Brrrr

You may have noticed that it's been awhile since we've posted a picture of Rhys wearing a cute hat.  That's because he now REFUSES to keep a hat on head.  In a store one day I tried to put one on him and he screamed bloody murder.  When I tried again (why did I try again?  I don't know) he screamed even louder.  Fortunately, if he's sufficiently distracted by a fun activity like walking around the block with his walker, he'll allow a hood to stay on his head.

Mittens do not seem to piss him off as much as hats. He simply removes them, hands them back and goes about his business, cold hands be damned.

One!

I should be working right now, but this proud Mama would much rather tell you all about her sweet one-year-old! 

Stats
Height:  31.25" (92nd percentile)
Weight:  23lbs, 9.5oz (82nd percentile)
Head circumference:  49.4cm (100th percentile)

We really like our pediatrician.  By the point in my pregnancy that it came time to choose someone, I was just done with making decisions so we went a friend's recommendation and nothing more.  We didn't interview the doc.  We didn't even meet her.  And, frankly, I'm really glad because the type of parent I *thought* I was going to be would not have meshed with her.  But for the type of parent I've turned out to be, she's a great fit.  

But about our little man...my favorite things about Rhys are...

...his hugs first thing upon waking.  Mornings come far too early for my taste (5am anyone?) but the reward for getting out of bed is a pair of sweet little arms around my neck.  It makes getting up worth it.  (Usually.  You all know how much I love my sleep).

...watching Rhys dance.  He does this cute little booty shake and it's awesome.

...his smiles and laughs.  Rhys is a happy little guy.  We work hard to keep him well-rested and well-fed and it shows in his demeanor.

...watching him walk.  He's quickly mastering this skill and it's great fun watching the progress every day.

...his expressions.  Rhys has always had an expressive face and it gets more so each and every day.  Happy, sad, frustrated, whatever, it shows on his face.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, I must admit that Rhys is not perfect.  Unless he is sleeping, he hates the car and is not afraid to make it known, which makes riding him with him quite unpleasant.  His current method for letting us know that he's done with his meal is to throw his food on the floor.  Kinda annoying.  And, finally, he tells us that he is frustrated with a sound that is a little bit like nails on a chalkboard.  Other than these three things, though, he is perfect.  :)

We had a little family birthday party for Rhys and it was great (many thanks to Auntie Megan for several of these pics):

You can't tell it from this picture, but this boy loves to eat.  He packs away A LOT of food.  It's pretty amazing.

See note above re: expressive face.

Hangin' with sweet cousin Norah.

One of many generous gifts.

A homemade cake made with love by Dada.

Rhys wasn't a huge fan of his happy birthday serenade.

He had a few bites of cake and then proceeded to throw it on the floor.  All done, Mama!

A happy family.

I love this picture because you can see Rhys' 3-month portrait in the background.

No, that is not a meth dealer.  That is Uncle Carl.

Rhys got a kick out of Grandma Ann.  She elicited many laughs from him.

The party was on Saturday, the day before Rhys' actual birthday.  Here are a few shots from the actual day.

Dada, when is it my turn to play with the camera?

I love how it looks like he was calming sitting on my lap - not the case at all!

Jacques making a rare appearance.  Usually he hides out until the kid is sleeping.

Giddy up, Dada!

We love you, Rhys.  Happy first birthday sweet boy.

Skills

It's been far too long since I posted.  All the usual excuses apply...busy, tired, work, etc.  However, a new excuse is this...Rhys loves tech so every time Brian pulls out his phone to take a picture or video Rhys turns all of his attention to it, stops doing whatever cute thing he was doing and starts whining that we won't give him the phone.  Tonight, though, we had no choice but to just make it work because our boy is WALKING!  He has taken a tentative step or two over the last week and now he is stringing 4 or 5 steps together.  Yes, it usually ends with him falling into something, but it's still walking.

Here's a video.  It's weird and chaotic and sideways because we had to hide the phone from Rhys while convincing him to walk.  And, yes, it's a beer bottle that we're using to entice him to walk to us.  No, we're not parents of the year.

This next video we were able to capture right-side up and in focus because Rhys was focused on Elliott.  The cats are his second favorite thing after any Apple product.  I think Brian and I rank a distant third.