ONE YEAR OLD

I know that everyone says it but seriously... where did this past year go?!?  I canNOT bElieve that Pierce is ONE!!!  As long as some days are the year has literally just flown by.

Sweet baby Pierce, some things I want to remember about you at this stage are...
-you are basically running!  you got your first skinned knee this week
-you love to climb.  i'm afraid that you will be my first child to be taken to the ER... let's hope not though...
- you have 6 teeth- 4 top and 2 bottom.
-you started off eating like a lineman but these past 2 weeks you are starting to pick at your food a little... i think you are watching your brother a little too close.  please don't become a picky eater!  when you are done eating you either just start screaming (not crying but just a loud yell!) and you start to throw your food.  you have also started to shake your head "no."  we are trying to teach you to sign "more" and "all done"- it's so cute watching you watch Jake do it too :)
-it took you a little while to adjust to whole milk.  i think you are going to be a "hot milk" kinda guy- totally opposite of your brother
-you have started clapping and it is the cutest thing
-you  have been waving "bye bye" for a few weeks now
-you are wearing 12-18 month clothes and a few 18-24 month sizes that big brother wore that have shrunk a little
-you do not like wearing shoes
-speaking of feet, your little left foot turns inward slightly.  we are doing soft stretches hoping to straighten it out
-you wear size 3 diapers during the day.  you've been wearing size 5 at night... only because your mom is too cheap to go buy size 4 when she had a stack full of diapers from Jake-
-you are still taking 2 naps- morning around 10ish and in the afternoon around 3 or 4.  but this past week you have NOT wanted to take an afternoon nap... which is driving me NUTS!!!  i have been trying to push your morning nap back a little but you are so tired that i really can't.  it makes your late afternoons a little miserable for all of us :(  normally it's the am nap that drops first... who knows with you!
- you fall asleep perfectly on your own at night but lately have been wanting some help falling asleep with your naps.
-you want to be everywhere Jake is, doing everything he is doing... which is beginning to be a little or perhaps a big problem when Jake is building a tower with blocks or lining up his cars or building a train track
- you have the cutest little curls in the back of your head- i LOVE them to death!  and your hair is blond!
-you have really started to carry around your white blanket.  you love to cuddle up with it in your crib and you always turn around and reach for it when i pick you up from your crib

just a few hours old... seems like yesterday...

and yet this is you now...

We celebrated your actual birthday with donuts in the am.  You LOVED it when we sang happy birthday.  We sang it alot so we could get some good pictures of you :)  Then we headed to the fair.  That night we had hamburgers from JC's.  You love their fries.  A few days later on Sunday, we had a little party for you up at the park with some close friends and family.

My sweet friend Kristin and her little boy Cade (who is 4 days older than Jake) came to the party.  I miss her dearly and was SO EXCITED that I was in town for the birth of her second little boy Graham.  I so wish we still lived in the same city because I just know all of our boys would be the best of friends... just like their mommies!  :)

can you tell big brother was NOT into the pic?  :)

just a few more pictures of the now ONE year old...

 how can I cut those?!?  not anytime soon at least :)

Sweet baby Pierce, you are loved by so so many people but no one loves you the way I do!  You have brought your daddy and me so much JOY.  It is a privilege to be your parents.  We cannot wait to experience life with you this next year!

I love you to the moon and back!