Sweet Boy

Please excuse the poor quality via the iphone self-pic camera.  

I think you can still see how sweet my boy is.

So sweet.

These are the moments that I wish would last forever.

I hope I never forget the way his little hands feel on my face...

or how my kisses just sink into his squishy cheeks.

Sometimes I wonder... will he ever truly know how much we love him?

How he was the center of our world?

How we admired and adored every little thing about him-

from the way he sometimes stands with his hands clasped behind his back like an old man...

to the smacking sounds his mouth makes when he eats.

Will he know that we thought every little thing he did was amazing?

Do we realize that we were this to our parents?

It's a beautifully haunting thought, isn't it?

just me + my boy

Last night, Holden and I had a couple of hours to ourselves. We decided to get out of the house and get some supper and go to (where else?) Target since daddy was working an evening shift and we hadn't been out of the house in a few days.

Lately, eating out and shopping with H have been a bit of a challenge. He is hitting the stage where he gets impatient in the highchair and in the shopping cart. It makes for less than relaxing/enjoyable outings. But last night? He was an angel and we enjoyed a wonderful evening together.

We've gone out many times- just the two of us. But I suppose I am getting sentimental about such trips these days because I know they are numbered. Soon, there will be another little munchkin with us. (If I ever get out of the house with two littles?) While I still hope to have "Mommy-Holden" dates after Baby #2 arrives, I am realistic enough to know they will most likely be few and far between.

So for now? I cherish these outings and these days where it is just the two of us. Just me and my first baby- the one who made me a mom.

I love you so much, Holden.

Oh.so.much.

(Threw a little fit not wanting to get out of the (empty) bathtub.) ;)

Holden's Wish List

I've seen some other bloggers do wish list posts for themselves/husband's/kids, etc.  One of my good blog-friends, Katie from Perfectly Us, posted a few of her own recently.  Check out the one she made for her baby girl here!

Check out what Holden is "asking Santa for" below!  If you have a one year old boy on your shopping list, you might get some ideas as well.

Holden's Wish List by sbhubert on Polyvore

A little explanation:

PBK Anywhere Chair - a splurge.  Just too cute.  Hope he actually sits in it. / Magnadoodle theory: scribbling without the mess. / Holden already got the Fisher-Price Animal Sounds Farm as a gift from a friend and it's a hit so far! / Scout DVD - Holden is a huge Scout fan. (If you don't have a Scout puppy pal, get one now.) / Holden loves books... and I love the silly and fun books by Leslie Patricelli. / The puppy lunchbox is because H loves to carry around my little sister's lunch box.  Thought the backpack version might be too big/bulky right now. / The deer represents toy animal figures.  The boy loves his animals.

* Links to items below:

Skip Hop Zoo Lunchie Dog
target.com

Shaggy Dog Anywhere Chair, Blue | Pottery Barn Kids
potterybarnkids.com

Purchase the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Farm for less at...
walmart.com

Fisher Price Kid Tough Doodle Pro : Target
target.com

LeapFrog: Scout & Friends - Phonics Farm (Widesc... : Target
target.com

Fa La La, Patricelli, Leslie: Children's Books : Walmart.com
walmart.com

Yummy Yucky, Patricelli, Leslie: Children's Books : Walmart.com
walmart.com

Baby vs. Tree

I thought about naming this post "Toddler vs. Tree" but I'm still refusing to call Holden a toddler. He's a baby, okay?  My baby.  Forever.

Anyway, so last year Holden was a tiny baby at Christmas time. A tiny, cuddly, stationary baby.  He, of course, paid no attention to the tree.

{Oh, my heart...}

This year is a little different story....

Therefore, I was a little curious about how H would react to the tree.  We decorated it while he was in bed.  Only time would tell.  I went to bed with a beautifully decorated tree and spotless living room. 

The morning started off well.  Holden pretty much ignored the tree... but that didn't last long. Naturally, he wanted to explore it.  Learning through his sense of touch... you know how it goes.  It wasn't long before we had a casualty...

I didn't think he could reach that one... but I learned today that babies are like Stretch Armstrong.

Not-so-long story short, we had a few more episodes of groping the tree today.  More ornaments were moved higher up the tree and out of reach.

I've mentioned before that I have a sister-in-law who is the mother of five kids.  I look up to her calm and patient parenting skills.  I count myself lucky that she is just a text away for advice.  I hope she won't mind my sharing what she told me.  I've had some of you asking via instagram how we were planning to keep Holden out of the tree.  Her advice: She just didn't put anything breakable on the lower branches.  When something did break, she just "laughed it off" and told herself that "the little stinkers were what made Christmas so special in the first place."  She warned that it creates a tree that looks less than perfect, but "that's what a house full of kids is about right?"  (I told her she should write a book... she declines for now.  So until she does, I will just repeat her wise words here.)  

So, I sat back and let him explore.  He's really not hurting anything and he's not in any danger.  The breakables are out of reach and the tree is sturdy.  He's exploring and discovering Christmas.  Ornaments are just things.  So are Christmas trees.  My sister-in-law is so right.  He is what is making this Christmas so special.  That perspective is allowing me to sit back and let him be a "baby."  So what if the bottom of my tree looks a little sparse?

We all know he won't be this little for long.  Someday, I will sit in my spotless living room with my perfect tree and ache to see those little hands reaching for the ornaments again - plucking them off one by one.

Plus I'm hoping that in letting him have his way with it now, he'll tire of it soon. ;)

*******

Be sure to check out the link-up for the Christmas blog-swap I'm hosting with some other wonderful bloggers HERE.  We'd love you to join in on the fun!

Halloween 2012

We made a trip to our hometown on Halloween (an hour away from where we live) and took Holden "trick-or-treating" at both sets of grandparents' houses and to the four of his aunts/uncles & families' houses who live there.  We live in a subdivision that would have been much easier to take him around to (in the country it takes an hour or more to go to 6 houses!) but we thought it would be more fun to "trick-or-treat" family.  It was fun visiting everyone and Holden was a happy little dinosaur except for the multiple times of getting back into his car seat. ;)

Happy Dino with Papaw

Dino on the loose!

Us with our little dino
(Mommy decided to be scary for Halloween and
not wear any make-up...)

Waiting on Pappy & Gigi to open the door!

Sweet sweet dinosaur!

Holdy & Gigi

4 Days...

... until our baby is ONE.

How does a year go by so quickly?

I will admit that for the first couple of months of newborndom and new-momhood, I felt that time was slow moving.  I felt like Holden would never grow, that we would never be past the every-two-to-three-hour-feedings, that I would never again know what it felt like to sleep for 8 hours and to feel rested.

But then... they start growing.  They start interacting.  They smile.  Then laugh.  They make sounds and jabber.  They start playing with toys. They start sleeping through the night.  They eat oatmeal.  They eat baby food.  They start crawling.  Then pulling up.  They eat solid food.  Drink from sippy-cups.  Play peek-a-boo.  Give fives, wave, and clap.  All of these things and more.  They happen in such a short period of time.  "A blink of an eye."  "In an instant."

The first year.  A year full of firsts.  A year full of amazing growth and development.  A year of learning who your baby is.  A personality blooming. A year of thinking there's no possible way you could love your baby more... and yet, you constantly find yourself thinking that you love him more all of the time.  A year of thinking there's no way he could possibly be any cuter... but then marveling each month at how he's even cuter than the month before.  A year of wonder.

"The days are long but the years are short."  Cliché.  Overused.  So true.  

What Holden's Been Up To {in pictures}

A little swingin' at Pappy & Gigi's house.

A little zoo lovin' with Lola.

A little Peek-a-boo with Mommy.

A little cuddling with Daddy.

A little playing with my Great Grandma.

A little waving!  (Just got this trick down!)

A little relaxing in Pappy's hammock.

A little hangin' out with my girlfriends.

A little hood wearing.

A little straw sippy water drinking. 

A lotta little teething.  (Which scares my mommy.)

A little posing as cutely as possible.

A little shopping at Target.

A little spending time with my Auntie So So.

A little walking around the neighborhood caravan style.