I guess now that Howie is 22 months old I should talk about him turning 12 months! 😳 #workmomlife ( I really need to get better at this whole blogging thing, but man life gets busy when you’re chasing a toddler.)

These 12 months have been more than we ever could have imagined. Howie, we don’t know how we lived without you- and how amazing God is that he blessed us with you as our son. What a fun boy you are! Always so happy, funny, so much energy and you’re getting the cutest personality ever! You pretty much run everywhere, don’t really walk haha and you are getting faster everyday!

Howie loves sugar and to say he destroyed his smash cake is an understatement! I don’t know many 1 year olds who need a bath in the middle of their birthday party! We had so much fun with family and friends who came to celebrate with us.

I don’t know how we got so lucky, but God sure blessed us with the best little embryo that could. Thank you Howie for making us the happiest people in the world. You light up when you smile at people and people light up when they see your sweet smile. You have a love for everyone and everything- please don’t ever change!

2017. The year our prayers were answered. The year I became a mommy. The year Laryen became a daddy. The year our family became complete.

I started getting really sad earlier tonight. The year that made our hearts grow exponentially is over. It’s been the most miraculous year and I hate to see it go. So many memories that I worry I won’t remember. I can’t remember how it felt to hold Howie when he was just a little ball of baby love. That scares me. If the first year went by so fast how fast are the other years going to go? I wish I could be better at remembering all the moments of this year. Parents- if you have any tips let me know! I just knew they’re in my brain somewhere.

A new year means Howie will be a year old. Bittersweet and more tears coming. But I have to remember that a new year also means so many new adventures with our sweet baby. He will always be my baby no matter how old he is. And life will continue to get better and better with him learning more and more everyday. I wish I could hold onto his little baby self from 2017 but then I’ll miss out on him saying mama for the first time, walking on his own, saying I love you, and riding a bicycle. So many memories to look forward to.

2017- thank you for being the best year of our lives. Howie- thank you for the best year of our lives. We love you more than you’ll ever know.

Man. We thought Howie was a mover last month. This month we can barely keep up I feel! He is full on crawling, and walking everywhere! He walks along the walls and makes me think of Spider-Man. He loves going from couch to couch and he’s so close to walking on his own! He takes a few steps and gets the biggest smile walking from me to Laryen. And we have the biggest smile watching him. Oh parenthood is just the best thing in the world!

Howie’s first Christmas was amazing. First visit with Santa- no tears!!! 👍 So much fun in Colorado with family and friends. He didn’t really understand the whole present thing but he liked the boxes and the wrapping paper! And once the toys were out of the box he loved playing with them. It was just a perfect celebration for his first Christmas. Can’t wait for more fun next year!

Howie’s biggest new thing? Pointing at things and places he wants us to take him to. It’s so cute. He loves when we read him signs all around the house and his room (especially before bedtime). His eyes just light up after this happens. He also says bye bye when we leave, Dada, and ‘yeah.’ The answer to everything is ‘yeah.’ Be still my heart.

The countdown is on until our little embryo that could turns 1. What an amazing, miraculous year this has been.

Double digit months here we come!!!

Moving moving everywhere! Last month he used to slowly push his walker from one wall to the next. Now- he’s running!!!

He has 2 teeth and even though I miss his gummy smile I think he’s even cuter with his two little teeth! This month was a little rough. Howie got hand, foot, mouth which was no fun but he’s a trooper. And despite not feeling well our happy Howie was still happy and giggly and as wonderful as can be. I loved the extra snuggles too!

We also have our first word ladies and gents! He said bye bye! I feel like his next word isn’t too far off either. That kid loves to babble still. The more he talks the more we get to see who Howie is going to be. It’s pretty amazing to see his little personality grow everyday.

We’re also getting ready for his first Christmas and how magical it is! He LOVES Christmas lights. Watching him when he saw our tree for the first time, ugh I can’t even begin to describe how big my heart grew. The wonder that is in an 10 month olds eyes and brain and heart – I could write a book it makes me so happy to see! It’s something I will cherish forever.

I wish I could take a mental video everyday to remember. Thank goodness for lots of pictures! I just can’t believe we’re in the home stretch of his first year. How is that even possible?

Wiggle worm alert! Howie is a shaker and a mover! It’s incredible to see how fast he’s gotten at army crawling and now he loves to walk when he holds on to anything! It’s so cool to see his little brain work with his walker. Getting faster and faster everyday and more confident with moving all over the place.

I think the biggest difference between this month and last is his vocabulary. Man does that boy love to babble! He has this dinosaur growl going on and it’s the cutest thing! But we can start to hear some actual sounds coming from it too like ‘ma ma’ and he loves to make the sound ‘b.’ He also loves to shake his head no, which I think is adorable but I know that will change when he actually LEARNS what no means.

I really can’t believe he’s the same age now as he was inside me growing from a little poppy seed to a watermelon. 40 weeks in and now he’s 40 weeks out! Wow!! Seems so unreal! Especially when you think of everything we did to get here. It’s funny because all of that seems like such a distant memory now that we have him. All the waiting, trying different fertility treatments, more waiting, seeing the negative pregnancy tests, having the first 2 embryos not take, FINALLY seeing those 2 pink lines ALL OF IT almost seems like a dream. Did we really do all of that? It’s crazy how the brain works like that. Something that was in the forefront of our thoughts for so many years now just a memory in time. What an amazing story we have to tell this sweet little boy one day about how we really did win the lottery when we got him!

Every month I say this BUT I think 8 months is my favorite stage so far. What fun we have everyday with Howie’s new curiosity for EVERYTHING! He loves life. I want us all to love life like a baby does. I think we’ll all be a lot happier!

He’s getting better at standing and walking with us holding his hands everyday. No teeth yet but I can see the bumps so they’ll hopefully come in soon! He loves peekaboo and when we hide from him. He even covers his face with a blanket and hides. Howie’s army crawling EVERYWHERE! And getting so fast! Now if we leave the room we come back and he’s not there! He loves playing with Indie and Tyson and crawling all over them. I think they’ll be great friends.

One of my favorite things this month is seeing how much he loves US! He gets so happy when we come into the room. And there’s no better feeling than coming home from work and hearing him squeal with joy and this  big smile on his face. This is what parenthood is all about!!

We’ve got a shaker and a mover! Howie is on the move! I love to see his determination! It’s so fun to see his kind work when he sees something and goes, hey I can get that! And then he goes! I wish we all had that zest for life!

Howie is also a feeding machine! He loves all big boy food, especially sweet potatoes and peas. He is starting to kind of like fruit but he’s not a fan of the sweet things yet. I’m sure that’ll change soon enough!

Can’t believe this sweet boy is getting so big. Already OVER a half a year! We’re less than a half a year away from his first birthday. Seriously, how is that possible? It’s also weird to think that I was pregnant for only a little bit longer of time than he’s been alive. Just so amazing!!

I can’t tell you how many years I’ve stared at my birthday candles and wished for a baby. A little bundle of joy that we could call our own. If I’m being completely honest it has been probably the past 3 or 4 birthdays this is what I hope and pray for after the ‘Happy Birthday’s’ are sung and the candles are lit. I close my eyes and wish to become a mommy before my next birthday. I can’t believe I got to open my eyes this year and see my deepest wish finally come true. 

This year I wished for him to see how much he is loved. How much our hearts swell with love for this piece of joy that God picked to be our son. How lucky we are to have him and that we get to be his mom and dad. This year I wished and I said thank you. Thank you for placing Howie in our lives right when he was supposed to become a part of it. Thank you for making my deepest wish finally come true – my first birthday as a Mommy with dozens more to come. 

How is it Howie’s half birthday already?! It’s so weird to think 6 months have gone by with this amazing miracle in our life. It’s also so weird to think that we had a life before Howie was in it because it sure doesn’t feel like it. I think that’s what all parents must feel like. It’s like you are so happy before you have kids but there’s a piece missing but you don’t even realize it. Once that piece is finally there your heart feels more complete and grows and grows every single day. How can you love something more every day? Become a parent and then you’ll know. 😍

Howie is starting to get really good and sitting up for a little bit by himself, gets more giggly and more personality every day and just loves life. He loves sleep (how did we get so lucky) and loves big boy food of rice cereal and peas! Can’t wait to see what else he’ll love! 

Howie is definitely not a newborn anymore! He’s full on baby!! Rolling around like a roly poly, smiling and laughing, and getting more and more personality everyday! His 5 months on earth have been the most wonderful and joyous time of our lives. Isn’t it crazy how you don’t remember life before you have children? I never believed that until now. I can’t remember what it felt like to not have sweet Howie part of our lives, or not see his smile or feel his heartbeat, or hear his laugh. Love our little embryo that could! (Hard to believe that was him!)

This has been a big month for him! He got baptized at my dad’s church, Trinity Methodist Church, in Colorado. The same pastor who married Laryen and I got to baptize him. Such a special day all around. So much family came out for it including Howie’s great grandma. Howie got to wear his great grandfathers baptism gown and Laryen’s baptism outfit too. They were both in amazing condition. And a handful of people have been baptized in that same gown. Makes my heart so happy!

Howie is sleeping in his crib without a swaddle! It’s so weird not having him in the room with us! It’s been that way since he came home from the hospital and Laryen agrees with me- we miss him! The no swaddle has been going well too! I thought the transition was going to be harder than it was, but it really wasn’t bad. (Fingers crossed it lasts). He’s about to have his first 4th of July and lots of fun visits with his grandparents coming up. The fun has just begun for sweet Howie!