Birthday Boy!

Thayne is one year old! He is the sweetest, smartest, funniest little guy ever. He loves "Apple" (the phonetic alphabet song on YouTube), any kind of "hat", he'll tell you when his food is "hot" (which includes food that is slightly warm), and gets excited to see "mama" and "daddy". For his special day, Jill, Tevya, Colter, and Ellie met us in Saratoga for a birthday celebration. We went on a walk by the Jordan River, had a yummy barbecue, ate cake, and took pictures down by the lake. I can't even express how much we love this little boy. Being his mom is the Best Thing EVER! 

Anxiously waiting 

When he saw the little cake he started doing his "Please! Please! " sign

This kind of sums up his thoughts on the whole occasion

He was a very clean eater

Just checking things out 

Offering some help

Darcy and Colter know how to eat cupcakes

Thayne's ritualistic offering to the Floor Gods 

A more generous offering

One beautiful Momma and baby

Spencer

Cousin loves

So Big

Happy Birthday, Thayne! 

5 Toothed Boy

Baby Loves

This is what happens when Thayne takes a bath. He loves his reflection

Learning to Crochet

Last weekend Tyler and I made a spontaneous trip to Walmart to pick up the supplies we'd need to learn and re-learn how to crochet. (Tyler was the one brushing up on his skills and I was the first time learner) These are our efforts thus far, and I foresee substantial growth in the coming weeks:

Thayne thought I was taking pictures of him

At the conclusion of my first attempt to crochet a ball...
 I was suppose to be closing it off at this point

Tyler's first attempt at crocheting a ball...

We've had quite a few crocheting parties, and we love working on it together and showing each other our progress. And yes, I definitely take advantage of Thayne's naps during the day to get ahead, though you'd never think it judging from my a fore depicted project. That was even with step by step YouTube video.

Grandma Jana

Grandma Jana came down for a quick visit last week before her knee surgery, and we absolutely loved having her. Daddy helped Thayne open some early birthday presents:

 He started figuring out how to open them by himself:

 

He loved the presents and did eventually figure out how to play with them, not just suck on them:

Thayne loved reading with Grandma:

And he even showed off a new trick while she was here. I've tried to teach him the legitimate signs for 'more' and 'please', but Thayne made his own adaptions and repeatedly uses this as his 'please' sign:

A terrible game to encourage, I know, but he had his 'please' sign down by the time we finished. It's been a great communication tool. When he sees something he wants, he does the please sign emphatically until I respond. He asks for food, toys, trips outside, and even baths. We're loving it.

Something I'll Miss

I walked out the front door the other evening and saw this:

It was almost surreal. The light filtered perfectly through the green leafy canopy. The grass was green and lush. Birds were chirping. The air was warm and not too hot. And there were my two handsome boys.

I'm going to miss the yard, the tree, the house, and the neighbors. Good thing I won't have to miss my boys

First Haircut

These scraggly, I mean luscious locks were getting to be a bit too much for me

 So out came the tools of torture

And cast aside were the hairs of babyhood.

Emerging from the gauntlet, was a rather dapper looking boy no longer hidden under a mop we called hair

Lessons I learned:

1. Clippers produce the best results
2. Thayne is terrified of clippers. Terrified enough that not even YouTube can sufficiently distract him
3. Scissors work great for sly snips here and there
4. I should probably enlist the help of the Daddy next time a hair-cutting attempt is made
5. Thayne looks awfully handsome with well trimmed hair

Cleanliness...

This is the sweet boy that popped his head around the corner of the fridge saying, "Mom! Mom!" followed by the grins that make my heart melt. Notice how clean the sweet boy is.

Than we had dinner...

 And that is why Mr Thayne bathes 2-3 times a day