the big one

As of Saturday August 3rd, our baby is officially a 1 year old- oh my! I can't believe how fast this year  has gone and how much our little guy has grown and changed. He is such a sweet, lovable, independent, curious, silly little boy! Some highlights from the last month: Though he's not quite walking independently, Hayden loves pushing around his cart, and cruising around furniture. He is such a quick crawler and can make it across the house in about 15 seconds. Thus, dog food and anything else at his level has been put up high. Hayden officially weaned himself from breastfeeding. He decreased his feedings a lot in the last month and since we are doing the Baby Led Weaning Approach, we let him dictate when he was ready to stop. I was a little worried that this transition would mean the end of that special bond, but am so happy to report that this guy has gotten even cuddlier in the last month. He will often take a quick break from playing to crawl into my lap and snuggle with his head on my shoulder. Also, he's occasionally waking up a night for a hug and kiss and then he's straight back to bed. I love, love, love these moments, even when they happen at 2:30 am! 

For Hayden's birthday, we had a small pancake party in his honor. He loves pancakes and we thought this would be the perfect way to celebrate or little man. We served pancakes, bacon, mimosas, and coffee and had a great party with friends and family. The type-A pinterest--obsessed mama side of me might have gone a little overboard with decorations and presentation, but luckily I had my sister (thank you Emily!!) here to help out with everything!

Sadly, our memory card wasn't in our camera as we took pictures :( so we don't have very many of the actual party or decor- only a few phone pictures that I took afterward and those e-mailed to us by friends. Even without the pictures, it was a perfect day!

Hayden was so happy throughout the whole party and afterward as well. His big present from Mama and Dada was a sandbox- which he loved. We have already spent a fair amount of time in the sandbox driving his trucks around. 

 We had a really wonderful day with our little man and we feel like the luckiest parents in the world!