It was a very good year...

Yesterday was The Boy's first birthday! It's amazing how the time flies. At birth, The Boy was 8 lbs 7 oz and 21 inches. Now he's 23.5 lbs and 31.5 inches.

"Still" breastfeeding of course. He will be encouraged to do so through his treatment and "permitted" to do so afterward until he's done. I'm placing all my idiomatic eggs in the "he'll get too busy to remember" basket.

The party was a success. No one argued. Not a cross word was uttered, not that I was expecting anything different. The Boy napped before the party and was able to enjoy himself with all of the guests. He got wonderful gifts and cards (and none of the gifts were impractical. All toys had good play value--read my earlier post on that subject) and got to see some friends too.

The food was great. Snaps to father-in-law for suggesting a bagel lunch instead of a hamburger-and-hot-dog sort of spread. I fed The Boy a selection of veggies along with some tofu for his actual lunch in his high chair, knowing that he'd be coaxing food from other family members later on. Which he did, of course.

Also, The Boy did have some birthday cake. I gave him just a little piece in his high chair and everyone was waiting to see him make a huge mess and get it in his hair. No such luck--he didn't even seem to like the cake that much. He picked up pieces and ate them, making some faces, and, because I don't think he was that hungry, smeared it on his tray. He often does that when he's done eating--push his hands around in the food on the tray because it feels neat and makes a cool sound. He ended up with messy hands and a bit of cake on his face, but on the whole it was anticlimactic for those friends and relatives who were expecting more of a show. They should have known better, as just about everyone in attendance had eaten a meal with The Boy before, and they were all familiar with his mealtime practices.

It was wonderful to see two of my siblings at the party. They travelled pretty far for a day trip.

Now that the wonderful excitement of The Boy's birthday has passed, it's time to face two realities. Short-term, we have our trip to Philadelphia for the surgery. I really hope that the reasons behind the change in doctor and facility is just because of the original surgeon's opinion and not because there is anything seriously wrong. Maybe this is common enough, that the particular location of this tumor makes it more complicated and these cases are usually passed to this surgeon.

I'm looking forward to being done with the surgery. I'm not looking forward to spending several days in a strange hospital, in a strange place where we know no one. All of The Boy's care has been here and to go somewhere different will be difficult. I don't know what the accommodations are. At "our" hospital, The Boy had his own room the entire time and there was plenty of room for the air bed.

Longer-term, we have our return to work and the fact that The Boy will be spending his days with someone different. We like her, she seems trustworthy, she got glowing recommendations. But we're still going to miss The Boy during the day. Even with all of our issues this summer, we've had a wonderful time spending all day together, he and I. And most of the time with Musical Daddy as well...actually doing things as a family. Granted, we spent a lot of time just sitting around watching The Boy crawl in circles around the house or cruise the furniture looking for gadgets (or food).

I'm not crazy about the coughing that he's been doing over the past few days either. It sounds a bit like reflux and a bit like a cold. He has a runny nose, so it's probably the cold. He's also been working on molars for awhile...maybe he'll get them soon.