Birthday! Birthday! Birthday!

My sweet baby turned one today! It was a very happy occasion, although the celebration was a quiet one. It's a long weekend here in Ontario, and on long weekends in summer, native Ontarians all head for "The Cottage", where they frolic in whatever body of water The Cottage abuts, swat at the blackflies that swarm The Cottage, perform maintenance on The Cottage, and generally have a grand old time at The Cottage. I believe they also drink watery Canadian beer and eat hot dogs, but that's pure conjecture on my part, as I've only been to The Cottage once, and that was in 1995 (during my first stint living in Ontario).

So, this being the perfect weekend to get away to The Cottage, 8 of the 9 families we invited over for cake sent regrets, as they were all headed to The Cottage. But Henry's friend Monika and her dad came over, cake was consumed, and we'll always be able to tell our second child that he did indeed have a first birthday party. And he seemed to appreciate the chocolate cake.

What's our todder-to-be up to these days? Here are a few highlights:

*No, he's not walking yet. Not even close. given what I remember of Henry learning to walk, I'd say Dexter is at least a couple months away from this milestone. He crawls like a demon and pulls himself up on stuff, but he's not trying to stand independently yet. Oh well--he'll get it eventually.

*He gives kisses. Very sloppy kisses on the lips or chin. I love it.

*He's said "Da-da" in a meaningful way at least a couple times.

*He loves music! He figured out which button to push to make Henry's toy tractor play "Old McDonald Had a Farm", and will sit there pushing it repeatedly, doing his little Jazz Hands dance every time it starts back up. He's also added arm flapping to his dance routine.

*On good nights he sleeps from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., then goes back to sleep for an hour or so after nursing. But those nights have been few and far between lately. I think he's in the early stages of cutting molars, because he's been waking up a couple times a night recently. So I'm back to being a tad sleep deprived. Still nothing like what we went through with Henry, though. . .

*Some days he eats almost-adult-size portions of food, and eats anything and everything he's offered. Other days he won't eat anything but a few bites of fruit.

*He loves his big brother (and Henry loves him back--they get along fantastically) and clearly wants to play with the big kids now.

*He's just as sweet as can be, with more personality every day. I can't wait to see what year two brings us!

About all the "The Cottage" stuff: It seems like everyone here who is a) Ontario-born, b) not destitute, or c) destitute, but related to someone not destitute, has a vacation home. This place is always called The Cottage. Not "Our Cottage," not "My Dad's Cottage," not "The Cabin", "The Chalet," "our place on the lake," "The Lake", our place in X, or anything other than "The Cottage." And these people talk about The Cottage INCESSANTLY, all summer long. I first noticed it when I moved to Toronto way back when. It's a real Ontario thing, and we're just not a part of it. That's all.