Adam woke up in such a happy mood on his first birthday!  I picked him up and then he walked into the bathroom where Austin and Daddy were getting ready for church, with a big smile on his face!

We had so much fun at Adam's first birthday.  I literally cannot believe he's a whole year old though.  I feel like he was just born, but at the same time it's like he's always been a part of our family!

The night before the party, Brandon came over to watch the Astros game and he and Landon put the party favors together. :)

My sweet Adam,

My sweet Adam,

Today has been a fun day.  This afternoon, we celebrated your first birthday with some close friends and family.  You were a happy little guy, like always, and got loved on by lots of people.  We are so, so thankful for the village we have as we raise you and your brothers, and pray a lot for people  in your life who will point you to God.  Then, me and you took a glorious 2 hour nap in my bed and it gave me immediate flashbacks to the day you were born.  We got home from the birthing center around 930am, had breakfast, introduced you to your brothers and PamPam, took some pictures, got some good snuggles and then you and I (and later, after going to Brandon's birthday party, Daddy), snuggled into our bed for an amazing 5 hour nap.  We seriously woke up and it was pretty much dinner time.  It was perfection.

Austin Douglas, you have one of the biggest and best imaginations of anyone I know and I love that about you!  You would pretend play all day long.  I love hearing your little voice making your toys talk and creating different scenarios.  It's so, so fun to watch and hear.  Never lose that fun and imagination, sweet boy!

We're about a month into school and starting to (maybe?) find our new normal, though it all still feels very new and not normal, lol.  And, we've all been passing around a stomach bug this week, so that's been a bummer.  Aedan was sick for just an evening on Monday night, and I kept him home from school on Tuesday to recover.  Then, on Wednesday morning, Austin was throwing.  Then, this afternoon, just before I was going to leave for Aedan's field trip to the Fire Station, which I was really looking forward to, it hit me and I spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between laying on our bedroom floor and throwing up, with Austin watching shows and Adam crawling all over me.  Luckily, I had let Aedan know I may not be there is Austin was still sick, but I was still so sad and feeling bad that I couldn't go.  I emailed his teacher to ask her to let him know, but she didn't see it until it was over.  She said he had fun and was a trooper, but was tired on the walk back, so he stayed with her and one of the other dads at the back.  Sweet boy.
And then tonight, as I was holding him after dinner (which our sweet neighbor brought over when she heard I was sick!), Adam started throwing up.  He's now sleeping beside me and I'm praying that it's over for him, and that Landon doesn't get it.

We went and ate lunch with Aedan for the first time today and it was one of the best things ever.  Austin was SO excited to see him, and SO sad when we left and he couldn't come with us.  That part was a little weird/sad to me too!

This weekend was a fun weekend away!  It has been on the calendar for a while and we've been looking forward to it.  First, we picked Aedan up from school and headed to Mobile Loaves and Fishes for the night.  We volunteered at the Community First movie night--a few of us did parking, a few of us cooked (we went with the Semaneks and Frys) and some of us took care of the kids.  I just love being there--it is SUCH a cool place and what they do for the homeles is amazing and inspiring.  And, I loved having our kids there. I'd love to go back periodically as they grow up!

All on his own, a few weeks ago, Aedan told me he wanted me to read to him from his little Bible that he got when he was dedicated, and he was going to highlight what we read, like I do in the Bible.  And so, we have, almost every morning.  On bike riding days, we do it in the driveway and on driving days, we pull into the daycare parking lot right by his school and read.  So far, we've been reading all of the different miracles that Jesus did in the gospels.  We've talked about what it means that Jesus can do all of those things, and the power He has.  He told me he wants to study Jesus because He's such a special man.  I just love his little heart and pray for wisdom to know how to nurture it and his relationship with God.

I can't believe Adam is turning one in just a week and a half!  So crazy.  Part of me wants to be sad, and part of me does miss itty bitty baby Adam, but he is just SO stinkin' fun right that it's hard to be sad.  I love those big blue eyes, the blonde curls, the way he's smiling at his brothers, those little teeth.  I could just eat him up right now.  He's the perfect mix of baby and big boy.

So far, October has been off to a good start.  We're settling into a new routine, life is starting to feel normal, we're starting to think about Adam's first birthday party, and hoping for some fall weather soon!

I'm pretty sure I have almost this exact picture of each of our boys at this age.  What is it about the dishwasher that is so appealing?

Today you had your first haircut and while you look SO cute with your new do, I almost cried because it made you look SO much older!  You were a little unsure when you first sat in the chair, but your little smile at the end was so precious, and you really look adorable.  We got it cut right before Brooklyn's baptism up at church, so you got to show off your new haircut right away. :)

The first weekend after Aedan started school, we had a total home day to let him rest.  It was just what we all needed.  I didn't get much done except hanging out with the kids, but Landon built a deck outside that we'd been talking about forever!  I was SO impressed--it got done in a day and looks really good!  And now that the picnic table is on it, it opens up the patio for the kids to play on, which has been a lot of fun too!  It really opens up the backyard too, since the table isn't right there when you walk out the back door.  The boys have especially loved drawing on it with chalk. :)

For a few weeks now, Aedan has had a loose front tooth, and has enjoyed showing it to us.  A few of his friends have lose a tooth already, so he was excited for it to happen!  During his second week of school though, it got really loose, where he could even wiggle it side to side.  He was wiggling it and wiggling it, but no go.  Daddy even showed him how to bite an apple to see if it might come out, in hopes that he'd lose it at home!  No luck though.