Happy Birthday to my little boy

I woke up this morning at 5am. Wait, let me rephrase that; Cash woke me up at 5am. After putting him back to bed I reminisced for about an hour over what was happening in my life at that exact moment a year ago up through the day we brought Cashel home.

I remember I hadn't slept since Sunday night and had gone into labor Monday at midnight. We stayed at home until about 5pm on Tuesday evening and then made the torturous drive over the hill to St. Helena. Normally I enjoyed the beautifully scenic journey, but that day Clay was busy counting me through the contractions. We arrived with our dear Trish in tow and then somehow made it through the longest night of my life. I never found the "comfortable" laboring position they speak of. But at some point the tide shifted and in preperation for the arrival of Cash the nurses decided to try to turn him as he was sunny side up (my little star gazer ;)- I thought it had been tough before but I confess that that was the only time I cried- you wouldn't think turning a baby would be so difficult. And in the end he flopped back to where he was most comfortable- looking up. I remember that the nurses said I pushed like I'd had an epidural (which I can tell you I didn't have :) and in the end my little boy arrived at 9:30am sharp on Wednesday morning. Clay was there to see me through the whole thing and we couldn't have done it without our dear Trish and I loved my nurse Jeanie.
I remember when we took him home on Friday at noon what an odd feeling it was- we'd arrived just us two and were now leaving as three. And can you believe they trusted us with this brand new little person? In contrast to the drive there, I soaked up all the beautiful sights on our way home; it was misty, the pumpkins were lined along fence posts and piled up around doorways. The vineyards were changing color, trees too... I love sharing my favorite season with my little boy's birthday.

The year went by so fast- and I'm not the only one who thinks so!
Today didn't go quite as expected. We were going to drop off something nice for our nurse Jeanie in St. Helena, but thankfully I had the presence of mind to call and see if she was in today before we headed over, only to find out she won't be back for several weeks (maybe vacation?). And then Trish needed to reschedule for tomorrow, I had to make the cake today since I ran out of time yesterday but needed to run to the store in the middle of doing so when I found out we were out of eggs (silly me). I have to say that my no sugar added banana cake by itself isn't so fantastic, but wasn't too bad when coupled withe the frosting I made (1/2c of all fruit spread, 1.5 tsp vanilla extract and 2c heavy whipping cream beat until stiff-er).
Noni and Pops came over and brought lunch. Cash had a great time playing with their present, and even more fun playing with the packaging it came in.

We had meant to do our carseat turning ceremony earlier in the day, but we ended up not going anywhere until we headed out to Ellington Hall. Cash waited in the drivers seat while Clay reconfigured the carseat. Cash was all duded up for his birthday jam- new shoes from e-bay and all. He took a little nap on the way to dancing and then we saddled Clay up with him for the birthday jam. I'd forgotton how Cash gets upset with sudden loud noises, especially when tired, and he broke out in tears and screams when they all clapped for his birthday. Luckily he calmed right down as the dancing started.
After dancing he and Clay and I shared a cupcake- Cash actually preferred his without the frosting. And people must have liked them too since they were all gone by the time we left. I'd also brought pumpkin bread as a back up.


So, in final retrospect, here's a look at Cash growing up over the last year and all of his firsts...

Brand new
Blessing Day
2 months old


One of my favorites
First time at Disneyland, and hating it...

Visiting the Lindsay's
Six months old! Half way there.
Mom tries to dress me up Scottish with ghillie socks and plaid shorts

Easter outfit

DJ Cashman at the helm

Love that smile!

Dad's favorite past time with Cash- flying kites with fishing poles.

Eating cereal, for the second time

I don't just read my books- I devour them

Cold season before mom made me a scarf...
Cold season after mom made me a scarf...

seven months and still so cute!
My first big bruise
I like bath tubs, but swimming is kind of scary...

Mister Underpants Man
At the Pleasanton Games in a "proper" kilt

This is my torture chamber- don't let the smile fool you.

Trying to escape
Pumpkins mean...
It's birthday time for Cashel!