Happy 1st Birthday My Dear Sweet Jared! (warning: serious picture overload!)

a year ago tonight (10/4/), it was a Sunday and i was saying goodnight to my firstborn son. then getting ready to meet my second son. i was not nervous about the c-section, nor about how i would divide my time between two kids versus one. Maybe this didn't bother me because i knew before we had kids that we wanted 4+ (to be quite honest the number has decreased w/ each child, LOL, but i think we're set on 4...of course assuming God will bless us with that many). the next morning, we had to be at the hospital at about 5:30. when we got there, chunk was being his typical self, cracking jokes. he told the nurse to go ahead and miss my veins a couple of times (i HATE needles!). then when we were in the OR, they asked "how are you feeling?" and of course, chunk answered saying he was just fine, could use some water though. that's my hubby! he's a funny man! jared's birth went much smoother since i knew what to expect. it was absolutely surreal finally getting to meet the little kick boxer that i had been carrying around for 9 mths. as the quote on my blog says, "making the decision to have a child is momentous. it is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside of your body." this is absolutely true. i think with each child, your heart expands to accommodate the ever-growing love for your new child. to think back to when i found out i was pregnantto the day when i found out i was pregnant w/ jared, and having no clue what beautiful blessing God had sent us straight from heaven. here are some facts about jared....

he LOVES going outside. he gets mighty ticked-off when someone goes outside without him.

he thinks the entire WORLD revolves around "walking" him and when you stop, go ahead and expect all hell to break loose.

he LOVES his big brother. jack can do ANYTHING to jared and jared will just start cracking up. literally, if jack walks up to him and points at his shirt, jared will start cracking-up. it's just the cutest thing to watch, and i am soaking it all up because i know they will soon be fighting, lol!

he is a bottomless pit! no lie! he eats more than jack ever did! this morning he ate 1 1/2 bananas and 2 strawberries. that's a lot for 1 yr old. he loves his veggies and fruits (just like his big brother) and will eat that over meat any day of the week.

i stopped waking him up for his 9ish nighttime feeding and boy do i miss it! it was just the sweetest time to hold him while he was peacefully "dreamfeeding."

after the similac recall (yucky...sorry jared, but you may have eaten some beetles and/or their larvae!), i switched him over to whole milk (about 2 weeks ago). he transitioned fabulously! he loves sippy cups, but he's showing a little resistance to milk in the sippy cup at night. tonight was our first night w/out using a bottle (for his 7 bedtime feeding) and he wasn't interested in it. ***mama's got her fingers crossed that you won't wake up since you chose not to drink anything :) update: he didn't wake up AND he wasn't interested in it this morning either. since it was his birthday, i got weak and gave him a bottle at my mom's house. he gulped it down. but i warned him that mommy was being a softie today, and tomorrow we would go back to the sippy cup!

he's such a cuddle bug! he LOVES laying his head on our shoulder and sucking that thumb when he's sleepy. he also loves to crawl up on our lap and lay his head on our chest. it's so sweet. we are NOT used to this because jack is an independent, no-snuggle needed little boy. jared (like his dada) just loves to be close to people and like to cuddle!

he LOVES other kids. he just an outgoing, smiley little man. he reminds me a lot of his father. he's always up for a laugh and will send a smile your way for anything.

it has been a pure pleasure watching my sweet little man grow this past year. it's hard to remember him not being a part of our family. here's some pictures of the past year...but first, a pic from where this all started. here's our first "date," back in 1998 for my first prom. i was in 15, in tenth grade and he was 16, in eleventh grade.

and here we are at 12 years later...at lee and karen's wedding on 7/23/10 (in the spiffy little photobooth)

 and here's some family shots froom the photobooth.

one of my favorites! hours old...

 minutes old....

 he came out pulling for the RIGHT team!!!!

  big brother playing in my hospital bed...(17mths)

 peek-a-boo

 he looks like a sweet little old man :)

 those eyes still captivate me today...the only difference is they are blue now :)

 one of the first beautiful smiles caught on camera at 2 mths

almost 2 mths old

3 weeks old

3 days old

2 mths old

 2 mths old

jack - 19mths old, jared - 2mths old

 jack at 21 mths wearing my dad's hat and jacket from when he was a little boy

 jared wearing my dad's hat at 3 1/2 mths

 my little booger sleeping at 5 mths

 chilling in the swing at 2 mths

 "get me out" at 3 mths

 brotherly love at 6mths

5mths

Jack - 21 mths, Jared - 5 mths

5mths

6mths

Jack - 23 mths, Jared - 7mths

7 mths

Jack - 2 yrs, Jared - 8mths

8 mths

11 mths

10 mths

10 mths

and some recent ones from this month...