Holtz's First Birthday

Happy Birthday Holtz!  Holtz turned 1 on January 18th.  Most of this blog post will be about Holtz because he is doing so many new things so quickly...and I like to include his achievements so I can remember them (I love to look back).  I wish I would've started this blog when Grace was born.  It's amazing looking back at pictures of her- she was 18 months old! 

Now that Holtz is one, he is almost solely on cow milk (drunk from a sippy).  He still gets one bottle of mommy milk right before bed and will continue until I finish pumping (backing off gradually- down to two pumps a day) and then after my frozen supply is gone.  We had a hard time with the switch to whole milk because Holtz was not a fan.  We decided mixing it was the best way to introduce it so we started with 3/4 mommy milk, 1/4 cow milk and gradually increased the cow milk until whala- now he'll drink 100% cow milk! 

Here is video of Holtz looking through one of his books.  He loves books- looking through them and being read to.  We read a lot!  He especially likes books that are interactive (pop-ups, flaps, music, etc.).  It's really something because I'll be looking for Holtz and he'll be sitting behind my rocking chair by himself reading- ha ha.  I think he's going to be one smart cookie!

Evan really wanted Holtz to have a jello cake for his first birthday so that's what we did.  I made strawberry jello and covered it with Cool Whip.  Yum!  At his one year doctor's appt. he weighed in at 20 lbs. 15 oz.  He hasn't gained much since his 9 month appt. but considering he was teething at the time (didn't have much of an appetite- but now has 12 teeth) and was walking (burning more calories) the doctor wasn't worried.  His weight is in the 22nd percentile (meaning 88% of kids his age weigh more than him).  His length is another story.  Mr. Trouble is Mr. Tall!  He grew 2 1/2 inches in 3 months and is now 31 1/2 inches long.  This is in the 92nd percentile (only 8% of kids are taller than him).  I think we may have a hard time finding clothes for him...still very much long and lean!

 Holtz thought the Cool Whip was ok but wouldn't touch the strawberry jello- seems strange to me!

 Yes- I even made Grace her very own little jello cake!

 This is a ball pit we bought for Holtz from Debenhams in London.  Now, that was an expensive experience (since we had to call them 3 times to figure out where our package was).  He (and Grace) like it, so that's all that matters.  The next picture is another present (this one from Grace).  She was so proud of herself picking it out!

Oh my goodness!  My little Notre Dame fan!!  I'm getting his name embroidered on the side-  too cool!  Grace says she wants a Notre Dame hat as well for her birthday (I have the greatest kids!)  Other things Holtz is doing now is he can point his finger at things, can say thank you (gay goo), and he knows where his eyes and tongue are.

 Grace got a vanity for Christmas from Santa and she just loves making herself look fancy!  In the first picture she is curling her hair (pretend of course) and then using the flat iron to make her hair smooth and silky!  These days Grace is picking out her own outfits and is pretty good at it.  She's excellent at matching.  The only thing I need to tell her is how warm to dress. 

 And, Grace can now put her hair in a pony tail all by herself.  That's hard to do- she just amazes me!  Here she put it in a pony and then clipped it up- again...all by herself.  Beautiful!

And here is Holtz doing his own hair.  This video is amazing! Holtz now can follow simple instructions (which is very cool!). He's putting a hair brush in his bucket and then brushing his hair- by himself! Huge accomplishment! (Poor guy needs more hair- grin).

 Following are tons of pictures from Holtz's birthday party.  Hopefully you feel like you were here for his party after looking at them.  We did a train theme (to match his invites). 

 Of course I didn't make the streamers or Happy Birthday sign but I did make all of the other decorations.  I was quite proud of myself.

 I used electrical tape and made railroad tracks on the floor- so clever! 

 All of the kids that attended the party got conductor hats and red bandanas to wear for the party and take home. 

 Their gift bags included train whistles for the kids (which I strategically waited until the party was over to hand them out- geesh, I'm a smarty), and then train letters for everyone's first initial.  I thought it would be kind-of neat for every family to have their initials together.

 Here is Holtz in his little red rocking chair before his party.  He's sporting a train shirt- choo choo!

 

 He just discovered the balloons...

 Grace in her conductor gear...and the birthday boy!

 Yes, I made the cake myself!  All aboard!

 The spread-  train sugar cookies, train cake, blue punch, chocolate fountain fondue with rice crispy treats, cookies, crackers, etc. for dipping, and then finger foods for lunch.  I made most of the snacks myself too!

 Holtz getting ready to try his birthday cake.  Will he like it???

 Nope, he didn't like it one bit!

 Evan and our neighbor, Chris, cutting and serving the cake.

 It's present time...

 Poor Holtz was sick for his birthday and birthday party so he was a bit fussy- except when we opened presents!  He was very happy on Daddy's lap.

 The older kids had more fun with his ball popper than him!

 You have got to watch this video!  It is so cute.  Holtz has been walking awhile now and loves to walk with his push toy noise maker (which is out front).  He's still learning to walk with his pull behind toys- he wants to pick them up rather than keep them on the ground.  In this video, he's walking with Grace's hula hoop around him- holding it out front.  You don't have to look hard to see how proud he is of himself!

 Grandpa and Grandma got Grace two games for Christmas (Guess Who and Connect 4).  They say 6 and up but Grammie played with Grace lots after Holtz's party and now Grace is pretty good.  We play games a lot these days (try to play at least one game every night).  I don't know if it's because of Guess Who but Grace is now noticing how people are different.  The other day Grace looked at Evan and said out of nowhere, "Daddy, you're fat."  Yikes!  Really hurt Evan's feelings but he realizes she didn't say it to be mean, she was just making an observation.  Hard to be mad at such an observant little girl.  (by the way, Evan, I think you are one hot poppa).

Here's one more video of Holtz playing peek a boo behind our chair.  He does just great until he notices the plug and then loses interest.  Lastly, there are several more milestones Holtz has mastered.  He is almost running now (watch out world), he can play pat-a-cake and 'If you're happy and you know it clap your hands", he loves to bang two things together, can wave bye-bye, loves music, and is beginning to cooperate a little in getting dressed by sticking up his foot when it's time to put on a sock or helping me push his legs through his pants.  Today we took away his pacifier too (several months back we started to only give it to him during naps and bedtime) and so far a little crying but it is going better than expected.  One day down...pretty cool and ever changing.

That's all for now.  The next post won't be far behind b/c tomorrow we celebrate Evan's 42nd birthday!