As we all got prepared to celebrate the first anniversary of the birth moment, Papa and I wanted to start the countdown to 10:51am at 10:49 (120, 119, 118, 117…) but wiser heads prevailed.
I offered to stage a recreation of Atticus’s first photo with Christine and Atticus reprising their original roles and Gramma playing the part of Dr. Miyazaki but nobody else was interested.
We got him an adorable pair of Batman® pajamas. Unfortunately, no cowl or cape was included but I am in the process of convincing Christine that it wouldn’t be a choking hazard and she should sew something to complete his costume. We’ll see how it goes.
We also got him a little tooth brush and Apple-Banana baby toothpaste for little, gerbil-like baby teeth. Mmmmmm… He mostly just chews on the tooth brush at this point but at least he’s on the right track.
I was teaching a class that evening so we all decided to go to Kimono for a birthday lunch. It was actually more of a lunch for us but he did have some of my sweet carrots so I think that counts. Atticus quickly grew bored as he was repeatedly told that he couldn’t play with things such as sharp knives, full glasses, empty glasses, eye glasses etc. etc. but the waitresses all kept coming over to flirt with him so he was mostly occupied.
Shortly after we finished eating, we heard the telltale clapping that signals a restaurant birthday celebration! We hadn’t asked them to do anything special but we had mentioned that we were celebrating his first birthday so the fact that they were singing to him, was that much greater! I think almost the entire staff, save for two or three kitchen guys, came out to sing. I missed it but Gramma said that the kitchen guys (who had spent much of the time we were there, waving and making faces at Atticus through the kitchen window) made a “giant flame-volcano” at the crescendo of the “Happy Birthday” song.
Rather than a boring piece of cake, they brought out this magnificent origami pagoda thing made out of orange pieces and toothpicks! It was great and maybe they always do that for birthdays, but it felt super special. Atticus devoured the orange pieces as fast as he could get his chubby little hands on them. He may have gotten his table manners and proclivity for mealtime mess making from me but he got his voracious appetite from his mother! I think it’s a vegetarian thing.
Next on the agenda was to go to Great Clips for Atticus’s first hair cut! He was very patient and didn’t cry or anything but he kept trying to see what the stylist was doing to his hair!
Somebody, I don’t remember who, suggested holding a hand mirror so that he could look at himself. He loves nothing more than looking at his own reflection!
I needed to be at Sawtooth at 5:00 so after his haircut, we went back home for cake and ice cream. We have never really given Atticus any sugary type treats just because we haven’t so we weren’t sure how he would react to these birthday delights.
At first, he was only interested in the mylar balloon that Gramma had suggested getting but when we all started singing and he noticed the mini cupcake with its burning candle! Then it was hard to keep our little pyromaniac from grabbing the flame…
Atticus “sang” (ie. ear piercingly screeched) along with us as we wished him a happy birthday. When the song was done and the candle had been extinguished,
Christine removed the wax number one and Atticus just looked down at the cupcake, unsure what to do next. Christine dabbed her finger in the icing, let Atticus taste it and told him it was good for him to eat.
He gingerly tried picking up the cupcake by the icing and made it halfway to his mouth before the cupcake and the bit of icing he was holding on to parted ways fell to the table (icing side down, of course.) He solemnly picked it back up and, with speed that I wouldn’t have thought possible for a one year old, he shoved the entire thing in his mouth with both hands!
He held everything in his mouth with his two meaty little fists until the mini cupcake was devoured and he smoothly transitioned into consuming the icing stuck between his fingers. When he was done, we decided to give him some of his ice cream. The first several bites were met with a horrible face, a slight shake of the head and grunts for more.
Atticus had a wonderful first birthday and he was great all day long! We honestly couldn’t ask for a more perfect son!
I’ve been trying to take a picture of him each day (it started with Christine’s pregnancy) and rather than showing the updated version every few months, I’ve decided that I’ll post it each year on (or near) his birthday. Check it out: