a trip of firsts

back from arizona! it was a great trip-- vacation when i wasn't working or thinking (i.e. fretting) about work. is it murphy's law that says work will be at its busiest the week you are planning to be gone or is it just that when it rains it pours? i guess nothing particularly went wrong to make this overabundance of work, so murphy's law doesn't really apply. well... okay... if you go back far enough then of course, something did go wrong... people usually do not need me if everything is going swell in their lives... but i think i am digressing. the work thing is virtually under control by this point. the great trip to arizona is over (sigh), but we can all enjoy pictures of some of william's firsts that occurred while on this trip. though so many things occur for the first time when you've only been around as long as a william, this was not his first airplane trip or his first trip to arizona (and his first trip to arizona was also not his first airplane trip... yes, environmentally conscious readers, this kid has already contributed his fair share to global warming via jet fumes, but he will be a good member of society-- i will put money on that. he already is with all of the goodwill he generates on his trips around the country).

okay... before i digress anymore, here are his firsts:

his very first haircut!

it was looking so scruffy in the front and his great (aka wonderful) grandma did a professional job sprucing it up. she didn't know just how many first haircuts she's given. i'm afraid to go near william with nail clippers each time his claws get scraggly enough to force that situation, so i was mighty impressed with my grandmother. she also trimmed my hair, and i think i was more still than my son was.

his first time in a swimming pool!

swimming with dada.

after his swim, enjoying a laugh with mama.

and leaving the pool area. we got him this little hat while we were there. for some reason i entirely expected 60 degree weather. we weren't prepared in dress or otherwise for hot, sunny days. did i not know where we were flying to?

next:
his first time in a wedding!

he was a spectacular ring bearer for my little sister's wedding. he walked down the entire length of the aisle, holding his dada's hand. it was the one part of the wedding where i thought i might cry. i was just that proud. heaven help him when he graduates from college... or even middle school.

aside from william there were two others just about his age. they had fun sharing (or maybe trying not to share) cheerios during the bulk of the ceremony.

which leads us to the final first:


his first birthday!

he turned one the day before we left. we didn't entirely have our acts together, however greg did manage to bake a terrifically low-sugar cake (winning little in the way of praise from my elementary-aged cousin, eric) and his grandma did find him a birthday balloon on the way home from dinner. but otherwise, we had to make do with decorations from my sister's fiesta-themed rehearsal dinner. it looks quite festive though, does it not?

here he is in his birthday garb playing his uncle's guitar...

and trying out his first piece of birthday cake... much of it ended up on the floor...

the end for now.

have a great weekend!