Oh my sweet little fella! You are ONE. I am amazed! I had fun baking a little cake for you & decorating it with some sprinkles. Your one candle was blown out by your brothers on your behalf, but you tried to figure out how to make those little lips pucker up! We were all so excited for you.
This boy. He did not play around. He just dove into this cake!! Face first! We all laughed&laughed. You can make anything look cute though son.
We had party prep to do & you didn't mind practicing with your mustache pacifier. Daddy&Mommy picked out a tricycle for your gift, and you liked it ok. Ok, you liked it pretty well, but this image doesn't seem like it! Honestly? Your brothers play with this trike as much as you do! They all (yes even James) cram themselves into the seat and ride around in it. It is hilarious. Maybe it is just because you are that cool David. They all want to be like you.
We celebrated your party (see post), and as it does, time marched on. We did lots of playing & your brothers started climbing the Japanese Magnolia in the front yard often. David, you are the celebrity of the house, and everyone has to come running to see you when you enter the room. It has become such a sweet game, and you love it.
At your one year old check up you weighed 23 lbs 11 oz and were 31 inches long. You are a big fella, like your brothers, in the 80-90%. You are sleeping 12 hrs through the night; you take a morning & afternoon nap. You are standing alone, but not walking yet. You can say some words: mama, dada, buh buh, bah (which can be ball or bath depending), and lots of baby talk. You have 8 teeth, and you have a great appetite. You are just about as cute as they come, and as sweet. You are a beautiful little boy, and many people still comment on what a pretty boy you are. You look like your momma in the picture below, but mostly I think you look like your daddy. Grammy saw your pointer finger, and it reminded her of your Uncle Josh, so you kinda resemble him too.
We made a trip down to the Proses to visit & see Matt's great Uncle Walt & Aunt Pat. It turned out to be the quite the family gathering that day! What a fun surprise. We also made a trip to see Nana while we were down. I was able to snap a picture of Matt & all the boys with Nana. Despite the darkness of the shot, I am so thankful for such a sweet picture. We love you Nana!
The boys celebrated Valentines Day at school as well as the '100 days of school'. I really enjoyed the shark Valentines holder James made, as well as the self portrait of Hayden at 100 years old! Haha, these boys are funny&creative!
I was able to watch the online broadcast of the IF:Gathering 2017, and this year I decided to order some of their Bible studies to try out. I have enjoyed the change of pace in having a paper study to open! My little gray-blue eyed baby, he melts my heart with those eyes.
David, sitting in the middle of the floor, surrounded by cheerios. All four of the boys in the monster truck tire at our local DQ. We didn't go to Monster Jam this year because we were leaving on the Prose family ski trip the next day, but the boys didn't seem to mind.
The boys wrote thank you notes for the school fundraiser they participated in, Jump Rope for Heart which benefitted the American Heart Association. The boys had a few family members & friends donate money in their names after they donated $5 out of their piggy banks and asked for people to match! It was their idea, and we were their first match donation. So, we sat down to write some thank you notes, and Hayden's below was just perfect. I loved it so much. I hope he remembers these lessons in saying thank you.
My training for the Gate River Run was in full force this January & February. Getting back into shape after having David was more challenging than in the past, and I blame that on being over 30? I honestly got to see my pre-baby weight in a fluke moment on David's 1st birthday, and I counted it. It took me a whole year to see that number on the scale again. Nevertheless, I persevered! The picture is me at the end of my running trail; I had never run to the end before. But this year I did it! Turned out to be close to a nine mile run that day.
Our Prose family ski trip started off with us leaving a day early so we could stop in on our old friends from NC! I was so excited; I didn't know how to contain myself. I couldn't wait to see my girlfriends, but evenmoreso, I wanted to see how tall their kids had grown!! I know what they look like from pictures & social media, but honestly, it is hard to have a good understanding of how big they are, and how big mine would be standing next to them. It was so exciting to see them all about the same heights, just like they were as babies&toddlers. I still cannot get over how big all the kids were. Blew my mind!
David&Maddox. They even had matching jammmies, passed down from older brothers! hah!
My sweet friend Rebekah&I. So glad you snapped this pic of us Rebekah!
Prose boys & Sigmon kids, just missing Maddox! James&Addison are 3 weeks apart, and Hadyen&Cohen are 4 weeks apart. Amazing right?
We spent the night with the Sigmons, and then said goodbye to go into town to have lunch with two dear friends of mind & their little ones, who aren't so little anymore! Meredith & Dana, it felt kind of like a dream all sitting down to eat lunch together. Almost that moment of where do we begin, where did we leave off? Did we leave off...? haha. It was an absolute treat.
After saying goodbye to our sweet friends & their kiddos, we drove up a bit further north to meet Matt's family for a few days together. We got settled in, and the next morning, bright&early, we went to the mountain! We knew that we may only have one good day for skiing, so we booked the older boys a ski lesson & off we went! By the end of the day, they were all skiing, having a blast, and we just stood watching them go. It was more than I had anticipated! We were rained out for our Day 2, and Day 3 we had to leave, so until next year!
The Grandparents & all the Prose grandkids!
Our whole crew!
My favorite picture of my James, after his big run down the big hill. Red cheeks & wild pieces of that red hair. Those eyes, so gray-blue against his pale skin. It may end up being one of my favorite mental images of his boyhood- that passionate personality, a ball of fire behind those beautiful eyes.
The boys had a blast with their baby cousin, Nora. They thought she was just the cutest little thing, and so did we all!
y'all. This is what I'm talking about with this fella. He made me a picture and wrote, "You are the love in my heart" but wanted to give it to me&Mimi. So I told him I'd take a picture of him with it, & he could give it to his grandma. He is a sensitive, loving soul. Young at heart, youthful kindness & fearlessly giving away affection & enjoying himself immensely. I keep thinking it is part of his 'love language', words & actions of affirmation. It never ceases to surprise me though- he is unique!
The grandkids + daddy John!
Our crew. Sitting on this fountain where we had been many times before, but never as a family of 6. Who knew when we met in Gatlinburg, TN that 13 years later we'd be back with our four sons. I never would have believed it if you'd told me then!
Our favorite spot: we at our final lunch at the Apple Barn before we all went our separate ways. It was a delicious as ever! This picture of the boys I wanted because I had taken one last summer with a little baby David, and I wanted the new one to see how they've all grown! I had one hold out: Calvin. As you can see, arms crossed & pouting. I don't even know what he was upset about, honest. But I love how grown up he looks, and how long his little legs look in his dark brown corduroy pants. He has struggled with this temptation to pout in recent months, full pout posture & even some stomping feet. But he will learn to overcome his temper, we will persevere!!
Prose family Ski Trip 2017
We ended our month with David pushing Hayden around the house on the lightening McQueen car that all the boys have used as toddlers. With Hayden on the front steering, David is unstoppable! He actually loves it, and he gets upset when he pushes it without hayden & it crashes. haha!
Thank you Lord for February. Thank you for David's birthday, that we were able to celebrate with him. We love him so much. Thank you for the fun of Valentine's Day. Thank you for the absolute joy of seeing old friends & watching our kids play together. Thank you for the hospitality we received from the Sigmons- we were so grateful for their kindness to us. Thank you for the time with the Prose family, for the memories we made & our kids made. Thank you for opportunities to give the gift of our presence to one another. Help me remember what a gift that can be, and I pray for wisdom to love my family&friends well. Amen.
