Happy Birthday To Me!!!!

Remember me one year ago? This is my pwecious baby photo I took while still in the hospital right after I was born. I weighed 9 lbs. 4 oz., had strawberry blonde/orange-ish hair, dark blue eyes, I was 22 in. long, a COMPLETE chunker with the chubbiest thighs you’ve ever seen on a baby boy, and I gave my Mom trouble the day I entered this world! I refused to be born on my due date…made my Mom’s blood pressure rise, and clung on even during the c-section and they had a hard time getting me out. Once I made my big arrival, all the nurses fawned over me because of my hair color and because I was such a big enchilada. I was also the only boy on my hall, so the nurses told my mom they were going to wedge me between two cute twin girls. I was a player from day one!. So now that I'm a whopping one year old, my 12 list of achievements for 12 months include:

1. I’m an excellent spitter
2. I’ve got a few hot dance moves that challenge those of Mario Lopez
3. I’m a bottomless pit and can take down some serious grub
4. Tooting seems to be an extraordinary skill of mine
5. I can crush and shred stuff with my mouthful of teeth like a great white shark
6. I can walk up a storm and squeal at the same time
7. I’ve got a good pitching arm and can launch stuff clear across a room
8. My vocabulary is select, but quite extensive…
9. My swimming capabilities in the bathtub are astounding…Michael Phelps style…
10. My intellect and cool demeanor make all the older ladies take notice
11. I can make adults dance around me like little puppets when I pitch a fit
12. I’ve got the ‘Blue Steel’ look down pat for my future showbiz career (see Zoolander).

A one year photo recap to follow soon...

Memorial Day Pictures

Here are a couple of pics my Grammie took on Memorial Day...I'm sure you can tell from the photo that Adelyn and I DID NOT like sitting in the itchy grass! That picture cracks Mom up...

I Can Walk!!!

BIG NEWS!!!!! It’s official…I can walk! I’ve been taking several steps here and there the past week, but never fully gained the confidence to do more than that until yesterday. We had a wonderful Memorial Day lunch at my great-grandparent’s house (Gaga and Papa) with all of the Lazenby’s and the Rogers and while we were there and I had the full rooms attention, I decided to walk across the living room towards my Dad (probably 7 or 8 steps). I was choosing my moment of Glory for when the whole family could watch and admire! Later that day, my parents took me to Grammie and Papa’s house so I could spend the night and I was walking ALL OVER THE LIVING ROOM without any help. I’m incredibly proud of myself, of course, and all my practice with the mop and my steadfast determination to walk before my first birthday finally paid off. Mom always heard that chubby babies are less likely to crawl or walk early…well, not this chubby baby! I took my first steps at 10 ½ months and learned to walk completely on my own the week of my 1st birthday!

I got to see my second cousin, Adelyn, yesterday. I really enjoyed seeing her, but most importantly, I enjoyed stealing her toys and books. She’s got some cool stuff and I thought to myself, “I just might like to chew on that baby cell phone of hers.” So I tried to, but my parents wouldn’t let me. But I did get to enjoy her mermaid book (shhh…don’t tell anyone that I read a book about mermaids) and it was pretty entertaining. I’m embarrassed to say that I started getting crabby and sort of took a swipe at Adelyn…I know I’m not supposed to hit girls, but I was in need of a nap in a big way, so that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it…

I got to see my Gram and Bobpy, Aunt Lisa, Great Uncle Scott, and my Great-Nana A. this weekend, too. We had lunch on Sunday and I was walking up a storm with my Great Uncle Scott’s walker for support (the day before I learned to walk on my own)… the walker is kind of like my mop, and I kept saying ‘Mop…Mop…’ as I walked around. It was a good time and I got to eat a lot of rolls, which is one of my new favorite snacks!

So Memorial Day weekend was a good time…and I can check another thing off my list of achievements!

My Birthday is Friday and my birthday party is on Saturday...I can't wait to try birthday cake and open presents! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that a mini hummer hotwheels that I've been wanting for a while now...

Fatty Mom Update: As of 2 weeks ago, Mom is proud to announce that she has officially lost about 11 lbs of post baby weight since April 1st....Woo hoo! She's aiming for another 10 by August, but she's happy she is at least one clothes size down for now. Another 10 pounds and she'll be somewhat content...no more muffin top and excess blubber!

Hives

Mom and I went to the mall on Wednesday and while we were shopping, she noticed my hands started turning hot pink and I had several white bumps that looked like mosquito bites all over them. She took me home and changed me and found a bunch more on my body. We’ve had several mosquitoes in the house this week because of the rain, so she wasn’t sure if it could be that or hives, so she called the doctor and they just told her to keep an eye on me. That evening I was fine and the bumps eventually disappeared, but the following day, my teacher’s called my parents to tell them that I had broken out into hives after lunch and they were afraid to put me down for a nap because I could have trouble breathing (due to swelling), so Dad took off work and picked me up and took me to the doctor. The doc checked me out and my breathing sounded fine, so they just prescribed allergy medicine and the rash went away later that night. They aren’t sure what caused them, but it’s the third time I’ve gotten them, so I could either have allergies or it’s a residual side effect of the stomach bug that I had on Monday. Dad had me the rest of the day yesterday and he told my Mom I was CRABBY for most of it! Well, who wouldn’t be after having a stomach bug and hives all in one week!?

My New Toothbrush

It’s a wonder my teeth haven’t already fallen out for my lack of brushing, because in the past, teeth brushing wasn’t for me. And I love sweets, so Mom has been worried about the state of my pearly whites. Mom and Dad have tirelessly tried to brush them in the past, but they would have to hog-tie me down just to wiggle that bristley brush around my mouth without success. They even tried the ‘you hold it and do it yourself’ approach, but come on guys…I’m a baby. And the plastic end without the bristles is far more enticing to chew on. So just as they were about to throw in the towel for good, Mom decided to buy me a snazzy new battery-operated spin brush…but not your ordinary spin brush…a Go, Diego, Go! toothbrush (the boy version of Dora the Explorer). It’s so cool and the minute my parents put that up to my mouth and turned it on, I smiled. It tickles my mouth and feels funny…I love it! So they moved it around my teeth and boy did they sparkle afterwards. So if you think brushing your teeth is a chore, go and buy yourself a Go, Diego, Go! toothbrush. You will quickly find that brushing your teeth has become completely enjoyable!

Who says I'm Feisty?

Friday afternoon, when Mom picked me up from school, she talked with one of the teachers, a lady from another class substituting for Ms. Martha, and the lady went on and on about how feisty I am. She kept saying, "He’s sweet, don’t get me wrong, but man is he feisty!" Mom was like, “Look lady, you’re preaching to the choir,” because Mom and Dad are well aware of it! So it became a topic of conversation over the past few days…that maybe I am feistier than your average 11 ½ month old boy? If a teacher, who sees babies all day long, every day, year after year, is shocked at how feisty a little baby boy could be, what does that say? Mom suspected this since I was a newborn, but wasn’t sure if it was normal baby boy behavior, since she’s one of three girls and hasn’t been around baby boys much before me. So Dad started blaming Mom…saying the “Alvord girls are feisty and that’s where he gets it,” and Mom started blaming Dad saying, “The redheaded genes are from your side!” And I’ll I said was, “Deal with it people, you’re both to blame because you’re both feisty and you both have redhead genes, now give me some freaking cheese quesadillas.” (They did and I spent the rest of the weekend tooting up a storm…seriously…those cheese quesadillas were not your average Mexican restaurant quesadilla…something was up with those!)

So I made an extra effort to be exceptionally cuddly to my Mom and Dad this weekend, to make up for being such a handful lately (me thinks molars coming in are contributing to the crankiness). I let them snuggle and rock me (I've been letting them rock me the past month or so without trying to push away or wiggle out of their arms, which makes Mom happy). But then again, my willingness to cuddle more than normal this weekend might have been partly due to the fact that I started getting sick, which nobody was aware of until Monday morning when Grammie was watching me and I threw up twice. So mom left work and picked me up. My parents thought going to the Coldplay concert last night was going to be out of the question, much to their disappointment. They basically wrote off the concert and Mom told my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Todd they could go in their place. Then towards the end of the afternoon, I perked up and was smiling and laughing and hadn't gotten sick again since the morning. Aunt Lisa said they couldn't go to the concert after all, so my parents decided to try to go and if I wasn't doing well while Grammie watched me, they'd leave the concert. I knew they were looking forward to it, so I was on my best behavior and went down to sleep without a fuss. Mom and Dad had an awesome time and they both agreed it was the best concert they've ever been to...and they're really grateful that I cooperated last night so they could have a little time together and feel 'young' again for a few hours while at a rock concert. You're welcome, Mom and Dad...

BABIES GONE WILD MIX-UP!

So…this is interesting…Mom’s cell phone, which originally appeared to have bit the dust last week, came back to life. It’s A-L-I-V-E!!!!! Well, she was able to check her voicemail and guess who had left her a message…none other than 103.7 the Q about the Babies Gone Wild competition. So out of curiosity, she got on the website to confirm that I had, indeed, lost the competition to another redhead, Molly. Well, much to Mom’s surprise, my dashing mug was on the winner’s gallery! Mom’s heart skipped a beat and she returned the guy’s call…only to find out they called because it was a mix-up and that Molly had actually won after all (that girl’s Mom was probably IRATE on the phone saying her child won, not me), so see…even the station wanted me to win because I’m so cute! So the guy apologized profusely to my disappointed mother and you’ll never guess what they did…they offered her tickets to a concert of her choosing!!!! SO… Mom and Dad will be going to see COLDPLAY on Monday night!!!!! (Babysitter needed!) Mom loves them, so your welcome mother…and you owe me big time for this stroke of luck that would have never happened if it hadn’t been for adorable me…

…and by the way, they said that Molly had the most votes out of the entire group of contestants…and that she was most likely a young mother with a MySpace account, because that’s how most of the winners got their votes. So our suspicions were confirmed!

All The Toys are MINE!

So my teacher told my Mom yesterday that I get really upset and I cry whenever the other babies have toys that I want...give them to me, they're MINE!!! I'm just not into this sharing thing and I've been known to throw a tantrum every once in a while when I don't get what I want. For example: The greyhound's squeaky dog toys are far cooler than any of mine and I get really upset when my parents take them away from me. It's just a little dog slobber, so give it! And it's funny to watch the greyhound (the crazy one, 'Belba') go berserk when I squeak her toy. But anyway, as I've mentioned many times before, I've mastered the art of baby tantrums. I just can't emphasise this enough because Mom and Dad have become concerned at my readiness to pull out the 'old reliable' lip quiver, flailing arms, and an occasional kicking lately. The kicking mainly works when I'm on the changing table...I've kicked Mom in the gut many a times and she knows it was intentional because of the mean scowl on my face I made when I did it. This past week, I've really started doing this horrible looking scowl to let everyone know when I'm not happy...which is apparently a lot. (You can kind of see it in one of the class photos from yesterday). Pair that with my shrieking noises, my ability to launch things across the room, and a few other methods of anger I've mentioned above, and you have two worn out parents! He he...My attempts at maintaining the 'only child' status are working!

New favorite Hobby: 'Clucking' and smacking with my tongue...it sounds like loud slurps and Mom and Dad get embarrassed as I make the strange sounds in public. People look around like, 'What the heck?' and Dad even makes a statement loud enough for everyone to overhear, 'Heston's making that weird noise again.' It's pretty funny...

P.S. As you may have noticed in the pictures below that I'm one of the youngest in the class...you can tell not just by my size, but by my lack of hair!

Class Photo

These pictures crack Mom up...getting all of those babies to sit still for group photos was tricky and you can see how happy we all were to take them...

3 New Things

I have a new word that I said today...Bottle! Mom was so excited to hear me say it this morning because now instead of crying, I'll say 'bottle' and she'll know what I want! Or that's the idea, but we'll see how it goes. Pretty cool...

I also stood on my own twice today and one of the times I took two steps towards my Mom. Mom could tell I was very proud of myself! I haven't really taken many steps on my own since the first time I did it about a month ago, so Mom was happy to see me have a little confidence again and make further progress on walking. Later in the day, I also bent down to pick up a book out of my book bin, stood up, and handed the book to my Mom. I've handed books to people before, but never while balancing on my own and being able to remain blanced while bending down to get something. So today was a big day on the development end.

Mom took me to the doctor to make sure my ears were okay and I checked out fine. But most importantly, I weigh 24 lbs. 10 oz. Chunk-a-roo is right! Mom feeds me well...

Fish, Geese, Turtles and a Snake...

Mom and I went back to the botanical gardens and before you wonder why the heck we never do anything else on her days off but go there, here is our reasoning:

1. It's practically in our back yard...it takes a whole 3 minutes to drive through Mountain Brook Village from our house to get there.
2. Mom gets exercise strolling me around...'nuff said there.
3. I'm entertained for 1-2 hours, a difficult task to achieve at home all day because I get bored easily...
4. Mom's entertained.
5. I nap for an hour and a half afterwards. Mom relaxes while I nap, which makes her happy.
6. It's nice to get outside for fresh air...and before the swampy Alabama summers hit, we're trying to take advantage of the nice weather.
7. I can scream, babble, and make loud exclamations as loud as I want and it doesn't matter because we're outside!

So now that that is explained, you know why you read the same thing every week...we like the gardens! So today's trip was especially fun. Mom came prepared and brought bubbles to entertain us and a bag of old bread to feed to my friend the goose, only he had to share the bread with another goose and teams of carpe and turtles. And when I say 'teams,' I mean a whole freaking lot, because there were probably 20+ turtles...some as big as 18" in diameter (that's Mom the architect talking)...and dozens of fat fish approximately 2 feet long. Mom and I saw one turtle pop up that had a neck that must have been at least 6" long and it freaked us out because we thought it was a huge snake popping it's head out of the water at first because it didn't look like a typical turtle...I'm surprised Mom didn't drop me in the water, because she jumped a mile high when she saw it...but it turns out it was just a snapping turtle. So Mom tore up pieces of bread for the swarming critters, but as she was preoccupied with throwing them out to all my little friends, I managed to grab a handful of old bread while Mom was not looking and shoved it in my mouth. It was a good snack and I can see why all the fish, turtles, and geese were in a feeding frenzy over it!

So on the pathway back, we saw a snake...and it wasn't dead like the ones I saw on Mother's Day! It was alive and trying to coil under a rock...and it wasn't a small garden snake either because it had a white and grey diamond pattern on its back. It freaked Mom out and after that, every little twig and branch on the pathway looked like a snake to Mom! Even the rustling of squirrels and chipmunks in the leaves sounded like snakes slithering to her. It made for an exciting afternoon...

The words of the week are: Dog, Uh-oh!, and Whoa! I'm using these A LOT and Mom has noticed an unusually large amount of babbles these days...she can't take me anywhere without me yelling or babbling to all the people we pass...which makes shopping difficult. Plus, everyone stops us to comment on how cute and spunky I am...big surprise. But another thing I've started doing the past few weeks is my 'surfer dude' laugh. Every time my parents laugh, I make this hahuhuhuhuhuh noise, which gets great reactions out of everyone, including strangers. My laugh grouped with my new word 'whoa,'and I'm doing a great California beach bum impersonation!

Babies Gone Wild Can Kiss It...

I’ve got to get this off my chest…Alabama Baby Magazine and 103.7 the Q can KISS MY BIG FAT BABY CHEEKS (either pair of cheeks that is). So the Babies Gone Wild competition was, as expected, a complete waste of time. If they had actually based the winners on looks alone, it would have been a cake walk and those babies wouldn’t have stood a chance against the cuteness that is my chubby redheaded self. BUT…that was not the case, as we well know…yeah, thanks Molly…and by the way, your Mom is a total L-O-S-E-R…but love the red hair, you’re still a rock star in my book, 'cause we redheads need to support one another. But anyway, Dad even appealed to his ‘buddies’ on his Rivals website, to get a little man-power voting…those guys swore that ‘Molly was going down’…but they failed me. It was too late in the game and the competition shut down before they could wreak havoc on Molly and Babies Gone Wild. Bummer…but on the upside, I’ve got a few new cool email accounts as the result, like hestonrocks@gmail.com (Thanks Megan!). And thanks to all my friends and family who voted…

Mother’s Day weekend was great…I got to have some new food when my parents took me out to eat a few times. Let me just say that cheese quesadillas are out of this world! Mom and Dad tried to tear up small pieces for me to start with, but I ended up cramming several of them into my mouth all at one time and Mom had to fish out a few chewed up wads to prevent me from gagging. I couldn’t help myself…white Mexican cheese is probably the tastiest thing ever…oh cheesy-goodness…and those tortillas things are a close second. Many family members have made comments on my chubbiness lately…saying I’m ‘solid’ or ‘stocky’ or have ‘tree trunk legs’…but this solid food thing is still relatively new to me and I can’t help myself…I love to eat! So people, lay off… chubby is a good quality to have at this point in my life… in a few years, it won’t be quite as socially acceptable, so I need to enjoy it while I can…

I went to ‘The Ranch’ yesterday for Mother’s Day…I got to see some horses, a few cats, a bunch of dogs, and a few dead snakes…yep, DEAD SNAKES! They were so cool…my grandpa found them tangled up dead in some gardening net and boy did they freak everyone out! One of the snakes was huge…Grandpa was carrying the net over his back and then noticed a few long things dangling from it…he yelled and dropped the net, to find that the large grey snakes were already dead, thank goodness. So that was the highlight of the weekend! And even the greyhounds and the cats were intrigued with them…I don’t think they had ever seen a dead snake either! And, it just so happened that I wore my cool new shoes with snakes, frogs, and bugs on them, so I was properly dressed for the occasion.

Stealing Toys

I’ve officially entered the age where stealing toys from other babies is a regular occurrence. Mom took me to my class this morning on her way to work and when she put me down in front of the cute chubby blonde girl, I crawled right up to her and took the toy out of her hands. She looked like she was going to scream, so Mom made me give it back. Then I made a run for it and crawled inside the toy bin all by myself and when Mom turned back around, I was sitting in the middle of it. That way, I can claim ownership to all of the other toys! I’m KING of the toy bin, so take that chubby girl!

My teacher told my Mom that I’ve become a chatty one…yep, now that I’ve learned a few words, I can ‘talk’ up a storm….just like my Dad!

So have I mentioned my new favorite thing to do the past two weeks? It is so fun…My Mom has this mop that she uses (or needs to use) and I’ve learned that if I grab onto the pole and lift myself up, Mom will push it around the house and I can walk with a little support. Mom likes it because she does two things at once...mops the floor and entertains me! I started out taking slow steps, but after a while, I grew confident and can hold on with one hand and walk around while I use my other hand to pull stuff off shelves. It’s really cool. I usually pull out a handful of diapers off the changing station every time I pass, grab the sock basket until it crashes to the floor and all my socks spill out, rip a few leaves off Mom’s potted plants each time, grab handles to the kitchen cabinets and try to open them, and my favorite – knock the small bronze greyhound statues in my parents room to the floor…those make a LOUD crash when they fall off! It’s very entertaining. We make a few dozen rounds around the house until I start to get tired and start screaming with frustration. Then mom pries the metal mop handle out of my hands and I completely FREAK out. My whole body shakes, I plop to the ground and hands and feet start flailing around, face goes red, pouty lip quivers and then the wailing begins! Mom tries not to laugh, so as to encourage my poor behavior, but I guess she thinks it’s cute…so I keep doing it!

As usual, we made a weekly trip to the botanical gardens and the zoo on Mom’s two days off work. I saw my friend the goose and I brought him snacks this time, so he was pretty friendly. Then we came across a new part of the gardens we didn’t know was even there…the bog garden! It’s so cool. We parked the stroller and we hiked down this winding path to find cascading waterfalls with tons of cool rocks and a bridge. I was very intrigued by the rushing water and we sat on the bridge for a while to appreciate it! I kept wiggling, because I wanted to jump out of my Mom’s hands to go swimming. Then we hiked to a another smaller waterfall further down, where the actual ‘bog’ was…we couldn’t believe, after all our trips to the gardens, that there was a place we hadn’t seen. The Birmingham botanical gardens is on approx. 75 acres, so I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that there are paths we haven’t taken...

The zoo was cool...some gibbons were going crazy making wild monkey calls back and forth and they weren’t doing that last time we went. They can scream louder than me, which is impressive. The camels were also very interested in me and they kept sticking their long necks through the fence to get closer. You can go on camel rides there, so once I’m bigger, I can ride one! I think Mom’s more excited about that than I am and will use me as an excuse to ride one herself.

Update on the Baby’s Gone Wild Competition…yesterday, Molly was beating me…then Mom checked it this morning and a few good friends and family members apparently helped me out and cast their votes. Thanks people!!! However, Mom checked minutes ago and she's winning again...there is one more day left, so if you haven’t voted, please do so soon (and get anyone you know who would be willing to vote)! That little tart with the red hair is determined to win!
http://www.1037theq.com/pages/babiesgonewildvoting.html

Getting A Run For My Money...

So, the chick I thought would possibly show me up in the Baby's Gone Wild competition has been a complete let down and I'm totally smoking her. Apparently, exposed buns and a red feather boa on a baby is not what the public is looking for. So that's good news. The bad news is, I've got an unexpected rival in Molly, another redhead who has a fanatical Mom willing to pull out all the stops to beat me (that's the only reason to explain why she's a close runner up, if you get my drift). Every time I think I'm in the clear, her votes creep back up and we are neck in neck again. I need more votes... vote again with another email address (clear your cookies first), put it on your facebook account, and pass along to your friends....I....MUST....WIN!!!!!!

On another note, I've got four molars coming in...three have broken the surface already and one is almost here. This totally explains everything for Mom...the reason I've been a complete stinker lately! Not just one molar like she originally thought...but four. So watch out...this redhead bites!

Vote Like You've Never Voted Before

The time has come, my friends, to cast your vote for the Babies Gone Wild Competition…DO IT! Vote like you’ve never voted before! You thought the 2009 presidential election was important…that pales in comparison to this. The future of an adorable redhead lies in your very hands…so do the right thing…and I’ll remember the little people when I rise to stardom…

Voting begins this morning at 9:00! I need to beat that girl in the red, so pass this to your friends!!! (See Friday's post). http://www.1037theq.com/pages/babiesgonewildvoting.html (Gallery 1).

If I don’t win, it’s all because Mom refuses to twitter or get a Facebook account…103.7 the q is telling people that to win, they recommend doing that…great Mom….what’s the point of all this, if you’re not going to do what’s necessary….sheesh….

Lady in Red (Critical Update!)

It has come to my attention that there is a baby in my category (week 2, gallery 1) that just might knock me out of the Babies Gone Wild competition, so when the time comes on Monday morning, you need to put in your vote (one winner out of each week & gallery to make it to the finals) and you must use every email address you own to vote multiple times and pass the website along to your friends, so they can vote for me also. After reviewing the scores (in progress) on week 1’s voting last night, it’s clear that the competition is rigged. The babies with the most votes aren’t exactly the cutest, but the ones that clearly got their family and friends to vote most frequently. And sometimes, it’s the baby with the funniest picture that appeals to the masses too. So all those back-woods babies with a hundred cousins are cleaning up…just kidding…but they really are. So if they’re going to play dirty, we’re going to play dirty!

So….back to this baby that threatens my rightful place on the cover of Alabama Baby….there is a baby girl posing with her buns exposed for the world to see in a red feather boa and I’m not gonna lie, she’s cute…in fact, she’s a stone cold fox and I might have to get her digits after this is all over, but that’s besides the point. Everyone is going to see those baby buns and melt and she just might pull in the votes on that factor alone. Unfortunately, her mug is pretty cute too, so she’s got a lot going for her. Anyway, had Mom and I thought of this, I would have posed for a few baby hiney shots myself…or we have a few in the archives that could have easily been pulled out and submitted. But Mom and I thought we’d take the high road… So we submitted a head shot where I look completely dashing. So if her parents are playing dirty, then we need to lash back. That little harlot in red…that scarlet letter…will have to wait until next year to be on the cover…cause Mom will open up 50 new email accounts to get my votes up if she has to, so I can win! (And all of you should, of course, do the same...)

***Voting for the first 8 Week 2 galleries will begin Monday at 9AM you will find links to the voting at that time here:
http://www.1037theq.com/pages/babiesgonewild.html

They said: "you may only vote once per email address and 1037theq vip membership. If you have multiple people using the same computer who would like to enter please be sure to clear your cookies between entries"

…and no, Mom hasn’t gone totally nuts…she’s just a little enthusiastic…