Finally a look at our new baby!

After 13 weeks we finally were able to have an appointment with the doctor and see our new baby. With the move and insurance and what not it's been a long journey just to get this far. But it was all worth it. Our baby looks healthy, everything looks alright with me and I'm done with the first trimester. I must admit I'm pretty excited about that last bit. During this pregnancy (as with Ebby's) I've never thrown up but I've been REALLY tired and sick to my stomach after eating. I'm so excited to put that part of the pregnancy behind me and experience more of the fun parts coming up. Feeling the baby, finding out the sex of it and having it be ok to eat more. Yeah, really excited for that last part.

Sweeping

I've never really swept in front of Ebby. I do some light cleaning but usually save the more hard core stuff for when he's napping. So you can imagine my surprise when the one time I do really clean with him around he picks up the broom and tries to help me. Gee, I hope this lasts.

Another Present!?!

A huge thank you to the Stotts. Ebby LOVES them.

The Sultan of Brunei's party it was not

Ebby's a year old. This came as a huge surprise to me (Andrew) as I was under the simultaneous and contradictory impressions that he had a) just arrived and b) always been a part of our family.

The infant in question

We set about Ebby's birthday preparations with all the zeal of parents who, in spite of their impoverished circumstances, were fully aware that it is unlikely that he will remember any of it. One corner of a room was lavishly decorated with a "happy birthday" banner, 25 half-inflated balloons, and a castle I built out of his blocks for him to destroy. Several toys were in attendance, as well.
Shortly after we woke him from his afternoon nap, Ebby was presented with the following:

Royal Trappings

The Beesley family has never been big on ceremony, and Ebby showed his heritage well by tearing off the crown the instant we placed it upon his head. No crown need adorn the head of our king for a day, as he needed no such symbols to remind the world of his dominance.
Having been put in our place, we sang 'Happy Birthday' accompanied by Mom and Dad via cell-phone and Skype (cell phone for the audio, since Skype's sound-transmitting software had apparently been shut down in honor of Ebby's birthday and we could only get video on it). We then offered Ebby some cupcake, prompting this response:

"What is this garbage?"

Apparently the name (or middle name, in Ebby's case) 'James' imparts a general distaste for things the rest of the world views as delicious. Just like his uncle, Ebby was at first perplexed and then revolted by the cupcake I had slaved over for countless minutes. Good thing I used a mix and packaged frosting, or this rejection would have cut deeply.

Here we have Ebby's initial reaction to his birthday festivities. Though it may appear that he is running to Joy, the monitor with my parents on it, and me in turns because he's so happy to see us, the truth is that he was scared of the balloons. That fear had passed by the end of the night, and he destroyed several to celebrate having overcome his fear. And to teach the balloons to never cross him again.

True horror

Our Adventurous Ebby

So, A lot of people have told me that little boys tend to be more adventurous than girls. And for the longest time I thought my little Ebby was just another typical boy, but I'm starting to have my doubts about that. For example, Andrew and I know that Ebby LOVES to go for walks. He usually holds one of our hands and so for our date we decided to go to the mall and walk around. Oh, there was so much for Ebby to see and try to interact with. I still think it was a good idea to go but from almost the second we entered the mall Ebby wanted down, he wanted to walk by himself and he didn't care at all if we were following him. Rather than deal with a screaming kid at the mall we decided to just let him wander. Don't worry, we were always within two feet of him but he was definitely free. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy. After about an hour (yes an HOUR - he's almost 1 and he was running around for an hour!) he was so tired he didn't mind going home. Thank heavens. I will say this about our little boy: If he ever gets lost in the mall we'll know exactly where he'll end up - the kid zone. I love our little Ebby.