Happy birthday little love!

Dear Everett,

You are one today. 365 days ago you made me a Mama and I've loved every minute of it. It has been an amazing, joyful, fun year. My heart fills to overflowing when I think about how much I love you. Your sweet little face with those big, squeezable cheeks and your big blue eyes that are constantly smiling at me. You have grown into a little wild man who wants to be running around the house and getting into everything. You squeal with delight when Marley or Kai sit long enough to let you pet them. You have that funny little walk where you have to lean back to support your cute pot belly. You think Daddy is the funniest person ever. Most nights I just sit and listen to the two of you laughing with each other during bath time, wanting to stay in those moments a little while longer. This year has gone so fast- too fast. You've grown so quickly from that tiny little baby to a walking, talking, happy little boy. I am thankful that the Lord entrusted me to be your mama, to raise you and love you and tell you about Jesus. I am excited for this next year and our adventures together.

Happy birthday my sweet boy!
I love you more than I ever thought possible.
Mama

Cribs- Everett style

While I was pregnant, I documented everything, including the progress of Everett's nursery; however, I never put up the final product. Since Everett arrived all sneakily with my water breaking, I never ended up taking final pictures and posting them to the blog. I also never found a good reason to post them until now. So here you go- Everett's nursery reveal- 1 year late :)

So there you have it folks- Everett's room

month 11

I really, really love this little boy. With just a few days left before his birthday, I have such a mix of emotions. This first year has gone so fast. I love seeing him grow and develop, but I'm sad that he is quickly becoming less baby and more little boy.

month ten

Where did my little baby go? It's like overnight I got a little man. Everett started taking steps this month and got his bottom two teeth. He also started eating more table food and loves everything from ritz crackers to cheese and blueberries. He had so much fun at Christmas- ripping off wrapping paper, eating it, and playing with the boxes. It has been so fun to see his little personality develop. He is wild and crazy and just plain happy. He is goofy just like Aaron - sticking his tongue out and making crazy noises. He absolutely adores Aaron and (just like mom) laughs at all of dad's antics. I just can't get enough of this sweet face.

months 7-8-9

month 6

Month six was hard. I had 6 perfectly perfect months at home with Everett. Month 6 I had to go back to work. I've been a teacher for the last 4.5 years and I love it, but I found that I love Everett more. It was a hard transition back to work. Trying to balance it all proved difficult--- working all day, still nursing 4 times a day, cooking, cleaning, loving my husband, son and doggies. But, we were blessed. Blessed with God's perfect plans for Everett. A week before school started, the Lord provided my dear friend Missy to watch Everett (You can read the story here). It has been such an incredible blessing to watch my friend love my son and make him a part of her family. While month 6 was rough, it was bearable because of the Lord's provision.

months 4 & 5

These months brought rice cereal and my adventures in baby food making. Everett LOVED to eat from the very beginning. One of my favorite things about the way he eats is how wide he opens his mouth. Exhibit A:

It's hilarious and also convenient since all the food goes straight into his mouth. We didn't even use bibs until he started feeding himself. Seriously. He's just like his dad - he wants to be fed lots and quickly. As Aaron says- he wants that goodness in him.

I decided that I wanted to try to make all of Everett's baby food. I wanted to make his food because I knew I could buy organic while still saving us money. Making Everett's food was definitely a labor of love and it certainly would've been easier to just buy pre-made from the store; however, I really loved going to farmers markets and knowing exactly what I was giving my baby and where it came from! Plus, it saved us a lot of money! At 75 cents-$1 each, organic baby food adds up fast.  That's not to say that in a pinch I didn't run over to the store to grab a jar or two, let's be real, I'm a working mama and time is at a premium! But-- at the end of the day, I loved knowing that I had done my best to give Everett the healthiest food I could while not breaking the bank.

month three

Sleep. Sweet sweet sleep. Month 3 Everett started sleeping through the night and he's never looked back. I love lots of things about Everett--- his sweet face, his happy and laid back personality, but the fact that he sleeps through the night like a champ= one of my favorites.

month two

month one

If you ask anyone, I have a terrible memory. But I remember our first day home from the hospital like it was yesterday. We have two crazy dogs and wanted a day to just come home and let them get to know Everett. We came into the house and the dogs were frantic and excited to see us. We had left them in a rush the night I went into labor. Luckily, my parents came and stayed with them until we got home from the hospital. Kai, our sweet but not-so-smart dog, had no idea there was anything even in the little baby carrier. Marley, on the other hand, sniffed Everett out right away and started barking. We had sent a blanket home from the hospital that Everett had slept in so the dogs would get used to his scent. Apparently Marley was the only one to pick up on it ;) It was a quiet day spent laying around with the dogs and baby. Looking back, I remember feeling such overwhelming excitement and a lot of uncertainty all at once. Were we really ready for all this responsibility? Too late for that I guess... We felt so green. I remember the first week I made Aaron change most of the diapers. I was so afraid I was going to mess something up with his little man parts... haha. Everett peed on the wall at least 3 times in the first week until we figured out how to quickly change a diaper, and went through multiple peed through outfits before my sister informed us that it needed to point down. We learned a lot that first month and laughed at the many things we messed up.



That first month, I also remember simply being in awe of Everett. I remember how much I felt needed. It was such a strange feeling that someone needed me for everything- to eat, to get clean, to be rocked to sleep. It was overwhelming at first, but I've grown to love the way he needs me. We had so many visitors his first month. So many sweet willing friends and family members with dinners. My parents who cleaned, and cooked, and did all our laundry at the house. I looked back at my prayer journal and found an entry from March 15th, "The past few weeks have been a whirlwind-- friends and family coming to visit, helping us, sending meals, and blessings. How thankful we are love for such love poured out upon us!" That first month was filled with such sweet, funny memories of starting our lives together as a family of 3.