One Heck of a Year

Preston,

You are 12 months old! One whole year we have had you in our lives.

It's been the biggest, hardest, most challenging, most wonderful, most joyful year your parents have ever had and they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Today, the last day of January, it is sunny and 70 degrees. Very rare here in Memphis, but perfect for your first big birthday.

You grow smarter (and cuter) by the minute. Your mom and dad are always amazed at the things you do, and still, after a year, say "We can't believe he is ours." You are your parents (and grandparents) world, and life is so much brighter with you in it.

You went to school today and took cupcakes for your friends and teachers. They were all so excited and sang happy birthday to you! Mrs. Ophelia, your favorite teacher, couldn't wait to get her hands on you today.

As your looks and personality develop, you are looking more and more like your daddy. Your hair, your cheeks, your smile... you look so much like him. Even your profiles look similar. Mommy thinks that is great, because both of you are extremely handsome. Your dad always dreamed of having a little boy, and says all the time that everything about you is exactly what he has always wanted.

As far as personality goes, you are all mommy. While you have many redeeming qualities, you get easily frustrated when you can't figure something out quickly. You go at things full force, with energy and excitement. There is nothing calm or patient about you. Not yet at least. You are super independent and never want help learning things. You won't even let your mom and dad hold your hand to help you walk, not that you need it. You love to figure things out on your own, and when you do, you get a look of sheer and genuine joy on your face. You play hard, almost like you are doing work. It is very funny to watch. You are so busy, and always moving. Your mind is constantly going and thinking, and you have a very expressive little face. Your teachers at school say that you have a very big personality, and command a room when you are in it. There is an intensity in you that your parents adore, but are also a little afraid of.   ;)

You are clearly determining favorite things. Your mom's friend from college, Bev, gave you a beautiful blue blanket with your name on it. You sleep with it every night, and snuggle with it. You take naps with it when you are at home. You have three favorite books: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt (you can do the action on every page!), Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs by Sandra Boynton (this is your #1 go-to), and DOG by Matthew Van Fleet (you LOVE to read this right before bed). You drag these books around and want us to read them to you over and over. You love to turn the pages, and smile and clap while we read them to you. For toys, you are especially loving dinosaurs and monster trucks. You also really like it when daddy stacks blocks up high, and then you run and knock them down. You laugh so hard your cheeks turn red!

Developmentally, you are walking and running like a pro. You eat like a champ, anything and everything. You transitioned to whole milk easily. You are still a good sleeper, although you might be moving from two naps to one nap pretty soon. You do so many things, it's hard to even list them all. You are beginning to copy your parents and teachers more, mostly in actions and sounds. Verbally, you are still working on it. You say a few things like "mama", "dada", "dog", and lots of different sounds, inflections, and tones. They just don't make any sense yet. You will pick up a book or talk on a cell phone, and jabber with inflection like you are actually having a conversation. It's hilarious! Your parents can't wait until real words start flowing. You pick up a cell phone and talk on it, and you pick up your hair brush and pretend to brush your hair. It's really amazing how you catch on so quickly.

Your mom and dad are throwing a party for you this weekend to celebrate your big birthday. They can hardly wait! Your big gift this year was a Radio Flyer red wagon.

You are everything, Preston. Your parents have never been closer because of you. Their lives have never been more full. Preston, you made us a family and we will love you always. :) Happy 1st Birthday, Mr. P!

New Tricks

Preston shows off some his new tricks, like high-fiving and doing the Indian.

 

Some Favorites

Life is so full these days. As we get closer to Preston's first birthday, we are constantly amazed at how big he looks and acts. He's getting over eye and ear infections, and is finally sleeping well again.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures recently. I so love taking pictures of our little family. It really is probably my favorite thing to do!

Preston and his friend Woods playing with a jack in the box.

The child LOVES his mama.

Stud.

He dropped my car keys into daddy's cowboy boots. Good thing Brian wore his shoes that day, or we would be looking everywhere for my car keys.

This picture is so Preston to me. He is so independent, working through his agenda. So funny.

His new favorite thing is to erase the chalkboard. I drew a cute picture for his birthday, and he has loved erasing it.

Last weekend, I was a great wife and surprised Brian with a date! I had reservations at Tsunami for us, and then we headed to Alchemy for a drink afterwards. It was such a fun night, and I think Alchemy might be our new favorite place. We were in bed by 11, so it wasn't too crazy of a night. :)

I am nervous that Preston might be nearing his first haircut. His hair is falling into his eyes, and it is really getting long. There is a part of me that wants his hair to grow longer, but then I don't want him looking ratty. We'll see what happens.

I can't believe our baby will be one on Tuesday. So hard to believe. Just thinking of singing happy birthday to him makes me want to cry! He is such a sweet boy. What a year!

"New" Swingset

When my aunt, uncle and cousins moved to Memphis from New Jersey, they brought their swingset. It's a great, wooden set that was built by a New Jersey company. My cousins are in high school now, and have obviously outgrown it. We were happy to take it off their hands :) Thank you so much! We'll enjoy for years to come!

It has a yellow slide that attaches to the left side, a couple swings in the middle, and a tetter totter on the right side. We attached Preston's toddler swing to it and he loves it! Less trips to the park and more playing in the backyard :) We love this mild winter, so that we can actually play outside.

Preston ran around like crazy in the backyard. He hasn't been back there since he started walking so he explored the whole thing. Picking up every stick, falling into the mud, getting his pants and shoes filthy. I gotta say though, it was fun to watch him be "all boy". 

I would do anything for those blue eyes :)

Spoiled

I'm feeling a little spoiled today for a few reasons. Brian took Preston grocery shopping, and I got an hour of quiet at home. It was nice. Even though it was spent folding laundry and cleaning the house, it was a productive hour. I love when we can double team. On top of that, he cooked breakfast, cleaned the bathrooms and played with Preston while I took an extra long shower. Love him!

Over the past few days, I've been enjoying new editing software for my pictures. I got Photoshop Elements at Costco and am loving it! It's pretty intuitive and it just gives my pictures the extra pop I was hoping for. I've already downloaded several actions, which are shortcuts people create, and it has made things even easier. I hope to really learn all that the program has to offer.

As always, here is the #1 reason I am spoiled. We have the sweetest little boy on earth!

Well, most of the time ;)

The child is running everywhere these days. Running! How did that happen so fast? And his hair is getting even more curly.

His newest thing is blowing kisses. It really is the cutest thing ever.

His birthday is also very soon.... Let the planning commence! :)

Also had to include this picture of him sleeping at Mimzie and Robo's house. I love how babies sleep with their arms up like that. So sweet!

We're excited for a laid back, 3-day weekend thanks to the MLK holiday. One extra day with the little man! :)

One Crazy Kid

Yep. He's ours. :)

A New Year

Following in the footsteps of my friend Hillary, I'm writing down my goals in order to hold me accountable. I love that January stands for a fresh start and I am all about that these days.

1. More date nights. I saw this beautiful post on one of my favorite blogs, and it really spoke to me. When I was pregnant, Brian and I tried to go on as many dates as possible because we knew we would never have that kind of freedom again. Look at this picture of us back in early 2004 when we didn't have a care in the world! We were in Athens, GA.

Babies!

My dad sent this to me a few months ago, with the subject "cute." Maybe he was subliminally telling me something with this picture! When you become parents, the world suddenly revolves around your new roles and less around your old role of husband and wife. Sitting here thinking about it, in 2011, I am pretty sure Brian and I went on seven dates. SEVEN. In an entire year. Yikes. We've got to work on that. I want Preston to see his parents having fun together. 

2. Find something for me. This is another one of those things that is hard once you become a mom. I used to take time for myself all the time - an occasional pedicure, shopping, running errands, dinner with my girlfriends, etc. I swore that becoming a mom wouldn't change that. Boy, was I wrong! Now, I struggle with guilt... this is my thought process, "well, I really don't need that pedicure. I'd rather spend that on clothes for P. Or maybe on framing stuff for the foyer...." etc., etc., etc. Or  "I really don't need to go to dinner out tonight. P's laundry needs to get done, I need to spend time with him because I've been working all day, I need get Brian's dinner taken care of, the bathrooms need to get cleaned"... etc., etc. etc. I am constantly caring for others... time to take care of ME! I am REALLY interested in Pure Barre and thinking of going regularly. Or I may do something else. We'll see :)

3. Go somewhere fun. While P is under two, he can fly for free. This summer, we plan on taking advantage of that. We are looking for some fun destinations in the U.S. for us to go. Some of our research has lead us to explore some pretty random places. We'll see where 2012 takes us! Suggestions welcome! (Oh, and we want some water... and not California, cause that was our last big trip).

Portland, Maine

Virginia Beach, VA

Lake Michigan - Traverse City

San Juan, Puerto Rico

As a side note, traveling with kids is so funny. In doing research, we have to find a place with a balcony, so that Preston can still go to bed at 8 and we can have some time to talk and hang out without waking him. Oh, the things you have to think about!

4. Utilize the freezer. Because I don't get home on weeknights until after 5, and my husband and child have to eat (yes, they are in the same category!), I am going to fully utilize my freezer.

Just seeing this picture made me giddy. I purchased this book, and it has already taught me the basics. I have been pretty good about it over the past few months, but I want to get REALLY good. It saves so much time (and money), and that means everything to me, since I want to spend every minute I can with my adorable little boy. 

5. Work on my photo editing skills. Now, that I've gotten a better grasp on my Canon 40D and my lenses, I am really going to work on my editing skills. Might have to buy some software to accomplish this goal and stop relying on iPhoto :)

I have a few other more personal ones, that I know I need to work on. A lot of them revolve around the kind of mom and wife I want to be, and how I want our home to feel. Here's to 2012 and the start of all things NEW!

11 Months

Preston,

It is the first day of the new year and you are 11 months old! And it is getting harder and harder to take your picture.

That means you are one month away from your big first birthday. How did that happen?

There have been some really neat developments this month. The biggest is walking. It was amazing how you went from taking your first steps to walking from room to room in a matter of a couple weeks. You are such a determined little boy. You are so confident and are not cautious at all. That might be the "boy" in you, or maybe just your personality. You have had several bumps and bruises, but you never seem to be phased by them.

Here's a video of you strutting your stuff at the park yesterday.

 

You point to things you want now. You clap when you are excited, and squeal when you are happy. You also dance when music plays.

This month, there is real evidence that there is a little person inside you. You have figured out shape sorters, and can match the squares, circles, and triangles up perfectly. You like to pick up all your toys and put them inside the toy basket. You toddle around the room, and quickly figure out how to use and play with your toys. It's so neat to watch. All of these things are SO cute.

You are working hard on talking. You babble all the time and make more and more new sounds everyday. You string lots of sounds together to where it sounds like a conversation of just babble. Sometimes you babble emphatically, and sometimes you babble like you are just chatting. Your mom and dad can't wait for actual words to to match up with the tone in your voice.

One GREAT development is that you are really showing your love for your mom and dad now. You hug us and kiss (or mouth, really) on us. You cry when one of them walks out of the room, and sometimes you prefer one parent over another.

This seems to be most evident at night. You have been waking up more in the middle of the night. Dr. Bubba told your mom and dad you might do this, since that is common for your age. Sometimes you even say "mama" or "dada" in the middle of the night, wanting one of your parents to come in and rock you. Usually, you want your mom to come and rock you in the middle of the night. You fall asleep on her chest, and she softly lays you back down in your bed. She makes sure you are completely asleep before she leaves. Your mom loves it, but it also makes her very tired the next day ;)

You are still an amazing eater. You eat everything your mom and dad eat. Lately, you have enjoyed ravioli, lasagna, turkey, ham, and rolls. Your favs are still mac and cheese and scrambled eggs. You make a huge mess, and rub the food in your hair, eyes, and ears. You are so messy when you eat! It gets everywhere, but it makes your mom and dad laugh. One of your favorite games is to drop your cup over and over and over again while in your high chair, laugh when one of your parents gives it back to you, and immediately drop it again. Sneaky! It's pretty amazing you are done with bottles and baby food. You are growing up so fast, Preston.

Your mom and dad love you so much. In the morning, when you start making sounds on your monitor, they can't wait to start a new day with you. They cherish this age and this time with you. You are so sweet, Preston, and you light up a room with your personality. If you are already this charming, they are in trouble :)

Happy 11 months, sweet boy! Here is a video of you swinging at the park yesterday in our 67 degree weather!