ONE YEAR OLD!

Mercer turned one on Monday. We celebrated a little early, though, and had a small birthday party for him Sunday afternoon. My mom, Todd's mom, and the birth mother Danielle was here in town. We invited a few families from the neighborhood that we hang out with that have kids. We didn't want to go too crazy or go too big... as to not overwhelm Danielle or Mercer - or us, actually!

Here are a few pics from the party. It went well.
One of the most popular toys was a drum set that his aunt Becki and uncle Jimmy gave him. The kids loved banging on it. (You can see Danielle on the left -- sitting on the couch.)

We (Todd's mom, my mom, and I) made frog cupcakes. One sat on top of a sheet cake airbrushed blue (for water) with a lily pad on it. He freely took a swipe of the cake... but was apprehensive about eating his cupcake. He did eventually warm up to it and seemed to enjoy the icing. But - he did NOT like his first try of ice cream!

All-in-all, he had a great time.



On Monday, we went to the aquarium downtown. I didn't know if Mercer would enjoy it / if he was too young, but his expression told us that he was enjoying himself: "ohhh" "oooohhhhh" "oohhh" (and he'd point at the fish behind the glass or above our heads (they have several exhibits that you walk under)) It was cute. Perhaps we should get a season's pass and take him back more often?

Things went well for the most part. There were a few times that I felt that the birth mother got a little too possessive -- but it wasn't very often. Overall, we felt like it was a good thing to do to bring her out. She got to see that Mercer is loved... we have a stable home and relationship... we have a good support system (in our family / neighbors that she got to meet)... that he's well taken care of.

Also, we got a little bit out of it too. We found out that she's in a relationship (she has actually been dating the same person for over a year -- even while she was pregnant -- someone she knows from middle school!), we found out that she has some hobbies and interests now, and that she plans to get her G.E.D. Now we feel that she has some support in her life / she has some interests / she a goal -- which we didn't feel like she had any of one year ago. We're happy about that. And - she told us that Mercer's birth father is actually half African-American and half Puerto Rican. This is something that she didn't tell us a year ago either, but it puts that "wondering" on our part to rest! (We've always wondered if he had some Hispanic or some Native American in his genes.)

We enjoyed it, but we're glad it's all over. Todd & I travelled to Savannah... then as soon as we got into town, we had company... then Todd had to travel for work just before everyone left town. NOW - we're getting back to normal.

Earlier today, Mercer had his 1 year check-up at the pediatrician. He measured in at 30" tall (I don't think he's quite there, but it's hard to tell when he's squirming on the paper that's rolled out on the examination bench). And - he weighed only 23 lbs. (I could've sworn he was already 25 lbs b/c of an unofficial weigh-in I did with / without him a couple of weeks ago.) Oh well. Those are the approximate measurements. He's 75% on the height for other 1-year-olds. He's 75% on the circumference of his head. He's 50% on the weight (he had been following the 75% curve all along... this is the first time he's dropped off of the curve). The docs aren't concerned at all and he's very a very healthy baby overall.

He does have something called thrush (levels of bacteria have dropped in his system and yeast is forming on the inside of his mouth). He's also been fighting fever off-and-on this week, but is REALLY teething.... in fact, we can see the two teeth coming through on the bottom.

I guess that's about it. It's been a FABULOUS year! We've enjoyed it all. We are very happy.