so big

Today was a big, big day. The day of PC's first birthday party and the last day of Grandma A's highly anticipated fly-in from MSP.

Hats off to momma for executing the perfect birthday party. There were delicious little quiches and crab cakes, the classic midwestern offering of meats and cheeses, lola's amazing lumpia shanghai, and a John Deere Tractor cake (half chocolate/half white: we're people pleasers). For the kids in attendance, we had a kids picnic table with bubbles to blow, a lot of lemonade, and the big hit, tadpoles. PC's grandpa, the magnificent knower and seeker of the natural world, told the kids about how to raise the tadpoles, should they want to take one along with them. It looked like they ALL accepted this challenge. Brilliant!

Grandma's first visit culminated in storybook fashion, like it would happen in a Danielle Steele book if Danielle Steele wrote about things like grandmothers visiting their grandchildren. Grandma taught PC to patty-cake and throw his hands in the air when we yell SO BIG! He caught on fast.

And Grandma A also was able to witness the incredible quantum leaps in walking PC is making right now. Two days ago, all the walking was in these rare episodes, and the record for steps taken with a witness was eight. By yesterday he took about 20 steps and today, every single time he has been given the chance to walk (usually toward something he wants) he has responded with a multi-step burst of wild walking. Four, five, twelve steps--like he's been able to do it all along. This is still precarious pedestrian-hood, of course--in the attempt to balance his arms flail and swirl above his head in a pose reminiscent of a tight rope walker.