Rhett is ONE

April 5, 2013

Dear Rhett,

You are ONE, little boy!  Truly, this year has gone by in a flash.  You whisked into our lives in a hurry and your first year saw a lot of changes for our little family.  At times I felt guilty about the chaotic and transitory nature of your first year of life, ut Rhett, God knew just what he was doing when he created your life.  Your presence in our family has brought so much joy and peace into a year that could have easily been dominated by sadness and discontentment.  When we have missed Memphis and our community there, when we have questioned God's plan for our future, when we have felt lonely and unsettled, your precious spirit has brought us back to the reality of God's goodness and the joy that we can always find when we focus on our blessings.

The laid back, sweet nature that has characterized your personality since the beginning remains your disposition at a year old.  You are such a happy baby and it takes a lot to ruffle your feathers.  You have never met a stranger and still have yet to experience a separation anxiety phase.  Waving is pretty much your favorite thing, and you have the most adorable little wave: arm fully extended, hand fully flexed, twisting your wrist back and forth.  You are quick to wave if you hear anyone say hello or bye bye.  Although you have always been quick to smile, you have finally come around in the laughing department!  We're making up for that slow start by doing whatever we can to get that belly laugh: tickling, peekaboo, raspberries, and throwing you up in the air or upside down are sure bets for a good giggle.

At your check up you weighed 22 lb. 1 oz. (50th percentile) and were 32 inches long (97th percentile).  You are tall!  You wear 12-18 month clothing, a size 4 diaper, and a size 5 shoe.  You still nurse twice a day, in the morning and at bedtime, and take a sippy cup of milk with your meals.  Although you finally came around to solid food, you are a bit on the picky side!  If you don't like something, you immediately spit it out.  Your favorites include grapes, strawberries, bread, crackers, yogurt, turkey hot dogs, and fruit/veggie pouches.  Your sleeping continues to improve, and you now sleep through the night pretty consistently from 7 to 6 or so.  Your naps vary depending on the day; you always nap in the afternoon with Riggins (around 1-3) but you may or may not take a morning nap depending on our plans.  You still go to MDO on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I work, and you love it.

You started walking about two weeks before your birthday, taking your first steps towards Daddy.  The highlight of the moment was when you stopped to applaud yourself!  It took you a couple of weeks of sporadic steps here and there, but then you just started taking off!  You can still crawl ridiculously fast and will often default back to that once you've fallen.  You definitely still look a bit like a drunken sailor when walking, but day by day you're finding your balance and taking off!  Another accomplishment is learning to crawl onto Riggins' toddler bed.  I often find you sitting there, flipping through a book or bouncing on your bottom with a prideful smile on your face!

This month you did start to show some spunk when you don't get your way.  You love to be outside, and if I'm holding you when letting Weber out into the yard you absolutely fall apart when I shut the door without taking you outside too.  If we take a toy from you or say no, you collapse on the floor face-first and cry!  Apparently you're discovering your dramatic streak!

You love to be around Riggins and play with his toys, especially his little cars.  Although you aren't talking yet, you will grab a toy car and scoot it around while making a growling little "vroom vroom" sound.  You also love to get ahold of Riggins' trains and toddle through the tracks like a little Godzilla baby (much to your brother's chagrin, of course).  You discovered books this month and I often find you next to the bookshelf, flipping through a book pulling all of them off of the shelves.  

We had a small party for you at Mama Anne and Papa's house to celebrate your big day.  Grammy and Grampy came from Arkansas for the occasion.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed lunch and peach cobbler in your honor.  You thoroughly enjoyed your cake and your little nose was tinged with red from the frosting for a full 24 hours afterward.  Other fun events this month included your first Easter; you loved playing with all the plastic eggs!

When I think of you at one year old, I want to remember your soft blonde hair and the way it curls after your bath.  I want to remember your scrunch-nosed smile that shows your perfect little white teeth.  I want to remember seeing you take off walking after Riggins as he ran down the hall, the first of many games of chase between you two.  I want to remember your perfect little wave as you watch us drive off for a date.  I want to remember seeing you dance for the first time to David Grey, twisting your little waist back and forth to the beat as you waved your arms in the air.

Rhettaroo, I can't even begin to tell you how much we love you and what a precious gift you are to our entire family.  Thank you for bringing so much joy and comfort to our family this year.  The best part about being the second born is that your mama has a little bit of wisdom that I didn't have with your older brother.  I know now that the best truly is yet to come, and I am so thankful to have that front row seat for all the fun we still have in store!

I love you, Peaches!
Momma