Jeremy's 1 & Yes, We're Moving to Utah

In true parent-toward-a-second-child fashion, I totally forgot to blog about Jeremy's very important 1st birthday!!! He turned 1 on February 16, and we celebrated by waking him up from bed (he was really grumpy and went to bed at like 5 pm) to have cupcakes (yes, he got his own!) with our neighbors and family. It was VERY exciting. He was pretty much out-of-it for the first half hour... just kind of stared at us all. I started physically putting cake into his mouth and he finally got it and enjoyed his bday treat.

So Jer, here's to you. Jeremy is a lot of things... even in just 1 year of life he has a HUGE personality and we love him sooo much (even though he can be sooo naughty already!!)... here are a few things about Jeremy:

• Jeremy favorite person: His Dada; closely followed by his Mama and Peter
• Jeremy's favorite toy: anything Peter is playing with already :) oh joy!! though he does have a special obsession with blue plastic kid knives... he goes through the dishwashers, finds the blue kid knife, and will hold it and crawl all around with it for hours... oh and he also LOVES the TV and VCR remotes (and the batteries, which he CAN get out... yikes)... AND the outlet covers (which he can already remove... how can you kid-proof kid-proofing?!?!)... and of course, the piano and anything else that makes "music" (metal bowl and spoon; shakers; etc.)
• Jeremy's favorite foods: chicken nuggets, pb&j sandwiches, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, BABA (aka milk... preferably warm)
• Jeremy's favorite words: Dada; Baba; NoNo JerJer; Hi; (notice MAMA is missing from this list!!!)
• Jeremy's favorite places: Dada's arms; Mama's arms; on the couch (which he can now climb on himself); the coffee table (which he can also now climb on and sit on); the dishwasher (yes, he climbs there, too); the toilet (EWWW); wherever Peter is
• Jeremy's best moments: whenever he's happy... he is THE CUTEST KID EVER!!! Seriously. He is the biggest charmer with a huge, gorgeous smile, beautiful big green eyes, and just perfect little chubby cheeks... aww... and he loves to talk and coo and get people's attention. He is so cute when he gives big slobbery kisses (more like a "sucker" fish attacking your face but it's cute)... and when he gives snuggle hugs (rests his head on your shoulder)... and when he's so excited he coos and giggles...
• Jeremy's worst moments: anytime he doesn't get his way!! This little man is SOOO full of personality and is already so opinionated!!! He wants things the way he wants them WHEN he wants them or he will SCREAM. There is no-inbetween for him, hence why we call him our Manic Baby... he is either SUPER cute and happy... or he is SUPER grumpy and screaming his little head off.
• Jeremy's talents: determination (haha :); making people laugh (he loves to make silly faces and sounds to make others laugh); being a people-person (it's obvious already he's going to always love to be social and in the limelight!); MUSIC (he already "sings" songs with us, he is SO drawn to playing the piano, and he loves anything music); clapping; waving; being silly; throwing tantrums impressive for one who still only walks with furniture; drooling :)
• Jeremy's nicknames: Jer; JerJer; JerBug; JerBear; Bubba; Naughty; Stinky

Jeremy, WE LOVE YOU and are so happy you are in our family! You add so much energy and life to our family... and you bring soo soo much joy. And I have a feeling all that personality is going to turn into one fun kid who is going to grow up to achieve great things. After all, stubborness is determination misapplied! So we'll try to help you apply all that "determination" toward good. :)

Love you Jer!

AND yes, Robert's clever post was to announce that we ARE officially moving to Utah... and we should GET there April 30. We are planning on moving away from the DC area on or about April 27, which is after Robert's finals and before he walks. We'll be car-tripping our family all the way to Utah (wish us luck, haha), with Church history and fun stops on the way... then Robert and I will fly back to DC for his graduation and our anniversary (while someone watches our kids in Utah... volunteers? :). Our anniversary (5 YEARS!) is May 14 and Robert walks on May 16. Woohoo!!!

We have LOVED DC, but we are really excited about this new chapter of our lives. AND YES, our prayers have been ANSWERED! He has a part-time job that has opened up to him at the firm he hopes to work at full-time after the bar. So while he's studying like crazy, he can work some and get to know the firm while they get to know him. I know they'll love him.

We're going to stay with Robert's wonderful, generous, loving parents for a little while as Robert studies for the bar and we get a solid idea of exactly where we'll end up permanently (don't want to sign any contracts until we know where we'll be!)... and we are SO EXCITED to hang out with and see our family and friends in Utah.

UTAH here we COME!!!

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OH and I forgot to mention another Jeremy-ism, courtesy of his DADDY... HEAD BANGING!!! He loves banging his head on all chairs, couches, crib rails, whatever. It makes me kind of sad. Oh well, I guess it didn't damage Robert's brain, so hopefully Jer will survive the head-banging, too!!