There is no "p" in our "ool"

I have to say swim diapers are impressive that way! I know this is several days late, but another birthday activity was heading to the pool. Emily Chappelear took Stephen a couple of weeks ago for his first pool experience and he loved it... so we thought we'd bring him some place where we knew he'd have fun.
Our boy was a natural fish. He also loved when gramps took him down the frog slide... and he hated to not be sliding down. He cried whenever we took him away from the frog.
Of course, drying off in a big snuggly towel is also fun. After more than an hour of splashing and swallowing chlorinated water, Steve was wiped out!

Stephen meets Evan C

Joe guest posting: Stephen was drawn to Evan the moment he came in our house. His greeting was a little heavy handed but Evan later returned the favor with a bicycle kick.

One small step for a baby

Joe guest posting: Recently Stephen has been making his first attempts at covering a distance on two legs. I finally had my camera at the right time in the right place. Notice that he is holding a leaf. The leaf appears to have special powers because the moment you take it away, he will sit down. But in his hand, it gives him the confidence to walk all the way to his destination.

Birthday videos

Joe guest posting: We shot a few videos during the party. Usually Stephen relishes being the center of attention. But as you will see here, the birthday ritual made him a little cautious. BTW, Stephen went to the doctor the following week and weighs 17 lbs 8 oz. and stands a towering 28.25 inches.

More birthday activities

Portraits under the magnolia tree with grammy and gramps.
In case you're wondering, these were all on the actual day (August 17th) but I'm just trying to catch up in posting.
Playing with Ty's necklace and laughing at mommy jumping up and down.
Playing with balloons and toothbrushes.
Watching critters at PetSmart.

Munch at Tandoor

My mom said that since we were also celebrating my giving birth one year ago, I got to choose the restaurant for lunch. We went to Tandoor Indian Bistro in Clarksville, where they have a nice lunch buffet. Many of the items were a little hot for Stephen (his little face turned bright red at Saffron last week when he got his first taste of spicy) so he mostly nibbled on chicken pasada (?), plain cickpeas and tidbits of naan. The owner of the restaurant must've liked babies because he gave Stephen multiple pieces of colorful plasticware and eventually brought him over a big plate of basmati rice... Mom and I exchanged worried looks as the well-meaning man set the dish before Stephen. He not only tried it, he shovelled it into his mouth with gusto... and onto the floor in the process.
Note the rice beard.

Happy First Birthday!

Stephen turns one year old today! We celebrated Saturday with a low-key gathering at our house. The Couchmans, Chappelears and Wally Bryan joined my mom and dad and Tatiana and us for some snacks and banana pudding cake. Mom helped me make the cake, based off a recipe my Aunt Susie often made for my birthdays. Our cake was not photo-worthy, but after I cut through the layers of whipped cream, yellow cake, pudding and banana slices, Philip made the astute observation that it looked like the top of a toothbrush. (Stephen is a big fan of toothbrushes. And while we didn't make it the theme of the party, we did give away balloons with toothbrushes attached as party favors.)
Munchie even got his own little cupcake (banana muffin with whipped cream on top) with one candle that he tried to grab before Mama whisked it away. His friends helped him blow it out. Then the fun began. At first, Stephen didn't really know what to make of the whipped cream. He poked it. Stirred it with his index finger. Got a taste when I lifted the cupcake to his mouth. Wore it. Squished it. Then finally, dug in. Before we knew it, he was shoveling fistfuls of banana muffin into his chipmunk cheeks.
After cake, Stephen watched as Emily, Philip and Ester helped him open his birthday presents. What a fun day!

Stephen also found Evan Couchman very interesting. Evan was very brave in the face of danger!