1 YEAR!!!

Where do I begin baby boy. I guess I should begin by not call you baby boy anymore. You are living the toddler life now and haven't looked back since.

We started the month with your first Easter. You loved the petting zoo we had in our neighborhood and could care less when a giant bunny was holding you.

You were not really crawling yet when we had the egg hunt so you just sat in one place and focused in on a green egg. Once you got your hands on the egg you were done with your first egg hunt.

Speaking of crawling you no longer sport the army crawl and now crawl on your hands and knees. Little guy I have to say, you are pretty darn fast! I turn around for a second and you're gone. I know it will be even harder when you start walking but you're giving this Mama a little taste of the active life we have ahead of us.

Also this month was my first Mother's Day as a Mom. It was such an amazing day - Your Daddy set up a day at the Dallas Zoo! We started the day with a brunch with some other mommy's...

Then we went and saw the bird show, which you loved. You don't know how to say bird (bur - bur- bur) just yet but I have a feeling it's coming soon.

Then we got to feed the giraffe's and that was a HUGE hit.

We got you your first froggy souvenir on our way out of the park and you've been sleeping with him ever since!

I have to say it was very hot day at the zoo, so we ventured home to play with your early birthday present!

You still L-O-V-E water. We've not been able to swim lately because we've been too busy but the water table seems to satisfy your water craving for now.

You are also into whatever your Daddy and I are doing. Just recently you started patting your head. We thought it was a cute move to show us your head tapping skills. Then your Daddy realized that when he's deep in thought or even just watching TV he does the same thing. I guess we need to start watching our actions from now on our our little mimicking monkey may catch on.

You really enjoy being outside still. We are in the backyard all the time now and we go to the swings as much as we can. You love to play (read: eat) the grass and crawl all over the place when we're outside. You also love walks in your stroller. You just realized you can now stand up in your stroller though so we have to strap you all the way in these days, and you hate that.

We have been going to the play areas in the mall more with our friends lately. You like to watch the big kids run around and go up and down the slides. On the last trip you were standing at the bottom of the slide and a little two year old girl came barreling towards you. Instead of moving out of the way (which Mommy will teach you about soon) you caught the girl and stood there staring at me as if to say "what in the world do I do with this girl now". It was so cute!

At the end of the month we made our way to Wisconsin for your Aunt Angie and Uncle Jeremy's wedding.

You were very active on the plane as usual but well behaved. This is your 7th (yes 7th!!) trip so you're now a pro at traveling.

We had such a great time at the wedding and you got to meet so many of Mommy's family and friends.

Your Grandma and Grandpa Kelley even came into town to hang with you while Mommy and Daddy were busy with wedding stuff.

You walked down the aisle with your Nana and Daddy and were a huge hit - and I must add looked ADORABLE in your suit too!

The day after the wedding we had a little lunch to celebrate your first birthday.

You were not sure what to do with the cake at first but then you dove in and smashed it to pieces within seconds.

It was great to have a little celebration with family after such a fun weekend!

Tuesday May 17th was your first birthday. We had some of your friends over for a little party and you had so much fun.

You are such a big boy now. You weigh 20lbs 10 oz (18%) are 29 3/4" tall (50%) and your head is 18 1/4" (50%). You've grown almost 3" in the last three months!

At your one year birthday you were down to two bottles a day of formula and enjoying cow's milk the rest of the day. You still took your paci at naps and night time. You also were starting to throw your first tantrums which surprised Mama at first (I thought I had a few more months of tantrum free life, but I was wrong). You also seem to bite now so we're trying to end that habit immediately. 

You love Gracie the dog now and love to follow her around. You also love to give hugs and try your best to give (open mouth) kisses. You LOVE when your Daddy and I read to you and you will stop whatever you're doing to look at a book.

This year has been incredible little guy. It has been the most amazing, rewarding, loving and hardest year of our lives. We wouldn't change a thing.

Happy First Birthday Ethan. We love you!