Dear Parker (One Year)

Dear sweetest one year old,

A year! Seriously! I have spent a full year blessed beyond belief with you. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I loved you. I loved you with every fiber of my being. I anticipated this love being powerful because I watched my own mama and I saw how very much she loved all five of us. She forgave things others wouldn’t forgive, she sacrificed everything for us. It is so different when it happens to you. When you came into this world, I could do nothing but cry tears of joy and kiss your perfect little hands, feet, tummy, and head. I remember that moment so perfectly because it was the moment my world shifted. My everything, the reason I breathe, was a funny looking 6 pound 7 ounce, curious, purple baby with no name. Your head was so misshaped from dropping so early. You barely had any hair. You were so very tiny. You were the opposite of what my dreams had shown me. I thought you’d look just like me, but you looked just like daddy. It was better than my dreams.

You are a (almost) walking, (almost) talking man. During your 12^th month, you developed a deep love for the outdoors. Despite the cold, you will walk anywhere we let you go. You want to splash in the water and crunch all the leaves. You are the quickest crawler! I am jogging behind you all the time! I can almost always find you in the piano room when we are down stairs and the drum room when we are up! The stairs are not even an issue any more. You just go up or down as needed (don’t worry, folks, I am always right behind him).

We got to celebrate your first Christmas. It was just as amazing as I had hoped. You had the patience to open your own presents and, like most babies, you preferred the paper and boxes, but nothing got your attention more than tissue paper. You loved the tissue paper and pulling it out of the bags. We would stuff it right back in the bags for you. Much like Thanksgiving, you ate E V E R Y T H I N G in sight. People fed you things left and right and you would steal right from other’s plates. You aren’t too concerned with playing with your cousins yet, but that will change. Christmas will be so different once you all play together. I cannot wait! I know you are the only boy, but, be patient, let them put make up on you and play with babies with them. They will return the favor. You were kind of a booger with the Christmas tree, but it was brand new to you so it was very easy to be patient with. A good portion of my ornaments are broken, but you had fun so I do not mind.

A year with you has been more than I ever thought I deserved. I cannot believe that your tiny little spirit chose us. You chose me. You are all I ever prayed for. I have always wanted to be a mama, but being your mama has been beyond my wildest dreams. You are the easiest baby. I had to wake you up for feedings in the middle of the night. What baby does that? You aren’t a fit thrower. You are a cuddler and a kisser. You pet my face while you nurse. You giggle at everything and want to learn anything you can.

I love you forever, Parker Ericson. 

*Disclaimer: I swear this was written around his actual birthday! I just forgot to post it. 

Dear Parker (Our Eleventh Month)

Dear Padawan,

I cannot wait to sit and watch all the Star Wars movies with your to teach you what a Padawan is. Right now, you still look at me confused when I try to get your attention by calling you that instead of Parker. My baby, I cannot believe how old you are.

Your eleventh month was a month of zoos and exploring. You went to the Phoenix Zoo or Wildlife World Zoo every weekend and enjoyed it more and more each time. The monkeys were your biggest fans. How could they not be? You are their size and just stare and smile the whole time. They will walk right up to you and stare at you. It is a hilarious sight. You also got to play with so many animals! Giraffes, turtles, stingrays, camels, deer, and pigmy goats. The best part of every trip is the carousal ride at the end. You take it very serious. You hold on for dear life, but smile and wave. You are getting too big.

I wish I have more photos from Thanksgiving, but there are priorities and I cannot take photos and have a fork and knife in each hand. You sure did enjoy it though. You ate everything on your plate and managed to snag some dessert off of everyone’s plate. Those eyes and that goofy, five tooth smile can get people to give you anything. We went with the baby led weaning method for you, so you’ve been eating solids for about six months and the mushy food was never your thing. My point to this is, you’ve become a master eater. I occasionally get a look or two from other mothers at restaurants, or even your grandma and grandpa say something for my lack of cutting things up, but you handle your food. You do not stuff your face until you have no more room in your mouth. When I give you a small cube of cheese, you take perfectly portioned bites until it is gone. Thank you, love, for being responsible since birth. It is really quite cute to see you with a whole carrot (I mean the whole, nearly foot long carrot) and your little nibbles at the end.

You took your first real steps. Honestly, we thought you’d be walking at nine months, considering you were crawling at 3.5. You are a speed demon when it comes to crawling, so you just drop to your knees and crawl to where you need to be. I am always buying you jeans. That is the only reason I want you to walk. You’ve ruined your light grey skinnies, tan cords, and half a dozen denim jeans.  Other than that, please, please, take your time walking. It seems so much safer to have you so close to the ground.

We were able to take you to play with snow! You were a little hesitant, but, ultimately, you did enjoy it. It was daddy and I throwing little snowballs, and you trying hard to figure out what it was and then eat it. You got to do a lot of things you loved that day! You sat on daddy’s shoulders and he danced around, you slept during the boring stuff, and then you got to hang out with all of your cousins to put together grandma’s giant Christmas town.

 I can’t believe my next post will be rounding out my first year of being blessed with you. It is insane. This month you also loved wagon rides, sloppy kisses, spaghetti, your cousins, your puppies, walking with walkers, pots and pans, the rose garden, and anything that makes music. I love you to the moon and back, Parkman.