Happy Birthday, Griffin!

My sweet Griffin,

You are ONE whole year old today!  How in the world is that possible?  The details of your birth are etched in my memory and I feel like it was just yesterday you were born.  I think about the fact that an entire year has passed and I have to catch my breath.  You've grown much too fast for my momma heart.  I love watching you grow, learn, do new things....but I do wish time would slow down just a little.  Time is cruel that way, I suppose.

You love: 

• Mommy.  Oh you are a momma's boy and it is the. best.
• watching and playing with your sister.  You need to know where she is at all times.
• giving hugs and pats
• carbs ;)
• pulling all of Mommy's fabric squares out of their cubby holes
• bathtime.  If I can't find you, I look in the bathroom because you're usually hanging out by the tub, haha!
• "talking"!  It's your own language right now, but you babble and make facial expressions so you know exactly what you're saying and act like the rest of us do, too.

You dislike:

• Having your diaper changed.  Boy, you really do not like that.
• fruits and veggies.  If they are pureed, you'll eat them.  If they are whole, you won't touch them!  Silly boy.
• Being told "no".  Cue the big, fake cry.
• Strangers holding you.

Your favorites are:

• food: breads, cheerios, potato soup, applesauce, blueberry waffles, blueberry muffins, fruit and veggie pouches (the only way we can get you to eat fruits/veggies right now!)
• songs: "Beautiful Boy" (John Lennon- this is the song I sing to you while we rock before bed), "Do Your Ears Hang Low" (Hadley's version), and "If You're Happy And You Know It"
• books: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear", "If I Were a Dog", and really any book that wants you to touch things on the page or has bright colors
• toys: cars you can push on the ground, pots and pans you can bang together to make noise, the slide (you love to climb up and down!), and anything your sister is playing with!

You can:

• wave bye-bye
• say "mama"
• shake your head "no" and you say something that sounds like, "nah" which I think will turn into "no at some point.  I also think "Ama" is Hadley.
• say "dada" 
• walk/waddle run 
• clap your hands
• stick your tongue out at people and wiggle it all around!
• stand up on your own

You are such a special little boy, Griffin.  You have filled our home with such love and laughter and I thank God every day for letting me be your Mommy.  I can't wait to see your personality unfold even more over the next year and watch you grow into a little boy.  Know I will always be there for you!  I love you so very much, my beautiful boy!  Happy first birthday!