King of the car
Blinded by the flashes
Bouncy Ball heads
Happy Birthday to you!
Yummy Birthday Cake!
It is amazing how you grew in one year’s time.
Two up!
How you love to make music!
What an amazing year this has been for you and for us. In the past two weeks leading up to your birthday, I have replayed the days leading up to your birth. I have thought about the time we spent with your Uncle Rob, Aunt Stephanie and cousin Kiya. The walks we took, the places we visited, the conversations we had and the time we spent in anticipation of a miracle. And then the day finally came; November 29th, 2008.
I woke this morning and as I lay waiting to hear you stir, I recounted the events of your real first birthday. I woke up on my own at 6:45 this morning, which is about the time my water broke. I remember now with a surge of excitement how it felt to ride each contraction and feel every movement. At 7:20, I remember the call to Missy and the surge of contractions that followed. You finally woke this morning around 8:00 with smiles and chattering. Such a beautiful sound! Much sweeter than the sounds that filled these walls a year ago at 8:00 as we approached transition and looked down the final stretch of our journey in one body.
now it is 8:15 and you are eating a blueberry muffin with a banana and milk (one of your favorite breakfasts). About this time a year ago is when Missy arrived, but was locked outside while we continued to labor on. It is hard to believe now that we only had 10 more minutes to go. It seemed much longer than that at the time and quite intense.
It is 8:25 now and you are here! We all said, “yeah your are here” and you clapped for yourself with banana covered fingers and a beautiful muffin crumb smile. You are such a joy and I can’t imagine life without you.
At one year old you are walking, communicating, feeding yourself almost anything, living life and loving the people around you. I learn so much from you daily. You inspire me, stretch me, and teach me. I hope that someday you will have the chance to look back on your life with the same pleasure as we see in you now. You still sleep with one leg tucked under and the other stretched out, you love to snuggle with your blue bear and your puppy, your favorite blanket is the blue camouflage one, you love yogurt and you enjoy people. You are such a happy little person and we are blessed to have you in our lives. Happy 1st Birthday sweet boy!
One year ago yesterday was my original due date. I remember feeling so excited for your impending arrival. I was just sure that labor would begin at any moment and then when it did, I was hardly prepared. I spent the day this year painting and decorating your room, like I might have last year, as a gift for your first birthday. I can’t beleive it has already been a whole year and I grow more in love with you each day. I love you, my little bug!
You are such an amazing little baby and it is so fun to watch you grow. The other day you were walking around saying “be happy” and the word for today was “baby”. You are mimicking sounds and words that you hear around you and it is so cool. Now our list of words includes hot, up, baby, be happy, bubble, and bye bye. We seem to be stuck on “b” sounds for now. Maybe it is because you were a little bee for Halloween and that is all you heard for a couple weeks.
Today we took a trip to Heavenly Harvest to take part in the annual Harvest Festival 2009! We had so much fun. For the sake of tradition, we went with Uncle Ben, Aunt Amy and your cousin Neli, and we were joined this year by Jarrod (a coworker/friend of your Dad’s who is visiting from North Carolina). We will be posting more pictures soon off of Jarrod’s camera, but here are a few to remember the day.
Jarrod, Uncle Ben and your Daddy made a pumpkin castle for the pictures, and then it became quite the hit with all the children waiting in line to take the “Pumpkin Express” back up the hill. We all had fun climbing on the pile of pumpkins!
You and Neli are the cutest kids we found to take pictures of on the pumpkin castle!
Here are the perfect pumpkins you two chose to take home. I think you did a great job! They are both unique and different from each other, but perfect in their own ways, just like the two of you! You both had so much fun rolling around in the muddy field, climbing on pumpkins, racing rubber ducks, chasing chickens, and riding on the wagon. What a busy day and I bet you will both sleep well tonight.
Here are a couple pictures from last year’s trip to the pumpkin patch. It is so amazing to think that this time last year, you weren’t even in the world yet and Neli was just a little baby. Now, one year later, you are both walking and came out covered in mud. What an amazing journey!
After a long and busy day, we came home to eat haystacks, which is kind of like a taco salad, followed by a little blackberry pie, compliments of Grammy Ginger, and some warm apple cider, thanks to Ben and Amy. Thanks Ben, Amy, Neli, and Jarrod for coming with us to the pumpkin patch.
What a perfect harvest day!
We spent October 3rd-9th on your Great-Grandparent’s farm in Michigan. We had such a wonderful time creating memories with your Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa, and Grandma while we were there. We went for rides in the motorhome,
which you loved because you were free from the car seat and you got to watch where you were going, you went on your first carousel ride,
we drove the antique John Deere tractor that I learned to drive on,
and we went for a little hike at Hartwick Pines. 
We also got to visit with your Great-Great Grandma, Betty.
You got to rock in your Grandma’s rocker that she had when she was a kid 
and you got to eat in the highchair that was originally your Uncle Rob’s. You loved Great-Grandpa’s sweet corn;
you ate three ears in one sitting and one raw right out in the garden. We even got to have a little Birthday celebration a couple months early.
Among other things, you got your first laptop from Grandma, you played with Bucky, you played Great-Grandma’s keyboard,
you ate amazing amounts of really yummy food, went on nature walks, 
and you stole the hearts of everyone we spent time with. It was a short trip including six airplane rides in 7 days, but it was well worth it.
At exactly nine months and three weeks from the day of your birth, you took your first steps. We were commenting about how well you were standing by yourself and how it wouldn’t be long until you were walking. And then, right before our eyes, you did it. Daddy held you up and gave you the confidence you needed, and you took 5 steps right into my arms. And then like a good Mama bird, I hugged you, set you back on your feet, and encouraged you to try again. I cried, of course, for two reasons; I was so proud and excited for you, and I was a bit sad that you are growing up so fast. I suppose that is the truth about being a parent; independence is good, but it means you need us a little less. You are such an amazing and ambitious little guy and we love you very much. Congratulations little bug, you are on your way!
You now weigh in at 17 pounds, 4 ounces, placing you in the 7th percentile for you age. You are 28 inches tall, 43%, and you head is 45.5 cm around, which is the 57th percentile. You are such a joy and oh so busy! You eat anything, but so far your favorite seems to be tofu, beans, cheese, and yogurt. Your favorite toy is probably your puppy or the beads that your cousin Kiya left for you. You seem to be approaching the walking phase pretty rapidly which is exciting and a bit scary at the same time.
The biggest thing I have noticed lately is that every child is on their own path and can’t be compared to any other just because they are the same age. You are “advanced” in some things, but you are “behind” in others. Those are relative terms because while one child is working on teeth and language, another is more physical and therefore, may need to eat more. Some are independent while others are snugly. Who is to say one is better or further along than another? All children get teeth, learn to feed themselves, learn to walk and talk and sleep through the night at different times based on their own path. It is so fun to watch you grow and change right before our eyes, and yet there are times when I wish you would just be a little baby again. What an adventure! 
