completely skimped on the hollandaise sauce on my eggs benedict, but I was so happy to be outside in low-humidity weather that I didn't even care. After heading home for a whole family nap, we took Rolo out to Franklin Square, where he enjoyed watching the merry-go-round and swinging on the baby swings. On the way home Ron and I made the spontaneous decision to grab an early dinner sitting outside again, enjoying the great weather. Seriously, I can't stop talking about the weather.

So there you have it: the perfect weekend. A perfect first birthday weekend.

I'm not all that sentimental about "one year". I think I had my he's-getting-so-big breakdown at 9 months.

He is getting so much bigger though. Rolo's quicker at crawling and cruising these days and although he's standing for longer periods of time without holding on, he's not any closer to walking. In fact he received two walkers for his birthday and I don't think he's quite sure what to do with either. On the other hand he loves climbing the stairs (supervised, of course).

We took Rolo to a boardwalk in N.J. last month and enjoyed his first carousel ride:

We also took him to the beach very briefly another day where he loved getting his hands in the sand, but didn't really seem to enjoy the ocean.

Rolo is big into clapping these days and will clap for just about anything or anyone. If I ask him to wave to someone, he claps instead; if I show him a book, he claps; when I ask him a question, his usual response is to clap; he claps when his father walks into the room; and he claps when he's finished dinner. There's much clappng.

One of the biggest developments is his food preferences. Just recently he decided that he's too old for baby food. He's gone through phases like this before, but usually they didn't last long and they usually involve vegetables. This is different. Regardless of whether he's hungry, he wants what anyone else is eating. He's been interested in what Ron and I were eating for months, but he never demanded it. On Sunday, actually, while out at dinner, we had a big eating accomplishment. Ron and I were both having sandwiches when Rolo decided he wanted some too. No, he did not want his Cheerios. No, he didn't want a bottle. No, no fruit either. He wanted fries, or excuse me, frites as they were called. And he wanted a burger. And if he did not have these things there would be much screaming. So for the first time, we fed him off our plates. I gave him pieces of my fries (much to my dismay, because didn't I just have a rant recently about not feeding your kids crap? should I feel better that these were frites and not fries?) and Ron broke off pieces of his cheeseburger (not from the cheese side), which Rolo ate with reckless abandon. I held my breath waiting for some sort of allergic reaction, but none came.

Rolo seems so much like a little boy now. It strikes as strange to call him a toddler, but that's what he is. I'm not sure that I'll continue doing monthly updates and recaps, but I will update you on his progress somewhat regularly, so stay tuned.

Labels: Rolo

posted by DJ Heavy D @ 6:22 PM