To My One-Year-Old Son...

Dear Benjamin,

When I say this last year has gone by too fast, it’s an understatement. It feels like it was just yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital. The first few weeks were tough while we started to get to know each other, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

As a month old baby, you reminded us of a combination of a baked potato and a chicken nugget. That was your nickname for a while, my “lil chicken nugget.” You constantly had a frown on your face, like you were contemplating something very serious. Your own farts made you smile, and you were hungry all the time. Like, really, all. the. time. When you were awake, we read you books and told you about all the cool things in the world, like trees and clouds and grass. You were so squishy and little, and you gave the best snuggles.

Two months went by too fast! Your eyebrows are still expressive as ever, and you look like a mix of your daddy and Uncle Rob! You’ve started to recognize people who are around you all the time, and you smiled at me for the first time! You’ve started making sounds other than farts and baby grunts, and you love it when mama and daddy sing to you. I could snuggle you all day if I could.

Three month old Benjamin is very similar to two month old Benjamin. I’m starting to wonder when you’ll grow hair on your eyebrows because you look like a little old wrinkly man! You now sleep with your arms above your head, and your smiles melt my little mama heart. We dressed you up as Pooh Bear for Halloween, and you love Winnie the Pooh. You’ve also discovered kicking your legs, and you love kicking your legs!

Four months old now, and you have figured out how to fake cry for attention… You also have started to notice your surroundings! The discovery of the hanging toys on your play mat were extremely confusing to you! You watched your first John Wayne cowboy movie, and you are starting to become more talkative! Your squeals and blabbering are so sweet. You love meeting new people and eating rice cereal! You also went on your very first flight with mama and JoGi! We were so proud of how well you did!

Five month old Benjamin has grown two whole teeth!!! You’ve started adventuring in solid foods and your absolute favorites are bananas and sweet potatoes! Anything that makes a funny sound gets your attention, especially sneezes! Winnie the Pooh is playing constantly, and you fall asleep to mama and daddy singing “Little Black Raincloud” to you at bedtime. You’ve started to nap in your own room now, and you sleep on your tummy. Mama’s always checking in on you to make sure you sleep safe and sound. You want to be apart of everything now, and you want to look at everything around you!

Six months old and you have become a teething monster! Anything frozen and cold has become your new favorite thing. You always sleep in your own room now, and mama misses you so much while you sleep! You’re still learning about new foods and flavors, and you are so curious about everything. You smile the biggest whenever we call you “Big Boy Benjamin!” You also learned to roll over! Now all you do is roll around the room! Bath time is your favorite, and you’ve started to notice the difference between all of the fur babies.

Seven month old Benjamin is a little monkey! You’ve gotten the strength to sit up all by yourself and reach for anything you want. You also hold your own bottle now which makes your mama want to cry! You love to stand tall and bounce and dance with your family. You talk more than ever now, and smile at everyone you meet. Your new favorite book is Pout Pout Fish and sneezes make you laugh so hard!

Eight months old and you have learned to grab onto furniture and stand tall! The hair on your eyebrows have finally started to grow in, so your facial expressions are more expressive every day! Puffs are your new favorite food and you still love to eat everything in sight! We got you a Baby Einstein piano toy and you could play with it all day long. You also started CRAWLING!!! Big boy Benjamin is no longer stationary! We also stopped breastfeeding you, which made mama a little sad, but you kept biting and it was time to stop.

Nine month old Benjamin is starting to look at act like a little boy instead of a baby. You crawl all over the place now, and you have grown 3 more teeth! You have a new thinking face that is extra cute, and you have gained a sense of sass! You know the sound of your milk bottle shaking, and you understand that it means food! Ponytails are your new favorite funny thing, and you sure do love to giggle!

Ten months old and you are as curious as ever!!! You look more like your daddy every day, and you are growing way too fast! You’ve started eating real solid food like Mac n’ Cheese and baby meat sticks! You are rocking the mullet right now, but mama thinks it’s extra cute. You love being snuggled and having books read to you, but you definitely love to crawl and explore! You’ve started watching The Wiggles in the morning with daddy, and you love to stand and dance and bounce while you watch it! You’ve also learned to scream and cry when you don’t get what you want, and you pout now too!

Eleven month old Benjamin is no longer baby Benjamin. You are becoming more independent every day. You play by yourself, you have started to feed yourself, you know how to fall asleep on your own. You are definitely big boy Benjamin now. You love playing with balls, and playing peek-a-boo with Jojo. The Wiggles is your all time favorite show now, but you still like to watch NCIS with Jojo. You say phrases like “get down” and “all done” and when you want down you bite! You’ve got 8 teeth now, so those little bites hurt quite a bit! You love to go swimming at JoGi’s house, and you are not friends with the vacuum cleaner!

ONE YEAR OLD Benjamin is officially my Big Boy Benjamin!!! Your favorite phrases are still “Get Down,” “All Done,” “Up,” “Down,” “Dada,” “Jojo,” “Mama,” “Tat (cat),” “Uk (book),” “Osss (off),” and “Aaaahhhhh (Hi!).” You love to listen to music and dance whenever you hear a beat. You’re still rocking your baby mullet and your post-sleep bed head is the absolute cutest. You’ve figured out how to give kisses, wave to people and snuggle! And you give the best snuggles. A week before your birthday you took your first steps to JoGi and we were SO proud of you! Watching you grow over the last year has been a time in my life that I could never imagine, and we can’t wait to watch you continue to grow!

Love,

Mama and Daddy <3