1 Year Old!

This picture is pretty somber, but it was the best one with "Bear-y".

 But he was very happy for this photo shoot.

 "nose"

Loves his slippers.

 He likes to rock in the chair and then slllliiiiide himself out and then wants back up to rock some more, repeat.

At 12 months old:

• Abram walks so well he practically runs around.
• Likes to carry things around with him....sometimes things that are bigger than he is!
• Loves to try to "play" with the cats and dogs. He will hug or lay his head down on them when we say "aw-a-ah". 
• He eats really well,  basically 3 meals a day plus night time bottle. I worry that he doesn't get enough, but his belly proves otherwise! haha 
• We're finishing up with breastfeeding. Nurses briefly first thing in the morning...but that won't last much longer. Working on using a cup/sippy cup. I get impatient because it takes so long and he spills so much, but I know it's necessary! I've been tempted to buy him his own camelbak...he LOVES drinking from mine!
• He is 30" tall and weighs 20#. 
• He enjoys taking baths and brushing his teeth with the little toothbrushes Aunt Leslie brings him.
•  He's not so crazy about diaper changes right now and will arch his back and try to roll over...making it very difficult to wrap said diaper around him and affix it in place. 
• He brings us books to read to him. He especially likes the Matthew VanFleet books "Cat" and "Dog" and a Sesame Street book called "Cookie's Cookies" that has sound effects. 
• He will "dance" by turning in circles and bobbing his head when he hears music.
• He jabbers with a lot of "dah!", "ge-ah!", "uh!" The closest we've heard to words has been "hi-dah!" when Curtis gets home from work. 
• He waves hello and goodbye and claps and squeals.
• He gives the sweetest "leg hugs" and lays his head down on my shoulder when I'm holding him.

There are so many things, it's hard to make lists like this! It's hard to believe my baby is one year old now! I just love him to pieces!

• Additionally, he will sit and look at his books and jabber away. He also loves to play with his Discovery Toys Marble Castle.
• He is now scaling the stairs with ease and totally understands the "feet first" mantra I've been preaching. Occasionally he'll still try to face plant so a constant vigilance is necessary!

Birthday Cake(s)!

 

Step 1:  Design the cake(s). I knew I wanted Abram to have his own piece to destroy and that we'd need more than one cake mix to have enough cake for everyone. I decided on the "building block" theme because I could incorporate things he likes to play with and his name and his age.

 

Step 2: Make really big cake and lots of buttercream icing! Divide and stack cakes into 3 inch squares.

 Step 3: Cut out all the numbers, letters, frames, squares and pictures for the blocks, then attach them with more buttercream.

Step 4: Take lots of pictures from all angles before transporting them to Grandparents house...just in case something happens during transport. The two sets of two were not in the original plans, but I had the cake, so I worked them into the design, spelling out Abram's full name...

and his birth date.

The larger cake from all angles. 

 Step 5: One last chance to take pictures before it's time to cut!

Step 6: Enjoy!

Abram had a great birthday party at Grandma and Grandpa Hardacre's house. Aunt Leslie, Grandma and Grandpa Cunningham, Mammaw, Great Aunt Krista, Great Uncle Tim, Uncle Chris, Aunt Emily, and cousins Caleb, Eli, and Paige were all in attendance. He got lots of fun presents like a keyboard and a big pony, clothes, books and toys. He also got college money! Woohoo! Thanks so much!

Bird Watching

I filled the bird feeders with suet and sunflower seeds.  We live near a wooded area so we get a wonderful array of bird species to watch. Woodpecker, flicker, nuthatch, tufted titmouse, chickadee, cardinal, bluejay, wren...but to Abram they're all just "bird"!  haha I'll have fun teaching them what they are all called when he's older. For now I'm just happy he seems to enjoy watching them like I do! 

Pots and Pans and Hair? Oh my!

SO, Abram has discovered the joy of making loud noises with pots and pans. He knows right where to go and drags out all pots and pans, bangs them on the tile (ah!) or preferably bangs on them with a spoon. He also was having a very strange hair day in a few of these pics!

Abram also really enjoys pulling out all the bibs/washcloths and leaving them strewn about. The kitchen has turned into a veritable mine field!

Gypsy Love

I literally squealed when I took this picture! So cute! He would lay his head down on her when I said "ah-ah-ah":)

Christmas: Part Two

Here are a few more pics and some videos from over the holidays.

At first Abram was scared of his Rocking Horse from Uncle Tim, but now he seems to really like it. It's really funny to see him drag it around the living room! He can't get on to ride without assistance but he's figured out the dismount!

I used Curtis' Christmas present from last year and made some filled candies for the Hardacre Christmas. They were very yummy. I made mint, peanut butter and caramel and liked the PB the best.

We did a lot of travelling between the two weekends and Cheerios came in very handy to finish out those long trips. He's figured out the routine!

Abram got a little train that pops out little balls from his cousin, Silas, at the Hardacre gift exchange. You can tell he likes it because his hands are behind him. That's an "excited" stance:) He was interested in it until he was distracted by an electronic toy that was zipping around the room the rest of the evening. He was mesmerized.

Got to meet cousin Brent! Didn't get to see Jessica though....miss her so much:-( All these pictures were taken "post explosive pee diaper". He only had his cute red turtleneck and kakhi's for lunch and then we had to switch to the spare...we left on the sweater vest though!

Abram "helped" with the adult exchange. Aunt Paula let him help her unwrap

.

My first pick of the "Stay and Go" crockpot got stolen so I had to pick again. Second pick did not get stolen...socks and candles.

Easy to be lazy with three cats in the house....they literally pin you down to the couch and there is no escape!

Our cats have each have their own way of bypassing the baby gate. Joan's method is a bit unorthodox but it works! We think she's a little bit retarded!

Poor Harriet's ears were getting raw and swollen from dragging them through the cold grass, dirt, etc and then scratching them like a fiend. So I made her some "snoods". I didn't get fancy with it, just used some remnants from cut-off sweats, in case she wouldn't leave them on. But they stay on and it has helped A LOT! I'm going to make a few more out of some pretty flower fleece I got at a yard sale this summer:) Harriet has been with us 2 1/2 years now. She's a bit more blind and deaf, but otherwise a picture of health and happiness!

Bye bye Christmas decorations! See you next year!

Christmas: Part 1

Christmas is so much more fun with a baby around. We got to spend lots of time with family over Christmas and New Year. Curtis and I both had the week off between the two and we enjoyed our time off together...although Curtis used the downtime to work a lot on real estate leads. He worked with one couple on putting in an offer on a house right before we left for grandma's house! Fingers crossed and praying hard for a buyer or seller sometime soon! Here are some pics from our Christmases this year.

Abram really likes playing with "Chip" and he really does play with him, which is nice. He likes to get Chip's toys and hand them to them and then pick them up when Chip drops them and take them to him again. It's very cute! Definitely raising a dog-lover!

My portrait of my neice, Paige, at 6 months. I've done portraits of both of my nephews at 6 months, so I couldn't stop the tradition now! Honestly, I like this one the best:) I'm wondering how many more portraits are in store for me??

Abram figured out how to turn around and sit in his rocking chair at my parents house. He would get up on it on his knees then turn and sit then scoot to the edge so that his feet touched and rock. He's also "rockin'" the argyle sweater vest I love so much!

Aunt Leslie helped him open his first present, a "Silly Songs with Larry" Veggietales CD from Grandma.

The Discovery Toys Marble Castle Tower was a hit. Abram liked playing with this the most!

I found this quilt rack in the alley behind where I work. The rungs were all loose and the finish was old and grungy. I brought him and Curtis put new screws in it, sanded it all down and restained/sealed it. I thought it turned out quite beautiful. One man's trash is another man's (or woman's) treasure!

This will eventually be a favorite toy I'm sure! His feet don't quite reach the pedals but when the weather gets a bit warmer we'll go outside and ride bikes with the neighbor boys...just probably not down the hill like they do! Scares me to death!

Here's our "haul" from my family's Christmas. I got a beautiful sweater, the book "Bringing up Boys", a new hairdryer and some other little things. Curtis got some sweaters, a knife and some other little things. And Abram got the rest!

We had our own Christmas on Christmas morning at my parents house. We got Abram a bouncy ball because he enjoys playing with one similar at "the frat house". Curtis bought me another beautiful sweater and I bought him bamboo cutting boards (which I nearly ruined in the dishwasher...don't put them in the dishwasher) and sunglasses (I had broken his previous pair).

I don't know why he was fussing, but I just love this face. He doesn't fuss very often right now. I'm sure this face will eventually embarrass me in some public place, but for now I love this expression too.

These are the hats I made for my nephews and neice (and sister in law: not pictured). They put them on at least...I hope they wear them! I'm going to make a few more hats soon for some Abram and a few friends...

Abram got a little rocking horse from his Great-Uncle Tim. He was a little scared of it at first but now he really likes it. He will drag it around the living room and "rock" on it to the sound effects. I will post a video as soon as I get it uploaded. He got lots of nice presents from Curtis' family, clothes and books. Aunt Kimberly bought him one called "Press Here" by Herv Tullet that is really cute.