I love you. All of you.

Sweetest little one, you have been with us for a year! A year that feels like forever only because we have been able to soak up so much goodness - it's hard to believe you've been with us for such a short time!

For starters, I love you, I love you, I love you!!! And, not only do I love you, we love you! Your dada, brother, and I all love all that you are!

There are so many things I'd like to capture in this post, so bear with me.

• I love that you have a smile that makes my heart melt. From dimple to dimple. It's amazing!
• I love how you lay your head on your dada after he picks you up from getting home. You nestle your sweet head into his neck and it's so sweet.
• I love your sweet open-mouth kisses. All of them. Every. Single. One.
• I love when you show me your gentle touch. Even if it's after you pinched a fistful of mama's skin with your incredibly strong grip.
• I love how you can play pick-a-boo with anything and everything. Anywhere. All day long.
• I love how pick-a-boo excites you to squeals. It's pretty great.
• Your baby hair is so sweet and soft. We have yet to cut it. Call me sentimental. I'm just not ready touch your sweet and perfect head of hair.
• You love your brother. You love him so much.
• You love to explore. You'll wander and play with rocks and sticks for hours at a time.
• You're such a good eater. You love your veggies. You're definitely a meat-eater. 
• You love to try and eat like a big boy with your spoon and fork. You also find these sweet tools convenient to teeth on. 
• You and I have such a sweet nursing relationship. I love how we bond through that. No matter what has gone on that day, no matter how busy I was or wasn't that day, we always reconnect. And, it's sweet.
• You're laughter is infectious. It makes us happy.
• I love that you're a little fireball. Always on the go. Looking to play, trying to run, and keep up with big brother.
• You really enjoy a good game of ring-around-the-rosies. It's sweet. Fun. And, full of smiles and giggles.
• I love your sneakiness and silliness. Very silly.
• Your words are few. I call you my little ogre. We get a lot of grunts and pointing. But, you do have a few words in the midst of your caveman tendencies: mamaaaa (said whinily and when in need.), dada (said excitedly and meant for play). djedje (Your brother's name), thetheee (mixed with some spit. you're saying Lily.), tan tuu (thank you.), baaa (ball), teeeeh (throw), da-tu-teeeee (1-2-3. You count before throwing or sliding down slides), Ahh, Ahh (oustide), Hiii & Buyyy (with a pretty cute hand waving near your pretty cute face). All of this is mixed in with the sweetest head shake for no and head nod for yes.
• You are quite the dancer. You get to movin' pretty quick when you hear some good tunes and I love to dance with you!
• You love Lily and she tolerates you well enough. You can get pretty rough with her, which she has come to learn. One of the many reasons we've been working on your gentle touch.
• You are so very loved by your grandparents and Uncles & Aunt. And, the loveliest thing is to see you love them back with the same baby fierceness.
• I love your little noises. 
• Those little pointing fingers, pointing their way through life and a growing vocabulary are pretty wonderful.
• I'm grateful for the way you've challenged me. It's forced me to grow in love and patience. I can say that now in retrospect and just pray that I let you continue to challenge me to love you through all your toddler phases. 
• I love when you bring me books you want me to read over and over again. I love how you shove them in my face and are persistent until I actually read it. Again. And, again.
• I love you how try and figure out puzzles. You're such a little thinker.
• I love how you start prancing around before bathtime because nakedness is a fun and freeing experience for you.
• I love how you love bath-time. So much that it's almost a guarantee you cry every time we take you out.
• I love how you randomly bring me things you think I should have. For instance, the random little rocks we bring in from the playground always find themselves in your little hands on their way to me no matter where I am in the house.
• I love everything about your growing relationship with your brother. It's beautiful and definitely has room for growth (especially in the sharing and gentle realm), but the sweet moments that happen on the daily or exciting. 
• I love how you are sleeping through the night with a few random and brief, sleep nursing sessions.
• I love how proud of yourself you get when you accomplish new little to-do's like clapping, toddling, pick-a-boo, hiding, and coloring to name a few.
• I love how you love watching home videos. 
• I love how you squeal with joy with bubbles.
• I love how you love being outside. Swinging, climbing, sliding, and exploring.
• I absolutely enjoy when you play with your brother while in the car. You both can see each other and randomly have these fun exchanges that just fill me.
• I appreciate how agile you are. You've never been a terrible fall-er. You fall with grace when you do, which is rare. Even when you slip or trip on something you manage to do it well. Trust me when I say this is very pleasing to me!
• You're toddling makes me happy. It makes me smile. 
• I love you. All of you. Every little bit.

Here's a Photo Party of your Sweet Day:

Family!

Dada!

You and me time!

Some sweet decor inspired by Rosie over at Blog for my Mom!

Reading with Nonna.

Bookworm.

Some of the spread. Favorites was the theme.

Papa Wooley and you.

Another nursing picture because this is how a good majority of our sweet relationship is nourished. Love you!

Spaghetti! Your favorito!

Determination.

Your Godfather, Shawn.

Pick-a-boo!

Lots and lots of balloon fun was had!

Lots!

Cake time. (Blogger is being funny and keeping this and the next picture from being upright.)

Candle wishes.

Sugary treat!

With your Godparents and their beautiful girls!

Uncle Mychael came!

Grandpa Ram and Nana love! Oh, how they love you!

I love you, my sweet boy. So very much. Thank you for this past year. Thank you for all of it. May you be blessed abundantly in your second year of life with His Joy and Goodness. 

"Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors."

-St. Therese of Lisieux

Five Favorites: Breastfeeding Edition!

I've been telling myself that I was going to write about breastfeeding for FOREVER! After trying to figure out what kind of favorites I'd like to share (definitely over-thinking my Five Favorites!!), I remembered that today is the last day to celebrate World Breastfeeding Awareness Week! Perfecto! Breastfeeding favorites it is! And, hopefully, after joining my first Five Favorites hosted by Hallie, I'll be a lot more easy-going (*ahem* still sleep deprived/hyped on Hazelnut coffee and Southern Pecan creamer) and a lot less over-thinky-crazy person.

Here goes nothing!

1. SNUGGLES, Sleep Nursing, and Milk Drunk faces! 

One of the most amazing things I have seen is how our littles will naturally seek out our breast to be nurtured and nourished. It's amazing!! Watching them wiggle their little new selves in the direction of food is pretty incredible and beautiful! 

What's also beautiful is all the oodles of snuggles that you get to experience throughout your nursing journey. The way they turn towards you. Hug their little chubby arms around you while nursing. Bat at your face and play with your hair. Nuzzle their little faces into your chest and arm. Not to mention the way they stare straight into your eyes knowing that you are their source of comfort and nourishment. There is a trust that is being built that is filled with so much goodness and irreplaceable. 

Along with the oodles of snuggles comes sleep nursing. This can happen while sitting or laying down. I'm not the best at nursing laying down, but I am learning this time around and starting to get the hang of it. There are some really sweet moments that come along with that. Like the times that you are nursing and the little drifts to sleep so much so that he sweetly un-latches and has a little dribble of milk at the corner of his mouth and is completely knocked out into a sweet sleep of happiness. It. is. the. best!

2. Never EVER have to pack formula, bottles, cleaning items, etc. etc. etc. for travels. Nor wash them.

No, thank you.

If you know anything about me, I am not very organized, much less a planner, or anything else near that realm. In fact, after reading Jenny's 5 Favs, I took the Myer's Briggs after having not taking it since graduate school. Apparently, I am still rockin'  to the INFP life tune. My INFPness only further confirms the benefit of not needing to carry anything extra to feed my baby - whether it be for travel, in home, or a day out. Obviously, if there was a need for it, I would do it. I pack for trips fairly successfully - fairly. But definitely approach packing with an if-I-forget-something-we-can-always-pick-up-said-item-in-said-location mentality (Probably not the best). Regardless, this aspect of breastfeeding for me is so greatly appreciated - and needed for my scattered/non-organized brain.

3. Breastfed diapers! 

We cloth diaper (Another post I've been meaning to write! Hmmm... Maybe that can be next week's Five Favorites? Done!). So, this one works in our favor. For whatever reason, sposies have not done too hot of a job containing breastfed poopies or smells for us. So, not only am I glad that we cloth diaper (RARELY have to deal with a poop-splosions. Literally, a handful throughout both boys lives thus far.), but I'm glad that the poopies are breastfed ones. Why, you may be wondering? Because the poo-s are sweet smelling and water soluble, which makes cloth-diapering that much easier and diaper changes that much more tolerable! Kinda weird. But, true! 

4. SUPERWOMAN!

Breastfeeding makes me feel like I have a major super-power. True story. Baby is hungry? Mama to the rescue! Baby is crying uncontrollably from getting shots? No problemo! Because not only is my super power nourishing but it is also comforting. Mind you, each baby nurses differently (I have come to see with baby numero dos who nurses for minutes at a time and doesn't sleep/comfort nurse nearly as often as his older brother), but that doesn't change the fact that I'm home base. It's wonderful (and exhausting at times, no doubt), but still beautiful, incredible, amazing, and all things God-given.

5. Breastfed baby breath!

Okay, this one may make me seem incredibly strange, but it is SO TRUE!! I'm a smell person. I always have been. I'm incredibly sensitive to yucky smells (easily gag-errific near any given trash-can), but put me near a breastfed baby mouth and it smells like a sweet baby flower. There really is something to a flower being called baby's breath! And, it's my last, but not least, favorite!

~~~

So, Happy World Breastfeeding Awareness Week, and do get on over to Hallie's to see more Five Favorites!