Happy Birthday, Brady!

I can't believe today is Brady's 1st birthday! My goodness this last year has flown by. In some ways it seems like Brady has been with us forever, but in many ways it seems like it was just last week that he was born. He has blended perfectly into our family and has been the source of so much joy this year. I can't imagine what our life was like before he came along! 

Brady is such a happy baby and has been fairly easy throughout his first year. He sleeps well, eats well, and doesn't really complain about much. We are definitely very lucky and we know it! 

Lately Brady has been doing this over-the-top fake laugh which gets Blake and I rolling which makes him do it even more. It is so funny. One of my favorite things right now is the way Brady's face lights up when he sees me... whether it is when I come in the door after being gone for an hour or so, or when I walk into the bathroom while Blake is bathing Brady and he spots me... his eyes get big and he smiles with his whole face and it just melts me! He makes loving him pretty easy :)

Brady and I love to dance together in the mornings while he's eating breakfast... well, it's more like he sits in the high chair and watches me while I pull out every dance move I've ever known trying to make him laugh. Talk about a workout! As soon as his little lips break into a smile I know I've done well! I cherish those moments when it's just me and him. 

This is the face I'm going for. Every morning, all the time. Laugh for me, little buddy!

Some of Brady's favorite things to do include:
1. Eating. Always.

2. Playing with Willa. Again, always.

3. Walking, He also does a pretty sweet little spider monkey crawl these days. I think that's part of his transition from crawling to walking for some reason... or his poor knees are so calloused it hurts him to crawl so he has to use just his hands and feet!

4. Opening drawers and cabinets and pulling everything out. Seriously, everything. He also likes to open and close doors... all this opening and closing occasionally results in a smashed finger.

5. Playing with remote controls (see picture above!)

6. Climbing on everything! He loves to climb over boxes, furniture, people, Willa... and he likes to climb under chairs and anything else that has an opening for him to wedge himself into. He pushes chairs, boxes, and his highchair around to create his own obstacle course:

And another makeshift tunnel from inside the Cole Haan store:

And climbing on his new chair... well, you get the picture. The boy loves to climb.

7. Puckering up his face for a kiss. Cutest thing ever. I'm sure I have a picture of that somewhere... better yet, here's a video!

And here are a few 12 month pictures we tried to get tonight... I'm glad these month by month pictures are over... it's next to impossible to get him to sit still long enough for me to take a picture without trying to eat the sticker!

It has been such a fun year full of more love and happiness than any of my previous 29 years. I am so lucky to be Brady's mama! Happy birthday, little buddy! We love you more than you can imagine!