Happy First Birthday, Patrick!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICK!!!

Can you believe it? Because I can't. It has been an entire year and our wonderful little baby has grown so much!  

From this: 

To this:

Ryan and I are continually amazed by how much joy one little person can bring to our lives. It is still hard to believe how much he has changed and grown. 

We went to the doctor first thing this morning and chubby boy has officially outgrown his car seat at 23#6  and 30 in long.  So big!!! Little dude has changed so much in the past few weeks!!

He:

• Is standing all on his own for as long as he chooses. 
• Dances (shakes his booty) while standing without falling over. 
• Walks with assistance. 
• Has finally started eating some finger foods other than puffs. He can be picky and sometimes still doesn't want to eat at all, but does like bread, loves pancakes and cake (blame all the birthday parties for that one), eats some pasta, bits of grapes, watermelon...and other stuff. Still not enough to be his sole source of food, but we'll get there. 
• Has 9 teeth - all his front teeth and one of his molars. He is also working on the rest of his molars. (Woohoo, that is FUN! Sarcasm anyone?)
• Clearly and intentionally says "Dada" and "Yum" Butthead still doesn't say Mama :(
• Mimics sneezing and coughing to get a laugh
• Cuddles with his cats at every opportunity.
• Loves nothing more than being licked silly by his dogs. 
• Has an unusual attachment to wooden cooking tools. The kid carries a wooden spoon with him much of the time. 
• Still loves to throw food and sippy cups on the floor. Grrrrr.
• Goes to bed at 8:15 (or earlier if he's especially pooped) and gets up around 6:45.
• Still takes 2 naps at home - the morning one is usually in the 20-50 minute range while the afternoon one is typically longer, sometimes an hour or two. He has been refusing to nap at day care recently though, so who knows what his sleeping schedule is going to be. 
• Has perfected his slow motion reaction that follows being told "NO" - lowers his head, puts out the bottom lip, looks up to check and make sure you're looking, puts his head back down, turns on the waterworks and looks up crying. It is very difficult not to laugh at.
• Is extremely curious - he wants to see everything you're doing, touch EVERYTHING, hold everything. He points everywhere and shouts "DAH!" 
• Still shows very little interest in TV - hooray!
• Is more fun than I could ever put into words. 

So that's our little Peanut in a nutshell (HA! I crack me up...) 

Just want to say a special thanks to all the family and friends that helped make our first year with Patrick such a fun and successful one. Your love, time, support, and advice have been so valuable to us. The past year has been such a whirlwind and we owe so much of where we are today to those who stepped in and helped us get here. Thank you!! We love you!