Happy 1st Birthday, Calum!

Tomorrow we leave for Cyprus which in itself is a small miracle due to the constantly changing events after the Icelandic volcano eruption which have totally put all flights to and from the U.K. to a halt. Apparently my recent church going has made someone happy and our prayers were answered, Mark and I desperately need a holiday and as I had nothing planned for Calum's 1st on Saturday I was beginning to feel like his birthday was going to be a blow out.

Yes, impossible to believe but our little munchkin will be 1 on Saturday. In some ways I look back and feel as if it's been 10 years and in others it feels like yesterday that we brought him home. Honestly those first few days and months were tough, I was on an emotional roller coaster, nights of waking up to feed left me dazed and confused the next day and there were more than a few tearful evenings of Mark returning home from work and me thinking I just couldn't do the stay at home Mom thing anymore. This year has been a massive learning and growing experience and instead of being sad about the time that has passed, I look forward to each day moving forward.

A lot of you haven't had the chance to spend much time with Calum which saddens me to no end. Maybe you should feel blessed that your ear drums are still in tact. Yes, he is a talker, yeller and screamer. Mark and I have given up talking to each other at the dinner table as neither of us can talk loud enough to be heard over Calum. I can no longer watch the news in the mornings when I feed him because he is yelling at me and demanding my full attention and rapid spoon to mouth feeding to satisfy his insatiable appetite. Our kid can eat. And eat. And eat some more. There isn't a single thing he won't eat. I can't think of a time when he hasn't shouted for more at the end of a meal. Public outings with Calum are the highlight of his life. Not satisfied with the undying attention he gets at home, he views these as his chance to get as many grannies as possible to look his way, tell him how cute he is and etc. In fact, he doesn't even discriminate anymore-he will even try to get attention from teenage boys and the like which is pretty embarrassing for all parties involved (except Calum of course).

One thing Calum might just love more than attention is books. Better than any toy, books will keep him entertained for ages. Thank you a million times over Auntie Tara for starting our collection, we have read each of your books about a thousand times and it's even gotten so bad that I have memorised the words to Guess How Much I Love You which could be viewed as sweet and pathetic at the same time. Calum also loves his Daddy, lots. I knew Mark would be a great Dad, but I don't know if I could have ever expected just how much fun these two have-it's like they have their own little world sometimes and I am just lucky to be standing outside looking in. Next to Dad Calum also especially loves his cousins Max & Holly. When the three of them get together as of late, they all really play and he could spend ages just watching these two goofballs and trying to be part of the action.

Really we have been blessed with an amazingly good baby. Since about month 3 he has slept through just about every night from about 8-8. He naps religiously 3 hours a day. While I was worried he didn't start crawling until earlier this month, he blessed me with 11+ months of not having to run around after him and prevent him from turning on the surround sound at full blast or taking all the pans out from under the oven. 99% of the time he is a happy baby and he loves being around people. He will go to anyone happily. He loves the creche at the gym which has allowed me to almost get back to pre-baby body which is saying a lot considering I gained about 70 lbs.!

Calum has just been the most amazing, special addition to our lives. He's been more than I ever could have hoped or imagined and I can't wait each day to go in to his room and see that beaming smile of his and where this day will take us, what new thing he will learn or help me learn. Happy birthday to my gorgeous cheeky little boy, we love you!

Our 1 year stats:

Height: 75.5 cm / 2ft 5.7 in (49th percentile)
Weight: 12 kg / 26.5 lbs (96th percentile)
Head circumference: 49 cm / 19.3 in (91st percentile)

Loved what Meghan did and thought I would share a few pics from the last 12 mos. Wish us safe travels! x

Almost 1!
11 months
10 months (notice Guess How Much I Love You in the background?)
9 mos
8 mos
7 mos and looking really grown up!
6 mos-he will never forgive me for this costume!
5 mos

4 mos
3 mos, on my birthday
2 mos
5 weeks

Calum's First Haircut

Somehow I thought we might be able to prolong Calum's first haircut until after his first birthday, but lately his shaggy dog look was getting far too shaggy and before Mark got tempted to cut it himself (which he actually did when Calum was about 3 mos old resulting in him looking like Chucky for a good few weeks), we took Calum to the closest kid salon we could find which was a good 30 minutes away but totally worth the drive (for anyone reading here in the U.K. it's called Echo in West Wickham and they are great!). I guess when you can only charge £5 for a cut it's not a very hot market.

Pre haircut, Shaggy-style

Anyway, it was awesome-he got to sit in this cute little tractor seat and in front of him next to the mirror was a flat screen t.v. playing Peppa Pig (a kiddie favourite here in the U.K.). Calum didn't cry once and actually seemed to love it, not surprising considering the attention he was getting from the hairdresser and the family who came in for the appointment after ours. I'm still getting used to the results, and the fact that he's growing up so fast that I can barely keep up.

Post haircut showing off for the girls who were next

Tooth number two is making it's appearance, this time it's the one on top just above his one that's come in on the bottom so looks like we're going to have a baby jack o'lantern on our hands until the other two front teeth catch up.

Calum has also perfected his crawling technique over the last week or so which has resulted in me running around after him and hopefully losing those last few pounds of baby weight (a year later!). Just in time for our trip next week to Cyprus where we will celebrate Calum's 1st.

Hope you all have a great week x

The latest

After what was a long 4 day weekend here in the UK, life today seems to be getting almost back to normal. Friday I went shopping and to lunch with a friend and capped off the night with a family dinner for Max's birthday. The following day we helped Tracey and her boyfriend Richard move into their new house and Sunday we spent the day with family for Easter. Easter morning was a treat, my Mom sent a HUGE box of American candy and a few bits for Calum who actually seemed to really love the Easter pail the most! Poor Calum has come down with a cold again and wasn't really able to get as much sleep as he probably needed due to us being out and about. As I write this he is snoring away peacefully in his room which is pure bliss to my ears!

Tracey and Richard in their new house, Tracey is 30 wks pregnant.

It's weekends like these that I am reminded just what a good baby we have. He rarely cries and even though at times this weekend he looked drunk he was so exhausted, he keeps powering on and always has a smile on his little face. Due to exhaustion and a stuffy nose/cough he woke up once or twice both Friday and Saturday night which is a rarity for him. I know personally when I hear that cry come over the baby monitor I always wake up with a shock followed by a little groan in the back of my mind wondering how long I'm going to be up and how we're going to remedy the situation. Whilst I was exhausted I had to remind myself that this is normal baby stuff that we've thankfully be spared from most of the time. I'm convinced our next baby is never going to sleep and be a big handful!
Most of you know I was a little concerned as Calum (who will be 1 in 2.5 wks) hadn't started crawling yet. On Friday night when we got home I put him down to unpack our stuff he started crawling! After months of trying to lure him with the remote, cell phone and etc. he surprised us by going for it when there was nothing exciting in sight and when he was totally knackered. Of course since then I've been wishing he could go back to not crawling because now he is into everything! Calum's first tooth also made an appearance last week so slowly but surely he is catching up and amazes me at how much he is learning and changing everyday. With his 1st birthday approaching I thought I might be a little sad but how could I be when I have so much to look forward to with him?

Showing off his new crawling skills-he favours the crab walk!
Calum with his favourite, his rocking horse from Grandma. He can rock on his own now! Not sure what Mark has done to his hair in this pic