Oh, hi! We had a big birthday party for our Dempsey yesterday afternoon and the result is that I feel totally discombobulated and can’t seem to remember it’s Monday 🤪 This week has been crazy busy and then, yes, Joey and I decided to go to not one but two movies on top of everything. Who do we think we are?? This intro is already a mess so I will just say, in conclusion, DUNE!

Someone wasn’t thinking and scheduled their son’s 12 month pediatric appointment right during nap time 🤦‍♀️ He did GREAT at his appointment (just a 4th percentile boy 😂❤) but he was sooooo tired by the time we got him back home. And he struggled the rest of the day. I think it was a combo of being tired (he skipped nap #2) and getting those shots. Poor guy! Since Grandma Lori was over to watch him, Joey and I took the opportunity to sneak out and see a Friday afternoon movie! We are big Wes Anderson fans and this one was so peak-Wes Anderson. I can’t imagine how long it takes him to sketch out all these scenes and set pieces and details and write that fast-paced dialogue. It’s definitely a movie I feel like I need to watch five times to catch everything, but it was fun. Can’t help wondering if it was just a bit too much style and not enough substance though 🤔 We debated what our favorite performance was and it might have been Benicio del Toro??

Back at home, we all had dinner — Dempsey is once again going through a phase where he just wants to throw his food on the floor 😩 — and look at that new drink development. Our pediatrician gave us the okay on whole milk and Dempsey loves it! He played with a new toy from my brother, sis-in-law, niece and nephew and he was dancing to the music it played 😍 We put him to bed and queued up The Great British Baking Show. I just love Giuseppe so much!

Saturday morning started with pancakes, of course. Always takes me so much longer than I want it to but they tasted good, so I won’t complain too much. Then, Steve and Lorna came over to watch Demps, so we could go see Dune. MUCH ANTICIPATED by me and guys, I was blown away! It did not disappoint in the least. Visually, it is stunning and soooooo amazing to see on a big screen. Highly recommended, if you can go! I have not read the book, so I wasn’t familiar with the plot but I found it easy to follow and really compelling. The score ❤❤❤ And those performances!!! Of course Chalamet is great, but Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin and Rebecca Ferguson are all INCREDIBLE. Cinema, guys! It’s so great!

Joey made us some butternut, blue cheese and walnut cavatappi for dinner and somehow made do despite me forgetting half the ingredients in our grocery order 🤦‍♀️ And Dempsey enjoyed throwing it on the ground… We watched Shawn of the Dead after Demps went to bed and it was both worse and exactly as bad as I thought it would be but we did laugh.

Sunday started with breakfast and the cutest table setting and then a good long nap for Dempsey, while Joey and I rushed around getting ready for his party. We hosted at a nearby park and the pavilions were first come first serve, but we grabbed one luckily and then fought the wind to get all the decorations up. It all turned out really well and except for that dang wind while everyone was eating, it was a really nice day. Every time I saw that Dempsey boy, he had a big smile on his face and that’s seriously all that matters. I’m now going to shower you with party pictures, okay? Our theme was Rookie of the Year. We weren’t going to have a theme at all, but when I saw this one on Pinterest I though “duh!” Hannah made those cookies!!!!! She is just so amazing. I took too many decoration pictures and not enough people pictures, but I’ll do better next time 😋 You are so loved, Demps!

We got little man back home and down for a nap around 3 PM and then when he woke back up, we opened all his presents. HE IS SO LUCKY!!!! We have so many new toys ❤❤❤ Our house is maybe a mess now, but we don’t mind. Ate dinner, put Demps to bed, fired up Succession. I can’t believe a show that an hour of dialogue can still exist, but I’m very glad it does!

How was your weekend?

Well I am sorry (but not really sorry) for the slew of pictures about to come, but our Dempsey turned ONE on Wednesday and the whole week has felt like a non-stop party. I don’t want to forget a moment of it, so it’s all going here!

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On Mondays, my parents come over to watch Dempsey and I work from home, so my mom and I took the opportunity to make his first birthday cake together. A red velvet, naturally! He maybe woke up from his nap while my dad was out running an errand, so we plopped him in his highchair in the kitchen so he could make the cake “with” us. Or more like throw stuff for us to constantly pick back up 😂 My mom gave him some licks of batter and he was INTO IT. Who wouldn’t be? And the cake turned out soooooo cute. Love that my mom and I got to have that experience and that Demps was there for it too 🥰🥰🥰

Tuesday night, we took our Dempsey to the Botanic Gardens for the Glow at the Gardens event and it was so fun! Parking was sort of a nightmare, but once we were inside, it was great. Dempsey definitely won’t remember, but I think he had a good time looking (and pointing) at all the pumpkins and the adults had fun looking at everything too. At the end, there was a giant skeleton dancing and a skeleton band playing music and that was definitely my favorite part 😂 I’m so glad we went!

Birthday morning!!!! We went to breakfast with his Grandpa Steve, Lorna, Adam, Keith, Courtney and his great grandparents. He shares a birthday with his Great Grandma Marge, so it felt right to have a celebratory breakfast together. She turned 80, so it was a big milestone birthday for her too! That good boy sat on her lap for a long while and it was so sweet to see ❤

Post nap, we gave him our presents and he seems pretty into his play food! He’s also made a lot of hybrid foods, like a bell pepper egg or a corn banana 😂

Everyone came over around 5 and we had the decorations all set up and the birthday boy ready to celebrate! He got a table and chairs, a bike and helmet, books and a winter jacket and a workshop. What a lucky and loved boy!!! We all feasted on BBQ from Post Oak and then, the piėce de résistance, Dempsey’s red velvet cake! Took him a little bit to get through the frosting — he spent a few minutes poking one finger into the frosting and then into his mouth and it was seriously the cutest — but once he did, he really went for it! Some of the pieces he was putting into his mouth were pretty sizable 😂 It was a hit! What a perfect night, celebrating our Dempsey!

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Everyone keeps saying this year with him flew by and on the one hand, YES, it totally did! But on the other hand, there have been so many phases and so many development and so so so many fun and wonderful experiences that we’ve had with him. I keep forgetting we’ve already had a holiday season with him. That seems like soooo long ago. There’s just no way I could put this past year into words. It’s been HARD but also THE ABSOLUTE BEST. All I know is that I love this little bean so much. I love being his mama. And I can’t wait for all the fun things we will do in this life together. Happy Birthday, my love!