Our Little Monkey...

Had two days of birthday celebrations last week! Last Monday on his actual birthday, we started the morning with some pancakes and eggs...

He loves pancakes, can you tell!?

This was taken before we broke it up into pieces...I think he was telling us, "You know, I AM older, but not old enough to cut up my food!" :-)

And eating black beans and some quesadilla for lunch at Mommy and Daddy's favorite restaurant...

And trying frozen yogurt for the very first time

He did not care for the first few cold bites, but he got over the temperature and kept wanting more!

A full tummy and lots of fun tuckered this one-year-old out!

We had such a fun day as a family...Brett and I are going to have to take off every birthday from here on out :-)

Now on to the actual birthday party on Saturday!

It was monkey themed of course :-)

Below are the monkey-designed/banana-chocolate chip cupcakes covered in cookies (gingersnaps for the mouths, mini-Oreos for the ears, and mini-M&M's for the eyes)

And the banana split/sundae bar...

Birthday boy did not want to wear his crown that his teachers at daycare made him...

But he relented long enough to pose for this family pictures :-)

Cake time! Look, Mommy, my hands aren't THAT dirty yet...

Oh, just wait!

Cute little hands...

Scrumptious!

The requisite chocolate-all-over-the-face 1st birthday picture...

And Jameston's sweet cousins, family members, and friends showered him with some awesome birthday presents.

Our little helpers...

Of course, he LOVED the tissue paper...

The Rock, Roll, and Ride bike from (Fisher Price) Mommy and Daddy...glad he likes it!

It was a hit with the other kiddos, too...Here is cute little Camden (22 months) taking his turn: Oh, and if the birthday toys weren't enough to play with, Riley and JW had a blast riding around the house in Mr. Ducky... And Jameston's favorite gift...his Radio Flyer wagon from Gramps and Granny Glenna!

Since last Saturday, we have taken countless treks around the neighborhood.

He.is.in.love!

Thank you to all who helped make Jameston's 1st birthday a wonderful celebration!!

One Year Old: Stats and recent happenings

Jameston turned 1 last week! What a fun age this is...

Our baby boy gives the best hugs and kisses (open-mouth I might add), even to Mr. Bear! He also pats my back when I hold him. These are recent developments, which Mommy has been waiting for...so sweet! Last Monday on his birthday, we had the day off together as a family...and we had such a fun day (I'll be sure to blog about it soon)! We had his 1-year well check-up that morning, and he started off all-smiles...

Stats:

Weight: 23 lbs. 10 oz. (60th %)

(He actually lost weight due to all the movin' he is doing!)

Head: 75%

(Mommy didn't get the exact measurement but remembers the percentile)

Length: 31 3/4 inches (95%!)

But by the end of the appointment after his immunizations, he wanted some snuggle time...I could do this all day!

JW is still a great eater! His favorites right now are yogurt, grilled cheese, pasta, goldfish crackers, cottage cheese, grapes, beans and tomatoes. In fact, there are not many foods he won't eat! Now if only he liked whole milk as much as he likes finger foods...

Over the past few months, he has been "talking" more and more...and he even said his first word last month: "Dada!" Brett is especially proud of that one, and so is Mommy ;-) His will say "MaMa" only when he's upset, so we plan to work on that one!

Jameston has most recently been practicing the "t" sound, and his receptive language is growing! He will look for "book," "ball," "doggies," "bottle," "juice," etc. when prompted. He also makes the shrillest sound (we call it his "pterodactyl impression"), and he will sing like an Indian (video to come) after we do. Can't wait to see what he has up his sleeve next!

At this age JW loves:

• Pushing his trucks/tractors (and playing with TONS of other toys like his piano and xylophone)

(Still loves those rings!)

• Helping Mommy turn on/off the lights
• Singing "This Little Piggy" with Mommy and being thrown in the air by Daddy
• Opening and closing doors, cabinets, blinds, etc....
• And watching his Sesame Beginnings "Make Music Together" video...oh my, he shakes and bobs his head when he hears the music...it is the cutest thing! The songs are common tunes sung by Daddy (and uncles)!

One thing is for certain, he's so very inquisitive and plays hard (note the forehead bruises in some pictures) at this age. He's "all boy," as they say!

Developmentally,

• He has 8 teeth and LOVES to show them off with all his smiling!

• Waves bye-bye (and night-night :-), gives high-5's, claps with hands (and even more so when he can bang two objects together in his hands), claps for the "more" sign when eating, and is pulling up on things that are within reach... But he shows NO desire to walk. In fact when we try to "practice," he either just wants to jump or plop right down on his little booty and crawl. He is one quick little crawler (and has bruised knees to prove it) and is crawling/climbing over things. JW even has a bear-crawl like he's wanting to stand upright. He will also "walk" on his knees when pushing sometihg, if only he could just get those feet under him!
• He is sleeping like a champ (despite a rough patch we experienced after all the traveling over the last month). He will usually go to bed between 7:30 and 8:30, depending on the number of/length of naps that day and usually sleeps until about 6! Some mornings he will go back to sleep after I nurse him, but we are hoping once he is fully weaned he will sleep in a little longer :-)

Unfortunately the last month also brought about pink eye and more allergies :-( We are giving him Claritin every day with hopes that these first months of cold weather are better than last year!

Here are some fun pictures from the last month:

Obsessed with paper!

(and yes, he's wearing Christmas PJ's because they are some of the only ones that fit :-) He's wearing size 4 diapers, 18 months pants and 12-18 months shirts, and size 4 shoes.

Bath-time!

He LOVES his Aunt Maggie! And he has the best laugh in the world!More to come on Jameston's 1st birthday festivities!!

Happy 1st Birthday, Jameston Wade!

Wow, this day is here [even if I'm having a hard time grasping and admitting it, and holding back tears as I type]...it is Jameston's 1st birthday! It is so hard to believe our sweet boy is ONE and that it has been a full year since he was born. A part of me feels like we just brought him home from the hospital last week, and another part feels like he's been with us forever.

On September 19th, 2009, I went to sleep not knowing that 12 hours later we would be in the hospital welcoming our healthy and beautiful baby boy into the world and beginning our new journey as a family of three. We remember so much about that day, from our jaunt to the hospital at 4 in the morning, to the various doctors and nurses who assisted with his birth, to the many family and friends who stopped by to meet him, to our first two nights with a newborn in the hospital...but what stands out the most is seeing Jameston for the first time and hearing him take his first breath on his own. Nothing, I believe, can compare to the feelings you have when you first meet your child, and we will never forget that day and the excitement and love that it brought our family!

Since I hope to one day print this blog, I find it only fitting that I write a little note to the birthday boy.

Dear Jameston,

Happy 1st birthday, Buckeroo! You stole our hearts from the moment you were placed in our arms, and you have brought SO MUCH joy into our lives. As we look back on your first year, we are humbled by the fact that God lent us you to guide, love, and point back to Him. We CANNOT wait to watch you grow and are excited to see what the Lord has in store for you. Today, we pray that you know God and know that he will always love you. You are the light of our lives, and we love you, JW!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Brett and I have realized, just in this first year, how being parents gives you strength you never you knew had, and humbles (and humors) you in ways you never would have expected. Each day you feel like your heart could burst with love for your child! So on Jameston's 1st birthday, we realize just how blessed we are. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting us with Jameston.

1-Year-Old Pictures!

Several Wednesdays ago Jameston and I headed to downtown Garland to get his 1-year pictures taken. And out of the 40 proofs, I've narrowed them down to my favorite 15 :-) Sorry, readers, if you've already seen these on Facebook. Blogger was not cooperating and took forever to upload these larger files!

So, we have not had professional pictures taken of JW since he was 6-months-old. Now that he's more aware/active, we had a very interesting time to say the least...

Let's just say, he was baffled by the whole process (and it was early)!

Love the print of this chair, brought by the photographer. However, we didn't get many pics on it because he lunged off after not even a minute of sitting on it :-( Oh well, at least we got one pose!

Singing to wake up!

Payge Stevens was the photographer. I found her through my LivingSocial Deals email updates...she was awesome with Jameston, and he was not bashful. Thank goodness!

Singing/talking some moreHere is his best "George Bush" impersonation:Some black and whites:As Brett pointed out, this picture shows JW's neck rolls...too cute! Rollin' up his sleeves...ready to tackle toddler-hood:Eye on the prize...Going for it!Got it! Also, one of my favorites:Wait a second, "I don't wanna turn 1!"

In between outfits, Payge thought it would be cute to get some shots of Jameston in his diaper only...not expecting that, but I'm happy with a lot of the pictures she took!

Hey, what's up?

Love this one! One of my favorites:And the best one of the bunch... Thanks, friends, for letting me indulge and post pictures of our boy :-)