Tucker's first year

Happy 1st Birthday Tucker!

Dear Tucker,

We love you. We love you. We love you. We can't express how much we love you.

This year has been so incredibly special because you joined our family. You are precious. You are sweet. You make us laugh and bring us joy. We especially love witnessing the growing bond between you and your brother who is very smitten with you. He sings, "I love Tucker" songs repeatedly throughout the day and gives you big fat kisses and hugs.

In a flash, you have changed from a teeny tiny little baby to a walking, toddling little boy. You have two teeth and the most innocent smile in the world. You have dozens of expressions and we are constantly surprised by how much you understand and how well you communicate with us. You make sounds for mommy, daddy, oh-oh, hi, on, and off. You have started to sign "more" though you usually only do it when prompted. You walk! You climb the stairs in seconds flat and you know how to get off beds or couches or even the stairs by turning around on your belly and sliding down (of course we do our best to only let you test this skill of yours in safe places). You often walk directly to your high chair when you are hungry. Yesterday you completely surprised us. We had the highchair set in the lowest position because earlier in the evening you sat next to Owen at the kids' table. As we were putting/playing, you quietly climbed into the high chair and then made a noise to let us know you were sitting there, hungry, and ready to eat. You did the same thing this morning for breakfast!

You continue to be comforted and nourished when Mommy nurses you, but you enjoy most of your meals on your own, with finger foods. You love to feed yourself and seem to like just about everything you have tried, with the possible exception being chili and plain broccoli. There is no doubt, however, that your favorite food is green beans.

You love to dance and are still soothed by rock'n'roll. Death Cab for Cutie is your favorite, but you are happy with just about any type of music. The second you hear it, you start to dance and bop and usually you end up with a huge grin on your face. You also love to climb on things and to play outside. You dart for the door every chance you get. You are happiest when you are walking around with something in your hand and you really like to play with toys... the play kitchen, cars, books, musical instruments, and loud toys are your favorites right now.

We look forward to watching you grow and change, but it is also difficult to say goodbye to this last year. We will forever remember what it felt like to hold you for the first time and how it feels to cuddle you in our arms today. You like to gaze into our eyes and touch our faces with your soft tiny fingers; these gestures surly comfort you, but we wonder if you understand that they comfort us more. You warm our souls and remind us daily that we are blessed to be your mommy and daddy. We all love you so much. Happy Birthday!

P.S. We had some major technical difficulties this morning so this slide show is missing a few pictures at the end from today. I'll will repost it once I get it fixed.