Our Snowshoe Adventure

Yesterday we went up to Mt. Hood for the "Romp to Stomp", a snowshoe race and walk to benefit the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Our friend Kim gets a team together every year in honor of her mother. Paul and I went once before, but this was Anthony's first Romp, and his first snowshoe!

The weather forecast called for rain, but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day.

Here we are with some guy named Scout before the walk.
Every year the Oregon Romp gets bigger. This year almost 750 people participated.

Our team was "Boobs for Boobs". There were about 12 of us, including 6 kids, but somehow we wound up with NO pictures of our teammates. Anthony was the youngest member of our team, and as far as we could tell, the youngest of all the Rompers.
Look at the beautiful sweater Anthony wore. Knit by our friend Linda for Anthony's birthday, it arrived just in time for his first winter sporting event!

Anthony made the trek in the Ergo with Mommy.

He started out napping, but soon the excitement took over and he woke up to enjoy the adventure.Why is Mommy standing at such an odd angle? No, I'm not trying to pose like a swimsuit model. I was trying to get into position so Anthony's face would be in the picture.

There was one big hill on the route. It was tough, especially toting an extra 18 pounds or so (i.e., Anthony).

Puff puff.

Whew!

Congratulating ourselves at the "summit".

Daddy made it up the hill too!The White River.

Here we are at the finish line. What a great day!

A Mommy's-Eye View

Afternoon nap in the Ergo

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Sometimes you're just so happy that you're a blur! So much to do, so much to see! Because big boys have a lot of celebrating to do -- especially when they're ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!!! What a year! Anthony has now tried on every holiday for size and had his very first birthday party with lots of cake and friends! Today it's just a quiet day with mom and dad and lots of cuddling and fun! What a wonderful year! When we think back about it all and how it all began it makes us all blur, too! Now today is just the happiest, most magical day of all! Anthony is one whole year old! Time to open that big present from mom and dad and get ready to go on an airplane ride soon! Birthdays are amazing and Anthony just loves them!!! A very happy day full of joy to all our amazing family and friends! We are the luckiest people in the world! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANTHONY!!! We love you so much!

First Birthday Party

Yesterday was Anthony's first birthday party!

The house was full of friends little and big. It was a beautiful sunny day, so Anthony decided to start the festivities with a wagon ride.

He learned how to clap this week! Here he is showing how he feels about birthdays.

The girls wore their best party dresses and hair bows:

Ellie enjoyed a cold one out on the front lawn.

Hudson took the wagon out for a spin.

Soon it was time for cake. It was a big hit.

Anthony just kept eating it and eating it. We finally had to take it away or who knows what might have happened!

Thanks to everyone who made the day so special!

How to Make a Baby Laugh

Paul got a book for Christmas, "97 Ways to Make a Baby Laugh". Today he tried out #3, the old "Fake Sneeze" gag (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-CHOO!!!).

It really works! Every time. No matter how many times you do it.

Watch out for Cupid!

You never know where he might be!

By popular demand...

Actual swingin' video!

I love how he's alternately ecstatic/terrified. Turn on the volume for maximum cuteness.

Look at us now!

Remember these two?

Look at the young sophisticates we've grown into!

Yesterday we had a playdate at Ellie's. We shared toys and ate cheerios while our Mommies ate cheezits and chocolate.

It was fun.

Thanks, Ellie!

Swinging Saturday

Hip Helpers

How do you like this look?No, Anthony's not training for the Tour de France.These are called Hip Helpers. Anthony's physical therapist brought them over last week.

Babies with Down syndrome are often super-flexible in the hips. This is great for things like putting your toes in your mouth.

But combined with the low muscle tone that also tends to come along with that pesky extra chromosome, this super-flexibility can make it hard to master things like sitting independently and crawling. The Hip Helpers provide support to keep the hips together. Anthony will wear them around the house for part of the day- when he's practicing sitting, playing on his tummy....

...or getting a cooking lesson from Daddy.
We'll keep you posted on how they're working out!