happy birthday

i can't believe t2s first birthday past and i didn't even post a blog. we've been on the east coast since last monday and i've been the most slack blogger ever, haven't i?
i don't highly recommend a 5 hour plane ride alone with a one year old on your lap, by the way. it was less fun than a root canal. he napped a total of 45 minutes. good times.
however when we landed my best (8 mo pregnant) pal cathy was waiting for me and so were my parents. we ditched t2 with mom and dad and headed to charleston, sc, where i spent three delicious days and nights away. these were my first nights away from 2, and it was good to actually start to miss the little critter. cathy and i went to a spa and shopped and ate ice cream. i feel incredibly lucky to have gotten to spend time with her, just the two of us, before her baby comes. keep watch for news and photos of little lipp, due aug. 25.
t2s first birthday was never-ending. we had a fun party in LA two weekends ago with cake and ice cream and booze. thanks everyone for coming!
last weekend we had a family party at the river cottage with more cake and ice cream. (it was the third cake i'd made in a week - butter cake with vanilla icing and sliced strawberries on top. i'm not shy - it was DELICIOUS).
and monday, his actual birthday, we had cupcakes and he was bathed in love by his granparents and uncle and, of course, his mother.
i'm going to reflect a little. just a year ago t2 was a stranger in our house. we loved him of course, but it was more out of duty than anything else.
now he's one of us. equal parts catherine (calm, kind, caring, attractive, sensitive, smart. i could go on ...) and tayloe (wicked, sly, robust, loud, messy, loves to sleep...), and we absolutely adore him. he's just the yummiest, most delicious little person i've ever met.
if i had to find one thing i like the most about him, it's what a boy he is. he's full of piss and vinegar. he eats everything, plays with everything, uncovers everything, laughs a lot and loves to be tickled, tossed around and taken on tours of every single photograph and picture in any house he's in.
none of us can imagine a life without his wet kisses and the sweet, baby-voiced way he says "huh?" when he points to something he's curious about.
oh t2, what would we do without you? not very much, i believe.