Time Travel Post: Pippin's 1st Birthday Party

Well, Sugarplum Baby could arrive any day now and I'm just sitting down to scrawl out my first catch-up post. (If she comes as late as I fatalistically suspect she might, there's a slim possibility I could get all 7 MONTHS of catch-up done before she arrives...). 

Back in May, our little Mr. Pip turned one. I can't separate who he is now 7 months later from who he was then, but in any case he is a delight to us. When he was an infant, over and over again the word that came to mind for him was simply and wholly sweet. Now, though he's still sweet, his personality has morphed more than I ever thought a baby's could and the words that come to mind when I think of him are clown, goofball, ham, etc. He is amusingly clumsy, frighteningly unaware of physical consequences for bodily choices, enraptured by an audience for his jokes, and such a jolly little chum. Full of sincere politeness, he consistently says "you're welcome" instead of "thank you." He is obsessed with balls and cars and music and our foam alphabet puzzle. He is only JUST starting to mature (a bit) out of his need to have both hands filled with toys, food, what-have-you (it's second nature to split a cracker in half now so he has something to fill each hand). One of my fondest visual memories is Pippin wandering around under our apple trees all through the late summer foraging until he could come tromping down the hill with a bitemark-covered apple in each hand. He loves Tadhg profoundly (and becomes profoundly indignant because of him). He is sensitive to all manner of injustice and is theatrical about expressing himself when wronged. 

Most of all, he is a good, good gift from our Father, and the sparing of his life is just as much a miracle now as it was the moment after he was cut out of my womb hale and hearty and ready to be alive. 

We love you, Pilgrim. 

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PS -  Thanks to Caleb and Cadie for almost all the photos! I was too busy fussbudgeting my way around during the party to take any myself during the party proper. 

PPS - It's strange posting photos of Pip so late; he's changed so much since and looks so much more grown-up than in these photos. And he has HAIR now! Wonders never cease.

(The photo below is mere documentation of what happens to my fridge anytime certain Purdy relatives come to my house for birthday parties or otherwise. This example is quite tame.)

Because our boys have so many aunts and uncles, parties are limited to just-family now because just-family fills up all the nooks and crannies of our house. 

Both before the party officially began and again after cake and presents, a whole posse of partygoers headed out into the wild.

It was a good first year of life for our Pip.