New Traditions

A

Fun

Fresh

Cold Day

Fraser Fir

Setting Sun

Family Field Trip

West Jefferson, NC

Finding the Perfect Tree

Mountain Memories Tree Farm

With 

Daddy

Mama

& Zoo

CW Turkey Trot

On a sleepy, misty Thanksgiving morning, about 35 of our neighbors set out to run the 2nd annual Cameron Wood Turkey Trot in order to justify eating that extra piece of pumpkin pie.  Alekzander snacked on Cheerios, Daddy ran the whole show and finished first, while I rocked Argyle socks and made friends with the "Little Engine That Could."

Ready, Set, Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Andrew running solo in first place

[Beginning of second loop]

Mama and Alekzander

[End of first loop]

Birthday Dino Racer

HANDmade trophies

Winning :: a family affair

Swistaks (female baby jogger winner + overall winner)

Garons (top girl + top boy finishers)

Osborns (overall female winner + male baby jogger winner)

A Thanksgiving Birthday

Our little Alek-zoo,

We love you {today on your birthday and always}.

You remind us that life is amazing and God is so good.

You marvel at the little wonders in your world.  

And teach us to slow down and marvel with you.  

Even at just one, you live intentionally.

Whether your aim is to play with a toy or climb the stairs

{or devour a birthday pie},

you do it with a passion that is admirable.

You are generous with your love {hugs are your favorite thing to share}.

And we hope you will always love BIG.

You are precious and make our hearts overflow with joy.

Thank you for the best year of our lives.

Happy first birthday.

We love you.

Mama & Dada

Thankful

We are thankful for our families.

Lots and lots of love.

We are thankful for the roof over our heads.

The food on our table.

We are thankful for Andrew's job.

The gift {blessing} of being a stay-at-home mom.

We are so thankful for Alekzander.

And the joy he has brought all of us this past year.

{Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Alekzander}

One Hundred Seventy-five

A BIG thank you to everyone 

who donated food in honor of Alekzander's first birthday.  

We brought the food to Second Harvest Foodbank today.

Because of the generosity of our friends and family, 

an amazing 175 pounds of food and beverages 

will be distributed to Charlotte's hungry just in time for Thanksgiving.

A special thank you to Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Tiffani for their donation in
Alekzander's honor to Feeding America all the way from Italy.

We are blessed to be a blessing.

"And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] 

and make your name famous and distinguished, 

and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]."

Genesis 12:2 [Amplified Bible]

Modeling the Goods

:: Some birthday goods ::

Big boy chair courtesy of GPS & GMS

Rockin' fur and skull hat from Ryan "Big Tiger" Taylor

A Birthday Pow Wow

 

The head honcho :: a birthday Indian

 

Our little pilgrim on Daddy's shoulders with the sail of the "Hayflower"

Pilgrims and Indians

Pilgrims and Indians, 

Big and small.
Natives and travelers,
Come one and come all.

Join us for a celebration
Where life is truly good.
Come to Alekzander's first birthday;
His "ship" is docked in Cameron Wood.

Leave the presents at home,
But bring some Thanksgiving food,
if you please.
Let's be a blessing to others
and put their hearts and bellies at ease.

We thank you in advance,
from the families we'll feed.
Extending our love and kindness
to be an answer to their needs.

Stop by anytime
between two o'clock and five
On November 20th, 2010,
We'll be waiting for you to arrive.

Alekzander and his guests on the "Hayflower"

Constructed with love by Dada

Dominate

This birthday boy dominated his birthday cake.

Mmmmm!

Somersaults and Shirts

I love this little guy so much that he makes my heart turn somersaults.

His birthday shirt is pretty special too. 

Happy {almost} birthday, 

Little Zoo.

A Floating Zoo

Alekzander's and Mia's handknit animals needed a place to live ... and a floating zoo came our way over the mountains and through the city yesterday.  Mia and Gruffalo came to deliver a little early birthday love and some snuggles for a few hours.  We  spent our time marveling at Gruffalo's handiwork and at Alekzander's silliness, eating yummy soup, and gathering supplies for a special birthday surprise.

Amazing Discoveries

Big Help

Clearly, at almost one year old, 

Alekzander is pulling his weight 

and helping get ready for his birthday party!

Opposites

Messy

Clean

Fun and Fearless

Kisses for Great-Great Uncle Varick's horse

 Rockin' like a big boy

Cute Booty :: "Trailing a Little Behind"

Little Monkey

One Year Observations

Checking out a hand-painted Ukrainian spoon

Norah (1 year) & Alekzander (11.5 months)

Observing birthday rocks and pumpkins in front of the house

The last time these two played, they were just learning to roll.

Now they're on the verge of walking.

They have hair and [sharp] teeth.

They eat things like cheese and cheerios and pears.

[They still fiercely love their mamas.]

They're tall, lean, and strong.

They're babbling with purpose.

They flash flirty smiles.

And give little love taps.

They are sweet.  [Oh so sweet.]

And after a year, we've grown to love them 

more than we could ever imagine.

Stripes in the November Sun

Twinsies at the park.

 Surveying his kingdom.

Preshy boy.

Baby Blitz

Scoop You Up

Dear Alekzander,

I will scoop you up.

I will scoop you up the minute I hear the smoke alarm going off in the middle of the night (as soon as I wake up your Daddy, too).  I will instinctively grab a pacifier for you before we run downstairs.  We will stand nervously on the back porch in the cold, dark night.  I will wish I had a hat for you.  I am happy that I scooped you up and you are in my arms.  (There was no smoke, nor fire.  Daddy and I searched and scoped, checked and double-checked things out for a half hour after we put you safely back in your bed.  I scooped you up about an hour later when all the commotion registered in your little, developing brain.  A little snuggling calmed us both down and allowed us to sleep through the rest of the night.)

I will scoop you up.

I will scoop you up after I race Daddy down the church hallways.  You are well cared for while we are at big church, but we miss you.  You have fun with your little friends, while we feed our soul with worship and teaching.  But I can't wait to scoop you up after not seeing you for over an hour.

I will scoop you up.

I will scoop you up after you try to be too big and take a tumble on to your hard floor.  I will kiss your head and distract you with a lion RROOAAARRR and then you will go on playing.  When you play, you are so busy, so fast, so funny.  I long for you to slow down so that I can scoop you up again.

I will scoop you up.
I will scoop you up when you are nine and your soccer team loses five games in a row and your spirit is crushed.  I will remind you of when you were just 11 months old and Mommy and Daddy's soccer team lost six games in a row.  It wasn't the end of the world.  We were having fun and learning, too.  You will learn that winning isn't everything.  You may even be able to scoop up your friends and teach them the lessons that we have learned together. 

I will scoop you up when you are sick, snotty, grumpy, sad, hurt, dirty, happy, crying, winning, losing, small, or big.  I love you and will do anything for you, my littlest love.

Love, 

Your Mommy

Rise and Shine

Sweet, sleepy snuggles for a moo friend.

And a smile for Mama.