Happy Birthday Toby!

 

My little Toby turned one a few days ago. I can't believe it has been a year.  Of course he is as cute and rascal like as ever. He has started climbing everything and getting in to everything just like every little boy should.   We had a fun little birthday party complete with his very own cake made by his grandma:

-He got lots of brotherly love.

 



 -Was very happy when his cake was introduced to him.

 

 -More excited when he got to gorge in with his face. He is very different than Tate in this way!

 -Got some new toys and Ute clothes.

 

-100% attention from dad

 

 and mom. (Don't you just love his little fists??)

 

 -Got to play outside in the beautiful fall weather

 

 with his favorite frog.

 

while his mom took pictures of this handsome boy.

 

 -We all reminisced to when this sweet boy joined our family just one year ago. Where did my baby go?

Dear Toby,
Just one year ago, you were born in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping.  The hospital was quiet and peaceful.  Your dad and I were able to have you all to ourselves until the morning. I love thinking back to that night and the blessing that came into my life.

As a baby, you were almost too good to be true.  You were calm, content, and happy.  You fit into our family better than I could have imagined. You tolerated a lot of abuse and love from your older brother but you didn't seem to mind the extra attention.  I was lucky to be able to nurse you for 11 months and have an extra special bond with you from the start.

You have been blessed with health. You have only had one mild cold (knock on wood!).  I hope this continues!  You seem to like food at the moment; your favorites are: bananas, broccoli, cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, and goldfish.  

You are a pretty fast little crawler and recently you have been enjoying climbing things. You aren't very interested in toys because you would much rather explore.  You took your 1st few steps on Tate's 3rd birthday with an audience, but haven't started using walking as your way of getting around yet.

Toby, I am excited to see what the next year brings us. I'm excited to see you play more with your brother and explore the world.  I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy

Birthday boy!

Birthdays find a whole new meaning when you have little ones. It is fun to surprise them with balloons, treats, and of course a few new toys.  Tate and I made a birthday countdown chain 1 month ago, so he was very ecstatic when the day was finally here. 
A few days before his birthday I forced him to do his 3 year old photo shoot, he's adorable:

Every year around his birthday we go to the zoo. This year was extra fun with the polar bear exhibit. Tate loved it.



See Tate behind the gorilla, he wouldn't get any closer.

 



 

 

We celebrated his birthday on Labor Day, Brett started the day out with yummy waffles. Tate's favorite.

 

 



Then we went on a bike ride to the park.

 

Opened some fun presents.

 



Played in the decorations.

 

I made a fun snake cake.

Tate LOVED when everyone was singing Happy Birthday for him.

 



 

 

Got spoiled by the grandparents.

 



 

 

 

Dear Tate,

 

I am so grateful to have you as my son. You bring such joy into my life. It has been fun to see you learn and grow over the past year.  I think you dedicated the last year to diggers. You have been obsessed for so long and still to this day love to see any kind of construction equipment. 

 

You have become a jabber mouth.  You are asking a lot of questions about the world around you.  I love hearing what is on your mind and listening to your cute comments.  You can't quite say your T's yet...still saying the F sound instead which makes it quite entertaining when you are saying "truck" so often.

 

You became a big brother this past year and you have done so well adjusting to this change.  Most of the time, you are really nice to your brother and you are getting better at sharing.  You love to get in Toby's crib and play with him.

 

You still think eating is some sort of torture.  If I get you hungry enough your will eat better, but you definitely have your favorites: peanut butter/jelly sandwiches, mac&cheese, broccoli, carrots,  banana smoothies,  beans, and waffles.

 

You are very smart. You know all of your letters and most of their sounds. You know your numbers and can count to 20. You have an excellent memory.  You can spell your name. You know some of the dinosaurs names.

 

Can't wait to see what this next year brings. You are my best little bud. Happy 3rd birthday Tate!

 

Love,

Mommy



30/36

Last week I turned 30 yrs old and 36 weeks pregnant.  My wonderful husband took my special day off work to be with me.  Lucky for me I got to start my big day off with a vaginal swab at the doctors office. Enough said about that. 

Later, Brett was a good sport and came with me to see The Help which I loved (he didn't mind it) and took me to dinner. It was a great day.  I had a lot more celebrating with family over the weekend.

I'm actually a little happy to be 30. You see, I have been lying about my age at work since I started there. For the past 4 yrs I have been telling people I am older than I am because I always felt so young when I started as a nurse practitioner. I feel like 30 is old enough to be in my job position. No more lying for me (except that I have no idea who I told what age to).  I know, I'm a dork!

About the pregnancy....this time around has been a lot harder for me. I am getting good and ready to meet this little boy.  Only dilemma is that we have Ute tickets for October 8th and I am due on the 12th so I have to make it to that day, at least for Brett's sake. 3 more weeks!!

Terribly Cute 2 Year Old!!!

Tate's 2 now. Isn't it a little sad?? Well it is for me. He is growing up way too fast!!!  We went out for some 2 year old/fall pictures last week.... he really is the cutest!

The Party:

Loved Tate's expression as we sang Happy Birthday.

 My adorable cousin Taylor decided that Tate needed lamb cupcakes because he does the best lamb noise EVER. 

Tate holding a lamb...looking a little concerned.

Of course Tate was very spoiled and received enough new cars to last him years!!! He is a very happy boy.

Other celebrations:



Brett and I took Tate to the zoo for his birthday.  He loved the animals, but most of all he loved riding the train.

Love my boys!

As you can tell from Tate's face, he didn't love the carousel.

The  train ride (Tate is smiling even though it looks like he is being tortured)!

Letter from mom:

Dear Tate,

Happy 2nd birthday. I can't believe it has been 2 years since I first held you in my arms.  What did I ever do without you?  You and your daddy are everything to me.  I am so blessed to have you in my life.

You are such a good, content boy.  If you have a few cars to play with you are happy. This summer you have learned to love watering plants and would do it all day if I allowed it. You are a very clean kid, you don't like your hands to be dirty and you usually clean up your toys before we leave...must be taking after your dad!

You still love your blue blankie even though it is stained and gross; you won't sleep without it.

You're not the best eater, probably because you would much rather play with cars all the time!  You do enjoy: mac & cheese, broccoli, any kind of bean, bananas, yogurt, and cereal with milk.

You have been a very healthy boy, you didn't get sick once in the past year; such a huge blessing! 

Though I get a little sad thinking that I only have one more month alone with "my little buddy", I am very excited for you to have a little brother. I know you are going to love having someone to help you gang up on mom. 

Tate, we love you so much and can't wait to make many more fun memories with you.  You're the best little boy a mom could ask for. 

Love,

Mommy

More Randomness

To be honest, I have been dreading blogging because I am so behind!  I am going to bite the bullet today and get a little caught up.  I think I would enjoy blogging a lot more if I did it more often! I apologize for the quick and random/disorganized post. 

Anyway, we have been staying busy and having a lot of fun. 

Tate has been LOVING the water.

 

We had a baby shower for my sister-in-law and had to catch a photo of the 3 pregnant sisters together.

We have been celebrating some birthdays.

My mom is another year older (but I won't say how old!).

We fed the geese.

Tate's 1st adventure with sparklers.

Showing off his owie from when he biffed it on the way to church.

4th of July we spent at Willard Bay on the beach/boating. Tate absolutely loved it.

The cutest nieces.

My little boy went tubing!  Can  you believe it? I was a little nervous for him, but he seemed to like it.

He sported this awesome outfit on the beach.

My dad turned the big 60 and my uncle Bill the big 50.

Tate's obsession:  putting all his cars on my bed.

He learned to smile for the camera!