{month 14}

AKA - Christmas Picture Overload.

Again  – how is this even possible that another month has flown by? I keep saying “this stage is my favorite”, but they are each so fun! There are more challenges with each stage, but the rewards just keep getting sweeter.

Playing on the rocking horse that G built Daddy when he was your age! 

Of course you'd rather play in the boxes than all of your toys.

We celebrated your second Christmas this year. Last year, you were so sweet and snuggly, and slept through the whole day. This year, you were all over the place. One thing remained the same – you loved on and spoiled by so many people who love you. We kicked off Christmas with your Poppa’s side of the family on the 23^rd. That’s a tradition that your mama had growing up, and it’s been fun continuing that tradition with you. We spent the night with Mema and Poppa, and traveled to Perry on Christmas Eve to carry on traditions from Mema’s side of the family. There were lots of people who hadn’t had the chance to meet you yet, or hadn’t seen you since last Christmas. Growing up, mama always opened presents with Mema, Poppa, and Uncle Cale on Christmas Eve, so we did that once we got home. I don’t think mama, daddy, or Uncle Cale had many presents – they were all for YOU! Christmas morning, you woke us up bright and early at 6:30am, ready to see what Santa brought you (ok, not really – that’s the time you normally wake up :D). You weren’t crazy interested in what Santa brought you – you were more interested in everything else! We spent the morning just being lazy and enjoying being with our family. We then got ready and headed to Mimi & G’s for Christmas with the Garner clan.

Davis Christmas

this is your new thing - you just randomly lay your ear to the floor. it kills me. 

that smile!

opening presents at Pop's

this picture melts my heart. 

you love Cheerios. you love Pop. winning combination.

Stewart Christmas

meeting baby Wyatt for the first time!

Pepa + food = love

Mema & Poppa's Christmas

It's been a long day by this point - we did everything to try to keep you happy - Mema's trying her hardest!

Yup - looks about right.

Uncle Cale's got the magic touch.

we maybe forgot to bake cookies for Santa. good thing he likes wedding cookies and peanut butter balls. 

SANTA CAME!

traditional christmas morning walk.

"hey ma - this is for me?"

best out of 3284970 attempts

Christmas lunch

heyyyy poppa

loving my new slide

Santa brought you the cutest hat!

that side eye, bro. killing it. 

Garner Christmas

(we'll have to beg aunt katie to send us pictures - she's the garner family photog, and I failed miserably this year)

Dada with the picture he drew Mimi & G of their old house!

Merry Christmas from our crew 

 

Sacked out after a long day - we didn't even change your clothes!

After celebrating with Grandmother, Coco & Katie, and Mimi & G, we headed back to Mansfield to repack for Hilton Head. We left bright and early on Saturday morning to spend the week with the Garner + Eckstein crew. You were a trooper on our way to HHI, and slept most of the way. Daddy had the bright idea to bring his portable DVD player from when he was younger – we hooked it up and you were quiet as a church mouse! It was the best long trip we’ve had with you yet! This year was so different from last year’s HHI visit. Last year, it was just us, Uncle Coco & Aunt Katie, plus Harrison, Millie, & Henry. You were only a month old, and were so sick with bronchiolitis the whole time. We had lots of long nights and snuggle time. This year, we were able to get out and enjoy lots of activities with you. PLUS Mimi, G, Uncle Rusty, Aunt Addie, and Amelia were able to join us this year.

 

entertained by Thomas

hanging out with Amelia while we played putt putt. 

love this sweet picture of you boys.

YAY for finding a toothbrush you LIKE to use

playing in boxes..again.

Henry's not one to be left out of the fun :)

three amigos on spaghetti night

not sure why we're both hanging out on the kitchen floor. or why you aren't wearing clothes :)

oldest and youngest boys. 

hanging out with dada in the car

Aunt Kitty with her favorite niece and nephew

We rented bikes this year, which is something we’ve never done in HHI. This was the first time you’ve been on a bike, and the first time I’ve been on a bike since I was probably 10. It was so fun – you loved the constant change of scenery and the breeze blowing in your face.

good save, uncle coco

we embraced the selfie stick on this trip.

your first bike ride!

zonked out!

we stopped in Dublin on our way home from HHI. I needed baby Kate snuggles, and you needed to meet her! 

The rest of our month has been pretty relaxing. We’ve been at home almost all month. We celebrated a weekend in Mansfield for Cale’s birthday on January 23^rd, and you spent the next evening with Mema & Poppa this weekend. Daddy and I had a baby shower for Mrs. Megan & your new buddy Asher!

Not sure how this even happened.

bath time booty. can't wait for senior slideshows. :) 

You’ve been taking steps since your first birthday, but your chosen method of transportation is crawling – you get there much faster! That quickly changed in HHI, as you watched all of your cousins walking around you. You are now walking constantly, and are getting quicker every day. Your walk is so funny – you look like you’ve just gotten off a horse, and have been dubbed “John Wayne”.  Even though you’re walking pretty well, you’re still not 100% steady on your feet. You’ve got so many bumps, bruises, and scrapes already! I think your belly makes you a little too top heavy, and you struggle to stay on your feet all of the time. You came home from daycare with a nasty bite on your finger last week. Some kid tried to take Doug-Doug, and a tot fight ensued. Nobody messes with Doug-Doug!

Bumps on your noggin and lip. Boys will be boys. 

loving on cooper...maybe a little too much

Your vocabulary is growing as fast as you are! You now say Mama, Dada, Ball, Doug-Doug, Night Night, Uh-Oh, and No-No. Those last two words have been quite fun. While uh-oh is cute, our new mission is to teach you that not everything is an uh-oh. Accidentally spilling your milk? Definitely an uh-oh. Launching your cup across the room from your high chair? Not an uh-oh at all.  

Remember that one time that i sent you to daycare with clothes without checking the size of them? You came home in a pair of 2T pants rolled up 3 times - you looked quite gangsta-wannabe.

You are eating like a grown man. I’m terrified of what my grocery bill will be once you become a teenager. One evening, you ate THREE adult portions of spaghetti. You out-ate both your daddy and myself. I’d probably be worried if you ate like that every single meal, but there are sometimes you’ll only eat a piece of fruit for breakfast, or a handful of cheerios for a snack.

post-spaghetti bath. I have to do it in the sink, so that all of the spaghetti makes it down the disposal, instead of the bath drain.

This stage of your life is so much fun (I know, I’ve said that about almost every stage). But it’s so true. You’re into everything, incredibly inquisitive, and so, so sweet. You’re also extremely cute, which makes my vain heart happy J My focus for 2016 has been simplicity. I want you to have fun adventures, but I also want to stop stressing over doing too much or not enough, and just simply be with you. We’ve done a pretty good job of that this month. Our weekend mornings have been lazy, our nights snuggly. I love everything about you, sweet boy – those big blue eyes, the little bit of hair that you’re (finally) beginning to grow, and that pudgy belly that’s growing by the meal. There’s not one single thing that I would change about you (except maybe your daddy’s hot temper) J.

Happy 14 months, buddy boy.