1st Birthday Party!

Now that I am done being the emotional sappy mom here is a post featuring the party. I will warn you that there are quite a few pictures, but I'm guessing pictures of the birthday boy is what you want to see.

Good morning to the Birthday Boy! I took this photo with my phone the second he woke up. I love how happy and cuddly he is in the mornings!

Hawkes all ready for a full day of last minute birthday errands.

As you all know by now Hawkes loves balloons, so of course we had to have as many as possible at his party. 39 balloons later Hawkes was in heaven, at least for the ride home.

We had the party in the social room in our lobby, so don't mind all the Christmas decorations. The party was truck themed since those are one of Hawkes' favorites. It was cuter in person than you can tell in the photos.

The fun little party favors. They were adorable so Hawkes had to have 3 of them!

The Birthday boy hanging out with Mama and Daddy!

Hawkes and his best bud Elijah playing with his toy truck. These boys are only 4 days apart and love getting to play together.

Hawkes got so many fun presents. Spoiled little boy is set and may not need anything for Christmas. Or at least until I see the next best thing that my little boy just has to have.

Landon did a great job improvising with the piñata. 

As you can see all the kids were pretty excited and eager to get their hands on the treats.

Hawkes was a little more reluctant and confused by all the noise, but once it was open he was ready to get down and try to put as many small things in his mouth as possible.

Birthday cake time!

He wasn't exactly sure what to do right away.

Luckily Dad was there to show him the way. Hawkes took his lesson pretty seriously.

Like the sweet boy he is, he of course wanted to share.

By the end he was a big sugary mess. Good thing Grandma Julie was there to take him back upstairs and clean him off. 

We found the biggest balloon I have ever seen when we went to the party store. As soon as Landon pointed it out I knew we had to have it. It was perfect for his high chair. One of the little kids called it a hot air balloon, which I thought was so cute and very fitting.

Bryce got the job of trying to transport all the balloons back up to the house. 

Needless to say, Hawkes has been thoroughly enjoying all of the balloons.

I still can't believe he is one! So crazy. A year ago today we came home from the hospital and began our adventure as a new little family. What a journey it has been so far. His party was really so much fun. A big thank you to all who came to share his big day with us! We so enjoyed having you.

We did it!

We made it a whole year and managed to keep the little guy alive. I really am amazed at how fast it has gone. A year ago today they handed me a brand new baby. I can still remember being so overwhelmed with love and responsibility. I was now someone's mom for the rest of my life. I have spent the last few days thinking about when Hawkes was born and have found myself getting a little emotional at the thought of him growing up. It's crazy to think that they let us leave the hospital with a little baby that didn't know how to do anything but sleep and cry, and today I have a little boy with his very own personality and repertoire of tricks. I knew I would love being a mom, but I guess I had no idea how much I would enjoy every moment with that sweet baby boy. He has brought an immense amount of joy to my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this little person we created in the last year we have been able to spend with him. 

Here are a few things I've learned about my One year old....

He is very stubborn. He knows exactly what he wants and has his ways of letting you know what that is. When you hold him he will even turn your shoulders to get you to go in the direction he chooses.

He is very loving. He has become a little more cuddly and gives the best kisses!

He is so smart. ( I think every mom might say this one) He has started trying to repeat everything. He can say mama, dada, wow, ball, santa, diaper, hi, and doggy. He can tell you what a lizard, truck, dog, santa, and pig says. (but only when he feels like it)

He is very friendly. He loves to wave at everyone and blow kisses. He also loves to play with other kids, and has some very fun friends.

He is definitely a boy. He loves playing with trucks and balls all day long. His favorite toy is probably a balloon though.

He is very independent. He wants to do everything for himself. Especially when it comes to eating. 

He is trying to figure out walking. He knows how but has decided he won't do it unless he is holding only one of your hands. Like I said, the kid knows what he wants.

He is easily entertained. He loves things like opening and closing cupboards over and over. Pulling trash bags or ziploc bags or anything really out of boxes. He loves unrolling paper towels and rolling around in them. And he could take tupperware in and out of the drawers for hours.

He sure does love his mama. Especially when I let him sleep on my head.

He is also the cutest baby I've ever seen!

There really is no way to express how much I love that baby of mine. I guess enough to lose many many hours of sleep this year, learn how to do most things with one hand, eat most of my meals cold, buy toys instead of clothes for myself, etc. Being a mom is the hardest, most rewarding, most emotion provoking thing I have ever done. Each day I learn something new not only about him but about me as well. I have learned to be more patient and unselfish, but I continue to have to work on those everyday. We are so lucky that he is ours. 

Oh what a difference a year makes

A year ago today we had this...

...today we had this...

...oh what a difference a year makes.

More to come on his birthday...

Hawksies Hobbies

Hawkes is almost 1!  He continues to get more and more fun.  He seems to learn new things every day, and it is so fun to watch him explore and figure things out.  In his free time, Hawkes has developed a number of hobbies.  They mostly revolve around music, sports, and books.

One of his very most favorite hobbies is reading "That is not my Dinosar" with Bama Rox

Hawkes also likes playing guitar with dad...

...and on his own with his mini-guitar.

Hawkes is really excited that the NBA lockout is finally over and can't wait until Christmas to start watching basketball.  His all time favorite player is Jose Ortiz.  Here he is practicing his form on his jumpshot.

He is not so sure about baseball, but he's willing to give it a shot

We have tried to encourage him to play the piano, but after hearing horror stories from Uncle Jaxon about piano lessons, he is less than excited about the prospect.

We just finished watching the Ken Burns documentary on Jazz, and Hawkes is convinced he is the next Dizzy Gillespie.  He definitely has the cheeks for it.  Here he is practicing his embouchure.

Hawkes went to his first Real Salt Lake game a little while back.  He got a mini soccer ball, and ever since he figured out how to walk holding someones hand, he has become obsessed with kicking it.  He already has developed a pretty sweet step-over.

UP!!!

Although he is not much into watching movies yet, we figure that when he does, the Pixar movie Up! is going to be one of his favorites.  While in Georgia, Hawkes got a balloon!  For the rest of the trip the two were inseparable.  They became best of friends.

He loved watching it float above him

He loved dragging it along as he played

They watched the dogs run and play outside together

Hawkes got a little upset when grandpa tried to get between them

They went out to dinner together

Cooked and cleaned together

Discovered new toys together

Searched for Dr. Pepper together

Looked suspiciously guilty together

They had so much fun together, but by the end of the trip, the balloon was quite exhausted as you can see.

Georgia Trip!

Meg and Landon asked me to do a guest post on their blog...so here it is. I'm apologizing in advance for the lack of humor, I'm normally pretty funny. I think I'm having stage fright or something. Anyways this Thanksgiving Meg and Landon and Hawkes came down to Georgia. On thanksgiving we decided to go to the park...then everyone decided they wanted to look really cute just to go to the park so we took pictures too. (I was pretty sure we looked like a cult of vampires walking around the park in heels and what not, nobody else agreed) Also, I tried super hard to think of a creative title for this post, but unfortunately I couldn't get my creative juices flowing...so I apologize for the lame title too

The whole family, Olivia looks super cute.

And here is Landon and Hawkes, and me in the background...I may or may not be dancing. I'm not really sure

...Meg was too scared to climb up higher even though it was like 5 feet

Meg finally mustered up the courage to climb with the big girls

 Just me and Hawkes taking a walk

He loves me I swear

p.s. I'm really sorry for biting you Meg han, I love you more than anything and I didn't mean for it to bruise or ...I think this taught you a lesson to never steal my pants again. I hope we can still be best friends, you're my favorite sister/twin. I know I'm your favorite, Landon's I'm pretty sure too. Love y'all to the moon and back!

Love Madi/Mani