Nicole and Brandon

You. Are. One.

Whaaaaat?!?!?! How did that happen so fast?! You have been such a blessing to us that mommy decided she wants 4 kids now (from 2). We're still working on daddy, ha ha! Seriously though, you are so great! Being a mom is something I never expected it to be even though I thought I knew what it would be like. No one can prepare you for the love, the selflessness, and the worry you will feel every hour of everyday. I try not to worry too much because I KNOW that God's got your back...but it's hard. I think my mom friends would understand. I love your daddy with a passion, Blake, and you have just added another depth of love to my life that I have never could have imagined.

Now let mommy cry over how big you've become in just 12 short months:

Unbelievable.

I just can't believe how fast you grew!

Anyways, enough with the sappy stuff. Let's get to the monthly update.

(P.S. I think I will continue updating but probably not every month.)

Doctor Stats: 12 Month Visit

Weight: 21 pounds, 9.5 ounces (52 Percentile)

Height/Length: 30.75 inches (79 Percentile)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (74 Percentile)

Memories from the first half of month 12:

-You love eating and I swear you eat like a little man! PB&J plus a clementine for lunch? No problem. Baby food is quickly becoming very boring to you.

-Speaking of mealtime, you always do your new "tricks" in the high chair but nowhere else (for a while). Right now you're newest talents are puckering kisses, high fives, and "so big"! We are still working on blowing a kiss and doing the Indian "aw, wa, wa, wa" sound with your hand. You patty-cake (clap) on command and wave bye-bye most of the time when asked.
-You officially said your first word: doggie! You had been saying it for a while but we weren't quite sure if you were saying "doggie" or "daddy". Well, grandma took you for a walk and said that you saw a dog in a yard and clearly said, "doggie". Now you say it every time I buckle you into your car seat (because sometimes Zoey is in the car with us). You also say "daddy" pretty clearly but it sounds a lot like "doggie". Mommy is still waiting for "mama" or "mommy"..... :)
-You love rocking in the high chair (or any chair really). You bang your head against the back, not too hard though, and do a "happy dance" of sorts when you are excited.
-You LOVE your books! I catch you looking at them all the time when you are playing independently.

-Your most recent favorite book is Beautiful Oops because it has so much fun stuff for you to manipulate.

-You will crawl through and over anything to get where you want to go, if possible. It's hysterical at times. One day, Daddy was laying on the floor in the hallway blocking you from Zoey and you managed to crawl over him; it was a struggle, but you did it. We were dying! Then you went happily on your way towards Zoey who just jumped back to the other side of daddy. Haha!
-You also started pulling up on everything. At first it was just onto your knees but after about a week you were brave/strong enough to pull up onto your feet. You will only stand on your tip toes though!

-You had your first hair cut and you handled it like a champ! No tears! She even used the clippers that buzz around your neck. You look so dapper now.

-We starting really trying to introduce you to the sippy cup. It took a while and lots of brand expirementation but you finally caught on. Ones with a straw definitely work better for you.

-You also got the hang of pouch foods. However, when you decide you don't want to anymore you can make a big mess!

-Mommy and Daddy dedicated your life to God at church on March 6, 2016. We vowed to raise you in such a way that we reflect Christ to you. Mommy and Daddy take this very seriously and ask that our friends raise us up in prayer frequently and hold us accountable. Opa and Grandma got you a children's Bible and a soccer ball for fun!

I have a feeling you may follow in your daddy and Opa's footsteps and be a soccer champ :)

Memories from the second half of month 12:
-You had TWO teeth sprout up on the bottom out of the blue! They came at the same time and you didn't have any teething symptoms. These are your first teeth. For the last 11 months or so, I've pretty much wondered if you were teething every time you didn't feel good. It figures that they'd pop up without any warning. I'd rather it be that way though!
-You are a busy boy! You hate snuggling and would prefer to always be on the go. We keep the baby gate up so that you can roam the living room and Zoey can have some peace on the other side of the house. However, if the gate is down, you love following Zoey around. She doesn't let you get too close to her though unless she wants to give you kisses.

I caught you like this one morning while I was getting ready for work!

We frequently use the play yard to contain you (for a few minutes...then you're ready to move on).

P.S. That is your favorite toy to chew on and you will crawl around with it hanging out of your mouth...hahaha!
-You are obsessed with clementines. I literally have to hide them from you if I want to put one in the diaper bag for a snack later. If you see it, you want it. I don't know what we're going to do when they go out of season!

-Did I mention you like food? Here's a note from daycare:

-We are disciplining you more and more for your temper. I don't know if you are really to the point where you understand or not, but, we figure we may as well start guiding you towards correct behavior at the youngest age possible in order to build good habits and behaviors. Buddy, I think you're going to have pretty strict parents. Just putting that out there.
"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." -Proverbs 22:6
-Speaking of discipline, you are beginning to listen to "no" most of the time. Progress.
-You have recently become a little more shy around strangers but I wouldn't consider you to be terribly shy. You will allow people to hold you without tears but tend to prefer family or Miss Esther, your daycare teacher.
-You have also become quite the flirt. You give gigantic smiles to all the women who give you attention when we are out and about. :)
-You love to stand holding onto things. You have not stood unassisted yet. You are almost always on your tip toes. The doctor is keeping an eye on it and gave us some stretches to do with your feet. I don't know anyone who still walks (or stands) on their tip toes so I'm not too worried. You may have a future in ballet, who knows?! ;)
-You are still in weekly swim lessons. You seem to like it but you shiver a TON. I feel so bad. The third week you finally didn't shiver as much and someone mentioned it may have been anxiety. It is super loud in the pool area because there is a water aerobics class in the other pool that cranks the music up on top of the echo in the room so you definitely may have been a bit anxious. You like the swimming, however, and are not afraid of the water. We are still working on getting you to kick your legs!
-You have the cutest new little grin! You scrunch your nose up and smile really big; it's so cute!
-On your birthday you had a photography shoot with a local photographer. You did SO well and enjoyed your first smash cake! You mostly picked at the frosting and tried to pick each piece off of the floor before taking more. Neat, just like mom. :)

-We are down to ONE nursing session a day! It's just in the morning before work. I had planned to wean you at one year but you seem to be self weaning pretty rapidly so I will let it be your call. I'm sure it won't be too long. (Update: As of April 10 you are completely weaned! Hooray!)

-Cloth diapers. Boom; we did it. A couple of weeks before your birthday we were having some serious issues with you leaking through your diapers every night. We switched from our beloved Pampers Swaddlers to Baby Dry to Target brand. Nothing worked. Target brand probably worked the best but gave you bad diaper rash (which you never get). I went into full "Nicole research mode" and discovered the new and improved world of cloth diapering. Researching cloth diapers online is like entering this secret sorority of crazy moms who use fancy acronyms to express their LOVE for cloth diapers. Ugh. But after some YouTube watching and article reading I felt like I got the jist. Brandon and I agreed it sounded like a good idea and we went to a store, got a whole lesson in all the different styles, brands, washing instructions, etc., and bought a few to try. NEVER in a million years would I have thought I would use cloth diapers, BUT, they are waaay easier than I ever knew and we have fully converted now. Oh, and did I mention they're adorable. ;)

So there you have it little man. A whole year with us and we all survived! We love you so incredibly much and could not imagine life without you. Daddy looks at me all the time and says "I love him so much; he's so cute." And we do buddy; we love you so much. And you are pretty cute. :)

I'll leave you with some more pictures from the last month of your first year:

Enjoying some fresh strawberry shortcake

Not feeling so hot. You got a fourth ear infection and a fever of 103.4.

Hanging with best buddy

Giving yourself kisses in the mirror at grandma's. Goofball!

Early spring walk on the pier...before the snow came back. Womp womp.

First time at a Japanese steakhouse (besides when you were really little); it did not go well! The fire scared you and you were very tired.

Meeting the Easter Bunny! Mommy thought you would cry and daddy didn't. Daddy won. :)

You loved playing with the box of your birthday present. Just like a cat!

Your first Easter Basket

And now, some pictures from your birthday parties! It was Easter weekend so you had two parties.

Trying out your new truck!

Hanging out with grandpa and grandma after dinner

Zoey helped open most of your presents

Daddy and Grandpa surprised us with a toybox they made for you! It even matches our furniture!

Playing with your favorite toy on grandma's lap

Ready for your second smash cake!

Not too bad! You pretty much just wanted the frosting.

Our house could be an ad for radio Flyer! Haha!

And now some pics from the other birthday party/Easter!

The MOST adorable little camping chair!

Let's slip in mom and dad's annual Easter picture...during nap time. ;)

Your special Easter egg hunt!

Also your first time in the grass!

Jackpot!

Birthday cupcake!

Yummm!

And that's it! A whole year has come and gone.

Here's to another year just as great Blake!

Blake, it's been 11 months since you were born and they've been the craziest, most fun-filled months of my life! I feel like you've had such a huge learning curve the last couple of months and you're picking new things up everyday. Let's reflect on the last month, shall we?

First of all, taking your monthly picture has become a game. This was the best we could do:

Want some outtakes? Ok here you go:

Hahaha, nice try mom.

Memories from the first half of Month 11:

-You learned how to wave and it's the cutest, most claw-like, wave you've ever seen! You love waving bye-bye and will usually wave on command. You also wave at completely random times, like when you want more food. I think it may be time to introduce some ASL signs. :)

-You love crawling everywhere, especially over obstacles like the base of your exersaucer, which is only still setup because you love crawling underneath it. Such a boy!

-You are wearing 12 month clothes usually. Some of your 12 month pants are way too big in the waist but most are beginning to fit. Oshkosh and Gymboree stuff is getting tight (in length) in 12 months so we'll see when we shift to 18 months in those brands. I have a feeling you will be wearing two different sizes for a while depending on brand and whether it's a snap shirt or pants. Makes it hard to pack up whole sizes neatly into bins. :P

-Discipline has been the name of the game the last month. You are learning what "no" means and obedient maybe half of the time.

-You went to your first Superbowl party! You were a little under the weather with a cold, but you had fun. We left before halftime to put you to bed. Funny how mommy and daddy's Superbowl parties have changed the last several years as friends started having kids. It's kid central and all about bedtimes now! Haha!

-You got your third ear infection. Boo...

-Still no teeth and no signs of any coming soon. The dentist said that is actually a good thing. Who knew?

-You still take two naps a day and both are usually about 2 hours long. Sometimes they are 1 hour long when you're not as tired.

-You moved up to the convertible car seat! Mommy's arm was just about to fall off every time we had to carry you in your infant seat! I think you like them because you cried when grandma had to put you in the infant seat (before her new one came). It's much more roomy for you. We got the Britax Boulevard Clicktight for my car and the Graco 4Ever for daddy's car. So far, we love them.

-You are eating more and more table food. There is nothing you won't try. We still feed you or let you use your fingers. You do not know how to use silverware yourself yet. We've tried a couple times but it was a mess to say the least.

-You still do not like the sippy cup. I bought a different one with a soft spout like a bottle, but shaped like a sippy cup spout. You are starting to get it we think.

Memories from the second half of Month 11:
-You went through what mommy prayed was a phase (and a short one) where you did NOT want mommy. Daddy, grandma, and Miss Esther were all great, but mommy was not. Luckily this only lasted a couple of days....but it felt like an eternity! Mommy is back in your good grace.
-You have officially weaned yourself of nighttime nursing. We are now down to ONE nursing session a day (the early morning)!!! I do not think you will have any problems weaning of that feed around 1 year either.
*It's a bit bittersweet coming to the end of our nursing journey. I know I will love having my body "back" but I also will miss our snuggles. I have so many sweet memories of nursing you....from feeling like a milk cow in the beginning, to finding sneaky places to nurse you in public, to just not caring who saw us (don't worry, daddy kept me modest), to that beloved eye contact. I will cherish these memories forever.
-You learned how to do "patty cake" (clap) and along with the waving it's the cutest thing ever.
-Grandpa jokes that you like pain because you'll get your fingers stuck in a drawer, whine about it, but then do it again as soon as you get your fingers free!
-You are a true boy. I don't have a little girl to compare you to, but, you love climbing over obstacles, getting into things ~~you know you shouldn't~~, talking like a monster, "rough housing" with daddy, chewing on Zoey's bones when mommy's not looking, and more!
-We had to do a little shopping because you needed some new clothes! In the last couple of weeks I've discovered that most of your clothes are getting too short. So, it was time to move up to 12-18 month sizes. I had a bunch of coupons and rewards to BabyGap so we stocked up there. BabyGap for the win!
-You BEG for mommy and daddy's food, whether you're hungry or not. It's just way more fun to have what's on our plates. :)
-You still don't say any real words. Mamama and Dadada are sounds you will make but without any real meaning behind them. I do think you are trying to say "hi" and "doggy" though, it's just not clear yet.
-We are transitioning you to size 4(!) diapers. You were peeing through size 3's frequently enough for us to make that decision. You will still wear size 3's during the day until the box is empty but are definitely in size 4's for naps and bedtime.
-You're starting swim lessons! We are super excited about this!!! Since we are around water all the time in the summer we figured we better start young.
-Your first haircut is on the calendar for next month. You have pretty long bangs and long hair in the back as well. A trim is in order!

-You clearly recognize people in pictures now.

-You are beginning to pull up on things. You've been pulling up for a while on your knees; now you're getting brave enough to pull up on your feet.

(The picture above is the first time I ever saw you pull up on your feet! Friday, Feb. 19)