Happy 1st birthday to our sweet little Parker Peanut!

Well, the day has arrived...much too soon!  I can't believe you,

my sweet baby boy, have been in our lives for a whole year already!

A year ago today God blessed us with a healthy, beautiful

and oh so amazing gift and that is you! 

You fill our hearts with joy, laughter, love each and every day

and we look forward to a lifetime of this with you.

You are around 16 lbs. at 1 year and have no teeth.

We are about to start weaning you but I don't think it will

be as easy as it was with Ella.  

This is who you are at 1 year old Christopher Parker...

a.k.a...Peanut, Bubba bear, stinker pot, momma's boy

-You are totally and completely a MOMMA's boy!  You would be 

just fine and dandy if I held you 24/7!  You even play with one

hand on me to make sure I don't leave.  You love your daddy of course 

and your face lights up like no other when he comes home each day.

You love your big sister so much too...when she's not trying to take

something away from you... :-)  You call out her name 100 times a day

and she answers back, "I'm right here, Parker."  That was in fact 

your first word...ELLA.

-You are very sensitive...your daddy says you are more 

sensitive than me and Ella!  I guess you get that from me. 

When I leave the room or set you down, you get your feelings 

hurt so bad and boy do you show it. :-)

-You are not such a good sleeper...this was hard for mommy to get

used to since your sister Ella slept through the night at 6 weeks old

and you my dear are still waking up once in the middle of the night 

at 1 year old!  You take great naps during the day but you just won't 

stay asleep longer than 5 hours or so.  Every now and then you'll

tease me with 1 or 2 nights sleeping from 9:30pm to 6:30am

but it never lasts longer than that, 1 or 2 days.  With all that said, 

I would wake up in the middle of the night every night forever if 

it made you feel safe, loved and happy.  

(Not saying you should do this...just sayin)

-You are a climber!  You did walk before your first birthday
but forget the walking, you have been climbing for the
past 5 months!  You are very confident when you climb too
and you knew how to get down from
whatever you climbed on, the right way (you know, turn around
on your tummy and feet first).  Daddy taught you that 1 time and
you started doing it from then on..."hmmm, if
I go head first, that might not feel too great!" lol

-You are LOUD!  I know, what can you say with a momma and daddy who are loud too.
From the very start you grunted all night long in fact, daddy and I got very little sleep
because you were so loud in your sleep.  You gibber jabber constantly and you make sure
everyone knows you are there! :-)  Don't worry peanut, we know you are there and won't ever
forget it! 

-You have such a sweet heart!  You give the best open mouth
kisses sometimes with tongue...lol and you often just go up to
us and hug us...but only on your time...certainly not when we
ask for it.  :-)  When daddy walks in the door, you point or
put your hand up at him (waving at him) to show him how much
you've missed him.  You have the sweetest and most beautiful
little smile and laugh!  You loose all control when you
get to laughing and it cracks me up!

-You make great faces!  You use your eye brows to convey
your message all the time.  You are just like your sister and
daddy on this one making funny faces that is!

-You are somewhat of a picky eater!  You started on solids
later than usual, (not that we even care about what society
says is normal) but you just didn't like them.  You did like
avocado at first and then we delayed solids because you seemed
to be having lots of gas pains at night.  But, now, avocado is
your least favorite which is opposite from your big sister.
You threw up (not spit up) solids several times so you didn't really
start eating good until 9 months or so.  You enjoy pears,
sweet taters, puffs, apples, broccoli, pork, chicken sometimes,
mangoes, grapes, bananas and peas.  Hopefully, you'll
grow into liking many more foods!

-You are very rambunctious but careful at the same time.
You don't make me as nervous as Ella did but man, you
are all over the place!
You still do not have any toofies, just like your sister at
1 years old.  And gosh, I don't even see any wanting to come through.
You love for us to sing to you much like your sister did and still does.
You LOVE when Ella sings to you even more!  It usually calms you
down in the car or really anywhere.
You are a very quick learner!  We show you something one
time and you know how to do it from then on out.
You like to look under things.  If something rolls under
the couch, you lay your head down on the floor and
look under the couch.
When you are nursing, you like to push on my arms or
whatever is in the way of your little feet. You've even given
me bruises on my arms.   

Your daddy would describe you with one word and that word is
DETERMINED!  Whatever you want...you are determined to get it!

You are as strong as an OX!  I'm sure there are a lot of babies who are just as
strong but good Lord, you have a grip like no other in my opinion!  We've tried to
pull you off of things and it takes a lot to do this with you!

You amaze us each and every day and we couldn't imagine life without you.
We look forward to watching you grow, learn and become a "big boy" over the next year
and always.  You are such a blessing and we thank God for you every chance we get!
We love you little peanut! and Happy 1st birthday!