1st Birthday PaRtY!

We had Trooper's 1st Birthday Party on Sunday. It turned out perfect and was so fun to have grandparents, aunties, uncles, and cousins there. A big thank you to everyone who came!

Happy Birthday Little Boy!

Trooper Brent,

Today you are ONE year old! I can't believe how fast time has gone. You are becoming more and more of a toddler everyday, yet I still see you as my tiny baby boy. You have made this past year the absolute best of my life. And I know your daddy feels the same way. Thank you for being such a perfect, easy, wonderful, and darn cute little guy. You made us a real family and we love you more than you will ever know.

All I have ever wanted was to be a mom. As I was finishing up college, I started to feel lost and incomplete because a career was not what I wanted next. And then I found out I was pregnant and I felt happy and blessed and content. I couldn't wait to meet you. Right before you were born, I got nervous and wondered how I could ever be the mom you would deserve. Then I held you in my arms and I felt peace. This is what I was meant to do; be your mom. And from the beginning it felt natural.You light up my every day. And I really cannot get over how cute you are.

I love spending every day together. I love that we're best buddies. I love how you walk to me with a big smile on your face. How you look for me when you're sad. How you hold your arms out to me so that I'll pick you up and hold you close. It makes me feel complete. And I love how you say "Daddy" constantly. You two have so much fun together.

Happy Birthday my little boy!

When we first met.

11.6.11

11.6.12

(Don't mind the big scratch on your cheek. Unbeknownst to your dad, you followed him outside and, despite all our efforts to teach you how to descend stairs safely, you bravely stepped down and ended up with a cement burn:(. Poor baby. But you handled it like a champ.)

Troop's 1st Halloween

 October 31, 2012

 

 

I decided about 30 minutes before trick-or-treating that Brent and I should dress up too. So we pulled out the easy go-to costumes.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Brady

Ailee, Trooper and Maya

Our pumpkins for the year.

Eleven

Eleven months! Within the past couple days Trooper has really started walking. He has figured out how to stand himself up without holding onto anything and then attempts to walk almost everywhere. If he falls down in the middle, he'll usually get up and try again, unless he's in a hurry (like to get into the open fridge) then he'll crawl. By Halloween he's gonna be the cutest little wobbly walker. I seriously can't wait. He's got five and a half teeth now with at least two more visibly on their way. His favorite words are "dad" "uh-oh" "yeah" and "Ailee." And he never misses an "amen" at the end of a prayer. He's finally signing "more" and "all done." He mimics  our sounds and tones of voice like a champ. He loves cuddling up with blankets and soft pillows when he's tired. When we get stern and try to teach him that something he's done is not okay, he gets a big smile on his face and laughs at us. And then it's impossible for us not to laugh. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. Little stinker. He likes grooving to music and watching Dancing With The Stars with me. He loves splashing in the tub and dipping his face in the water. People at the store tell me what a beautiful baby I have, that they've never seen a baby with so many expressions, and that he's such a ham. He totally plays it up for all his admirers. He's really starting to get into more and more stuff, so life is starting to get a little bit harder. But this cute little guy keeps me happy all day every day. Take a look at my handsome little man at eleven months old.  

Ten

Big news for the Troop-meister... he's walking! Well, pretty much. He's now ten months old (actually ten and a half) and he's grown and learned so much in the past month. About a week and a half ago, he started to really stand on his own for more than a few seconds at a time.Then, he got crazy good at walking behind Grandma's little lion walker toy. A couple days ago, he took a couple steps towards the couch and we went crazy. Then he took a few steps towards us.

And last night he took a record 17 steps!

 He's still crawling today though; but he's started doing this funny bear crawl, showing he'd rather be on his feet than his knees. It's hilarious.

Other than that, two more teeth have come through - making 4 teeth total. But it seems like 10 more must be working their way out as well:( poor boy. He's added "uh oh" "hello" and "amen" to his vocabulary. And he's started climbing. He still likes to imitate almost everything we do and he still loves bath time and refuses to sit still during church (or ever really). He's in the 10th percentile for weight at 17 lbs 6 oz and 30th percentile for height at 28.5 in long. Here are the latest pics.

All of a sudden he looks like a little boy!

I can't believe it's already time to start planning his first birthday party! Boy do I love this kid.

Familiar Faces

Brent and I happened upon a file of his baby photos that we used for our wedding video a few years ago. We took one look at the pictures and were both like "that looks like Troopy!"

Doesn't it?

I don't know, maybe you have to be as familiar with Trooper's face as we are to see the resemblance... what do ya think?

People always tell me that Trooper looks exactly like Brent. I haven't really been able to see it, I'll be honest. These pictures prove that everyone must be right!

 Here's a cute picture of Troop to compare to.

9 months

This post is late, but what else is new. Trooper is becoming more and more interactive and fun every single day. In the past month he's learned to clap, wave, and walk around while hanging onto the furniture. He's even let go a few times and stood there unsupported for a couple seconds. He hardly eats any baby food anymore because he insists on feeding himself, which makes for very messy meal times, but it just makes him so happy. One thing he does always let me feed him is Zoi vanilla greek yogurt (have you tried that brand? Sooooo good).

We've moved into our own place and Trooper now has his own room! (pics to come...eventually) I was surprisingly nervous that first night, knowing I wouldn't be able to wake up and just hear him breathing and know he's okay. But now that Brent's early rising to go to work doesn't wake him up at 7am, he's sleeping about 12 straight hours at nights! And he's still a great napper as well.

Last check he was almost 17 lbs. He loves bath time and taking walks around our new neighborhood. He loves the swings at the park. He'd be content to sit in a swing for hours at a time and he just gets so calm and serene. He's getting really good at mimicking any actions, sounds, or faces we make and it is adorable. Besides "mama," he's said "dada," "hi," and even kindof "Jesus" a few times when we're looking at the paintings hanging on the walls at church (because of course we're in the hall, not in our meetings:)

I really don't have many pictures this month:( Life has been so crazy and I just haven't thought to pick up a camera. But here's what I do have.

This kid is an escape artist. He can get through any blockage or barrier, and he'll do it silently.

Sometimes he gets himself into sticky situations.

Loves the piano. Especially listening to his dad play.

One of the last times I attempted feeding him baby food, and he insisted on doing it himself.

Crazy bed head.

Finally meeting Kellen! He's my best friend's son born about a week after Trooper.

Sorry about the blurriness. Like I've said before, this kid is always on the move.