Crayon Art

I first introduced Lance to a box of crayons a few months ago. Since then, he has spent most of his time with the crayons taking them out of the box, putting them back in the box, throwing them, and tasting them.
However, in the past week or two, Lance has started coloring with them! It's a challenge to keep him on the paper, because the floor is much more accessible, but here's a shot of Lance's first crayon art. I think we'll call it "Untitled" by Lance Harmeling.

Dinner with Cruz

Sharing dinner with your buddy and being fed watermelon and cheese tamales is all fun and games...
Until you try to bite your friends' fingers off.

One Year Old and Healthy

Introducing, Dr. Meurs! Lance's pediatrician, who we truly love.
Who says skinny boys can't be healthy boys?
Lance had his one year old check up on Friday and got a clean bill of health!
He still hasn't hit 20 lbs. but is almost there! His head and height are both in the 50th percentile while his weight continues to lag down on the bottom of the chart. I guess because I see and know how much food that little guy can put down, I'm not too worried about it. Looks like he's got his daddy's physique! The important part is that he continues to be a happy, social, active, agile one year old!
His hair growth is still in the 100th percentile, for any of you who might be wondering...

Happy Birthday Lance!!

It was a perfect birthday weekend full of friends, family, balloons, cake, and lots of smiles from our big one year old.
We had a chance to think a lot about how full of love this last year has been and truly appreciate Lance for how much he has given us.
Lance woke up on his big day to a living room full of pressies from his daddy- his reaction was priceless!
We hosted our first successful birthday party as parents and got to celebrate at one of our favorite beaches with our wonderful friends. Pops and Elisi made the trip out, as did our great friend Ivan from Oahu. Having family here to share in the celebration was really special.
In case I haven't mentioned it, Lance LOVES balls, so we covered a couple of blankets with balls of all shapes and sizes- a huge treat for Lance! He had cake for the first time (somewhat of a hit), ate corn on the cob and daddy's ribs (big hits), played with his buddies, went swimming, and bounced on his new Rody friend.
If there's one thing Lance didn't like about his birthday, it was the birthday hat. Even though I know how much he dislikes hats of any kind, I couldn't resist trying it one him more than once...Lance also just started doing the fake whine/cry and he scrunches his face up for extra effect. You can see it in full form in the second shot! hilarious.
You all probably know how much I love birthdays, especially my own! But I truthfully have to say, that celebrating Lance's first birthday was easily one of my best ones yet.