Thursday, September 25, 2014

A Year of Ian

Prior to Ian turning one, I shed a few tears both happy and sad as I looked through pictures of him throughout the year. I chose two or three of my favorites from each of his monthly shots to share here and copied and pasted the little descriptions at the end of each post. It's fun to see what he was interested in each month and how he developed during the fastest year of our lives!!

Enjoy!! :)

Ian Forrester
Born September 18, 2013 at 11:45 AM
Weight: 8 lbs. & 14 oz.
Height: 21.5 inches
Head size: 13.5 inches
APGAR: 9

Newborn



 Month 1
You love: sleeping on our chests, grabbing whatever's in reach, being outside (!!!), lying on your diaper changing pad, the pacifier, and cooing.



Month 2
You love: smiling when you hear our voices or see our faces, pushing up with your legs, sucking your hand, 
riding face-out in the Boba, sleeping on my chest, being sung to sleep, & the bouncy seat.


Month 3
You love: your hands, sucking on our knuckles and toys we hold near your mouth, smiling at us, bath time, "airplane" rides, walks and strolls outside, looking at everything, and moving as much as you can.


 Month 4
You love grabbing things and bringing them to your mouth, bouncing in your jumpers, rolling over, watching Leif, observing everything!, laughing when we laugh, listening to music, & squealing to your little heart's content!


Month 5
You love: SITTING!, smiling and giggling, grabbing your feet, rough-housing with Papa, snow, 
being naked, bath time, sucking on fingers, watching Mama, Papa, & Leif, being worn by Mama in the Beco, music & SINGING! (especially Old MacDonald), putting everything in your mouth, and showing your emotions by ecstatically moving your legs and arms.




Month 6
You love: starting to scoot, singing (especially Mama's), sucking your fingers, rocking to sleep, wrestling blankets and stuffed animals, squealing, practicing multiple yoga poses (bound ankle, cobra, happy baby, fish pose, and more!) holding things in your hands and studying or sucking on them, Papa's rough-housing (especially around the jumper in the kitchen- swinging), lying on your side when awake or asleep, sitting outside, Leif, and oatmeal & bananas.



Month 7
You love: pulling yourself up to a stand by holding our hands, babbling A LOT (Bu-waba, most often), seeing Papa come in the door at the end of the day, reaching for our arms when we ask "Can I hold you?", when we sing songs or dance for you, Leif, emptying all of your toys out of the basket, playing in the grass and being outside, watching the horses, being tickled, playing with bottles from the recycling, smiling, laughing, grabbing your hair when tired, exploring, and knowing where we are at all times.



Month 8
You love: playing and initiating peek-a-boo, having mama in the backseat with you while riding in the car, playing with Papa (especially being flipped over on a bed), army crawling, watching and crawling toward Leif, crawling toward the refrigerator, staying BUSY, bath times, time spent outside even if it's hot or wet or cold, chewing on sticks, singing along with mama, saying "pa-pa-pa-pa," and exploring everything you can by crawling or putting things in your mouth.



Month 9
You love: teething on sticks, climbing stairs, making messes by exploring and touching everything you can (shoe racks, bags of hangers, tissues, toilet paper, etc), chasing/crawling after Leif, saying "Papa" and "Mama" when you want us, putting everything in your mouth, holding a spoon while we try to feed you, pulling up/pushing up on everything you can, observing the world around you, toilets (yuck), racing toward the open door of the refrigerator or the outside world, and being in the same room as mama.




Month 10
You love: climbing up and down stairs, swinging, waving, throwing the "ba" back and forth, throwing the "ba" for Leif, watching bubbles, playing in water, turning the pages of board books, hugging Mama & Papa, babbling, cuddling when you're sick, falling asleep in the Beco, and playing in your new room.



Month 11
You love: CLIMBING, CLIMBING, and more CLIMBING! And chasing after Leif with your mouth open, bringing us "boo" (short u sound) after book to read, climbing into things, riding in the Kelty backpack on hikes, feeding yourself with your incredible dexterity, eating raisins, putting things in and out of containers, playground swings, being chased, laughing with Papa & Mama, and when we're all together.




Month 12/1 Year
You love: WALKING, climbing, giving Mama kisses, feeding yourself with a fork, playing with Leif, bringing us shoes to wear, reading books (particularly Caps for Sale and Bedtime Hullabaloo), emptying the kitchen cupboards, getting into the dogfood, bath time, saying "yea" and shaking your head "no," playing with friends, picking up leaves, chewing on apples or pears, meeting dogs, playing at the pool or the playground, putting things inside of other things, climbing inside of things, putting lids on things, and (as always) seeing Papa come in the door!!



And that's a wrap on the monthly pictures and descriptions of Ian's interests and developments!! It's hard to picture him as a newborn or younger than he is right now. All I can picture when I think of him is how he looked when I put him to bed tonight. I remember a friend saying the same thing about his daughter at age 2. It's a good thing that we have the ability to take pictures to freeze those images forever!! And the written word to jot down the milestones or details we might unwillingly forget.

Thank you for family & friends for your encouragement as we became parents this year! Thank you for your comments, prayers, emails, packages, meals, phone calls, texts, you name it. There's a small group of devoted followers and I really do enjoy hearing from you. You motivated me to keep taking pictures and writing. Most of all, though, I am grateful that Ian is loved by a village (locally, within driving distance, and even abroad!).

Ian Forrester, we love watching you grow.
Here's to another great year!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

ONE is Fun.

We have a ONE YEAR OLD!!

The weeks and days leading up to September 18th were filled with many emotions. The words, "Until they are one they know exactly what they need and you cannot spoil them," rang in my head. Yikes, so what happens when they turn one? I half expected a switch to happen overnight and for him to change drastically. But, of course, that didn't happen.

He's still as cute, as loving, as needy, and as fun as ever. While he's no longer classified as an "infant," he's still our baby. Turning one just means he's one. This phase, like every phase, is unique and fun!!! So much fun.

I LOVE having a walker!!! People had said, "Just wait until he starts walking, then it's all over." I'm finding that to be a positive. He can wear the same clothes all day, without getting soaked wet from the dew of the morning! I don't mind having a dirty kiddo, but the number of changes has certainly decreased from when he was crawling through mud, puddles, water, etc. He explores everything, just the same as when he was a crawler.

And, perhaps my favorite thing of all, it's just adorable to watch! I love the way he holds his hands, teeters on uneven ground, and is just so proud of his new mode of transportation. I think he feels like "one of us." He enjoys grabbing our hands to walk with him, following us down the hall, or laughing as he enters a room that we're in, too.

So, without further ado, I present to you... our walker. (Note his hands in these pictures)






Mid-teeter... Will he stay up? 

Ian really gets a kick out of playing with Leif.

He grabs his ball and throws it (albeit about one or two feet, but still!)...
 ...doesn't mind a little nudging here and there....
 ...and puts up with the waiting game you have to play for Leif to drop.the.ball.
 They are already such good buddies.


"Alright, I'm ignoring you. I'll count to three. One..."
"That's it!!! I'm coming for it."
"Woohoo! I've got it."
"Now it's your turn to wait!!"
It's amazing how steady he is on his feet after only walking for about two weeks. His legs are getting more and more slender, 
 but there's still some baby chub there!
I'm working up the gumption to cut his hair again. It won't be as easy this time, but he needs it out of his eyes.



We're crazy about you, lil guy. Thanks for making us parents one lightning-fast year ago. From your first newborn cry to your ecstatic one-year-old giggle, you've kept us on our toes from day one and we love that about you. You are pure joy and 100% energy! 
We'll try to keep up for the next year ;)
Happy ONE YEAR to our walking boy!!

You love: WALKING, climbing, giving Mama kisses, feeding yourself with a fork, playing with Leif, bringing us shoes to wear, reading books (particularly Caps for Sale and Bedtime Hullabaloo), emptying the kitchen cupboards, getting into the dogfood, bath time, saying "yea" and shaking your head "no," playing with friends, picking up leaves, chewing on apples or pears, meeting dogs, playing at the pool or the playground, putting things inside of other things, climbing inside of things, putting lids on things, and (as always) seeing Papa come in the door!!