A few weeks ago I heard this song by Kenny Chesney. A 102 year old man is asked to give advice about the secret to life. His answer? Don’tBlink!

I blinked! My son has turned one. In one year so much has happened. Ice storms where we had power so we housed the rest of the family who didn’t. Long nights of trying to figure out just which combination of bouncing and rocking would calm him. Singing Christmas songs well past the season because they put him to sleep. Changing foods continually to figure out which ones were stopping him up. The trials and tribulations of breastfeeding made life interesting but rewarding.

Once he became mobile there was…. Child proofing the house and vacuuming every other day. Saying no-no to him as much as the dog. Telling the dog not to chew on Asher’s toys, and turning around to catch Asher chewing on the dogs. Putting up a gate as he discovered stairs and wondering if he would ever be without a new bruise, scratch or scrape.

Life has changed so much for us. Daddy and I still haven’t mastered how long it will really take to get ready to leave the house. Running out anywhere has become a chore; vacation packing doubled. Our late nights have decreased drastically and a date night includes making sure someone can watch him. No more spontaneity — we must have time to plan and prepare.

He has overcome so much: Ear infections and colds, fevers and constipation. There have been so many successes: rolling over, lifting his head up, crawling, pulling up, standing, and four days before he turned one he took his first steps. He has developed his motor skills and surprises us with the things he learns without being taught. His language has developed from soft coos and crying to little words and gibberish sentences.

Our lives will never be the same and every day, I praise God for that. Each day is a new adventure, each day has been a new challenge. Reflecting back on a year, I wonder how it all went by so fast. How one moment I am holding this tiny little man in my arms, he is completely dependent on me. The next moment he is one years old and wiggling to be free and independent.

Happy Birthday, sweet Asher. You are Daddy and I’s pride and joy.

He said it. This past Friday my son called out “Ma-ma.” It started at breakfast time as he cried at me for not getting food to him fast enough. MA-ma-ma-ma….not the most pleasant, I took it for just a new way of complaining at me. Then later that evening Daddy and I were in the car, and hating to be in his seat, he whined Ma-ma-ma-ma. My sweet husband says “He’s saying Ma-ma.” Again still not believing it just isn’t the new consonant sound of the week. Then Saturday morning, He crawls over to the couch, pulls up to a standing position next to my leg and clear as day spouts, “Ma-ma.” I picked him up and twirled around hollering, “Yeah, baby, that’s me. I’m the ma-ma.” In the last 24 hours we have progressed to mom-mom, and I am not hearing it in my head. My sister (after babysitting for me last night) said that he repeated it numerous times at her house.

Sorry to gush on and on, but HE SAID MA_MA!!!!!!

Here is my little beach bum. He wasn’t real big on putting his hands in the sand but loved to bury his toes as we walked.

A day at the beach isn’t complete without a little peek-a-boo.

As I mentioned before, we had gone down to visit some friends. Lori and I both had the same complications with getting pregnant, then shared the same due date of Halloween which neither of us wanted, and then our little gifts were born four days apart.

By looking at the pictures, you would never guess my little man is the oldest. Many people guessed him at 6 to 8 months while we were down there. “Nope,” I would tell them, “He will be one at the end of the month.”

Our last day there the sun actually popped out; however, we wanted to make sure Asher got in a trip to beach. So the day before when it was spotty showers, we went down to the pavilion in Boca Raton. As a little girl growing up there, this was the very stretch of beach my parents took me too.

You’ll notice in these pictures his little tufts of hair blowing in the wind. Very strong winds. I plan to have Lance upload more pictures to our Flickr, where Aunt Heather and I are in them looking as though our hair is going to take off without us.

Usually there is not a curl in sight on my son’s head. However with a little mix of humidity, rain (yes even on our sunny day we sat there for 5 minutes while it sprinkled on us), and the salty ocean air. My son has curls.

Keep an eye open and I will share more pictures from the trip. Thank you to Lori, Dan, Evan, and Logan for all the fun play time. Thanks to Uncle Gary and Aunt Jan who housed us, and a BIG thank you to Aunt Heather who invited us to come and lost sleep because of it.

Yes, I realize that is incorrect grammar not to mention a made up word, but it seems I have more onlookers than I thought. Friends old and new WELCOME. No pictures just yet, but we had a great time in Florida. Asher enjoyed his first time at the beach, even sunk in his little toesies. The weather was pretty much storms the whole visit. Getting in the ocean was not an option. RED FLAGS everywhere warning of rip tides. The few moments of sun we got we really enjoyed, and between rain showers, we ran to the beach.

Asher had some serious stranger anxiety the first few days. He discovered not all children are as nice as his own cousins. A cousin of my friend’s whacked him over the head with a PVC pipe. After that any small child that got within 2 foot range, Asher let out a warning wail for mommy to come rescue him. It was very siren-like and made me laugh. One main purpose for our trip was to see my friend’s little boy who is 4 days younger than Asher. It wasn’t until day 3 that Asher would really even play with him. He developed a phobia of little children that were his size. Older kids he didn’t mind. But all in all we had a great time and wished it was longer. Pictures will come. Thanks for checking in.