My Baby isn't a "Baby" anymore!

I can't believe Jordan is 1 years old! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital! We had his birthday party on Saturday the 16th (even though his actual birthday is on the 19th) at my parents house. It was so fun! He even had his own personal cake to destroy!
He wasn't quite sure what to do, so he started out slow...
Then he realized it was pretty fun to mash his hands in the cake.
Before long he even had a spoon involved. (Notice that he didn't want to let go of his balloon though!)
By the end, his was so proud of his chocolate mess and had a pretty good sugar "high" going on.
Grandpa wanted to help "clean up" after the cake, so he took Jordan straight to the sink. Good thing we had brought extra clothes. The "cleaning up" became more like "playing in the water with Grandpa" than anything. But we sure had one happy little boy at the end of it all.

Jordan is becoming more of a little boy than a baby every day. He is so much fun to play with, and I just can't even remember what my life was like before we had him. This year has flown by so fast, and while I'm sure that they won't always go by this quickly, I also can't imagine him being grown up in only 17 more birthdays.

Passport Photo

Ok, just look at how adorable Jordan's passport photo is! The lady at the county clerk's office said it is the cutest one she had ever seen! I just love this picture of him. Watch out Kiddie Kandids, you've got some competition from the lady at the Travel Bureau.

Well, I leave for China in about 1 month. It will be an interesting fact finding trip. The hardest thing for me is going to be being without Jordan. Since I'll be gone for a week, which is barely enough time to get him used to the time changes there and back, we decided it would be best if he stays here. I don't know how I'm going to do it! I'll probably end up calling my parents all the time, and with the time difference that could be dangerous.

Duane will be there for work for 1 week before I arrive. That is going to be really hard too. But, at least I'll still have Jordan during that time. I've never been on that long of a flight before, and I'm not looking forward to it. If you know me very well, you know my rule about not going to the bathroom in things that move (planes, trains, buses, etc). I think I am going to have to break that rule on this flight. Maybe I could find out where to buy some of those astronaut diapers....eeewww, just kidding!!! I'll be without Duane on the flight over, but we'll be together on the way home. It's strange, we actually arrive home only 3 hours later than when we leave China. Those will be the longest 3 hours ever!

Anyway, if you want something particular for a souvenier you better let me know. Otherwise you might end up with chopsticks!