Lesson #31 It's Fun Turning One in a Flash

Liam John Flurry, age 1.

My little guy is one year old.  He is not so little anymore.  I can't believe it.  His birthday seemed to come so quickly, but then again, I've been planning it since late this summer.

It was in July or August that our good friend Anita Evans (Liam's "Nina") sent me a link to a blog she thought I would like.  She had been researching party themes for her grandson's 1st birthday and decided to share. The blog was about a boy's 1st birthday party and the theme was "Turning 1 in a Flash."  For years, my friends and family have teased me about being photo-obsessed, so the theme couldn't be more perfect!  The blog address is http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-year-old-in-flash-party-details.html in case you want to check out my inspiration.

So the planning began.  When I was sick of grading papers, I would plan the party.  When I was bored watching TV, I would plan the party.  It was much more fun than either of those activities.  Still, it seemed like a long ways away.  Until January, post-holidays.  Then it seemed right around the corner.

It started with the invitation.  We manipulated one we found on Shutterfly (with the help of my good friend Amy Morgan) and included a card for a time capsule for Liam to open on his 18th birthday.  We also asked guests to donate to charity in lieu of gifts.

I had several goals for the party.  1.  To make the decorations myself   2.  To make it both kid-friendly and adult-friendly, and    3.  To have fun, and not stress, planning it. 

Ryan had one goal for the party- that I would be able to enjoy it and not obsess.

Liam had one goal as well- smash and eat as much cake as possible.

I am happy to report that we met all of our goals :)

My student assistants, as well as students who had completed their work early and just had nothing else to do that day, helped with the decorations.  They were enthusiastic and so proud of their work.

Some of them cut.  Some of them painted.  Some threaded garland on ribbon.  They were fantastic help.

The computer classes even participated.  Frequently, they work on projects (both personal and professional) for teachers.  These young ladies made the photo props and water bottle stickers.

After the decorations were planned, it was time to pick out a cake.  I really went back and forth about making the smash cake and guests' cupcakes myself, but I am no baker.  My sisters in law have made fantastic cakes for the boys' birthday parties, but it just isn't my thing.  So once I came to terms with that, we headed to Hy Vee.  It was a very important day for Liam, and of course, was another opportunity to ride in a shopping cart which he loves so much. 

The party was on Sunday, February 19th.  But my goal for readiness was 4:00 on Saturday because my sister Amy and her husband Michael were arriving then and I wanted to be able to enjoy our visit.  So I called in the troops...

Liam's Nina was in charge of helping me "style" the party, including the monthly timeline of pictures above the fireplace.  Her keen eye for detail came in very handy.

Cousin Jenny helped with the ribbon on the baby food jar appetizers.  They were eventually filled with hummus and veggie straws, and carrots and celery with ranch.  * I'm thinking that these would make for a cute appetizer for her baby shower as well :)

Mimi worked on water bottles- taking off the original labels and adding ours.

Even the birthday boy tried to help decorate.  Instead he just got all tangled up.

Finally, the day of the party had arrived!  Ryan kicked it off with a lovely breakfast with Amy and Michael.  Liam agreed to share some of his.

Anita made the hat for the little guy, while Amy helped me put the finishing touches on the decorations.  We decorated his chair,

hung up the pennant banners,

Ryan encased the screened in porch with plastic so it wouldn't be too cold.  It was actually in the 60's that day!  We probably didn't even need the plastic after all, but it kept the wind out.

The birthday banner was hung, the time capsule was placed, the cupcakes were arranged.

Keeping with the theme, on each cupcake we put a photo of Liam in Ryan's snowboard boot from the day he came home from the hospital and on the flip side, one of the same boots on the week of his birthday.  I see this snowboard boot photo becoming a fun tradition.

Menu was placed,

Appetizers and water were put out,

table decorations were set,

and final touches on photos, props, favors and garlands were completed.

Anita even began dressing up with the props early, before the rest of the guests arrived.

Lastly, the outdoor decorations were completed.  Thanks to Anita and Mimi for making the initial entrance so welcoming!

Still asleep at 11:30, Liam was fashionably late to his own party.  But the guests began to arrive, and most didn't seem to notice he wasn't around yet... there was just a lot of coloring and mingling to be done first!

Janes' cousins posing for the obsessed photographer...

Benjamin took his role as oldest cousin very seriously, showing the younger ones how to create a tabletop masterpiece.

Jeremiah chose to just kick back, relax, and wait for the guest of honor to wake up.

He finally did wake up, put on his party sweater and joined the fun.

Rosemary got a special welcome. He loves her!

Jessica and Matthew took a moment to put an old cell phone in the Time Capsule.  It was an awesome idea- who knows what cellular devices will look like in 17 more years.  The time capsule was eventually filled with sealed letters (it is KILLING me not to sneak a peek, but I haven't), Bible passages, favorite quotes, stamps from this year, and lots more.  It will be a very special day when he opens that in February of 2029!

Soon we put out the lunch buffet.  Thank you to Grandma for all of her hard work helping get the food ready.  Some ate in the kitchen, some in the living room, but the cousins' table on the porch is where the really party was.

The cupcakes were a huge hit with the boys.  I think they were showing Liam how to devour cake- he learned well as his cake smashing pictures will show later on.

The sugar high kicked in and proved to be a great incentive for cute photos from the Margherio boys.

More cute photo opps came from the props around the party.  Some people got more into it than others.  It was a great opportunity for people to get a little silly.

Cousin Kristin REALLY loved them...

So did Jessica.  First with her husband Matthew...

then with Anita.

Amy and Michael make a lovely newleywed couple, don't they?

Liam and I couldn't resist either.

One of the many highlights of the day for me was when my friend Stacey Lukas and her daughter Vivienne (see previous post) arrived.  Vivienne had a very serious injury to her finger just days before which resulted in a near amputation of her finger.  But you wouldn't know anything was wrong the way that she gulped down the mac n' cheese and goofed around with the photo opps.  It wouldn't have been the same without the Lukas ladies there.

 

Many guests didn't need props to look fantastic. 

Finally, it was time for cake smashing.  I have been looking forward to this for a year- really.  Amy volunteered to be the photographer and did an outstanding job.  Believe it or not, there were over 100 cake photos.  Here are some of my favorites where you can see the progression from timid, one-finger-poking cake tasting, to full on smashing and gobbling! 

Blowing kisses with cake mouth makes for loads of fun and mess.

 

I'm gonna get you with my dirty cake hands.

Even Jeremiah got into it!

Daddy was in charge of clean up.  More like "hosing off."

The boys took the nice weather as an opportunity to head outside to the tree house.  Apparently sticks are the toy of choice these days.

When the guests began to leave and things settled down, the bakery opened.  Dominic and Benjamin began selling cupcakes from the "store" window.  It was adorable.

Liam got a few birthday hugs from Jenny when he woke up from his nap.  Can you tell how much he loves her?

When the guests had left and the party was all cleaned up, Ryan celebrated on his own. 

That was Sunday.  Monday was President's Day and we were able to spend it with family, just relaxing and having a good time.  That evening we celebrated Papa's birthday.  I remember last year being so excited that Liam might arrive on Daddy Don's birthday.  He missed it by only 20 minutes.  But now each one has their own special day.

Liam's REAL birthday was Wednesday and it was another gorgeous day out. Jenny, Liam and I were able to go to SM South for lunch with Daddy.  Liam was sporting his birthday shirt for the occasion. 

Lunch was great, but it was a working one.  Liam had to help Daddy with the Master Schedule and his secretary Jan with writing hall passes for students.  It's all in a day's work.

 

After the visit to SM South, we came back to West where my 7th block had a birthday party for him.  I would love to think he was the real reason, but honestly, they just love any excuse to have a party. 

He hung out with the ladies on the sofa that I call the "Spuds" (because they are "couch potatoes").  What a flirt.

Then, Marina Sarkisova, worked on walking with him.  He impressed her by walking with her all the way across the carpet.  Then he sat back down on his butt and laughed.

The official 1st Birthday block 7 Party Photo.

After work, Grandma and I took Liam to the park to meet Shannon and the boys.  We practiced Liam's walking.  I think maybe his gut is getting in the way of success- how can he possible see his feet?

The first time down the slide with Aunt Shannon and Dominic's help.  He wasn't a fan.

He prefers the swings with Dominic by his side.  By the way, the reason that Benjamin is not pictured is that he was on the merry-go-round for the entire time they were there!  Made for blurry photos.

After the park it was time for our 12th Grandparents' Dinner to thank them for all of the wonderful things they have done for Liam in his first year of life.  The list is too long to finish, but begins with...

• Kisses, hugs and squeezes daily
• Rocking miles  and miles in the Lazy Boy
• Giving more bottles than we can count
• Cleaning more bottles than we can count
• Rolling around on the floor looking for lost binkies
• Stretching as far as they can to get runaway binkies from under the crib
• Saying "no, no, no" 80 times a day
• Last minute coverage for much needed date nights
• Reading books
• Singing songs
• Playing with toys
• Simply loving him

We had a lovely dinner on the deck (yes, on February 22nd) that included scalloped potatoes, asparagus and pork chops on the grill.  Liam's favorite was the asparagus.  The kid loves his vegetables.

When we asked him how big he was, he put his hands up in the air as if to answer, "Soooo big!"

We came inside to open presents and realized that the photo props from the party were still out.  Notice who is not pictured with any props in this blog?  Ryan is too cool for props I guess :)

The 12th Grandparents' Dinner photo is my favorite- perhaps my favorite photo of the entire birthday celebration.  What a lucky guy to have such fun grandparents!

The evening ended with opening a few presents, including a fun toy that takes pounding, a very cool John Deere play tractor from Grandma that he has not stopped playing with since, and several books.  Two of the books were recorded with Mimi and Papa's voice reading them.  I bawled like a baby.  What a special gift. 

The tired birthday boy went to bed, we all had a cupcake and some more wine, and toasted a year of health, love and laughter.  But there was one more thing we had to do.

That weekend, we took Liam to Portrait Innovations for the traditional "John Deere" photo shirt.  For those that don't know, every one of the boys have taken a photo with a John Deere theme for their first birthday.  That would be special enough, but there's more.  Benjamin Dolph Margherio was born just one month after Grandpa Dolph died.

On Benjamin's first birthday, Uncle Richard Flurry gave him a shirt that he and Aunt Judy had made from one of Dolph's work shirts.  It is a little button up blue shirt and is very special to all of us.  Benjamin took his 1st birthday photo wearing it, and so a tradition began.

With his new John Deere boots on (until he took them off of course), Liam sat proudly on the tractor and smiled.  And it was then, in the middle of the busy studio, that I realized that every molecule of his body, every ounce of blood in his veins, is filled with the extraordinary presence of Dolph.  And Pops.  And everyone in our family that has come before and is here now in his life. Watching over him and keeping him safe.   And so I smiled, comforted in the knowledge that he will always be loved.

Now the decorations have been taken down, the blog is completed and now all I have left is thank you notes.  That, and planning for next year's party.  And yes, I already have a theme in mind.  After all, it's fun turning one (in a flash).   Lesson well learned.

Lesson #30 God is in the Details

I am working on the big 1 year birthday post- it is lengthy with lots of pictures, so you'll have to wait a little longer.  But while I have been focusing on that post, I realized that I should probably post some of the milestones that Liam has been reaching lately.  I want to make sure to remember the nuances of his life- not just the big celebrations. 

EATING

Our boy is a healthy eater.  He has been eating rice cereal since 5 months, then baby food at 6 months and by 9 months he was pretty much eating whatever we ate with very few exceptions.  Until last Thursday night (just one day after his 1st birthday), we had never found anything he didn't like.  And then it happened.  We were sitting at Waldo Pizza and had made a plate forLiam from the salad bar.  As always, he gobbled the egg whites with gusto, he snarfed down the pasta salad, he even seemed to enjoy the brocolli. 

And then we gave him a beet.  He spit it out.

We gave him another one.  He spit that one out too.

I should be upset that he refused to eat something.  But it was a beet.  I hate beets.  So I think I can live with it.  Uncle Michael (Barr) believes he can turn him around with his amazing beet culinary skills.  He probably can- Michael could make dirt taste good.

While in general he is not too discrimatory when it comes to food, he does have favorite restaurants.  On Saturday mornings, he likes to come to First Watch, hang out with the ladies, listen to their joys and woes, and of course, eat English muffins.

Salty Iguana in Corinth is a huge favorite of his because of the colorful walls, loads of ceiling fans and, of course, their black bean burritos.

Sunday post morning nap lunch is usually dim sum at Bo Lings.  He likes to share with Daddy.  Sharing is a new development and pretty adorable.

He also loves to share his veggie straws.

But I think the best thing about his eating habits right now is that he is totally open to trying new things.  He is so much better than I am at that- he hasn't been tainted by many things that he thinks are "gross" or "yucky" yet.  Just the other night our friends, The Sinklers, had us over for a dinner party.  Everyone was in a great mood since KU had just beat MU in overtime at Allen Field House and we were celebrating the win with many cocktails.  Anyway, Daron Sinkler is a master BBQ-er and has even won local BBQ contests.  He smoked ribs for hours that day and they literally fell off the bone.  So as we are drinking wine and lingering after the meal at the table, I noticed that Liam had become very quiet next to me.  This is why.

Ryan had give n him a bone to gnaw on and he was in Heaven.  If you put a little makeup on him and some painted nails, he could be mistaken for Mimi.  Have I told you about how my mother LOVES to gnaw on bones?  She used to make pork chops for us, not have any of them herself, and just gnaw on all our scraps when we were finished.  True story.  He must take after his grandma.

SLEEP

Liam's sleep schedule is pretty set these days.  I thank God every day that in just over a year, he has always been a good sleeper.  I know this will probably change.  So I am going to relish it now while I can.

The biggest change I can think of in regards to sleep habits is that he rarely lets us snuggle and sleep with him.  He is squirmier than he used to be so the days of him falling asleep in my arms to cozy up for a long nap are close to over.  Some nights if he is really tired, I get to hold him while he's sleeping.  Those moments are magical.

Liam sleeps until  6:45am - 7:30 am most mornings. Sometimes it will be until 8am if we're lucky.  Just the other day when Mimi was watching him, he was awake early and frustrated because he had thrown all his binkies out and there is still quite a dependency on them for him to fall asleep.  Knowing said binkies were on the ground by his crib, Mimi stealthily crawled into his room and tossed them back into the crib.  He saw her, cried for a minute, put one of the binkies in his mouth and fell back asleep until almost 8:30.  Well done Mimi.

After he is up for the day, he plays, takes very little of his bottle (as I write this, we are beginning to exchange his formula for whole, organic milk), and plays some more.  Mornings are fun!  Then he eats breakfast, frequently consisiting of some fruit, a granola bar and perhaps an egg or some toast, depending on the day and what's in the fridge.  Breakfast and playing are apparently exhausting because he takes a morning nap around 9:30 that lasts a good hour and a half usually.

Then he plays, eats lunch (sometimes out so I can meet them), plays some more or goes for a walk in his stroller, and then is exhausted again so he gets a bottle and goes down for his afternoon nap around 2:30.  This one can last between an hour and half to just over two hours.  Ryan and I tend to get home from work during this nap or right at the end so we can enjoy a couple hours with him before it's time for bed once again.  We eat dinner together because Ryan and I are big believers in "he eats what we eat", then it's bath time, a book (if he sits still long enough for one), and a bottle then bed.  He is usually asleep by 7:30pm. 

I call him Rip Van Flurry.  The kid can sleep.

PLAYTIME & FRIENDSHIPS

Playtime is best spent in the mornings, footie pajamas still on, awaiting breakfast.  Putting toys "in" things and taking toys "out" of things is really big right now.  This simple toy of colorful rings is an oldie but a goody.

Liam loves to bang on things.  I figured he would- all 3 of the Flurry boy cousins love to as well.  He goes to town, banging anything he can.  His favorites these days include his little wood hammer.  Unfortunately, he uses it less on the toy it came with and more on the glass tabletop.  Sometimes he uses the remote controls to bang on things as well... he loves remote controls.  Fortunately for us, Aunt Nancy got him a toy remote control that counts and sings and does far more interesting things than turning the volume and channels on the TV. 

Sometimes he just stands by the table, hoping the remote control will magically appear from behind my back or under my butt, wherever I have chosen to hide it.  By the way, I love this picture.  His Puma sweatpants pulled up over his gut reminds me of Tony Soprano.

After saying "no, no, no" too many times to count as he is banging things loudly on the glass-topped coffee table, I decided to just embrace it.  I got him a drum set.

Okay, now while you are all rolling your eyes as if I am CRAZY to bring such a loud instrument into the house, you should know a few things...

1.  It was free.  A student of mine by the name of Ryan Cooney donated it to our family.

2.  It is tiny.  Really, it's the perfect size for him.

3.  It will be kept downstairs after the novelty wears off, to be used on "special" occasions.

4.  With four older boy cousins, I see a rock band in our future.

5.  Let's face it- drummers are cool.  The girls are gonna love him!

Because of the crazy, unseasonably warm February weather (although as I write this, it is actually snowing outside), we have visited the playground recently.  And Liam actually gets out of the stroller and plays on the equipment.

Well, doesn't actually play on it.  More like bends over it and picks up leaves.

Sometimes he ventures onto the merry-go-round.  But really only for photo opps with Mimi.

We hope to spend a lot more time on the playground in the weeks (and I suppose years) to come.

Special days are spent with cousins and friends.  Miss Vivienne Scarlett Lillian Lukas is one of them.  Sometimes she invites Liam over to play in her play room, have tea parties with her, and even snuggle up in her favorite chair for hugs and kisses.

ROUTINES, QUIRKS, and HABITS

Liam's always been a social guy, so he likes to get out and about.  Almost every weekend involves a trip to House Depot with Daddy.  This one was not sexy- we were buying a toilet.

He has also discovered a love for the grocery store.  Especially Price Chopper because they have car carts.  Beep beep... look out!

Visiting SM South and SM West is always fun too.  His daddy is a Raider.  His mommy is a Viking.  But he will be a Lancer.  We are a multi-cultural family. 

We dress him in green and gold for South games and black and gold for West games.

But hanging out in the classroom, writing in his journal, is probably what he enjoys most about school.

Fortunately, Liam loves to "help" around the house.  I was given bathroom duty as one of my chores growing up.  I hated it.  I mean really hated it.  But Liam is apparently just fine with it.  Thank God.

Recently he has taken to crawling on top of the dishwasher door when it's open and sitting there.  Soon I hope he actually can help with the dishes, but it's cute for now.  Unless the dishes are dirty- and then it's just gross.

Finally, one of my favorite habits of Liam's is the same as his daddy- being outside whenever they possibly can.  It is not unusual for me to arrive home to a scene like this.

I am excited to post about Liam's big 1st birthday celebration.  But when I reflect on his first year of life, I realize that God is in the details.  Lesson well learned.

Lesson #29 The Salon Is Where It's At

The official "before" photo

My sister Amy got the good hair genes in our family.  It is thick, lucious and grows so fast she is always complaining about having to get it cut "yet again."  I, on the other hand, got the fine, straight hair of my grandmother Weezie's side.  And it grows slowly.  Very slowly. 

I have always hated my hair.  Ask anyone who knows me.  I have been complaining about it since I was a little girl- when Mom would curl it, I would want it straight.  When it was brown, I wanted it blond.  I had perms for years, regular and spiral.  I have actually always fantasized about having gorgeous "ethnic" long hair like Jennifer Lopez or Charro (yes, I'm that old that I remember her on the Love Boat with her "coochie, coochie, coochie").  Alas, unless I decide to buy myself some extensions or a weave, I will have to settle for my fine hair. 

Fortunately my son has AWESOME hair!  I was surprised when the sonogram showed so much of it and even more surprised when he arrived with a mass of dark hair on his head.  I have had a blast watching it grow with a mind of its own, some days conservative and flat like a little mathematician and most other days sticking up like a mad scientist.  I love his crazy hairdos.

So you can imagine how I felt about cutting Liam's hair.  Sure, I gave it a little trim the night before his Baptism (see earlier post) and another one the night before his 8 month photos.  But let's face it- I'm no stylist.  But it was time.  Even I had to admit it.  The crazy days had been outgrown and it was way too long to funk it up- it just hung there flatly and in his eyes, over his ears and down his neck. 

Eventually Liam will go to a manly and official Barber Shop, straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  But for his first real hair cut experience, I called my friend and hair stylist, Anita Graves, who I have known for over 15 years.  Some of you might remember her from the wedding.

She happily scheduled him for Friday, February 3rd at 4:30pm.  There was no backing out.  I brought Kleenex for my impending weepfest, and a candy bracelet.  Yes, a candy bracelet. I will explain later.

First, Liam just hung out, taking in his surroundings at Salon Kismet, got used to the booster chair that made him very tall, and made sure he showed Anita the picture of his friend Carter Heide's hair- his inspiration.

Anita began by simply showing Liam all her "toys", including the big brush to wipe off his whispies and the spray bottle to wet it all down.



Once she wetted it down and combed it out, I had to admit that it was in dire need of some trimmage.  Although I kind of love this "ducktail" look.

But eventually it was time to get down to the very serious business of cutting.  Anita was amazing!  I have always known her to be a fast-moving, fast-talking, creative lady.  But she had tricks up her sleeve that I have never seen before.  

She was lightning-fast!  When he was obsessed with her clippers, she gave Ryan another set to plug in and voila, distraction.  When he was fascinated by her red comb she was using, she said, "Rojo!" (yes, Spanish lessons are apparently included free of charge) and then she handed him a white one of his own to play with.





Now, back to the candy bracelet.  No, I didn't bring them out of my love for accessories, but for a very practical reason.  When my nephew Benjamin was younger, he hated going to the barber shop.  So, my brilliant sister-in-law Shannon brought a candy necklace with them the next time.  Benjamin played with it and ate it off her neck, sitting still for the barber.  I used a bracelet instead and am happy to say that it worked beautifully!

When it was almost over, I posed with him to capture the moment.  I think he looks very pleased with his new look, doing little show-off moves for Daddy.

Even with our extensive parlor tricks, the little guy did get a bit annoyed with the sitting still and the paparazzi flashing their (my) bulbs in his face.

Time to blow dry and style.  He liked this part- the "wind" in his hair.

We all managed to get out alive.  A few tears shed by yours truly, but also a feeling of incredible pride that my baby is growing up to be such a happy, healthy little guy with a lot more "firsts" to come. 

And now he knows, just as I have for years, that the salon (Kismet) is where it's at.  Lesson well learned.



The official "after" photo



PS:  Like a good lasagna, it was even better the day after ;)