Eli, you're ONE!

I am officially the mother of a 1 year old!!

Happy Birthday Eli!
You are officially one year old and so grown up! I can't believe that one year ago you were snuggling and sleeping on my chest. Now you won't sit still!

You are such a joy and blessing to our lives; the world is definitely a better place with you in it! Your ability to make people smile, even complete strangers, always amazes me and makes me proud to be your mom. You have a light inside of you that is clearly visible. You may not know it, but you have been my rock in this incredibly difficult time of my life. Just looking at you reminds me of how great God is.

Let's see... what have you been up to?
You are now waving "hi" and "goodbye" to everyone! You try to say "hi", but it sounds like "Ahhhhheeeee"! You are a very social little boy. You pretend you are shy at first, but you will walk up to anyone and greet them with a grin! You absolutely love other little kids, especially older boys. You like to watch what they are doing and follow them around. One day you'll be just as big as them, don't you worry!

You also LOVE music and dancing! You will dance to anything and sometimes you make up your own music... sometimes you even dance when there is NO music! It took us a while to figure out what you were doing! You kind of sway back and forth and bob up and down. I keep telling your daddy not to sing to you (I don't want you to be tone deaf like him!)! When we are alone during the day I sing to you and it makes you smile and laugh.

You are pointing out everything these days! I will say "Eli where is the tree" and you point to it... then you wave at it! You love looking out the window at the tree right off of our balcony, especially when the wind is blowing. You point to the things you want too; what you want to eat, what toy you want, people that you recognize. You are such a smart boy!

Your favorite food is mashed potatoes, especially when I put cheese in them! You could eat mashed potatoes everyday and be perfectly content. You've also discovered fries, you LOVE fries! Last night at your birthday dinner it's all you wanted to eat!

You are becoming more and more independent! You want to make choices about what you eat, feeding yourself, where you want to walk, etc. You are starting to throw little fits now when you don't get your way. They don't last too long, so it's okay!

You still love to climb! You have been trying to get onto the couch, but it's a little bit too high! If I am sitting on the couch you have learned to grab onto my pants to help pull yourself up!

You act really funny when you get excited or hyper! You clench your teeth, clamp your hands into fists (or grab my face), and shake with excitement! It is so funny! I got a picture of it last night!

You are such a sweet and loving boy! You love to snuggle with Daddy and Mommy. You also love to give us hugs and kisses! When we go to Nana and Grandpa's house your Nana likes to say "Hugs for Nana" while she crouches down... you run over to her and wrap your arms around her!

I can't believe that one year ago I met you for the first time! Now, I can't imagine this world without you in it!
This world can be a scary and sad place, but I am confident that you will walk through life with a smile on your face and joy in your heart! You are a very special person, never forget that!

I love you so much baby boy!
Love you always,
Mom