Happy 1st Birthday, Noah!

My dear, sweet, little Noah,

One! One? One?!?! Is my little baby really one??? I can honestly say that it does feel like a year has gone by. Yet, I am still shocked at how much you’ve changed and grown. Here are some highlights from your first year of life:

• You rocked my world when we found out you were breech! Thankfully, we didn’t have any complications with the c-section and we both recovered nicely.
• Remember your breech “frog” legs? It took awhile for you to stretch your legs out because of how they were squished in my belly.
• Daddy and I are so grateful we waited to find out if you were a boy or a girl because the doctor was WRONG!!
• You have always been extremely tolerant. You put up with a lot from your big sister.
• You went on 4 family vacations before you were 5 months old. We joked about it saying that it was so stressful being a newborn. You just had to get away. The first trip was in May to the mountains. Then you had two visits to the beach and finally a week in the country at Grandma’s house.
• Just like your sister you lost a bunch of hair right on top of your head with the exception of one section that stayed long and thick. My poor babies all seem to go through an awkward hair stage!
• From day one you were an excellent sleeper. I never had any problems getting you to take naps or fall asleep at bed time. Even when you woke up at night you would eat and go right back to sleep. However, speaking of waking up at night…
• Noah, you have some night time issues! You started sleeping through the night really early, but then you learned how to roll over onto your belly and that seemed to mess it all up. Finally you seem to be sleeping all night again. I don’t know what has been your problem for the last 9 months, but I hope we never go back there again!
• Your father is beyond delighted that you look so much like him.
• I adore the fact that you are such a smiley baby. People just need to say hello and you beam at them with your beautiful smile and squinty eyes.
• You love water. Drinking it. Playing in it. Taking a bath in it. You love it! You used to flap your arms like crazy when you got excited about something, which was hilarious when you took a bath. Water would splash all over the place because you couldn’t stop flapping your arms with joy.

• Noah, feeding you new foods was always an adventure. You didn’t seem to like anything we gave you the first time around. You even made bad faces about water!
• Now you love peas, yogurt, bananas, cheese, and anything else you can feed yourself. You prefer to feed yourself.
• All of your grandparents were able to be at your baby dedication.
• I thought I was going to die from the cuteness when you started giving kisses! They are the wettest, sweetest thing in the whole world.
• I always say that you and Grace are best friends, but I think your thumb is probably your true best friend. I wasn’t sure how I felt about you sucking your thumb at first, but I love it now. I don’t have to worry about leaving it at home, dropping it, or crawling under the crib to find it. It is always there!
• You started crawling at 9 months and took your first steps at 11 months. Now that you’ve learned how to pull yourself up with out holding on to anything, we rarely see you crawl.
• You are not a very talkative little fellow. You make lots of noise, wave bye-bye, and sign at meal sometimes, but you aren’t talking yet.
• You love to play with balls, blocks, and the little kitchen, but most of all you like things that aren’t toys. The dishwasher, kitchen cabinets, bathroom, and TV are your favorites.
• We breastfed for a whole year, Noah! I am so thankful I was able to give you that gift.
• My favorite moments with you are when you walk over to me, crawl onto my lap, suck your thumb, and lay your head on my shoulder. You are so sweet and I hope I remember it forever.

Noah, I am so thankful for you. You are a constant bright spot in my day. I am excited to see what kind of man you will grow up to be. God is going to use you for great things. I am so proud to be your mommy!

Happy birthday, peanut!

Love, Mommy