One year ago today, I woke up at 5:00 am Sunday morning feeling uncomfortable.  More so than the typical beached whale discomfort I’d been feeling in the final days of pregnancy.  The weekend had already started with a bit of excitement as Friday morning I’d woke up with a sore throat and stuffy nose and doctors orders to not take any cold medicine.  I continued to grow miserable as the day continued, and then contractions started on top of it.  A dash to the emergency room enlightened Brinn and I to the dangers of dehydration, and how IV fluids can halt labor.  I was sent home for a very quiet Saturday, then a mostly quiet Sunday.

Mogwai was the first to know that Ian wanted to make a holiday debut.  He sat on my feet or curled up next to me most of the day, and trotted beside me anytime I got up to lumber around the house.  Finally, about 5:00 pm it was time to go back to the hospital, but for real this time.

I spent my evening texting Joy back and forth with Brinn communicating with family.  Tabitha had been out with her girlfriends for a weekend trip, and was ordering Ian to wait until she could make it back to Cookeville.  I don’t want to think about how she drove to get there in time.  Fortunately Kristine had not moved away from Cookeville yet, so she didn’t have far to travel.  Some of the details are fuzzy, but I think she’s the one who rescued Brinn from hospital food and brought him dinner.

I had this funny idea that once I had a baby I’d be holding him a lot, at least for the first few weeks while he’s so little.  Just kidding.  Ian’s baby book had a section to fill out that asked where he slept as a newborn.  I had to fill out names rather than places.  He was never set down!  Tabitha, Kristine, and Momma (ahem, I mean “Nana”) all sat in the waiting room fighting over who would hold Ian first.  Once they’d finally turned in for the night, Kim and Greg were there to call dibs.  The next day Daddy (now known as “Grandpa”) and Joy came up to join in the baby snuggles.  You’d be surprised how little a new mother gets to hold her baby.

Ian came into the world right after the series finale of Desperate Housewives, and immediately peed on the doctor.  He was such a stretched out, lanky looking baby who rarely cried.  He hated to be bounced, but loved to be swayed back and forth.  He had just a sprinkle of hair, and his daddy’s face.  He was without a doubt the handsomest little man I’ve ever met.

Now, one year later, Ian has no time for swaying gently and wants to bounce as much as possible.  Giggling is one of his favorite activities, second only to climbing, but usually the two occur together.

Ian’s celebrated his birthday with friends and family on Saturday at his great grandma’s house.  We had a baked potato bar and a John Deere cake.  Ian didn’t quite know how to take the cake at first, but soon discovered that he’s a fan of refined sugar.  I did not set him down with a giant smash cake, as we were not in our house and you just don’t create “that” kind of mess for your hostess, but we did let him smear his own piece into his face and inside his overhauls.

After a post cake meltdown resulting from too much excitement and not enough napping, Brinn took Ian off to recharge his batteries for a bit, then we proceeded to presents.  The ribbons, and bows, and paper, and boxes!  Finally little boy figured out that there was cool stuff inside all the wrappings, and then we struggled to get him to leave one gift behind long enough to unwrap the next.  Ian’s loved ones were extremely generous, and he received so many sweet gifts.

After we finished unwrapping all his clothes, books, and toys, we proceeded outside for the unveiling of Grandpa’s birthday gift to little Ian: Ian’s very own John Deere.  Ian’s still a smidge too short to reach the “gas” pedal on his battery-powered tractor (the package says for ages 3-7), but an old handle from some forgotten farm tool did the job.  Ian loved driving his tractor all over Grandma’s front yard!

Chaco just loved that everyone came outside to play.

The birthday celebrations didn’t stop there, though.  This evening Brinn and I are taking Ian hiking, and this afternoon he’s going to spend my lunch break unwrapping more gifts from my generous coworkers.  Updates to follow!