Barrett - Thirteen months old

Dear Barrett -

You are now 1 year + 1 month. You have been a one year old for all of one month now and what a month it's been. You still look the same to me but I know you're growing. You still have little legs, but they are working hard on making you mobile, little or not. You are still racing through the house behind that little walker of yours and will push anything you can to help you get around - chairs, toys, kitchen stools. And the biggest change of all is that you're now walking with our hands. Yay! You used to get jelly legs whenever we'd try that, but now you have conceded that maybe it'll be fun to walk on your own and you cross rooms now with those little hands of yours in ours. I think you may have a while before you walk unassisted, but I know it's coming. You have had quite a few bruises on your forehead this past month, as you are so eager to be up and mobile, but we're still working on the balance thing. I hate seeing you take tumbles but I know that it's a part of toddlerhood.

You are such a social little butterfly. When we're at home, you are so tied to us. You love being around mommy and daddy and get upset when we leave the room or don't pay attention to you (especially mommy, which makes me feel very loved!) but as soon as we're around other people, you are off playing without a look back. You especially love being with the older kids and watching everything they do. You have a smile for everyone and are such a happy little guy. You manage to charm everyone we come across.

This month was tough because you were sick, starting from your 1st birthday on January 1. I hope this isn't a sign of your year to come as a 1 year old! We've battled RSV, an ear infection, and pink eye. You've battled through it like a champ though. You also are getting your molars in and those are some big boys!

While Mommy and Daddy worked a ton of hours the first week of January, Mimi was here to take care of you during the day. We are so glad she was here! I don't know what we would have done without her here because of all the hours we worked and how sick you were. She took good care of you though and by the end of the week, you were starting to be back to your normal playful self.

This month you have discovered your great love of books! Yay! I am so happy about that. Now you're always bringing books for us to read to you. Your favorites are the Peekabo books, Baby Talk and I Love You Through and Through. You love the little baby who's hungry and always making smacking noises when you see her eating. You love flipping the pages. We read the same books over and over (and over and over!) but that is okay because I love having you on my lap and loving books.

It's been a fun month, my little toddler!

Love,
Mommy

Professional Photos

We had a photographer come out again in December and take some family pictures for us along with Barrett's 1 year photos. I posted a few proofs that we got from her here: http://thislovedlife.blogspot.com/2010/12/family-and-1-year-photos.html
We are so happy that we have done this periodically to capture the family moments. For as many pictures as we take, it's really tough to get pictures of the entire family. And I do love these natural photos compared to staged studio pictures. I love capturing B with his favorite toys, at home and with his funny natural little expressions.

I know there's a lot below, but it's hard to pick my favorites!

He was head over heels in love with the Christmas tree. Every day when we came down the stairs he had to go over to see the tree right away. He loved touching the branches and ornaments. His favorites were my 25 year old not-so-pretty ones. Maybe because they were on the bottom of the tree, in easy reach of little fingers!


pure awe






chewing on his fuzzy red Elmo


one of my absolute favorites of him all-time




My two favorite boys


little chipmunk


who me? No, that wasn't me who put all those teeth marks in the crib!












Barrett's FAVORITE toy. hands down.




socks in the mouth. why does he do this?

Bear with me!

I have been extremely neglectful of this blog lately. My life has been a whirlwind of Christmas, B's birthday and subsequent party and crazy work. So sadly this little blog of mine has been shamefully neglected, despite lots of fun things to write and post pictures about. I promise to pick this back up in a week or two, when work slows down to a moderate pace, and catch up on all the fun things we've been up to over the last month, so check back then!