What a difference a year makes

Each month I have photographed Filson in his rocking chair next to sock monkey to record his growth. I finally took the last shots today and it is hard to believe it was only 1 year ago that we brought that tiny, dependent baby into our lives. I can not imagine our lives without him. He has definitely become a little boy with a mind of his own.....wonder where he gets that from?!?!? And poor sock monkey no longer gets to sit peacefully next to his buddy. Filson no longer falls asleep in his crib until he has flung the blanket, duckie, pillow, turtle & his old friend monkey over the railing and onto the floor. I know it would make sense to remove everything from the crib before he gets in it, but thanks to the video monitor, I've found it's actually quite entertaining to watch this ritual. Here are his shots from 1 mth, 5 mths, 12 mths & one close up from today of those big, pearly whites!

Family Fun

Gaddum Family Visit

We have had a fun weekend with John's family! We really appreciate them making the trip up for Filson's birthday and to spend a few days with us. Filson had all 5 of his cousins around all weekend to play with and he was in heaven! The weather cooperated and we were able to spend Friday & Saturday out on the water. The kids all worked on some serious sand castles & forts & got in some boogie boarding with the waves we had on Saturday. Filson will really miss all the attention from Riley & Jensen & all the play time with Garrett, Holden and Reece. We can't wait to see them all again!

Celebrate!

Our little guy hit the big 1 on Thursday! He is a very lucky boy to have had lots of family & friends to help him celebrate. His Mimi, Aunts, Uncles & Cousins came from Charleston & Greensboro & Anna Leigh & Vada drove down from Raleigh to join us and our neighbors for dinner & cake. He wasn't so sure about all the attention from the singing & candles, but as soon as he got a taste of the cake & saw all the great new toys he had waiting for him, he caught a second wind for the night.

Little Walker

He really increased his step count this weekend & I caught him this afternoon as he made his way across the kitchen. The video is very wobbly, I obviously do not have a future in filmmaking....hope you don't get dizzy watching!

Filson got inked

John gave Filson his first tattoo yesterday. It's the train slogan for a restaurant John likes to eat at in VA. Doesn't he look rough drinking his sippy cup?!?!? I also added a picture of him from breakfast this morning where he was getting a good laugh in at his dad. However, you can tell he has not yet mastered the art of chewing with his mouth closed! He is now getting himself up from a sitting position into walking mode on his own. He still falls back on his lightning fast crawl when he really needs to get somewhere in a hurry, but every day he becomes more confident on his feet and adds a few more steps. Since John returned home Friday evening, we have had a nice, uneventful weekend at home and have enjoyed the family time. On Friday we got the exciting news that my brother & sister-in-law will have a boy in Dec. to join their 2 adorable girls. Congrats to the AZ Roe fam! We look forward to John being home most of this week & are very excited for Mimi, The Haldrups & The Clarks to arrive in a few days!!

Mr. Serious

Filson has a big container of legos that his cousins passed down to him & I pulled them out tonight before he went to bed. He was so involved in them and very content for quite some time. From his facial expressions, you would have thought he was solving our world's greatest problems!

Weekend Fun

After a rainy Friday afternoon, we had two great days of sunshine over the weekend. Saturday Filson went to one of his little girl friend's 1st birthday party. They had a shaded, fenced area outside for the little ones & he loved testing out the different toys. He is standing on his own for much longer periods and tried walking a little bit more over the weekend. We went out on the water for awhile yesterday morning & Filson was happy as could be. There must be some secret ingredient in the sand that tastes good to the babies, because he couldn't seem to get enough of it! He had a bowl of cheerios he was trying to snack on, but I think for every 1 cheerio he took in about 3 times that much sand!

Playtime

Hoping for Grandpa's Curls

On my side of the family, the boy's have always ended up with the cute curls in their hair, but keep it cut short enough that you can't tell. I wish I could just trade my stick straight hair with them! Filson's seems to be following that trend, and I love the way he has 2 big curls that pop up over each ear. You can't really tell from the picture, but somedays the back side is full of little ringlets. I believe this picture of my dad was taken when he was about 2. Filson still has a way to go, and needs to start growing some hair in on top, but I am hoping he will someday have a head of curls like his Grandpa.

Keeping Busy

Filson has been lucky to get a lot of play time in this week with other little ones. Monday we had play group which meets once a month. There were 13 moms & babies there, so it was constantly entertaining!! He's one of the oldest, so there are just 2 or 3 others that are moving around at lightning speed with him. In just a few months I'm sure the whole crew of them will be running circles around us moms! Last night we went on a bike ride and then our old next door neighbor rode back with us to play for awhile. He turned 3 in March, so he'll be teaching our little guy a thing or two! They play great together & it's so nice that he will grow up with kids close to his age in our neighborhood. Today we hit another friend's playroom for a couple hours this afternoon. The girls are 4 & 17 months & Filson loved checking out all the new toys & surroundings & watching the big girls. It really helps break up the week when we can spend it around other kids. The first picture is one a friend took at Hamburger Joe's last week & the next one I snapped tonight when we got off our bike. His bike helmet is so big on him that I find it works best to have a baseball cap on underneath, but he was trying to pull it off the second we were back in the house tonight. We're looking forward to John returning tomorrow night & to a nice quiet weekend at home. Hope you all are having a great week!

Behind the Wheel

Filson got behind the wheel of his dad's Karmann Ghia yesterday. As you can see by the expression on his face, he thought he was hot stuff! We went to a car show on an old plantation for awhile yesterday afternoon. It was a nice day & there were lots of neat old cars to look at & lots of people for Filson to gaze at from his stroller. We have also set up my old teepee a couple of times & I got a couple shots of him playing with it. He hasn't quite figured out the door yet, so is always trying to climb out underneath the side or gets stuck trying to work his way out of the small circle window. My Aunt Marla Kay made this for me & another for my brother, Cody, when we were young & I remember spending a lot of time in it. It was very nice of the Watson's to deliver it to us from Iowa last week! I also thought you would all get a giggle out of his big behind in the shot next to his bookshelf. I had to pull out this x-large diaper cover since all the others were in the wash & it makes him look like he has bloomers on! However, in a few months it will probably be getting tight on him, as he seems to quickly outgrow everything these days!

4th of July-Parade & Cook-out

After Filson got in a long afternoon nap, we headed to our neighborhood cookout. They do it every year in the cul de sac close to our old house. A lot of people showed up last night & they had really great fireworks. Unfortunately, Filson didn't seem to be enjoying the loud booms, so he spent most of his time in our neighbor's house watching them out the window with a few other little kids. We decorated his wagon for the little kiddie parade, and yes, his mom is responsible for putting the silly lighted flag headband on him. I'm sure some day he will get back at me for this. Hope you all had a great 4th & enjoy the rest of the weekend!

e

4th of July-Beach

We headed out to Mason's Inlet about 10am on the 4th & spent about 3 hrs out on the water. A lot of our neighbors & friends were at the same spot and we had a beautiful day. Filson continues to love the water and all the attention he gets from everyone! As you can see from the picture, he was wiped out before we even made it back to the dock.