Happy 1st Birthday, Zander!!

Zander,
We are so excited you are turning ONE!  Your daddy and I are so proud of you and all you have done this past year! You can check out the "12 months already" post to see some of your milestones.  I hope that this year is even better than the last! I plan to give you more hugs, play with you more, and give you even more of my patience! ;)  At this point, you love your brother, Burke (probably more so than he loves you because he doesn't like to be poked by you!).  You love your mama and "d" (can't really say dada yet!).  You love walking (with some assistance).  You love being chased down the hallway and to the stairs.  You love riding in your stroller or in the car.  You love chicken, mac-n-cheese, bananas, goldfish, cheerios, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, pizza, and any form of bread.  You love eating your fruits and veggies through a pouch you can squeeze.  You love when your daddy plays with you.  You love when your mama comes to get you after you have woken up from a nap.  You love any toy that you can push or that can help you stand up.  You love electronic devices (especially your mom's outdated flip phone).  You do not like your diaper being changed.  You are not too crazy about changing clothes either. Lately, you are not a fan of the church nursery.  You sometimes like to make a scene when we are out to dinner to show your parents you are either still hungry or ready to leave.  You had a pretty awesome birthday party (if I do say so myself!).  You were able to dye Easter eggs, go on an indoor Easter egg hunt (the Easter bunny came inside this year because it was raining outside and 55 degrees!).  You tried cake for the first time.  You liked it... but you didn't go crazy like I thought you would! You must be my son.... I don't like making big messes either!  You had your closest family and friends at your party.  They were all so sweet to come to your house to celebrate with you.  They gave you many things.... new toys... new clothes...new ways to have fun.... and new ways to get into trouble!  My favorite part of the day was when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to you.  Typically, children and adults get so excited when they hear this song if it is their birthday because they know the cake is for them, and they get to blow out the candles while making a wish.  While everyone was singing, you just looked at them.  You didn't really smile at all! It was hilarious! I think you will know the significance of this song in the next few years! We love you so much, and are so thankful that a year ago today you came into this world as our son, making us so lucky to be your parents!  Happy 1st Birthday!
Love,
Mama and "D"

 

 

 

Happy Easter!

Our service at church this morning was absolutely amazing!! He has risen from the dead!  We have much to be thankful for, and it is so awesome to praise our Father for sending his Son to die on a cross for our sins.  And then... three days later he rose from the grave conquering sin and death!  We have an amazing Savior!  It was so special to go to church this morning with my family who stayed in town after Z's birthday festivities yesterday (that will be a separate post!).  We filled up an entire pew.  Here are some pictures from our Easter.  This is Zander's last "first" holiday as he will be ONE tomorrow!

And to include a few other pictures from the week...

Zander tried to play his first game of corn hole at our best friend's 30th birthday party.  We were able to grill out and hang out with some friends in honor of Chris turning the BIG 3-0!  You can see how much Zander is enjoying spending time with Chris below..... he is so excited! ;)

The weather was absolutely beautiful for the cookout and the entire weekend.  Zander likes to watch daddy do yard work on a Sunday afternoon.

We introduced Zander to his new car seat on Monday.  I believe he is saying "I am almost one, and I got a new ride!"

He loves eating a cereal bar at breakfast.  I can't get over how cute he looks after he has finished eating!

12 months already!

Well... it is hard to imagine that 12 months ago today I looked like this...

We have come a LONG way in this first year of Zander's life.  We have witnessed many firsts....a cry, a smile, a laugh, holding up his head, rolling over, sitting up, crawling, "walking" (with some assistance still), a word, a food, each holiday, etc.  We have participated in many new parent activities.... being peed on, pooped on, staying up all night, laughing until it hurts from something Zander did, crying because you have to be away from your baby since he decided he wanted to take a trip to the NICU, being embarrassed in public because of the tantrum he is throwing since he can't communicate how he feels or what he needs, watching others pass him around and being so proud that he is our son.  Without a doubt, this has been a new adventure for the Houstons!!  We have so many exciting times ahead of us, and I hope we never forget how far we have come from Zander's first day on this earth.  We have been parents for a whole year now to this amazing little boy and we can't wait to see all the many "firsts" he will have in this next year.  Look at where Zander started and where he is now.....