The birthday boy!

I have been swamped with e-mails and phone calls as to why I so rarely blog these days! Well, the truth is I've been swamped. We've been busier this summer than ever before! Things are beginning to slow down and my goal is to keep them that way... but obviously something had to go and Johnny nixed my idea of copping out on the laundry. So, though not conciously, blogging was lowered on the priority list and before I knew it my posts had weeks in between them instead of hours or days! Then, my internet was down for WEEKS.... and today is the first day its been up again. Now, here I am, faced with the prospect of blogging and I'm barely motivated!

But, I'm going to fight the temptation to put it off some more and satisfy those few faithful friends who continue to check the blog!

My baby boy turned one this past month. I keep getting comments that its time to have another one! But for now we're just enjoying Addy and John Michael... and boy do they keep me busy! John Michael is a serious Mama's boy. He prefers me over anything else in this world.... food, fun, baths, toys, anything. Sometimes that's a bit challenging when its time to cook dinner or quickly straighten up the house before guests arrive... but mostly I love it. It makes me cherish this time because I know its fleeting.... it won't be long before he prefers mud and cars to sitting on his mommy's hip!

We had a Thomas the Train birthday party for him with our families. My mom made a beautiful train cake that everyone was impressed with... you can see why:







John Michael didn't ham it up quite as much as Addy did. He got a bit overwhelmed at all the people and, not surprisingly, complained about being removed from my hip... Here he is protesting being placed in his high chair.... I look pretty desperate for a solution to his misery!



Look at Addy in this pictures just relaxing while John Michael is losing it. She's used to his little fits. :)

I finally got John Michael to stop crying and try some of his cake... he definitely was interested in the cake.... (look at his red rimmed eyes!)







I even coerced a smile out of him.



Addy watched at the sidelines but was pretty thrilled to get her own peice of train car. (Go Vols...)



But John Michael soon lost interest in his food. Those of you who know him aren't surprised by this development... Eating isn't his strong suit.... but balls are! And I think floating "balls" were way more interesting to him at this point...



So, of course, my little tempermental man lost it when I removed the balloons from their impending destruction.



and so ended his little cake adventure... back to his rightful place on mommy's hip.... well after a trip to the bath tub!!