Ayana took some video of Alden playing piano. It's a bit old, but still cute.

12 seconds

12seconds is website where people can upload little 12 second "microblogs". John and Beckett were having fun with the webcam yesterday and upload this:


Beckett confronts mortality on 12seconds.tv

Transparency

A sign of things to come?

(Also, please do not judge my spelling)

Ride 'em

Today Beckett had his first "horsemanship" lesson. I met his teacher Michele the other day when we were at the park and she was giving one of his classmates a lesson. She has a horse rescue organization and uses rescue horse to give kids lessons. I really liked her system because she teachers the kids all aspects of taking care of horses. He started by grooming the horse (Ellie) and he learned all the safety rules. Then he was ready to get on. At first he was a bit nervous, ("Horses are not really safe for 3 year olds,") but then he started to get comfortable and pretty soon he was asking Michele when he could come back and also saying that next time he didn't need her to hold the rope. (later in the car, he asked for lasso)

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Alden, of course, is just as cute as ever and has started walking. He'll take two or three steps before toppling over. If he's going for the remote he can get a up to about 5. He's demonstrated his persistance (read: stubbornness) at the babysitter by spending the whole day going after the tricycle despite several war wounds. He likes to push it around while holding on to the seat. You'll notice all the photos are seated. That's because I don't dare take my eyes off him to get photos when he's up and running.

Alden's Birthday

Alden's first birthday was a low key affair. We didn't plan a party, but just had some cake and candles and presents at home. But of course, I was not terrible enough to forget the obligatory frosting on face first birthday picture! Beckett got a Winnie the Pooh cupcake, Alden got a Tigger cupcake, Daddy got a brownie, and mommy got some coconut cake.

Alden liked the cupcake wrapper better than the cake. Here's what he looked like when I took it away.

And here's what they both looked like later.

Helpful Hints

Last week on the way to work after I dropped off Alden at the babysitter. (as I have done every work day since August).

Beckett (waiting in his car seat to go to school): Mommy, where's Alden? What did you do with him?

Me (feigning confusion): I don't know. He was here a minute ago. What could have happened?

Beckett (with exasperation): Okay, where did you have him last?

One

Tomorrow is Alden's 1st birthday. So on his first birthday he weighs 23 pounds and taller than he started (that's about as accurate as I can get). This is what he looked like one year ago.

And this is what he looks like now (well, actually what he looked like around Valentine's day when I planned to post this video.)

Beckett: His tonsillectomy seems to have cured his sleep apnea, but his sleep habits are still terrible. He can't fall asleep, he wakes up at 2 am all the time and then again at 5:30. The ENT tells us it will be 6-8 weeks after the surgery for things to calm down, then we'll see. He continues to be interested in Barack Obama, Rachel Maddow, and other news casters (all of whom he thinks are John McCain). He also has gotten into dinosaurs and space lately, too. Beckett has also gotten into using some pretty funny terms: "Mommy, did you know pterandons ate fish. For example, they swoop down and snatch them from the ocean." or "Daddy, panda bears eat stuff. In fact, they eat bamboo." (I didn't tell him that, in fact, pandas were not bears.)