Before I get to talking too much I want to thank God for blessing me with a beautiful wife and daughter. Also with granting us the ability to take a vacation. He has blessed us with careers and gives us the ability to understand that we need a break from them from time to time. I love my girls and enjoy every moment with them and every moment I think about them when we are apart. This recent vacation Daddy really needed to unwind. I read a little, (and I will finish the book I got halfway through) talked with Mommy a little and chased CJ around a lot. Everything helped to shed some light on different areas of my life and I felt much more closer to the both of them after being away from them for an entire month. So again I praise God and magnify him for all he is and all he does in my life.
There are many questions you may have since the last time I blogged. There is also so much I want to share with you since I last communicated with you.
How was the Birthday BBQ?
How was CJ's first airplane ride?
How was the family vacation?
What did CJ do in Vegas?
The ultimate question everyone has now that she is one year old seems to be, is CJ walking yet?
Well by the end of this blog I hope to have provided you with a full account of how the past few weeks have been and what we have to look forward to. Before I forget, I will be back on my daily grind of blogging. I guess since I will be returning to work Wednesday, I will need the opportunity to unwind once I get home and blogging about my Princess always brings a smile to my face.
So here we go. For you who have not caught on yet, Princess CJ has turned one year old. We decided to do a small family gathering to lessen the number of people we had to invite and to keep things more intimate. Today I mentioned to Mommy that I wanted our children to lead a low profile life. As I said to her, Daddy is a socialite, he is out and about and into everything he can be. Therefore he knows a lot of people, gets invited to numerous functions throughout the year, many of which he has to attend just because. He would rather not have to go, but for political and proper social etiquette, he must attend. So with that said, he has a lot of friends and friends always care about family and want to celebrate momentous events. So once Daddy calculated the number of people who had voiced interest in attending and those he had to invite, he realized that we would need a banquet facility to hold all the people. Then he talked with Mommy and was reminded and had to remind her that the birthday was about CJ. Also that CJ would not recall any of the events that went along with it anyway so we could do something a bit more meaningful. That is when we decided to keep the birthday gathering to the immediate family, which in our case still meant a decent number of people. One thing I must add is that people should realize what is important in life and throwing a large shing-dig for people to enjoy is not what a child's first birthday is about. It is about celebrating a blessing that God has bestowed upon the parents and family.
So we had great food, more than we needed, but it was good. That bbq was better than most buffets on the the East Coast. The children had fun with each other and and most importantly, the Princess enjoyed her day. At one point she sported her shades and was all smiles for anyone who wanted to take a picture. The colors of the day were purple and turquoise. CJ wore a Ralph Lauren Polo Dress (Purple) and some bright white Shell Toe Adidas. She was so cute. Of course Daddy chose to compliment his Princess and wore a turquoise polo!
CJ received many nice presents; money, jewelry, clothes, toys, a children's Bible (thanks Great-Grandma) and the gift of the day was Daddy's beautiful Rocking Horse! We were in a store one day and we saw it. CJ smiled and petted it, so right then and there, I decided that that was the gift she was to have.
The clean up was cool, and we were home in good time for Daddy to get some rest. He needed it because the next morning he had to preach and then we needed to get back home to pack for vacation.
So now we were on our way to Vegas for family vacation. We bought CJ some ear plugs for the ride and actually had them in for a second or two. She took one out and began to take the other one out before we taxied the runway. So then Mommy held her and she dozed off to sleep. She slept for the first two and a half hours of the flight, and when she woke up, she behaved nicely on the plane. To be honest I would give her an A+ for her first time. She took the rocky landing better than Daddy.
Vegas was great! Though many people questioned taking the baby with us to Vegas, I do not regret it at all. It turned what I have defined as a Black Hole for most into a place for family fun. We toured both the old and new strips, saw live bands, dined with maternal relatives, bowled, swam, lounged, got lost, walked four miles, shopped, took pictures with live statues and much more...and boy did we eat! To sum things up, we enjoyed the time away and we are already brainstorming where we will go next year.
Now to answer the ultimate CJ Question...no CJ is not walking yet. When God and CJ are ready to walk it will happen. I used to get annoyed when people would ask that question. I wanted to respond to them in a very negative manner but thank God for patience and the ability to have restraint. Now I just listen and say in my head let's think about all the things you can not do, and laugh. Might not be the best way to handle things but it is what I do. So there you have it all the information I promised you. You are all caught up now.
Now for a few things you might not have asked. CJ is now drinking whole milk and juice. (I must have you know that she only gets one serving of juice a day, as Mommy puts it, she must have healthy drinking habits) She is doing fine with the milk so we said goodbye to the formula! She is also using cups with regularity now. We threw all but three of the bottles away just in case she relapses. She has ended the baby food too. CJ is eating from the table. Pancakes, muffins, grits, potatoes, chicken, spaghetti, vegetables, and more. She even had tofu tonight and ate most of it. Now you best believe Daddy has given her a few sweet treats as well. I do it in moderation because we want her to be healthy. CJ is doing fine with feeding herself too. We bought her a fork and spoon to begin with today, so the messes will be coming shortly. These will be the days Mommy and Daddy will fuss because of the mess CJ will make. I am sure you will read the stories of that soon.
CJ is also coming along health wise. She is still a tall girl and has the lungs of an opera singer. I almost forgot to tell you that she had her first boo boo. Of course she was someplace she was not supposed to be and she scraped her nose. She is OK. It is a noticable scrape but Mommy is treating it properly and we are praying for a clean healing process.
So now I am done for real and we are all on the same page. I will be back to blogging daily. I also will be trying to figure out how I can blog on my phone. That way when I am away from a PC, I will be able to get a blog in when I am supposed to. So as I leave tonight I leave you like I always do. Always remember to pray...prayer changes things, people, and situations.
NOTE TO CJ: Always remember to give GOD the praise for everything! You are a blessing and God continues to bless you daily! Daddy loves you!
