365 days gone by...

Our little Caleb turned one year old on Wednesday. One year ago, Kara was recovering from an emergency C-section and I was sleeping on a hospital cot. But we were both staring into the eyes of a little boy that we'd been entrusted to raise. One year later, so much has changed. So many ways that Caleb has grown. And though we knew that one day he would learn to say "da da" and "ma ma", it still didn't take away from the excitement and awe when he uttered them for the first time. Or when he ventured out and learned to put one foot in front of the other and use his arms to balance his weight as he runs giggling towards me when I get home from work.

Even though we've only been in Salem for 4 months, we have been blessed with some great friends already. And they love Caleb, so that's a plus in our book. We decided to have a party for Caleb with our Salem people at Riverfront Park in the evening. Funny thing, cuz when we were partying on the grass, not 30 feet from us were "carnies" setting up they're movable ticket rides for Salem's annual "bite of Salem". Complete with cheap beer and repetitive mariachi music, everyone was impressed that we would go to such lengths for Caleb's first birthday party. Alas, it was a coincidence. But a party ambiance nonetheless.

Here's some pics of the Mexican Carnival birthday.

Caleb and his new friend, Jeffrey made quite a pair during the party.

Grandpa was showing him how his new (hand-me-down) 4x4 works.
It says "lil' man" on the front.

We told people that he loves to throw things. So he was ecstatic when he saw these. So were we.

Mom fed him his "organic" cupcake with "non-organic" cream cheese frosting (requested by Dad). Mom posed mid-bite for this picture and I think Caleb's open mouth is a clue.

CAPTION: "Organic cupcakes? Are you kidding me, Mom?"

Isn't he cute, folks?