Riley is one!

Happy birthday to our little gingersnap! Last week, we celebrated Riley's first birthday with a woodland-themed small family party. Although, Riley was teething and under the weather, and he's not one for crowds, so he didn't feel much like celebrating at first. But he perked up when it was time to open presents!

I snagged some photos of the food, but I'm sort of kicking myself for leaving my camera behind once our family arrived. I'd so hoped to get some good family pics, and I didn't even manage to get one of us four, or one of Riley and his big brother! (I'll admit, I enjoyed the party a lot more, though, than I would have behind the camera lens.)

I did manage to capture Riley with each of his parents (you can tell he wasn't in a celebratory mood):

He wouldn't even touch his smash cake...

It's hard to believe I have a one-year-old! Riley is developing quite the little personality. He's a talker, just like his big brother, and he has mastered the skill of scooting around on his bottom. Who needs crawling? He's got a classic redhead temper.

This guy is growing like a weed! He weighed in at just over 20 pounds at his checkup, which puts him near the 40th percentile, and he's still 50th for height. He decided to forgo bottles the week before he turned one, so I handed him a sippy cup of cold milk, and that was that. I'm thankful there was no lengthy weaning process, which is pretty consistent with his anything-goes mentality toward food. (I refused to let him eat a crayon this morning, though.) His hair doesn't stick up anymore, which makes him look even more like a big boy!
 
He's dropped his morning nap, which is bittersweet (for me, anyway), and instead we've been spending our summer mornings enjoying swinging at the park, splashing in the kiddie pool (I believe he was a fish in a past life), enjoying the animals or the splash pad at the zoo, or picking out books at the library. He flips the pages and jabbers away at each one like he's reading aloud.

If he had his way, he would be held all day (can we say separation anxiety?), which doesn't help our quest to help him meet those gross motor milestones, but it's also meant perfect timing to introduce playpen time. You know, so I can do things like shower or brush my teeth.

And then there's this little guy, who never stops moving and runs from the camera. But I managed to snap a couple of pictures of him running around at the park. He's two going on eight. Seriously, when did he become such a handsome little man?!

Life with these two continues to be an adventure, and they make life so much fun!