How I Roll

Right now Evan is so into anything with wheels. It's hard to pry him off his favorite thing right now his Buzz Lightyear ride on toy.

He's seriously crazy for it.
He's also crazy for this little 4-wheeler my big brother got him. Unfortunately he's a little too small to play with it yet since it is motorized. We hook it up every once in a while though and let him have a spin (under close close supervision).

He also loves to watch his dad mow the grass. He will stand at the window almost the whole time and wave and says dada.

When he isn't on Buzz Lightyear or watching dad out the window he is getting to be quite the handful. This week he continues to be a big ole grouch. And he hasn't been sleeping well at night. A couple nights he has woken up screaming and nothing we can do will calm him down. After tons of Orajel and Motrin I was very concerned and took him into the doctor. Looks like it is just two new teeth that are causing the issues. They finally poked through so hopefully there won't be anymore sleepless nights for a while.

We are also trying to wean him off bottles. It seems to be going ok, he still gets a morning bottle and nighttime bottle. During the day we have been giving him milk in a sippy cup. He seems indifferent to it most of the time. It's a constant effort to make sure he is getting enough to drink. We are working on it though.

This summer has been so hot and it's only June. We haven't been able to get out an do a lot. We sit on the patio in the evening and Evan loves it. He has always loved it outside and I wish the temperatures were a little more mild so we could go out more.

That's about it for right now.
Except for this, I peeked in while he was napping today and saw this;

Don't know that the bumper was intended to be a pillow but he makes it work I guess.

Who's the Boss?

Apparently whatever has taken over my sweet baby boy this week is. It's like a switch was flipped and now I am dealing with this guy.

And this guy.
His minor meltdowns over toys taken away or stairs not allowed to be climbed are preparing me for what I have in store with my little toddler. It's exhausting. And I'm not about to give in just because he goes completely limp and screams his head off just because I won't give him the scissors he wants. It's hard work and now more than ever I need to practice my patience.
Don't get me wrong he still has his sweet snugly moments but then this guy shows up.

Can't I just have this happy sweet guy all the time?

One Year Stats

Evan had his one year check up today and he is 22 pounds (20th percentile) and 29 inches long (50th percentile).
He actually lost weight since last week but I think it was because he had strep throat and he wasn't eating as much.
He's still a little wobbly but he is walking much better - up to 6 or 7 steps at a time. He is so proud of himself every time he walks it's so cute.
As I was running his bath water tonight Evan was standing next to the tub, as he often does. I was about ready to strip him down and put him in. As I turned my head to shut off the water he dove head first into the water. I thought he was hurt and I quickly picked him up out of the water. He was smiling and laughing. So lesson learned, always have a hand on him next to the tub. I also learned he has a very hard head.
Little stinker.

More Birthday Fun

Evan's birthday party was a lot of fun.
I flipped out for the cake. I just loved it. I was amazed how the lady that made it just took some images from a napkin and created all the animals on the sides. So adorable!

She even made Evan a little one for him to tear into. (And in case you're wondering, the cake was delicious!)
The birthday boy was in a pretty good mood. Of course he decided to skip his afternoon nap, but he seems to do well with all the hoopla.

He didn't seem to get too freaked out with everyone staring at him and singing happy birthday. I think he kind of enjoyed the attention.

He dug right into his cake (a real pro now).

A little help from daddy.

Messy boy.

He was of course spoiled with all the great gifts everyone got him. It was too funny to see his face as each one was taken away so he could open the next one.

After it was all over we let him go wild with his new truck. The boy loves trucks what can I say.

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy. I hope you had a good day.

I think you liked your presents.
Especially your truck - you didn't want to put it down!

But when it was time for cake you were ready to go.

Yummy!

It didn't take you long to make a mess.

I hope you liked it. I'm pretty sure you did.

Evan is 1

Here are a few of Evan's 1 year pictures I took yesterday.

One

My sweet baby boy. My amazing little man. Tomorrow he will turn one. A toddler. I'm crying as I write this. So silly. Probably has something to with the thousands of pictures I just went through for this post. Going through them all I realized how amazingly blessed we have been this past year.

A year ago today I was excited and nervous about meeting our little guy. I had no idea how much I would love him. Not until they handed him to me. The happiest moment of my life. I can honestly say that because not only was I happy he was born healthy and perfect but I was soooo happy labor was over.

The first few weeks were tough. But as we got to know our sweet Evan (and he got to know us) it has been bliss ever since. Now, I'm not delusional - we have had bumps in the road but we are learning to be the best parents we can possibly be. We question every decision we make and just pray it is the right one. It's hard work. But it is so worth it.

As I put Evan to bed tonight he said "night night" for the first time. It's surprises me how excited I get at these little milestones. I think I was more excited for "night night" than I was when he took his first steps. And when he sees Todd now he says "dada". So precious. I'm still holding out for "mama". I'm pretty sure I'll do a backflip to first time he says it to me.

We are having a small celebration tomorrow just the three of us. We'll have cake he can smear all over his face and a couple little gifts from me and his dada. We are having family and friends over on Saturday to celebrate as well. I'm looking forward to all the excitement (and picture extravaganza).

I'm still floored by how fast a year can go. It really does not seem that long ago that we brought him home from the hospital. He's changed so much. I swear he looks different every day. And of course, I have proof!

A few hours old.

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten months

Eleven Months

And last but not least,
Twelve Months