A letter to my oldest

Dearest Eli,

You are such a joy!  Your daddy and I couldn't be more proud of you and the big boy you are becoming!  I haven't taken the time to write you a letter in a few months and for that I am so very sorry!  Our days are so full of adventure!

Sweet boy, you are incredibly smart.  You've known your alphabet since you were two, but now you are able to say the sounds they make, words they spell, and point them out when you see them.  Your creative mind finds letters in the most unexpected ways!  The letters L, H & S are among some of your favorites and most easily found around town.  You also love finding Es because "That spells my name!"  In fact, you've even written a couple of letters while drawing (mostly by accident) but you still identify them correctly when you shout for my attention!


You nearly have your left and right sorted out.  Which, embarrassingly enough, I'm pretty sure confused me until I was 10, so you're way ahead of whatever curve I've set for you.  ;)  You potty trained just before turning 2.5 and I think have set my expectations to an unfair level for Miss Kate.  While we did present the concept gradually, we took three days of "let's do this" potty training and you aced that test.  We took the nap diapers away a few days later and the nighttime diapers away two weeks later.  You had very few accidents during that period, for which I thank you (I might have been on you like a hawk!).  You loved your sticker chart (It's in your memory book) and love teasing about babies going poo poo in their diapers since you are such a big boy now.  Once we had you sleep in undies at night, we have since taken you for a "sleepy pee pee" right before your dad and I go to bed.  It is such a sweet time - you barely wake up and are always so sweet.  If we forget to take you, we hear a light flip on around 2 am.

You are coming out of your shell a bit.  When we play with Archer & Stockton, you don't take 20 minutes to warm up like you used to require.  :)  You talk non-stop.  I'm not joking.  Car rides are filled with identifying and discussing every type of machinery we pass or telling me stories about your day.  You LOVE playing outside and we spend hours out there when the weather cooperates.  You love to dig (anywhere) and pretend to plant things (always farming).  Your Papa recently bought a pony for you and your cousins and you adore it.  You LOVE riding horses and want to anytime we see one.  You are becoming more confident with dogs, but just aren't really around them much.  You've also really enjoyed playing with the kittens at the farm in the recent weeks.  You love picking them up and playing with them - even if they scratch you!  Of course, that makes me shudder b/c I'm extremely allergic to cats and as a result, basically despise them.  :)  But, I love seeing you have fun, so I just make sure to keep my distance.

You are hilarious!  You moved to Mars recently and haven't wanted to come back to Earth yet.  Of course, the rest of us live on Earth so I guess you'll come back eventually.  ;)  This morning, after your daddy left, you said, "I almost forgot to say, 'Smell you later!'"  You also love to ask questions - "I have a question.  Combine.  Tractor.  Digger."  It is clear you don't quite understand what a question actually is at this point.  ;)  You love playing all sports - golf, football, basketball, soccer, baseball... literally every kind.

You are incredible with your little sister - Kater-tot.  You are always gentle and love playing with her.  Sometimes the playing is very one sided as you pile all of the laundry on top of her, all the while laughing hysterically.  Luckily for you, she handles it all very well and just plays along.  I'm finding that I am actually able to have a cup of coffee in the mornings now bc I can trust you two to play for a few minutes without needing me in some fashion.  Even typing that is cathartic.

ahhhhh

Oh!  We'll end on a bit of a statistical reference.  At 3 years, you were 33 pounds (75%) and 40 inches (95%).

We love you so, so much and love every moment as your parents!

Love!

18 month, nearly 19 months, post

And.... we're back.

Hopefully I can stay on track a bit better over the next few months.  I'm not sure how long this style of post will exist for us, but we'll see.  I just love being able to read back as Eli gets older, and I'm sure I'll refer to them with #2!

The last "month post" I did for Eli was 14 months!  EEK!  SOOOOO much has happened and changed since then! 

Quick Stats:
75% Head -- 19.5 in
95% Height -- 34.25 in
40% Weight -- 24.75 lb

You're still long and lean, but you're starting to really shoot up in height.  This has presented quite the challenge in finding long pants.  :)  You outgrow Gap pants in length after a couple of months, where a 6 month wear-time is intended.  I have found that Carter's brand pants (while not as cute) tend to fit you better and longer.

Walking with Pops

You LOVE climbing!  You often sit up on the top of the couch.

Love my little cowboy!

Ch Ch Ch Ch -- turning the drink dispenser into a train

Things I love about this stage:

* You walk around randomly counting -- "two, three, four, five,... daddy, seben, daddy, nine, TEN!".  So far, you have not once said "one".  :)
* You still LOVE reading books.  We read about 15 every day.  Your current favorites include either "fooball" or "tractors".  When we read the OSU book, you start singing on the page that includes the words to the alma mater.  It's pretty sweet.  You also point your finger when we say "Go Pokes!"  If we are reading about tractors, you say, "Daddy, Tractor, Papa, Tractor" while pointing at each one we see.
* You also know where there are tractors along our common routes and will yell "TRACTOR!" when we pass them - even if it's 10 pm outside and you can't see a thing!
* You also love to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and do the motions for the spider.  There's really nothing cuter.  :)
* You are really getting into trains and love saying "ch ch ch ch" when you see them.
* You LOVE driving cars, tractors, etc.  When your daddy gets home, you often run to the door begging to be taken outside.  Once outside, you stand by his door until he puts you inside.  You could pretend you are driving for hours!  It's pretty funny to start my car and have to immediately turn off the windshield wipers, blinkers and bright lights.  :)
* We've introduced a baby doll to call "sister" so that we can practice being gentle, etc and you are SO sweet with the doll, giving her kisses and hugs and shoving the bottle in her mouth.  :)  I cannot wait for you to get to meet your little sister!
* You insist on using utensils at every meal, and if I'm sitting next to you, you prefer to use a grown up sized fork or spoon.  You call them all "spoon" at this point.  :)  You are mostly self sufficient at meal times - I really only help when you eat yogurt simply b/c I don't like cleaning up the mess.  :)
* There's nothing sweeter than you grabbing a book and immediately backing up to sit in my lap.  I just love it!
* You had all 16 teeth by the time you were 16 months old.  I'm so relieved to have a bit of a break from teething - those molars were real doozies!
* You love stacking your blocks and counting with it.  You rarely pass 6 blocks before you knock them all "dowwwwwww" and laugh!
* This week, you said your first Spanish word, "agua".  It's pretty cute!  Sometimes you say "water" and other times "agua" -- I couldn't be prouder.  ;)
* You are heavily dependent on your "night night" these days.  Luckily I have 4 of them, so we rotate pretty regularly.  I'm considering cutting one into four squares (they're aiden & anais swaddle blankets, so quite large) to see if you can handle a smaller version.
* I bought a big boy bed for you recently.  We're going to work on that transition here in the next couple of weeks.  The intention is to be transitioned before sister arrives.  We'll see about that.  ;)
* You love walking around saying "Mama, Daddy, Eli (pronounced "I-li" -- all the kids in his PDO pronounce it that way for some reason)."  I'm trying to get you to incorporate "sister", and sometimes you'll add "baby".

Your current schedule is:
7:30 - Wake
Breakfast of yogurt, raisin toast and fruit
Play
11:30 - Lunch
12 - 2:30 - Nap
Play
5:30 dinner
Bath
7:30/8 Bedtime!

You LOVE:
Watermelon
Grapes (Baps)
Apples (you request "apple" all day long - you eat at least one a day!)
Bananas
Green Beans
SPAGHETTI
Peanut Butter (you are my son, afterall)
Pizza (you easily eat 3 pieces!)
Cheese
Toast - another request you make throughout the day
Crackers
Broccoli
Party Burritos at Bueno (we're raising you right with the Bueno influence)  ;)
Pistachios
Chips & Dip
Chicken - especially nuggets from Charlie's Chicken or My Place
Blueberry Muffins
Cheese Enchiladas



You are adding new words and phrases every day.  Today, you said "I don't know" and held your hands out, copying me.  I also asked you to slow down while eating the apple this evening, and you started repeating "slowwwww" in a very dramatic tone.  It was pretty funny.  :)  We called your daddy today and you sang the ABCs with me, and we both held the same letters - "A, B, C, D, E, F, Gggggggggggg; H I J K L M N O Pppppppppp; Q R S T U Vvvvvvvvvvvvv; W X Y and Zzzzzzzzzzzz.  And we crack up after each long letter (if this is making any sense.)  I'll try to record it and put it up here.  Mind you, he's just mumbling noises with each letter until we get to the one we hold.  :)  Just so you don't get the wrong idea about his genius status.  ;)

You definitely have a stubborn side (go figure) and have started screaming when you get upset.  It only lasts a second, and you look at me immediately after doing it.  I'm torn between getting on to you for doing it, or just ignoring it.  Suggestions welcome.  :)  You also had your 3rd haircut attempt -- only the very first one was successful.  Your daddy WILL be taking you next time - or at least accompanying us there.  For now, your hair is a little bit "poofy", but better that than buzzed off!  I just can't bring myself to do that to your sweet blond hair!

We had a few swimming play dates this summer - I think the size of the pool was a bit overwhelming to you.  You started to get the hang of it, but definitely prefer your little pool in the backyard and the bathtub.  :)

I mean, come on.

Lucky boy with unlimited watermelon!

First OSU game - wasn't quite sure what to think of it all! 

Wearing your hat, like Daddy, and "driving" the truck!

I'm hoping that by posting more often, they won't all have to be novel sized.  I let this one keep slipping by each month to where it was almost too much for me to remember and overwhelmed me... you're just growing and learning and changing so much!

Your daddy and I are BEYOND smitten with you, little man, and we love you more than either of us thought we possibly could.  While we're officially worn out at the end of each day, there is no one else we'd rather hang out with than you!

Love you!
Mama

That time of year again...

Alright.  My life is currently CRAZY!!!

1.  We have added on to our back patio.  I'm going to wait to show you pictures -- do a sort of before and after.  :)  You know what it still needs?  Furniture.  Lighting.  Stain on the pergola.  A little counter section against the back wall and a little counter section that will house the grill.  I've ordered Adirondack chairs to go around the fire pit that still needs to be purchased.  We've also purchased the makings for a dining table, but it has not been made yet.  This little project has me slightly uneasy.  And, let's not forget about chairs that need to be purchased.  Who knew they were all so expensive?!  :) 

2.  I'm finally making some (subtle) changes to the living room. I have one pillow left to find a fabric for, a painting to change a bit... and... that might be it.  We'll see.  Pics to come.

3.  Um... produce season?!  Have I mentioned that?  Last week kicked off Shelby Sweet Corn harvest 2011!  :)  That means Bill gets home at 3 am most nights and leaves the next morning around 7:30, after only a few hours of sleep.  We both love corn season, but can't wait for it to be over at the same time!

4.  We sold at our first market of the season on Saturday.  That means leaving for Tulsa at 4:30 am (after Bill arriving at 3:30!), with Eli in tow.  We loved seeing so many familiar faces - we have so many loyal customers that come back every year!  This is our 5th summer selling at Cherry Street and we really love it, despite the interruption to our normal routine!

Pops and Eli playing in the corn!

5.  Eli turned 15 months yesterday and I can barely keep up!  This kid is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING!  15 month post is in the works.  :)

We're missing events left and right, and sleeping at weird times.  But, it's corn season.  :)  It will last no longer than 1 month.  After that, Bill will return to coming home around 9pm, and that makes a HUGE difference to all of us. 

In the meantime, more corn (only) dinners for us! 

Love!
Cris

14 meces old

Dearest sweet, loving and pretty (handsome), Eli,

You are rocking our world these days!  Not only do you follow simple commands like, "take your cup to dada", or "bring me your shoe" and "roll the watermelon to dada" (seriously!), but you also understand certain phrases and respond appropriately.  If we say, "let's go bye-bye", you walk to the garage door.  If we say, "are you thirsty?", you walk to the kitchen, and "are you hungry?" prompts you to walk to your highchair.  In so many ways, my life is getting easier!  Thank you!

You're "officially" walking now... hardly crawling anymore!

Your vocabulary is expanding, including "shoe" and "bye".  You cracked us up this month by saying "bye bye" every time you heard me say "I'll talk to you later".  I'm not going to lie... that one kind of blew me away!   You sign "eat" when I say "snack", "hungry", "lunch", etc and sign "milk" when I say "bottle" and "cup".  There's some serious connecting of dots going on up in your noggin!  :)

You are also learning more in terms of action -- brushing your teeth (and spitting - it usually lands on your belly), finding your belly button, ears, and eyes, and brushing your hair on your own.   You love pushing on me when I'm sitting down and making me fall over - I'd better be the only girl you do that to!  ;)  You will now kiss and hug on command, which is quite possibly the sweetest thing EVER.  I make you kiss me all day.  :)

"Hug Teddy!"

cutest trick ever

Your favorite meal, lately, has been PW's chicken spaghetti.  You insist on eating it with a fork, but you eat LOTS of it, saying "mmmmmm" the whole time!  :)  You also love homemade burritos, roasted chicken breast (you ate an entire breast the other night - and 2 cups of broccoli!), and mac & cheese.  You are eating lots of fruit these days - strawberries from the garden and melons as part of dad's "market research".  :)  You were officially weaned from formula a few weeks ago, and are now drinking milk from your sippy cup.  I still give you a night time bottle, but you get a cup the rest of the time.

You love using a big-boy fork!  (Spinach noodles in the chicken spaghetti)

You actually didn't pick any of those, but you did entertain us while we did!  :)

You are still climbing on everything, and almost able to climb up on my chair while I'm working.  Once that happens, I will be in serious trouble!

Driving the boat at Grand Lake... You loved it!

You also got to stay with Grammy and Pops O'Connor for a night while mommy went on a shopping trip with some girls from church.  They absolutely adored having you there for their first over-nighter and LOVED having you all to themselves!  I wasn't there to insist on naptimes or anything, but you more or less stuck to your basic schedule and did perfectly for them!  You and aunt Care had a great time together, too!

 

You also stayed with Grandma and Papa Shelby for your first weekend stay-over while your mommy and daddy had their first getaway in over a year!  We hung out with Blue's parents at the lake, and talked about you both often!  You spent lots of time with your cousins, and went on several 4-wheeler rides to see your cow!  You do adore those rides!

You also played with sweet Maria, who is just a few months younger and oh-so-beautiful!  Eli... trust me..... she's a keeper!  :)

You loved seeing Maria!

Eli, your dad and I could not possibly love you any more than we do - it's already overwhelming to me as it is!  While you do exhaust me, and have now pooped in the bathtub more times than I can count (apparently that's a hereditary trait... sorry, mom!), I cannot imagine a more PERFECT baby!  Yes, I'm biased.  But, I'm your mom... I get to be!  :)  You're such a blessing and gift to us, and we thank God for you every single day!

Mother's Day, 2011

Love,
Mom

Sticky Situation

We are so excited around here for summer!  We recently received a "house moving" present from some dear friends that are moving away.  :(  We're sad, but will think of them everyday now!  I'll share pics as soon as this gift is presentable.


Here are some recent pictures from my iPhone that had to be shared:

I found Eli here after I suggested I would pay him $10 for mowing.  Luckily I was around for the dismount.

How lucky is he to have a backyard garden full of strawberries?!  Look at the juice on his tummy.   Oh-so-yummy!

Daddy decided to indulge the little man and took him back to pick more.  Eli earned his first hose bath of the summer!

Another literal sticky situation, a sucker was used to distract Eli from the man with scissors.  He did so well and earned a certificate to prove it.  Barber J was such a sweet man for the job!  The blanket (have I mentioned his blankets yet?) was used while the clippers were on, and it was covered in sucker 'juice' and hair.  lovely.  ;)

and, the end result.  I don't know where this pose came from, but it makes me want to grab him in a huge mama kiss.  I'm afraid he looks too much like a 3 year old now with his hair cut.  I may just have to "forget" his haircuts for a while.

Love!

13 month old teeny, tiny baby

Ok, fine.  He's not really teeny or tiny.  But... he's still a baby, right?!

Will seeing him get bigger and older get ANY easier?  As my friend says, it sure is a blessing that they become more and more fun as they grow up - otherwise being a mommy would practically be torture!  :)

Well, sweet Eli, this month has been such a BLAST with you!  You are such a sweet boy - so full of life and curious, energetic yet studious... and really just FUN!  You laugh all the time and are so fun to play with - you really get it these days and play along!  I can't wait for the months ahead!

vrrrrrm vrrrrmmmmm

Our favorite game right now

Look at that grin!

Melt

Uh oh.  The fingers. This is how he cries right now - with his mouth covered.

You're really showing off your learning skills these days -- and blowing me away in the process!  You have added "uh oh", "down" (which is more like "dow"), "book" (which is more like "buu") and "ball" ("ba") to your list of words said, and I'm having to resist adding some that you are saying now (since I'm writing this 1 week into next month's post!).  You sign "more", "eat", "all done", and "milk"... and wave with some regularity and also play peek-a-boo, covering your eyes with a big old grin on your face.  :)   You're the best. 

You have dressing more or less figured out and try to help where you can.  You can "put your arm through" and lean forward to put your head through.  You also hold your socks by your feet, trying to put them on.  If only it were that easy!  ;) 

Big grins after bathtime!

We can identify certain objects - if I hold a banana in one hand and strawberry in the other, you can point to the banana when I ask.  I don't mean that you do this all the time, but you have, and more than once. :)  Same things with books. 

Speaking of books, you LOVE them!  I often find you reading them in your room.  Cardboard books are still best because you haven't quite learned how fragile paper books can be.  You love touch and feel books and books with babies in them.  :)  You also love throwing anything, so balls are a big hit.  You love taking rides in your wagon to see the cows and horses and to see the garden.  You really love being outside, so we're grateful for sunny days like today! 

Eggs filled with goldfish and raisins.  :)

Bill and I were greeters at church, hence the green shirts.  Please ignore the fantastic frizz -- hazard of curly hair in rain.

Celebrating cousin Gunner on Easter - it was fun! 

Daddy leading Eli to the eggs.

e*trade baby

Cousins checking out their loot

While you aren't walking all the time, you do turn and start walking after holding on to a table or chair.  You started walking 10-15 steps right at 13 months.  Some days you seem excited to walk and others you just sit down every time I try to walk with you.  I think you are too comfortable with your speed crawl.  I'm pretty sure you'll soon find that walking is easier, but I'm keeping my mouth shut.  You're a little easier to keep an eye on while I work when you're crawling!  :)  Something else that is making me laugh is your attempt at jumping!  It's super cute!  :)

You are working on moving to one nap, so your day schedule is a little interesting right now.  You still sleep 12 hours at night, so mama's happy.  :)  You are getting 1 scoop of formula with 5 oz of milk for your bottles these days as we try to wean you from formula.  You still drink anything BUT milk from your sippy cup, so that's the next conquest on my list.  

You can't get me!

Eli David, your daddy and I are smitten beyond words.  You are definitely the coolest person in our house, and we all want to be your friend!  You are such a sweet boy - you love touching my eyelashes, and I love those quiet moments!  You also love it when I roll you around on your floor... we both laugh so much!  Have I stressed how much we love you?  Wow - it blows me away!  You are such a blessing to us, and we thank God for you every day!

Love,
Mom

ONE Year old!

Wow!  wow. 

WOW.

Well, Mr. Eli... you are a ONE year old!!  I still find it so hard to believe that a year has already flown by!  What an amazing year - you have impacted every aspect of our lives, and we LOVE it!!  We are having such a great time together - every day is full of laughter, naps, cheerios, and squeals!  :) 

You have had a fun month - we spent time in San Diego, Santa Monica, & Santa Barbara (which I wrote about some in last month's letter). You got to see several strawberry fields as we drove from LA to Santa Barbara, and... surprise... your dad decided he had to get off the highway and be nosey!  Your first taste of strawberry was from a roadside stand selling fresh berries... understandably, you loved them!  Since then, you have had LOTS of strawberries -- we even served them at your bday party!  We used your stroller a ton in California, and luckily you loved it!  I just loved being able to walk outside and immediately use the stroller... we can't do that at home!  :)  You just love watching people and seeing new things and the stroller is a great way for you to do that. 

That balloon followed us from Santa Barbara to Muskogee.

 We also had a big family party to send your uncle BJ off to Kosovo.  You haven't gotten to spend much time with your uncle BJ because he has always lived far away and as a result I think you like looking at him better than letting him hold you for right now!  I know this makes BJ sad, but I KNOW you will ADORE him in the coming years!  He will likely be gone for 1.5 years, but we are going to skype with him so that you can see each other!  There were lots of people there - mostly family - and you did really well!  You and your Pops have formed a special bond... pretty much all is right with the world when he is holding you!  It's the sweetest thing... and we're all a bit jealous!  ;)

Eli not so sure about BJ.  Isn't he handsome!

Eli with my mom's dad, Jack.

"celery?"

Love my sweet family!

Eli had had enough of the pictures!  Both sets of grandparents saying "goodbye" to BJ for a little while!

You also had a slumber party at Grandma Shelby's house so your dad and I could have a dinner with friends and actually sleep in the next morning (first time since your birth, Mr. 7:30 AM!).  ;) She loves having you stay with her and you love playing at their house!  Papa took you on a 4-wheeler ride and said that you loved it!  You guys go out and check on the cows.  Go figure.  ;)  After that, your dad decided you MUST have a haircut, so we gave you a little trim.  I have before pictures, but no "during" pictures because it absolutely took both of us to hold you still enough to trim your hair!  I have a feeling we have a "real" haircut in our future - yesterday you were trying to get your hair out of your eyes... I think that's a sign!  :)

Hair exaggerated over ears for dramatic effect.  But, yes, it was time for a trim!

You also got to see your buddy Blue again!  He came for your birthday party and stayed the night before.  You guys played so well together!  We have big plans for the two of you!  :)  You also got to see your auntie Jenn & uncle Dan.  They love you so much!

I can just see that trouble is in their future!

Sweet boys sharing bath water.  :)

You are mostly wearing 12-18 month clothes, but can still wear some 6-12 month stuff.  You weighed 21 pounds and were 30 inches long at your 1 year well baby appointment.  While you have only taken a few steps independently, your pediatrician complemented how strong of a walker you are!  I'm just pleased you actually started taking a few steps!  :)  Progress!  You are still a pretty great little eater and have started reducing the amount of formula you drink.  I haven't started weaning from the bottle yet because I like the extra calories you are getting from formula!  :)  And, I just figured out that you like to give yourself the bottle!  I thought you were weaning yourself from it, but really you just wanted to do it on your own!  We'll most likely start the transition to whole milk (which you don't seem to care for much at this point!) in the next couple of weeks.  You are still a great sleeper - sleeping 12 hours at night and taking two naps that are two hours each - usually at 9 am and then around 2 pm or so. 

Peek-A-Boo!

You have so many tricks lately, it's hard to keep up!  You started off the month blowing a LOT of kisses!  It was so sweet!  I haven't seen this one in the past week or so, but like your other tricks - clapping your hands or waving, it should resurface again soon.  You also cover your eyes and play peek-a-boo without prompting!  You cover them and wait for me to say "Peek-a-boo!" and then you uncover them.... and have the sweetest smile on your face!  It's adorable!  You also like to pat your mouth while saying "ba ba ba ba" - your grandma taught you that trick and we love it!  If we start patting your mouth, you'll start making the sound!  You still have a "cheese" face that you love to show off.  A ton of my pictures of you are of your head cocked back and face scrunched up!  I do absolutely love it, though!  You are great with your toys - you love to put the blocks back in their box, to put the egg in the slot on your barn door toy (and say "bock bock bock"), to put the phone up to your ear, etc.  It's so fun to watch you discover all the elements of the various toys!

"bock bock bock bock"

"hello?"

You also ate dirt for the first time this month (and seemed to enjoy it, surprisingly).  And, your dad tells me that you've been climbing the stairs at grandma & papa's house for the past couple of months.  You also learned last month to climb off of things backwards - beds, couches, etc.  We started teaching you that last month to hopefully avoid disaster since you like to get on and off of things so much.  So far, I am still amazed when you turn around to get off feet first!  Thank you! 

OH!  This month, you have officially fallen in love with your chair!  You pull your teddy and froggy off the chair and climb in.  If you see anyone or anything in your chair, you race over to get them/it off!  I hope that's not indicative of future sharing issues!  :)  You also just love to sit in it and read books or just chill.  It's pretty cute! 

Cheese!!

Ok, your birthday is going to have to go in a separate post... this is already bordering on novel-status!  I can't put into words how LOVED and celebrated you were on your birthday.  Most of your family was in town for the celebration, including some like-family friends.  The house was packed, the cupcakes were devoured (by everyone but yourself!  you weren't so sure about the cake!), and the house is now officially your playroom!  You had a great time and so did everyone there.  It was fabulous.  More pics to come in the birthday post!

What is this stuff??!!

Dear son, your daddy and I love you worlds beyond my humble means of communicating so... you are perfection in our eyes (even when you poop on my hand.).  You make us laugh every day and we've done our best to cherish every moment with you as you grow up.  Facing your first birthday, I was mostly excited.  There is so much ahead for us! 

We pray every day for you and for the man you will grow up to be.  Our prayer is that you will love God with all your heart and endeavor to follow His perfect will for your life.  I have no expectations beyond that.  :)

We love you, through and through,
Mom