Whew!

Well, it has certainly been a busy month! After the Easter festivities it has been nothing but busy, busy, busy around our house. This is the month of showers, birthdays, parties, out-of-town guests and everything in between. It's stressful, but I love it!

Poor Alex caught some stomach bug and was sick on Easter Sunday :( He woke up in the middle of the night screaming and had thrown up in his crib. He was sick again in the morning so we only gave him clear liquids for about 8 hours. Boy was he unhappy with that scenario! He kept grabbing at anything we were eating and was incredibly unhappy. It was awful! I felt so bad for him. He was better by that evening and we fed him a dinner of rice and applesauce before putting him to bed. But before he would go to sleep he had one more surprise up his sleeve - he took two real steps in front of me!!!!!! I was so excited to see him do that. He's been trying really hard to start walking and I'm really nervous about it. He took two steps to the side the next day! Also in front of me. Poor daddy didn't get to see any steps for a few days. But he still is not walking on his own. I'm sure it will be soon, though. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for a toddler but I know it has to happen eventually.....

Speaking of milestones - his first birthday is tomorrow! I cannot believe it has been a year. One year ago I was experiencing the joys of induced labor - haha! I'm so excited about celebrating his birthday with his friends and family, too! I'm a dork, but we're having two parties for him. We are having a combined party this weekend with Viviana that is with immediate family only. But I really wanted the extended family and friends to also be a part of the celebration so I'm throwing him a Pirate-themed DESSERT island party. I have got to stop tooting my own horn - but I am so proud of myself coming up with that! I'm not the creative type so I have to pat myself on the back for the few moments of creativity I do have. I'm going to attempt to bake and decorate a pirate ship cake and serve little desserts and candies for everyone. Maybe decorate the house like a desert island? Not really sure yet what I'm going to do. I'm just trying really hard not to spend tons of money!

Anyway, that's all that's going on in Alex's little universe. As for mommy and daddy - well, where to begin? We co-hosted a shower for Candace and Kyle this weekend which was a lot of fun! There were about 20 people at our house and everyone seemed to be having a really good time. Justin built a trellis over half the back deck and then built a bench along the rail of the other half - it makes it 100 times nicer out there. Everyone was enjoying the great weather and there were kids playing on the front lawn. It made me really happy. It also made me start badgering everyone else to start having kids!!! I've turned into one of those people - oh no!

This weekend we are hosting my sister and her family so they can attend the Alex and Vivi extravaganza! I'm so excited to see them. And I know Michelle is going to be beside herself when she sees the munchkins! So - there's the cleaning and preparing associated with house guests not to mention the party itself that I'm helping to plan. Thankfully it's going to be relatively small. I don't think I could handle big parties three weeks in a row!

The next weekend is the Pirate party for Alex - and then I think I can catch my breath. Maybe? I don't have my calendar in front of me so I'm guessing I'm done with the month of crazy. Let's hope at least! I do need to start planning a baby shower for my best friend Sandy, though! I can't believe she's in her third trimester already! Little Lenzi is going to be here before we know it. I'm so excited!!!

So, as you can see - we've been pretty busy this past month. I'm in awe that Justin completed the deck additions in, essentially, six hours (with some help from Stewart). And we only had to pay for materials which he gets at a discount anyway. It's pretty nice to be married to a builder!

I'm taking the day off from work on Thursday for Alex's one year doctor's appointment and I'm debating doing something fun with him. Maybe go to a park for a walk? Not really sure yet what I plan to do. But I promise him and myself that I will not use the day to clean the house! A person only turns one once.