Dear Sweet Rutherford,
Happiest of birthdays to you my love, you're officially one year old. It seems that all of the old cliche sayings about time still hold true, and in some ways I could say I feel like I had you just yesterday but that just couldn't be possible. No, we've experienced far too much love and joy to only be held inside of one day. Your birth was like a dream and one of the greatest gifts I've ever received; and though I miss the perfectly squishy, warm, newborn snuggles my heart is overwhelmed with how much I adore one year old you.
I told your daddy if you were a girl I would legally change your name to Joy. It is the very definition of who you are and what you have brought to our lives. God perfectly set the stage for your arrival, placing a deep anticipatory love inside our hearts. It's hard to put into words the depths to which you are adored, but your life fit perfectly into the puzzle piece we never knew we were missing.
Though our eyes have been heavier and the coffee a little stronger, it's been pretty easy to focus on the goodness in our days. Your laid back soul has been so welcomed in our busy little world. I predict you will be the center of calm for our family and the one who reminds us that God invites us to rest for a reason. The voice inside you is quiet but you are always observing the world around you, surely creating a great listener, and perhaps the keeper of many secrets.
Your brother and sister have loved on you strongly and have longed for the days when you'd be big enough to play with; though Mallie Lynn did go through a phase of telling me to stop feeding you so you could stay little forever. They have enjoyed celebrating your milestones and being your source of entertainment the past 12 months and I can only imagine the laughs you all will have in your future.
Thank you for saving your sweetest moments for last. Over the past two weeks you have unveiled the most wonderful bedtime routine of nursing, reaching for a book or two, babbling during the story, nursing some more, and then curling up on my chest to be rocked and cuddled. It makes peeling myself out of the rocking chair to lay you down, feel like the hardest task in the day. The kisses you have received in the past year are too many to count, and this past week you began handing them out yourself. Open mouth and often with a toungue have stuck out you can kiss on demand or sometimes just to say goodbye/goodnight. Did I mention you are just the sweetest? As my great grandmother would say, "You've got sugar just dripping off of ya!"
12 Months brought us:
19.7lbs
30in
size 3 diapers
clothes 9-12 and 12 month
Loves: In general you are a lover of life. You truly delight in the little things and can be content for long periods of time without much from anyone else. You love your people to the core and are quick to scoot to the door when someone you've been missing walks in. Snuggling before bed, which is admittedly my favorite routine of the day.
Balls are your favorite toy, and you really enjoy a good pigskin to toss.
Eating! Especially strawberries or Italian.
The art of putting things in and taking them out, you mastered the skill of placing wooden rings on a stick and are fascinated by it. You love to be in the kitchen while I cook and are content with a spoon and a bowl for quite some time.
Music and dancing, especially when given a maraca or listening to Dean Martin Italian classics.
Swinging, stroller rides, and being carried while running are your favorite outdoor activities.
Dislikes: Being told you can't have something. :) Middle of the night diaper changes, and waiting on food.
Sleep: Since starting to eat solids you have slept better at night! No longer waking the LITERAL every 3 hours you did for 11 months, we have had a few almost 10 hour stretches but mainly seeing 4-5 hour stretches as the norm. You have needed comforted a bit more in the week leading up to your birthday as tooth number 9 finds it's way through your gums.
Feeding: Boy oh Boy! Those strawberries that started it all continue to be your favorite but you have started eating ALL the things with excitement and vigor. Pasta with tomato sauce, cheese pizza, sweet potato, crackers, pretzels, waffles, yogurt, and toast are all on your list of favorites. Oh and I guess we can add plastic letters, or anything small you can find to cram in your mouth. You're certainly keeping us on our toes with that one!
*no letters were swallowed in the taking of these photos. However mama did get her exercise in trying to take these shots and grab letters out of your hand.
You also started liking pouches which is a huge help for when we are on the go. You're drinking whole milk and flax milk easily and we are so grateful for this great transition! I'm taking your lead when it comes to weaning and am enjoying a little extra time in my day not nursing you every 3 hours. ;) The big appetite you have always had seems to be paying off, you are currently weighing in at 19.7lbs and are 30 inches long!
Milestones: Pulling up to stand on knees and a handful of times pulling to stand, causing us to move that crib mattress down. Eating, and drinking from a straw. Playing peekaboo, stacking blocks, stacking rings, scooting so fast you sometimes get a speeding ticket. :)
I'm so thankful for every laugh, snuggle, and smile from you sweet Ford. You will forever be my baby boy and I'm just going to keep up soaking up all the goodness God has placed inside of you. Happy first birthday!
You are so loved!!
