George is ONE!

Our sweet Georgie is one! How did that happen?

Our blizzard baby, whose birth story will go down in history. I'll never forget bumping down the backroads to the hospital (since the interstate was closed) at 3am, in the throes of labor, asking Nick where all the plows were. We miraculously made it to the hospital in time, and he arrived about an hour later.

I know I've shared this photo before but it remains one of my favorite moments as a mom. Feeling their awe and adoration as those big sisters wordlessly met their new baby--it was a beautiful moment. The boy with three mothers!

He was the most relaxed baby, always along for the ride. Tagging along for NYC rooftops:

the pool:

the beach:

school functions:

brunches (this is at two weeks old, and then we went couch shopping afterwards):

school drop-offs:

all the seasonal produce picking:

and just hanging around:

He is so loved and adored (smothered) by his big sisters.

He is jolly and loves a party. He gets so bored with just his mom, and is used to commotion being part of daily life.

He is a good sport. He has a lifetime ahead of him of being bossed around. Here is "Baby Georgia" being schooled in tea party etiquette.

He loves his crib and often plays solo in it for quite awhile after he wakes.

He is into everything. And like his sisters, it's a love affair with the dishwasher.

He had the BIGGEST belly. So big, in fact, that one doctor had concerns about it (using the horrible word "mass" which no parent ever wants to hear), so we had to get an abdominal ultrasound at the hospital. Turns out he was just fat and gassy! Such a relief.

In typical third-child fashion, there haven't been many new things purchased for him, and he's fine! We couldn't find the baby "activity mat" so the newborn scene often looked like below--baby on a blanket, with maybe one toy if he was lucky.

More often, though, there are zero toys and multiple bodies. He is never not being touched.

He's not a snuggler, which is a little sad to his mama. He wants to be on the go. Once he's done nursing he pushes me away until I let him go. We did have a brief run of it when he was a newborn and he tolerated the snuggles (or fell asleep on me, heaven), and for that I'm grateful. He also lets me rock him right before bed (but I must be standing up and very actively swaying back and forth) and I cherish those moments and kiss him all over the mouth, yes I do.

Seeing the three siblings interact has been a joyful, chaotic, beautiful, exhausting, rewarding experience. I'm so glad they have each other.

It's been so fun having a boy! It REALLY is different. I developed a crush on him very early on and have a physical desire to eat him.

Temperament-wise, he's still a bit of a mystery to me. For the bulk of his life he's been the happiest, easiest little guy. Recently we went through about a one-month period where he was miserable, so fussy and nonstop crying. He wasn't sick or teething, and it was a total mystery to me. And then one day he just snapped out of it and all of the sudden had all these new skills--standing by himself, all kinds of new sounds--so maybe it was developmental. Now that he's mobile I see his iron will (and brute strength) emerging and am buckling up for the toddler years.

This is often my view--the back of him. He is so busy! If I had to sum up my brief experience mothering a boy vs. girls, it would be that it is physically more challenging, but less emotionally taxing. He seems a bit simpler in that regard. His favorite activity is to turn anything into a plow and push it for as far as it will travel.

He was such a good sleeper in the early days, often sleeping 12 hours by 8 weeks old. This changed when we went to Cutchogue and he slept in our room, and it didn't come back! Around the 10-month mark we did a couple of nights of cry-it-out, and he now sleeps 7pm-7am. He's also a great napper.

It's been such a different experience having the girls be a little older (2.5 and 4.5) when he came along (as opposed to Eloise being 22 months when Mimi was born). So nice to have so many helpers! They do things like: pick him up and move him, sing to him or make him laugh when he cries, wash his hair in the bath, close baby gates, tell me when he's into something, feed him, get me things that I may need for him, involve him in their play (he is "Baby John" in their ongoing daily imaginative play), push his stroller, etc. etc.

Can I dress him in sailor suits forever? Boys' clothes are the cutest! I can't wait for spring and all the shortalls, jon jons, etc. He may be wearing knee socks on Easter this year and I'm not sorry about it. I tried his bathing suit on him the other day and died a little bit. So cute.

He is a giant. Thankfully not at birth, but he quickly grew and has been in 18-24 month clothing for quite awhile. My girls were always petite, and Nick and I aren't big people, so I'm not sure where he came from! The nurses in the hospital told me he is going to be tall.

"He sure is a big guy!" says his sister.

The messiness level when he's eating is unprecedented and I've found myself on Petfinder lately because really, all I do is clean up after him. Food everywhere. (But the last thing we need is a pet, I think, so I'm holding off for now.) Do they make Roombas that pick up giant gobs of banana? Please let me know.

He could (and often does) eat 2-3 bananas a day. Figs are his second favorite, followed by pinto beans, chickpeas, cheese quesadillas, spanakopita, and recently, mac and cheese.