12 months

My sweet Alli Kate, 

You bring joy with your smile. 

You bring comfort with your 'hugs' (you will cuddle your forehead into my arm or chin)

You bring peace in your happiness.

You are a blessing in this family. 

 I truly cannot believe you are one, yet it feels like you have always been a part of our family.

 We went to the doctor this month for your one year check up and you are looking great! 

30.5 inches Long (90%)

21lb 7 oz (75%)

18.75 inches head cir. (98%)

 You are so close to walking. You stand unassisted often but as soon as you realize that you are not holding on to anything you hit the ground.

You are a crawling machine. You are so so so fast! 

This month your favorite things are things have been toilet water, brother and sister's small choking hazard toys, wall outlets, crayons, Zizi's water bowl, cups filled with water or coffee, breakable dishes in kitchen cabinets, rubber bands, chalk, markers. You are in to EVERYTHING girl! 

 I've been trying to move you from bottle to sip and it isn't going great. You like your bottle. I have finally basically transitioned you into milk, but you are still having 2 oz of warm formula mixed in those bottles. You are not taking to cold milk at all. You love that temperature warm!

You LOVE your paci. There is very little time each day that it isn't in your mouth. You have become very attached to your blankets. They are the swaddle blankets that you've had in your crib since birth. You don't seem to prefer one over the other, which is nice. You don't seem very interested in any stuffed animals like Blakely and Parker, but those blankets sure do bring you comfort.

You love to be held and will often cry at me until I pick you up!

Other things you love:
1. You love the vacuum and will squeal in delight if I turn it on. You follow it and are so happy the entire time it is turned on.
2. You love your sister and brother and follow them around everywhere. This month with Parker home all day every day, you don't often leave his side. He sometimes gets annoyed with you crawling all over him, but you are none the wiser.
3. Food, you LOVE food. You eat everything and Mommy and Daddy are so so so thankful! You have eaten kale, tuna, salmon, broccoli (You love broccoli), bell pepper, rice, potatoes, steak, chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, apples, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple...

 Things you don't like:
Baths, you really really do not like baths.
Diaper changes!
Being hungry.
Waiting in the car for Blakely in carpool (when every other baby on the planet normally has been napping for an hour or two..)
Sitting in a poo poo.
Being told 'No" It hurts your feelings.
Church, you very much do not like getting dropped off!

Your hair is getting curly the longer it grows. I love your 4 teeth that peek through with your smile.
I love your eyes-so many comments from strangers come in regard to your beautiful blue eyes. I love your laugh. It is contagious. If I am feeling down, I make you laugh and I instantly feel better! I love your toes, your belly button, and your tiny fingers. You are my heart little doodle. (or one 5th of it anyway).

A broken Femur.

Tuesday, February 2 started with plans to have some fun! Clint headed to Atlanta that morning and I had some plans for the kiddos! We met B for lunch at west that morning and then took Parker and his bud Jack to Chick-fil-a for a treat =) We ordered, ate, and the boys went into the play area to get some energy out! About 20 minutes into their playing I heard screaming beyond anything I've ever heard from a child. It took my brain a while to compute that it was my Parker in which it was coming from. A boy, I would say between 10-12 had been climbing up the side of the playground and jumped from at least 4 feet up onto my little man who just happened to be sliding down at the exact same time. 

I scooped him up in my arms and tried to calm him. He wouldn't calm down though. After 2 minutes or so I decided it was time to head to the hospital. I dropped AK off with Dad and called Clint to let him know. At some point in the drive downtown I noticed his eyes rolling in the back of his head. I yelled to keep him awake, and he would try so hard to keep those eyes open. 

Longest. drive. ever. 

I was scared.

I parked inconveniently on 7th avenue and the ER is on 5th. A sweet woman walked me all the way there. Since Parker was in and out of consciousness, they admitted us immediately. Thank you God!

I knew things were bad pretty quickly. As the Doctor felt him all around, she was afraid the only part on his body not injured were his arms.

First up was an MRI.

Monkey got an MRI too =)

We went in for X-Rays next. I didn't get any pictures because it was traumatic. With the first x-ray-The technician gasped with the results. I asked her what??? and she told me to go look. The bones were in the shape of a V. I soon filled their ears with questions. They claimed they couldn't answer any questions due to legal rules...I begged them for something since I needed to pray specifics.

The guy in there told me to first pray the spine was ok, then that the growth plate wasn't affected, and last that the skull was ok. With the spine comment, my mind immediately wondered if he would ever walk again. The growth plate....The skull...heat rose from my toes to the tip of my hair. What in the world?

Soon after we had the x rays, they assured me that his spine was a-ok and the fracture did not hit the growth plate. Praise God! Also, his MRI came back clear!!!

The fracture was bad. Really bad. So bad in fact, they said if the kid had jumped on his ribs or his head, it would have ended in a fatality. My heart just sank. Just like that my child could have been taken from me. Playing at a Chick-fil-a playground.

I learned something that day. I'm never going to take another day for granted. I'm never going to wish even one minute away. I will find joy every single day-as is.

Here is my buddy about to have his leg worked on!

And here he is after!

May I just mention how much I love Children's Hospital! They made this bear to match my buddy!

The two next days looked like this. He wouldn't let me leave his side and wanted to hold his hand the entire time. I was just fine with these conditions!

Parker has been extremely compliant and positive through this whole process. He hasn't complained. He just continues throughout the days happy as ever.

His class sent him so much love. It makes him sad to miss school, but seeing this surprise made him so happy. His teachers also took a video of the class saying hi to him and checking up on him. He LOVED it!

Here is the X-Ray taken 2 weeks after the accident.

This boy has gotten so many toys through this. Every time someone walks through the door he now asks what they brought him...

Hmmm. I guess I've got some reality checks for this little fella soon.

So, what do our days look like? Parker goes between the couch, the chair, and his stroller. He loves looking out the windows, sitting outside when it is pleasant, and playing on his leap pad.

Just recently he has been asking to get on the floor.

Parker man, you have been so brave through everything! I love you to the moon and back little buddy! You are just so so so loved. 4 more weeks!!!

ONE

Well, here we are...Celebrating one year of life for our littlest blessing.

It was a good day. A really good day!

 The timing of this party was less than ideal given Parker's condition...but, I decided the distraction might be a positive and ran with it...

 Mom came over last night to take on the cake challenge with me. After some time, we got it! Turned out so cute!

 These cookies were so fun! They turned out so cute!

 And here is the beautiful birthday girl!!!

 LOL. Poor girl was over this photo session...

 Parkey wanted to see everything

We were so glad to have tried out the stroller to give P man a change of scenery!

The birthday girl was quite exhausted around the time of cake time! She seemed a little overwhelmed by all of the people! She was screaming the entire time we sang to her and for about 5 minutes after!

But then she settled down and enjoyed her cake!

It's her party and she can cry if she wants to =)

I love you so much sweet Alli Kate. I am so lucky to be your Momma. You bring me so much joy. Happy first birthday!!!!