Happy Birthday, Baby Joey!!

My baby is 1!!! I can't say it enough, and I know every mom in the world says it, but man, does time fly. Joey is our happy, happy little baby--though actually not that little. At his one-year-old check up he was over 25lbs. None of the boys have caught Mikey, who weighed in at a whopping 28 lbs at one year, but he did beat Luke by just a little as Luke was just a little over 24 lbs. Joey is a champ at going up stairs and will stand for a few moments in the middle of the room, but no walking yet. He waves a little and sure yells, "mama" like a pro. He absolutely loves his brothers. Well, he might enjoy Mikey a little more than Luke at this point, simply because Luke hasn't quite mastered the art of "being soft" and gets a little rough with him. He can't get enough of mom or dad being down on the floor and playing with him. He loves climbing up on top of us and attempts to eat our faces, scratch and occasionally slap. He sure thinks it's all funny. It's sometimes a little painful, but he's so cute it makes it all worth it. We love our little man!!

We've called Joey our little monkey, so monkey cake it was! Heather actually had a form pan that I borrowed which made it turn out all that much cuter. :) I know, he didn't really appreciate it, but the rest of the little kids did and it sure makes for cute pictures.

One day-of-vacation's work. So worth it for my babies :)

My babies

Opening presents. Or I should say, watching his cousins open his presents. (Luckily he didn't seem to mind.)

And the best part of a one-year-old's birthday party.... As you can see, we gave Joey just the monkey head. He was the fastest of all my boys to just dive in. We didn't have to push his hands in at all! (We did with both the others).

But eating was not what he had in mind. After a little squishing, he started grabbing handfuls and just STUFFING them UNDER the tray! He just stuffed and stuffed and stuffed! I have an awesome video. It wasn't loading right, but I'll try to post it again later.

We did have to help him get a bite to his mouth. He tasted it a little, but was more entertained by his first choice. See that mostly empty tray...?

There it is! (Yes, I know what it looks like...but I assure you it is just cake :)

Then came the worst part of a one-year-old's birthday party...the clean up.

Happy Birthday, Joey!!! We love you!!!!