One Year Old

So, I read this cute idea of something to start when your baby turns one:

Take a picture of him...

...wearing clothes that are meant for someone much older....

....and every year, around his birthday, take a picture of him in those exact SAME clothes...

...until they finally fit!

We've got many years to go!

Here's to year number ONE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBBY!

Robby turned a year old on August 4th.

We decided to have a party out in Utah so we could celebrate with our families before heading back to Ohio.

EVERYONE from our families-- my side of the family AND Steve's side--was able to come! So all of Robby's aunt's, uncles, and cousins were there (Even Steve's grandpa joined us). The only person missing... Steve :(

So, 25 people gathered at my parents house on Sunday, August 1st for a dinner and a Birthday PAR-TAY!

(a little pre-party music)

I strung up pictures of Robby as decor.

 It was fun to look back through pictures from the past year and remember how much my little boy has changed over the past year.

No party in the Kirkham house is complete without balloons... and for this party, my dad fetched one HUGE balloon! He even got this net thing so we could rig it up like a little hot air balloon!

Each of the cousins took turns picking a present out of the basket of the "hot air balloon" and helping Robby open it.

At cake time, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would Robby dig right in? Would he be timid and not want to make a mess? (unlikely, considering his usual disregard for how messy he is)

As the candle was lit and everyone sang, he looked around-- a bit bewildered.

Then, when he looked over and noticed the cake with flaming candle coming towards him... he appeared a bit nervous!

Finally, he stuck his hand into the frosting and seemed quite pleased with the feel of it...

...but still didn't seem to quite understand what this was, as he just sat with his hand in the frosting for a while.

So, I decided to help him out a bit. I took his frosting smeared hand and put it to his mouth to give him a taste (and then returned his hand to its spot on the cake).

Even after that, he still just sat with this hand on the cake for quite a while! He obviously still didn't know what he was suppose to do with this thing.

Eventually, aunt Jamie suggested giving him an eating utensil.

"Sweeet! A spoon!"

"...Oh, I get it...!"

Dig in!

Cousin Rylie did NOT approve of Robby's messiness.

After a quick bath in the sink, Robby talked to Daddy on the webcam so he could be a part of the party, too!

I think everyone had a lot of fun. I know Robby did.

(Three Robert Tollers)

The little girls topped off the night with a dance off!

Thanks everyone for a fun party!

HAPPY BIRTDAY, ROBBY!

Pioneer Day

Robby got to witness his first fireworks while we were in Utah.

I kept him up late so he could enjoy the event with the fam.

He was very amazed at the sight...

...but, not too sure about the loud noise.

Though my niece, Kahri, adored the booming sounds......(not).

Robby was barely keeping his eyes open by the end.... but, still kept his gaze fixed on the awesome works of fire...

...good times, good times....

Family

It was fun to have all my siblings there while I was visiting. Megan and her husband and kids live in Switzerland, but luckily we were able to schedule things so that we were both in Utah at the same time!

Daniel (15), Megan (24), Me (26), Jordan (13 next week), Chris 28

And here are the three cousins...

Kyler (6), Robby (turned 1 a couple days after this picture), Kahri 2

Utah- July 2010

Well, Steve started his first rotation on July 12th at a hospital in Lima, Ohio. That is about an hour and a half from Toledo, so they provided housing for him there and he was staying there for 3 weeks. We had decided that this would be a good time for Robby and I to make a trip to Utah, since Steve would be gone anyway.  

We arrived at the Salt Lake City airport at 10 p.m. (12 a.m. eastern time....) on Wednesday, July 7. Needless to say we were a bit exhausted. But, that of course didn't stop us from staying up for a couple hours once we arrived at my parents house! Robby was so excited to start exploring and become reacquainted with everyone (including my parents dog, Toby).

The next day we were able to celebrate my older brother's birthday (Happy Birthday Chris!) by going to out to dinner with my family. We went to a really good Japanese restaurant.

Robby insisted on eating with chopsticks like the rest of us!!!

  

(sorry for the poor quality phone pictures)

He sat there and tried to stab his food to pick it up. After a couple failed attempts, he would grab the morsel of food by hand and shove it into his mouth. But, this didn't stop him from continuing to try with the chopsticks.

He ate so much food there (as usual). At the end of the meal when everyone else was done, he wasn't satisfied and everyone started handing over their left overs for him to devour.

The most hilarious part was when he decided he didn't want to wait for grandma to give him more fish off of her plate. He would just get it himself. He suddenly swung his arm over and started digging around my mom's plate with his chopsticks. When he retrieved his chopsticks, he was completely surprised (as were the rest of us) to see a large flab of fish skin hanging from his sticks! He seriously just sat there holding the chopsticks straight up and just staring at it for a while, amazed that he made such a catch (and wondering whether it was edible).  We all just sat there laughing and hurried to try to get a picture. Eventually (probably because nobody was making any move to remove the mystery object from him) he decided maybe he should give it a try, and went to grab it with his hand. 

At this point, I did snatch it from him before he could eat it.

(more Utah adventures to come)

Halfway Done!... (sort of....)

Well, Steve is half way done with Medical School! Now, that sounds great, until you think about the fact that after 2 more years here in Toledo, he'll move on to Residency for at least 3 years, then he'll have a few more years AFTER that if he decides to specialize...

But, for now, we'll just say WE ARE HALFWAY DONE (with Medical School)!!!! It sounds much less daunting that way.

Steve has definitely been working hard.

Here he is with his piles of papers and books that he studied through his second year of medical school.

He took what is referred to as "Step One" on June 18th. This was a huge test (7 hours I think), the results of which will help determine which residencies he is qualified for (at least that's how I understand it).

I am so proud of him and all his hard work and dedication.

We were happy to send all these papers to their new home-- the recycling bin.

But, of course, Robby had to dig through and see if there was anything he wanted to keep first.

Steve got one week off after his test, and is now one week into his 3rd year of Medical school.