will's first birthday party

 

{the real star of the party: lucky the lizard}

a fun celebration of one special boy.

wrc.one year

i've been around the block twice with this whole one year mark. it never gets any less sentimental for me. a whole year of life that God has graciously sustained and granted to our family as a gift. 

and oh what a gift he is! 

sweet william,

 i hope in the first year you have seen and experienced the love that i wrote of here and here. you have only proven yourself to be nothing less than a joy to all of us. that joy coupled with your easy going personality constantly brings smiles to all around you.

 as i look back over the last twelve months of your life, i only remember things that make this first year such a milestone. you went from eating, sleeping, and pooping to crawling, laughing, clapping, and dancing. i hold dear the memory of your baby breath on my neck, your first smile, your belly laughs from an early age. the way you have always enjoyed the company of us, especially engaging with your brothers. your sweet spirit. learning to crawl, learning to kiss, learning to charm. 

now as i watch you explore the world around you to greater depths, i can see that God has put a sense of adventure in you, little man. you are awed by birds, ants, dirt, sand and the like. you aren't afraid to try things on your own. as you try to gain the courage to take your first steps, you do it with a giggle and a grin. you love to play and figure things out. you will sit and do something over and over again until you learn and perfect it. i love to see this quality in you. you are perfecting new skills every day. you love to show us how big you are and clap for yourself. you do all the motions to "wheels on the bus" and blow kisses. you hide yourself just so we will say "where's will?" and you pop up with a moon sized grin. your blue eyes sparkle when your awake and you willfully rest your head on my shoulder and squeeze my neck before going to sleep. i will hold these moments close to my heart forever.

you will step out in the next year to find your own will and way. we will struggle together and in the end both of us will learn and grow. we will watch you take your first steps and watch you fall. but i'm sure you will get up just to try, try again. then we will watch you run. we will ask you to slow down in more ways than one. slow the growing, slow the changing, slow it all down and let's just be. but that won't happen. there's too much to learn and do and see and be. so we'll do it all together with that joy that wells up from your heart to your eyes to your mouth to your laugh.

you are a precious gift to nurture. to watch you grow in stature. to pray for your soul that you will be tender to the free gift of Jesus. that's what it really all comes down to. when i look at you i can't help but think about eternity. about the here and the now but more about what this here and now really comes down to.

 know that we love you with all our hearts, sir william.

the good and the bad but mostly good

the good: now that i have an iphone, i can really take pictures whenever i want. because it's easy to carry around and i typically have it with me.  this was a number one priority to having any smart phone in my book. yes, i realize that it's the same thing as carrying a small digital camera but who really does that? i know i'd be bad at it.

the bad: i have neglected my real camera for about a month. it's not that i haven't taken any pictures, it's just been minimal. and therefore, i haven't been stretching myself or challenging myself near enough. until this weekend. i'm back on board.

the mostly good: now that i have the more realistic ability to capture the moment, i capture LOTS of moments. and it's a good thing.

 life lately from my phone.

spring has sprung! halleluiah!!! 

three of my favorite snacks/meals. zbars. apple snack {apple, granola, peanut butter, and raisins}. and homemade guacamole.

bath time and after bath time.

time with all three boys. and apparently all with sun flare making a guest appearance.

snack time date with grey.

walks with will.

worm hunting with tuck. 

aside: this boy spends HOURS finding earthworms. it's his new hobby. he even takes them for walks in will's stroller.

 

mmm mmm. nothing like french pressed coffee.

extra curricular activities:

grey reading his bible on the couch after school. so what if he only knows select words :)

fort building, imaginations running wild, boy haven.

 so proud of his truck shirt!

will:

LOVES my sunglasses. LOVES THEM. keeping him belly laughing before he got his stitches out.

becoming a little possessive of his blankies.

 

jackpot!

 

this boy is going to be a year old this week! and loves a good picnic at the park.

 

these boys love to race.

kitchen help.

tuck the butterer.

my husband the weirdo.

no trip to lowes is complete without this.

thus concludes this segment of life from my phone.

mirror notes

sometimes matthew and i leave each other little love notes or encouraging words on our bathroom mirror for each other. this morning just so happened to be one of those mornings where i got to be there recipient. i won't write here the exact words but it was very encouraging. 

of course grey took notice immediately and eventually i read it to him as well. he then wanted to leave his own mirror note. so his sweet little heart message was for tucker.

"tucker, i want to play with you today. love grey"

and then he wanted to take a picture of his handiwork.

upon reading it to tucker tonight while i was getting them ready for their bath, tucker got his big ol' tucker grin and gave grey a big ol' bear hug. he looked at grey in the face and said "i love you grey. that was really a nice thing to say."

encouragement really does make a difference whether your 28 or 2.