Ok, as I said before, I'm not ready to give up this blog just yet... So here's Oliver's fall in all its unedited picture glory.

Mama Joy came in September, and they had a blast making cookies:





And Halloween wasn't the only time he dressed up this fall...





He had fun with family and friends:


At restaurants:


At playgrounds:

At parks:









He danced:


And he almost didn't survive my wrath after a Desitin incident during nap time:


I hope you can see, though, the gorgeous smile on this face...  He really is so full of joy, humor, curiosity, and fun.  Looking at these pictures, the thing that most amazes me is just how big he is.  He's a boy; he's not a baby any more.

To illustrate my point, here he was at Christmas 2011:


And here, in the same shirt no less, at Christmas 2012:

Incredible...  My baby boy is a baby no longer.

We had a blast.  You can see more at www.maisondepax.com where I shared pictures and decorations... but for this blog, I want to share my sweet boy:

And, for the record, I was horrified when I looked back just now and realized how remiss I have been in posting on this blog... I'm going to try to change that (I know, I know, I've said that a lot).  I am jumping ahead to the present because I know my mother in law is dying to see pictures of the party, but then I intend to try to catch up.  We'll see.  Anyway, we had a great night playing in the yard.

We enjoyed friends and neighbors (and Elliot enjoyed the attention!):

He even played well with the little girls:


Big brother had a blast, too.

Opening presents was a little crazy, but he seemed excited:

And, of course, Oliver had to help:


And he started playing keep away awfully early:

In the end, I think he found it a bit shocking. ;)

We went back outside for cupcakes...

Though Elliot seemed more interested in the pom poms:

And he managed to knock his birthday cupcake out of my hand and onto the table while we tried to sing happy birthday... at least no one was burned!


He certainly seemed to enjoy his first cupcake, though.




As did his friend, Kyla. :)

I think the highlight of his night, though, might have been riding on his brother's tricycle.





I'm so thankful for this precious little man!