Hugh's First Birthday

Here are some fun photos from Hugh's birthday on Tuesday. He was excited to have so many people to share in his special day - Mom, Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Mandi, cousins Audrey and Luke, and our friends Sarah and Noah. We were so happy to have friends and family celebrate his big day with us.

One of Hugh's favorite places to play is in the kitchen, pulling out all the canned food from the cupboard. And, I just happened to have my camera handy when he was excitedly playing with some tuna cans....

For his birthday cake I finally decided on a turtle. With that cute thing he does with stretching his neck out and with his turtle-like crawl, I just couldn't resist.

I didn't get a photo of his initial reaction to the cake and ice cream, but he was actually very hesitant. After putting a small bite in his mouth, then he dug right in, "mmmming" the entire time.

Hugh got some fun gifts for his birthday, but the big hit was this motorized car that my parents bought him. Ben seemed to think he should try it out first, and quickly figured out how to make it drive. We were all laughing so hard, watching such a tiny little guy driving the car. He looked much too grown up than I'm ready for.

Then, Hugh had a turn on his car. Before anyone even had a chance to show him the button to press to make it move, he was already moving! We laughed even harder watching Hugh driving around on it. I kept shaking my head in disbelief. Where did my babies go?

Some fun facts about Hugh:

- he has the cutest little grunty laugh

- he has the largest hands and the longest fingers I've ever seen on a baby - the span of his fingers almost reaches 180 degrees, from his pinky to his thumb.

- he babbles a lot, saying mama, dada, oh, and a whole lot of stuff we can't yet translate

- he is very cuddly, always preferring to be held by someone (especially Mom)

- he has a fiesty side to him that is coming out more - mainly whenever Ben tries to take away a toy from him

- he loves playing outside

- he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth

- he has an obsession with tags - if something has a tag on it, he will find it and play with it and cover it with slobber.

- he gets so excited when Ben is around and loves to follow him wherever he goes

- he loves our cats, especially Watson - when he sees either of them he does a high-pitched whine that clearly resembles a "meow"... it's really cute

- he's been taking multiple steps for the last month, but in the last week he's been walking a ton more - taking a dozen at a time. I think we can officially say he is walking!

- he's sleeping through the night, but wakes up consistently before 6am. I still offer him two naps a day, but he rarely sleeps more than two hours total during the day. He has never been a long napper.

- he's very serious when around people he doesn't know, but once he knows you, he is the most bubbly, excitable baby

- he is constantly dancing, which either consists of bobbing his head up and down or doing a full body bounce and sway. He can find the beat to anything that resembles a song.

- lately he's learned to shake his head back and forth and nod it up and down... but he does it and laughs the entire time

- he is a great eater, but especially loves yogurt, avocado, pasta, cheese, and pancakes.

- he is such a sweet boy with so much personality! We love him so much and are so grateful to have him in our family!