1 year old!

Happy birthday sweet Carson!

Today, you are one whole year old! Last night, your daddy and I read my blog post about your birth. Oh, did it ever bring back memories about one of the most special days of our lives! I can remember being so excited, and yet so terrified! I knew you would change our lives, but I really couldn't imagine exactly how.

I remember being in labor - oh how it was the hardest work of my life! And I can remember you entering this world ... completely silent. The umbilical cord was wrapped around your neck twice, and you weren't crying like you should I have. The nurses and doctors went to work on you, and I was so scared; I didn't even get to hold you or see you. Your daddy was able to bring me a couple pictures of you once you were breathing and doing a little better.

I looked at the pictures a million times. Oh, how perfect you were - even though I hadn't even seen you with my own eyes yet! When I finally got to see and hold you, my whole world changed. You were mine, and I was yours. You had my heart, my very soul.

It was a long hospital stay - it took a while to get you better and healthy. And after that, we had to work really hard to get you to eat and gain weight. But you were a trooper! You were such a sweet new baby, and your daddy and I loved you more and more every day.

We were in for a scare in early February - when you were 3 months old. You had to go back into the hospital because you weren't eating enough and gaining enough weight. That was really scary, but you finally learned how to take a bottle, drink formula, and get enough breast milk. You worked so hard, and we were so proud of the progress you made.

And here we are - a year after you were born! You have changed so much, growing into a little boy - full of sass, smiles, and curiosity. You love crawling as fast as you can, and you love walking along furniture or around the room with Daddy or Mommy's help. (In fact, now you can walk with us holding just one of your hands instead of both!) You love crawling like a bear - knees off the floor and buns in the air! And you especially like doing this as you push one of your books across the room. Just as a couple days ago, you've discovered you can stand against a kitchen chair and push it across the kitchen so that you can kind of walk on your own. You love the independence, that's for sure!

You still love bath time and the water running in the tub. You also love swimming and splashing as much as you can. You'll stay in the water 'til your lips are blue and your skin is all pruny. You're a water baby through and through. :)

You love food and will eat just about anything, unless your teeth hurt. If you have teeth coming in, the only thing I can easily get you to eat is cheese (and maybe some frozen yogurt). You rarely will let me feed you baby food anymore, and if you do, it's only for a few bites here and there. Although you will let me feed you if it's something tasty I'm eating - like coconut yogurt.

You still love drinking, whether from your sippy cup or a regular cup. Bumpa Terry introduced you to orange juice, and you love that when you aren't drinking water. When you're eating in your high chair, you have a lot of fun throwing food on the ground - no matter how many times you're told no! :) You're also getting really close to saying "uh-oh" when you throw something on the ground. So far it's more like, "uuh!"

You beyond love shaking your head no. This morning when I got you out of your crib, I started excitedly singing my own rendition of "Happy birthday to you." When I finished, I asked you, "Did you like your birthday song, Carson?" Without missing a beat, you shook your head no! It was hilarious! (I did an experiment later today and discovered that I can say any word or phrase with a questioning inflection and you'll shake your head no!)

Oh, and you bite. But just me, nobody else! You'll bite if you're overly tired and done nursing on one side. Sometimes you'll even crawl up to me and bite me randomly - like on the knee! And when I try and scold you for it, you typically just smile and laugh!

Nana Janie introduced you to toys that play music or make noise, and now you love them! You love your blocks, and when you were in Arizona a couple weeks ago, Nana Janie taught you how to put the circle block into the circle hole. You always look up once you do this, waiting for us to clap and cheer for you. Another thing you love is when I hold you over the bed, swing you back and forth counting to 3, and then throwing you on the bed. You laugh and laugh, and I love it.

You passionately love your books. You'll reach into your book basket, pull out one, hand it to me, and look expectantly until I read it to you. You only let me read a page or two; then you take the book back, wanting to look at it yourself. You'll repeat this whole process until we've gone through all your books. It's absolutely adorable, and I hope you always love reading the way you do now.

You still love pulling at cords and outlets. And you've recently discovered that you can open cupboards! You love pulling out pots, pans, my hairspray - anything you can get a hold of!
Your favorite game right now would definitely be peek-a-boo. Laughter explodes out of you every time! Sometimes it won't even take a blanket or wall separating us; sometimes you'll just look away, then back at me really fast, and it's still a hilarious game to you!

You're wearing 12-month-sized clothing now, and even some 18-month stuff! At your appointment a couple days ago, you weighed about 20 pounds and measured about 29 inches long! You have your daddy's feet, though - which means shoes don't fit you very well because they're too wide. It's kind of adorable though! I think you're going to love shoes - because whenever I try some on you, you sit perfectly still, just studying your feet! I can't get you to sit still for anything else - diapers, hats, coats, or any other clothes!

Basically, Carson, you're an absolute delight. The light in your eyes, your huge dimples, your toothy smile, your hearty laugh - it all brings me so much happiness. Even when you aren't happy, I love being your mommy and getting to hold you, comfort you, and just be there for you. Some nights - like last night - you sleep fantastic (you slept from about 7:30 pm until 10:15 this morning!). Other nights - like basically how you've slept for the past week we've been home from Arizona - you wake up during the night and have a hard time going back to sleep. It can make for a long night for Mommy and Daddy, but it doesn't matter. Whether it's easy times or hard times with you, we love you all the same. You've brought us more joy than we ever could have imagined. Happy first birthday, sweet Carson. We love you so very much.