You had your first kiss yesterday! It was adorable. Your friend Clementine loves to give kisses. We were over at her house for playtime and you kept giving her a blow up reindeer to kiss. She would lean over, and you would lift the reindeer to her lips. When we were leaving and saying goodbye, Clementine's mom was holding her and I was holding you. Clem kept giving air kisses, then you leaned forward for a kiss and she gave you a great big kiss on your nose. It melted my heart.
Though I don't have a picture of Clementine (I will get one so you will always remember who gave you your first kiss ;) ) I do have a picture of us as a family. We have very few of these, so I wanted to make sure to post it.
Every day, you are more and more convinced that you are a big boy. You constantly try to drink out of Mom and Dad's water cups, usually spilling them all down the front of you. That doesn't deter you at all. You also have gotten in the habit of wanting to sit in adult chairs. You grab a big spoon or fork, want to eat off of a plate, and sit in a chair. We offer you plastic children's utensils but you ignore them. You think they aren't the real thing.
Like a little kid, you want to be bigger as soon as possible, and like a Mom, I just want you to slow down. Maybe we will meet somewhere in the middle.
Last weekend was Mom's longest time away from you. I went to the mountains with my friends Amanda and Spruill for a girl's weekend and you got a whole 3 days with just your Daddy. You guys got to go to the park together, went to Grandma and Papa's for dinner, played in the yard with Penny and Bella, and watched football.
While I was gone, Daddy sent me a picture of you eating breakfast giving a "I love Mommy nose scrunch". It made me want to drive right home and give you a hug. When I finally got home, you gave me a million hugs over two days. We went to the grocery store and you kept leaning over in the cart to give me hugs. I loved it. It was the first time I realized that you have the capacity to miss us when we are gone. Not that I don't think you love us, but you are at an age when you notice the passing of time.
Now that I am home, I get a least three nose scrunches a day and about 5 hugs. The best hugs are right before I put you in your car seat. For some reason, you give the longest hugs sitting in the back seat, waiting to be put down. I love every second of them.
This was the first Halloween we took you Trick-Or-Treating. You were adorable. We took you to all the close neighbors houses and you would take candy out of their bucket and put it in your bag. It only took two times of Mom doing it before you picked it up.
You had all of your playgroup friends over for a Halloween party. I am sure after looking at your family costume, you are going to be embarrassed, but maybe as you get older, you will see how funny it is :) After you took off your wolf costume, you would drag it around the house and lay on it. I think I am going to sew it up and let you have it as a blanket. Maybe this means we will finally have a lovey for you.
Well sweetie, I got to run because you are waking up from your nap. Just to let you know. Cutest Wolf Ever.
There is nothing better than your laugh. The other day, I got Penny running in circles and you thought it was hilarious. I picked up my phone and got a video, but it is poor quality and shot at the wrong angle, but all I really wanted was the audio, so just ignore the rest :).
You have also started doing this funny fake adult laugh. I guess typed out it would be "AAAAAA-HA". Last week, we had a dinner party with family friends Pat, Sabrina, Bryant and Brittany and every time we were all laughing at a story, you would do your fake laugh. It would make everyone laugh even louder. You looked so proud of yourself for being part of the conversation. You just steal the show all the time. I wish I had that on video, but hopefully this one will do.
Sorry Mom is bad at videos, but at least I get to hear your little laugh whenever I want.
We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend with your non related Aunt Amanda. At Ganyard Hill Farms they had bunnies, cows, a really bad corn maze, and a pit of corn for you to play in. I was thinking the corn pit would have been huge fun for you but the second we sat you in there, you began to cry. I think you hated the way the corn felt on your feet. It wasn't until Dad showed up that you tolerated it, but it was not the reaction I was expecting. We picked out our pumpkins off the vine, took some great pictures of you as a pumpkin and headed home. It made me think of when we took you to a pumpkin patch last year in Portland when you were so little. We had to lean you against a pumpkin for pictures, and this year you were walking and trying to pick the pumpkins up. So much changes in one year. Notice in the photos below, Dad was making your new favorite face behind you when you two were picking a pumpkin. Love it.
This past weekend we went to visit Grandma and Papa at the beach. I wish I took more pictures of you with Grandma's dogs, but I didn't have my camera ready for the cute moments, like when you kept trying to give the puppies kisses. You are too sweet.
We went two places that you loved. The Fort Fisher Aquarium and the beach. Your eyes got so big when you were looking at all of the fish and the alligator that was ten times the size of you. You just kept pointing at him, like "hey Mom, do you see this?" Adorable.
After the aquarium was the beach. You and Dad splashed in the waves for about an hour. You were fearless. Grandma couldn't watch while Dad threw you around the waves. You were smiling and laughing the whole time.
I can't wait to take you back and spend the whole day with you out there. Love you sweetie!
Today, you decided to be fashionable with Mommy's sunglasses. You always know when you are being cute because you get this mischievous look and then make sure I am looking before you continue. You are having a tough day today (teething I think) but you still manage to pull off a smile and make me laugh.
Big news! You took your first unassisted steps this past weekend! We stand you up, let go of your fingers, and you stumble towards us with a huge smile. This is an exciting and scary time for Mom. This means you will be off an running in no time. You are hard enough to keep up with without this extra milestone.
I can't believe you are one year old. A little over a year ago today, I had a huge belly and I looked like I was having twins. Now, I have a 20 lb., 28" long baby with an infectious smile and a wicked sense of humor already.
Your first party had a dog theme so Dad and I took pictures of Penny and Bella in party hats and had the picture hanging over the fireplace. Surprisingly, Bella seemed to enjoy the party had because it got her a lot of attention. Penny on the other hand did no look happy about having a hat strapped to her head. We had fun trying to get them to sit for the picture.
At the party, you spent most of the time hanging out with your grandparents, but you also had fun playing on your floor piano with Christian. Miss Anne from next door said you were building a baby band. You and Christian seem to love to share toys. When we were at the coffee shop the other day, both of you were pushing a walker together.
The one thing you didn't like at your party was your Birthday Cupcake! I am not sure if you weren't hungry or if you were just intimidated by everyone staring at you after singing. You rocked the party hat.
I think you had a very nice first birthday! I can't wait to see what you like next year so we can pick another theme. Maybe trucks? Dinosaurs?
You had three big firsts this week! You said your first intentional word. It wasn't a big one but it counts! You said "Bye" as Grandma G was leaving our house and you did it again when Grandma and Papa J were leaving after your birthday. It made me so happy! You may have also said Mama intentionally for the first time today, but I am not sure if you meant it for me. We will see if you keep doing it this week.
Mud Flaps
Another big first is your first hair cut at Peek-a-do Salon! Dad was making fun of your mullet and Uncle Pat kept saying your hair had mud flaps, so I thought it was about time to give you a new style. I really wanted to give you an ironic rat tail, but Dad wasn't thrilled on the idea.
The After Shot
Now that your haircut is all over, it looks like you should be wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. You are so cute and you look so grown up.
Another first was your birthday, but I will save that for tomorrow's blog. I love you buddy.
Last night you had Mom and Dad rolling on the floor laughing. You decided to make up a dance to your favorite toy. The adorable thing was that you would keep pressing the button and doing the same bunch of moves, like it was choreographed. You have great rhythm and I have no clue who you get it from. You are such a ham!!!
I keep waiting for you to pick a lovey. A lovey is a stuffed animal or blanket that you are very attached to for you to sleep with and carry with you everywhere. So far the only stuffed animal that you are super excited about is a stuffed pillow dog. Whenever I bring him out you light up. Not only do you roll around on the floor with him, but you also ride him like a rocking horse. As it turns out, you are not the only who loves that dog. Penny does too.
There are two playgrounds that mom loves to take you to because they are indoors. North Carolina is hot in the summer! One is at the Life Science Museum and the other is at Southpoint mall. The other day when we were at the mall, a 3 year old girl held your hand and kissed you on the cheek and a little 4 year old boy hugged you. Both on the same day. You must have looked really loveable. Here is a couple of pictures of you on the play structures at the museum.
Today, we are going to storytime at the library. I love playing with you!
You and Penny love looking out the window. When dogs go by, you make these high pitched squeals that you use only for dogs and Sesame Street characters. While waiting for Prentis to visit one day, you and Penny sat by the window for at least 10 minutes, just waiting for her to pull up. You do the same when Daddy is about to come home. It is adorable.
Now that you have four teeth, you have been exploring what to do with them. My favorite thing is you chew your little cheerios with you front teeth. My least favorite thing is you grind them and bite me hard on the shoulder. I think they are love nibbles, but they hurt!
Recently, your great grandma and grandpa came for a visit. We didn't get many good pictures of you out on the boat with Papa, but we did get some good pictures of you entertaining them.
I love the last picture because it looks like you are sneaking up on Great Papa. He caught you though! OOO, you just woke up so Mom has to run. Love you buddy!
This week you took Peek-a-Boo to a whole new level. I can still remember when we would put a diaper on your head and you would pull it off to play peek-a-boo. Now you play around walls, by lifting up curtains to see who is outside, and you do it every chance you get.
Today was a very busy day for you. We are in Wilmington visiting Grandma and Papa and your great grandparents are in town as well. Today we went out on the boat, went to the beach for your first view of the ocean, and you went to the park to swing and go down the slide. The only thing we got a picture of was your first time on the beach.
We will post some of you and your great grandparents when we get home. Your great grandpa keeps trying to get you to say "Papa". You have done it once and made him a very happy man. Hopefully you will do it again soon. Love you buddy!
You had two big baby milestones this week! You got your two top teeth (BOTH in 4 days!) and you started walking using your walker with wheels.
Even though you are teething, you are such a sweet baby. You wake up for about an hour at night because you are uncomfortable, but all you are looking for is a snuggle. The second Mom or Dad picks you up, you snuggle into our shoulders and go back to sleep. When you hurt, you get sweet. The other night, I brought you in our bed with us because you were extra pitiful and turned my back to you so you would go to sleep. You kept patting my shoulder as if to say "Mom, turn over and face me." When I got on my back, you crawled up, kissed my face, and then put your head on my shoulder and went directly to sleep. It was the sweetest moment. I wish I had a camera to take a picture of your sweet face next to mine. My arm went to sleep, so I was awake from 3am to 6am just savoring the moment. It was perfect.
As for our walking with the cart, that means you are getting really close to taking your first unassisted steps. Mom is having mixed feelings about that. It is hard enough to keep up with you all day. I managed to get a video of it. It isn't the best because it is hard to capture moments on camera while getting you set up. I think you get the idea from the video though.
I am sure very soon I will be posting about you walking, and then posting about how hard it is to keep up with you. Please take your time buddy. Crawling is enough for mom right now.
We had such a fun trip to Rhode Island and New Jersey last week. Your great aunts, uncles and great great aunts and uncles think you're pretty special! You also finally got to meet your (partial) namesake - your great uncle John!
You also really loved playing with your cousins - Haley, Allison and Julia. They were so good at entertaining you, I am pretty sure they enjoyed having a little guy around.
We also got to check out a really neat old fire engine. You got to sit in the drivers' seat! Your Dad thought that was pretty cool, he got pretty jealous.
Next, we went to New Jersey. You really loved meeting your Great Grandpa and Grandma. They sure do love you -- and spoil you! Your Aunt Debbie was also there. She was your first relative you met - she and your cousin Sierra met you when you were just a little over a week old when they went on a college visit to Portland!
We are really happy you could finally meet all of your nice relatives and we definitely want you to grow up knowing them all well. You have a big family that loves you very much.
It has been a very busy couple of weeks! We went to your Aunt Amanda's wedding, your cousin Brian's graduation, met your great grandparents and your whole Italian family. We don't have the pictures uploaded from the wedding or the trip yet, but I will post them soon!
Until then, here is a great video of Papa making you laugh. Papa and Grandma always know what to do to get you giggling!
If your Papa and Aunt Diane have anything to do with it, you will be a Giants, Yankees, Bruins fan whether you like it or not. If mom and dad have anything to do with it, you will be a Chargers fan. Unfortunately, we don't want to spend the money on Chargers clothes, so you will be a fan of whatever clothes are free :) Aunt Diane and our family friend Jo have bought you Yankees and Giants uniforms, so at the age of 9 months, you have picked your teams.
I promise, when we have enough money you will be a Chargers fan. At least in time for football season to start in the fall. When Papa is in town, you might need to cheer for the Giants so he isn't a sore sport :)
Grandma and Papa Jasper came to visit this weekend and their one goal in life is to make you laugh. Papa figured out that helping you throw a ball will make you giggle. You have the best laugh. It makes everyone near you laugh just hearing it.
The other day, one of your playgroup friends said that you were like a little zen monk. You just sit and watch everything quietly, taking it all in. You also sit like a yogi. Whenever you are sitting on the floor or in your stroller, your little feet are crossed like you are about to meditate. I wonder if we will be saying the same thing about your personality in 5 years.
