Someone Remind Me...

Next year when I start talking about Ian turning 2...someone remind me that I should start planning his birthday in December because I am a mere 2 weeks away and aside from sending out invitations, in a much later time frame than I originally planned...totally unprepared. Guess I know what I will be trying to get done this weekend! I am excited and I know you don't have to go all over board for a first birthday that they don't even care about but you know what? I care! I want it to be something he can look at pictures and see the people that were there to celebrate with him and it is his first birthday! Whether he knows it or not, it is a big deal!

So excuse me while much of my free time is dedicated to figuring out what decorations and food I need. And while I mull for another day or two whether or not I want to make his cake or have someone else do it! I don't want to mess it up! I might make a trial cake this weekend...we will see! Ian will be spending Saturday morning with his Pops on his dad's side so it will be a race to get a bunch of stuff done during that time! haha! Lastly, I will leave you with this picture that kind of sums up how I feel about only having two more weeks before the party:

Savoring

In less than a month's time my baby boy will be one and I feel like I won't be able to call him a baby anymore. It is truly crazy to think about. I know everyone says time flies- and it does. But there are blissful moments where it slows down for a while. I am hoping the next few weeks are one of those times as I savor the last few days with my 11-month old. After that, the months will all seem to cram together and it won't be about how many months old he is. It will be about calling him a one year old! Oh goodness! I know, some people still say, "Oh, he is 14 months old." But honestly, I know that drives some people crazy. Like once they get to a year, it just becomes socially acceptable preferable to just say, "Oh, he is a year old." That makes me a little sad.

My little boy is growing so fast. He is standing up on his own now and I know that walking is just a stone's throw into the future. I still remember when he hated tummy time and wanted to be held all the time. I love the moments where he will just sit and be in my lap and I refuse to think about the time when I will have to force him to do so.

I have loved watching his personality develop over the last few months. He is truly a ham. He loves to grin and make people laugh and smile. He is beginning to become curious about things around him by pointing and looking to me to tell him what it is. He is starting to interact more and more with the dogs. We are still working on learning to be sweet when we pet the dogs, luckily they are being pretty patient with that one!

He is just a little goofball and I love every minute of it! I have no doubts that he will continue to be an all-around lovable guy. I still cherish the rare moments on the weekend when he will let me rock him to sleep. They are becoming more and more rare.

Every time I got to give him his sippy cup, it is hard to know he doesn't need me to hold his bottle and burp him anymore. Just yesterday, he decided to sleep in and I had to get him out of bed to get him to his sitter so I could go to work. I fixed his milk and just decided he could drink it on the way in the car. While that is a wonderful convenience- I handed it to him and he just looked all too much like a big boy with his milk in his car seat that I almost started to cry.

By the way, this is an older picture from about a month ago so he is in a bigger car seat and it makes him look so much bigger than he even looks here! I have done my best to cherish each and every moment I have been given. With that, I find myself living in the moment so much that sometimes i forget how much he has grown and how much he has changed and learned. Not a little bitty baby anymore...on his way to being a toddler! :(

We don't even have this toy out anymore because once he started crawling around all over the place, he would try to pull up on it and end up wrapping himself up in it! So sad but wonderful to have the memories and know of the precious ones yet to come!

Cruising Along

Oh, you know- just cruising with my pal Stuart Little!

First Snow

Well, living in South Georgia doesn't always guarantee a snow every winter. Well, this winter we have had two different snows! We didn't get out much in the first one. Ian didn't seem particularly interested in it. When I took him out in the backyard he just wanted to watch the dogs run around.

Well last week, we had another snow/ice storm come through and this time we took advantage and got out to play. He still seemed less than impressed with all the white stuff on the ground. He sat in it for a while until the coldness started to get to his little bum and then he wanted out of it! So he hung out in his little car most of the time. But here are some pictures from our day!

                                    

MIA

So, I haven't been much in the mood for blogging lately. Life has just gotten so much busier and I frankly haven't had much to say but I know that I will look back and regret not having these memories to look back on about when Ian was this little and all the changes so I need to get back into it. So, with that being said I need to catch up on some updating and pictures!

My little turkey on Thanksgiving crawling around and getting into everything he can!

Celebrating Christmas with big cousins Jack and Sam! We took several pictures in order to get this one!

It didn't take him long to learn what to do with his walker from mema and pop!

It was such a treat to watch him on his first Christmas!

Those eyes just get me every time!

He is growing up so fast!

Enjoying a ride in his wagon!

In one more day I will have to take another with 11 on it! I can't believe how much time has flown by!

He just melts my heart!

The best valentine I have ever had!

Ian has grown so much and it seems he changes everyday. He is still one of the happiest babies. He is opinionated and his little personality comes out more and more each day! He wants to be eating whatever you are eating but with his top teeth just now starting to break through, he can't always do that. So he doesn't always like it when you give him something else! Some of his favorite table foods are mashed potatoes, quesadilla, and bread. He likes eating noodles too so macaroni and cheese are a good choice. He has even sampled his first taste of BBQ, shredded of course!

He is a quick little crawler and gets where he wants to pretty fast. I don't know if he will walk before his birthday or not. He walks with his walker a lot and he loves walking around the table holding on or the sofa. He is just now getting to where he will let go and stand for a while. He can stand for a good little while and usually ends up deciding to sit down rather than falling down. So he has pretty good control. So even if he doesn't walk before one, I have a feeling it won't be long after. I am not rushing him! :) I already have to follow him around!

He loves to babble and loves to try to say words but some sounds he still has yet to really say. He doesn't say a whole lot that sounds like much of anything. When he says, "mama" it sounds more like "nana" because he likes the n sound better. He says hey sometimes but not a lot. He says his d sound when trying to say "dog" Mainly I just love to listen to him babble and how serious he looks sometimes that he really means what he is saying and you should be listening intently! He makes my life so much better and I love and hate all at the same time that I am already planning his first birthday party! It makes me so sad that he is growing up so fast!