Yesterday was Alex’s first opportunity for a vertical Halloween. If you remember last year, he spent most of it laying down, projectile pooping all over the furniture. So, we found probably the most adorable costume in the history of the world at Old Navy, and made him walk around in it. We stopped at a few of the neighbors’ houses and collected some loot, but mostly, we just wanted an opportunity to watch him try to toddle around in his costume.

This weekend, we celebrated Alex’s first birthday with a big picnic party at the park. Since swinging is Alex’s favorite thing to do other than poop, we thought this would be the perfect venue for such an event. Naturally, Alex ended up being sick that day, since he’s sick all the time now that he started going to day care; but he was a trooper.

We had picnic-themed food like ants on a log, bug juice, and sticks (pretzels) and had fun singing bug songs. Some of his friends from school were there, and his great-great-grandmother & great-grandfather both came all the way from Florida!

This past weekend we celebrated Stephanie’s first Mother’s Day by spending the day at the park. We had a picnic lunch, played on the swing and slide, and then watched some people play soccer while Alex cruised around the grass. Since we forgot his hat, he had to wear an extra pair of pants on his head.

When we got home from the park, daddy made mommy a special macaroni & cheese (recipe here) since she likes it so much and then gave her a photobook he made with all kinds of pictures of our family. You can view, order, or share the book here. (Note: this link is only good for one year.)

While still too young to appreciate the finer points of Easter - the egg hunting, the Geebus resurrecting, etc. - we still took the opportunity to celebrate Easter Sunday with Alex. The lucky duck got all kinds of goodies from the Easter Bunny like bubbles, a stuffed baby pig, and one of those stacking colored ring things that every kid who’s every lived has played with.

After the morning festivities, we went up to visit and have dinner with the Casebolts. He played with Ryan and Rachel and we all watched the Red Sox game together. He got some great little stuffed Peeps that he summarily tried to eat, which I suppose is only fitting. All in all, a great holiday.

This year marked our first Christmas as a family. While it’s obvious that Alex is a little young to truly enjoy the holiday season, we did everything we could to include him in the festivities. We spent Christmas Eve at home with the Tarves clan. They brought over dinner and presents, and Grandy had a CD of old photos that we all watched on the big screen. They were the real entertainment of the night since all of us could take the opportunity to poke fun at each other.

Mom (and Alex) got the Phil & Ted’s stroller they really wanted and dad got a new iPod. Alex got a bunch of fun toys, and some great books that daddy can read to him when he’s a little bit older.

The next morning, mom, dad, and Alex woke up and opened presents together. Actually, mom and dad opened presents and Alex fell back asleep. We did get a chance to read him on of his new stories and play with the Whoozit that Santa brought him before he took his early morning nap. We took a few short video clips from Christmas morning and put them on YouTube. I’ve inserted one below but you can see more videos here.

Mom and dad exchanged their Christmas gifts while Alex was napping. Dad got mom the UGG boots that she’s been talking about all year and mom tricked dad by wrapping his AppleTV in a series of smaller and smaller boxes (and then making him bring all the empty boxes back downstairs). We were even surprised to get a gift from Alex - a gift certificate to Ruth’s Chris Steak House to go have a nice dinner together without him.

After Christmas festivities at home, we visited Grandma Christine, Grandpa John, Uncle Ryan, and Aunty Rachel. They got lots of cool toys - Ryan got a giant Lego set and a remote control helicopter, and Rachel got an ant farm and lots of Disney Princess-related things. They both also got some really cool sleds. We got Grandma and Grandpa the best gift anyone can receive…Arrested Development on DVD. Hands down, best TV show ever. Grandma Christine fell asleep from all the excitement, so we have to show that to everyone.

When we left there, we went over to have Christmas dinner with the Moineaus. Pepe cooked prime rib and Grammy overloaded everyone with gifts. It was crazy. That’s where Alex opened his gifts from Grammy Jane (the Lamaze Spin and Explore Garden Gym) and Danielle (a little Red Sox fitted hat that was a smidgen too small). By the end of the day, Alex was more than exhausted and started to get a little fussy, but all in all, he was very awesome…as per usual.

Alex told us to say thanks to everyone for all of his wonderful gifts and for making this a Christmas worth remembering…even though he won’t.