This was a wonderfully memorable Memorial Day, as it was Lake’s first birthday anniversary! Lake turned one on Memorial Day! Happy Birthday Lakers! Zum Geburtstag viel Glück!

We had a great party! 

There was so much food! Delicious, nutritious and festively colorful!

In lieu of the cake smash, Lake did a dirt smash! While his guests were enjoying Trophy cupcakes, he ate some melon and then gave himself a “chocolate cake” face out of garden humus. 

There was a veritable birthday bonanza of presents and gifts. The girls had a wild time assisting in the unwrapping. It was quite a show! Now, thanks to the generousity of our friends and family, Lake is fully equipped to launch stylishly into his second year!

There were so many presents! So many friends! So much food! It was a heavenly day! Lake had a blast! We had so many laughs and shared so many memories, old and new. Thank you generous revelers! 

After the partygoers went, Uncle John Riley stayed on and he and Daddy put together an extensive and comprehensive drip irrigation system for the gardens. A gift for Lake and mummy, the de facto gardener. As dusk settled and brought Lake’s first birthday anniversary to a close, Nana and Lake and I walked around Greenlake. A gentle decompression from an excitatory celebration. It’s also a golden opportunity to remember and reflect on this landmark day. 

One year ago, the beginning of the life-giving, life-changing journey of his birth day weekend:

What a year! An amazing 365 perfect days, many of them chronicled here. It has truly been an honor and a blessing to share them with you. 

We had a perfect day at the zoo. I’m glad I spent it with you! And you, and you, and you! Our best friends are in town… double the fun!



Lake’s two little friends are Hazel and Maicy. They call me Aunie Tolle, and this surprises and delights me every time that I hear it. Lake is Baby Lake. Hazel lives life fearlessly, leaping from furniture to adventure without pause. Whereas Hazel is fearless, Maicy is brave. She takes care of everyone and tests my comfort zone with Lake. She wants to take him on the slide, on the swing, feed him. She’s always looking out for him. 

Tomorrow, technically he won’t be a baby anymore. He’ll be ONE YEAR OLD!

It’s coming up on one year with my son in the world. A time of great reflection. All in all things are looking up. I love being a mother. There are definitely challenges and triumphs. When I get bogged down, I shift the focus and think:

Sometimes you gotta turn things upside down for a new perspective. 

I put my feet up, look at the sky, feel the earth under my back. Give Lake an embrace. Engage in some funny game like peek a boo, gobble Lake’s neck, or play rushing “up and down” to elicit the giggles. Lake has the best giggles! And then things really start looking up!

For me, perspective is huge. It helps me to remember how dearly I yearned to be a mother for so many years. I consistently arrive back at the same point: that I’m fulfilling a longtime dream. And what a good dream. Some kid! We’re blessed to have such a beautiful being joining us for the journey. 

I love you Lake! Things are looking up! And it helps to have a great crew. 

Lake’s first word was Dada, meaning Michael. And his second word was “ticky” for kitty cat. This evening he even pronounced it clearly and said “cat”. Plain as day and several times. We were out walking around Greenlake with Lindsay after work… Lindsin around, and came across the fattest cat I ever have seen. Blimp cat. It was a bit mangy and the short white fur was dirty. But beautiful… one eye was yellow and one eye blue. Even for being tragically overfed, it acted starved for affection trotting after us on the sidewalk and rubbing up against my leg. Lake pointed and waved, 

Cat!

He exclaimed. 

Cat!

He’s so much fun! Such a great natured sweetheart! 

Later when we got home to our own cats and mangos and “Dada”, our song came onto the radio station. This Magic Moment, and we were dumbstruck. Michael and I just caught up in the song, feeling the feelings of gratitude and amazement! A perfect day, Lake, *you exist* and I’m glad I spent it with you!

Bust out the shorts!

Last night at dinner we had a rousing discussion about eating dirt. Should he? Shouldn’t he? Did we? Didn’t we? Is it beneficial? Harmful? If so, how much? How much is enough? How much is too much?

It all started with Lake in the garden. Daddy comes home to find him eating dirt. Not just a little dirt. Fistfuls apparently. 

Nana proclaims, Eat a pound of dirt a day! is the sensibility she was raised with from her grandmother. But is that a saying or an actual amount?

Michael is worried about all the worm eggs and bacteria. Eww. Who wants that? On the other hand, I’m thinking a little bacteria could be good, assuming the soil is healthy and the bacteria are probiotic types. Grandpa exclaims he never ate dirt when he was a baby. Nana counters, 

Most certainly he did! Everyone does!

Meanwhile Lake blithely carries on eating the dirt…

Happy as can be!

Last night we all went to the big top at Marymoor Park in Redmond for the visiting circus show. Grandparents treat: The Cirque du Soleil! Nana has created a lovely tradition of taking the family to see the traveling circus when it’s in town. We all love the Cirqu du Soleil. The performance and the performers are consistently breathtaking. This tour is Luzia, a Mexican tribute. Incredibly beautiful, high energy and uplifting. It even included water falling from above! Lake loved it! He was jumping up and down in his seat throughout the whole performance. Haha, I should clarify, his seat was my lap. He was jumping up and down in my arms and on my lap for most of the circus. We all got a good workout! I think it was also perhaps Lake’s first big crowd. The whole experience of spectators, performers, performance, set installation and music was bigger than life! Luzia elicited unbridled joy. Michael created an apt acronym for the show that is too good not to share:

Look Up, Zounds! It’s Acrobatics.

Super fun! Super Lake! Super Luzia!

Gracias Cirque du Soleil! Gracias Nana!