Happy Birthday Kadyn!! --a note from mommy

Happy Birthday little one. As I think back on the past year my eyes are brimming with tears. My baby is ONE! I can't believe how quickly this year has gone. Kadyn has changed so much. Just in the past month alone he:

• Moved from walking to running


• Mastered sliding down the stairs on his tummy and just today began walking up the stairs instead of crawling up them


• Has a new vocabulary-- outside "ahtsid", "dada", "mama", Boulder "Ba Da", Matea (Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Cory's dog) "Ta-ah", "Nana", woofs like a dog, says "ho ho ho"


• Expanded his array of food preferences to include birthday cake, spaghetti, taco meat, grown-up oatmeal


• Continues to play chase with Boulder...only now he waves Boulder's toys in front of his face, tucks them under his arm and then RUNS in the other direction squealing with delight.


• Is only nursing 3 times a day now...this will hopefully be cut to 2 times after this weekend.
  
• Heads straight to the bathroom door if I say "bath time"


• Has figured out how to open "child-proof" bottles


• Stands behind me, holds on to my back and peaks around my shoulder. As soon as I look at him he jumps back behind me and squeals.


• Plays peak-a-boo behind the tree.


• Had more firsts...first Thanksgiving, first Christmas parade, first time on Santa's lap, first birthday


• Continues to master any button, door, drawer, top, etc.


• Has grown to 20 lbs. 7 oz. He was weighed 3 days before his birthday because I brought him in to the pediatrician due to an ear infection. So in one year he gained 12 lbs. 5 oz. WOW!
  

I love this little boy so much. I spent much of the day (well, the time I wasn't working) just watching him. I'm still in such awe that he's ours. He has such an amazing little personality. I love that he is himself. When I see anyone else holding him, I can't believe how big he is and how much he's changed in this past year.

I remember kissing his little head for the first time, hearing him scream and snort...such a beautiful sound. I remember feeling him in my arms for the first time, smelling his sweet skin. I remember how tiny he was and how fragile he felt swaddled in the blanket.

Birth-days have such a new meaning now. Kadyn's birthday is a day I will always remember even when he exchanges his trike for a bike and a bike for car...because a year ago today...is the day my sweet little boy entered the world, and I became a mom.