Oh the things you can do in a year

April

May

May 20: Born 9 days early
May 22: Came home

June

June 3: First babysitters
June 19: Baptism
June 29: First vacation

July

July 4: Slept through fireworks
July: Got Peruvian passport

August

August: Went to first Titans game
August 12: Rolled over

September

September 15: First airplane flight
September 19: First time at the beach

October

October 17: Ate cereal for the first time
October 29: October fest, dressed as a chicken

November

November 9: Drank from a sippy cup
November 25: Gramps 90th birthday
November: Started crawling
November 26: First trip to the zoo

December

December 1: Moved to a new house
December 19: Stood up
December 22: Waved bye

January

January 6: First teeth (two bottom)
January 15: Pulled up on the couch without any help
January 21: Ate chicken

February

February: Got top two teeth

March

March 14: Stood up in the middle of the room without help
March 21: Drank from a straw
March 25: Took 3 steps

April

April: Can say mama, dada, dandad (granddad), Nana, dog, no, daga (agua), banana, nigh nigh (night night)
April 7: Can walk all the way across the room
April 11: Roared like a lion

Walking and talking

I can't believe how many new things a little 10 month old can learn in one week. Santi stood up for the first time without holding on to anything and took his first steps all within a few days. Now just a week later he can walk all the way across the room. Of course crawling is much fast and easier, so that is still the preferred method, but I don't see it lasting much longer.

On top of walking Santi is now starting to talk more. Not only does he babble and copy everything we say, but he can for sure say a few words.

Mama

Dada (which is very weird to us. Nolan is going to be Papi, daddy is Spanish. We have never called him dada, but Santi calls him dada ALL the time.)

Nana (my mom)

Dog (he LOVES my parents dog)

Dandad (granddad, my dad)

Daga (agua)

No (not my favorite, but I guess he's got to learn it all)

Such a happy boy!

What joy this little man has brought into our lives in only a few short months! I can't wait to see him turn into the godly young man that he will hopefully be one day! One of the ways we hope to teach him about Christ is through the AMAZING catechism songs that Diana Batarseh wrote and recorded. I learned about the songs through Mustard Seed when I worked there. I always looked forward to teaching my own children. Just recently Diana finished the 3 cd project. Soooo, for Santi's birthday we ordered him a copy! I cant wait to get them and sing them with him. Now I just have to see if I can remember any of the sign language that goes with it!

Cherry ICEE

I had a momentary laps of judgement today and let a friend convince me into getting an ICEE. I asked for a small, but at Sams they only have one size, huge fat American size.

So in keeping with my bad judgement I let Santi have some. The child hasnt even had juice. He obviously loved it! I mean who doesn't love a cherry ICEE?

He told me thank you by whining and flapping his arms and hands and begging for more all while his mouth turned more and more red.

What the heck was I thinking?

Such an exciting week!

This week has been a big week of firsts!

He ate his first kid's meal (not the McDonalds thing, but mac and cheese from Cracker Barrel).

Santi stood for the first time without holding on to anything.

He ate dog food.

He pet a horse.

He said dog.

 He wore his first full soccer uniform.

He took his first steps.

He discovered the fireplace.

He spent the night at Nana's (with mama of course).

The life of a 9 month old

Lunch time = shove as much food in mouth as physically possible and try not to choke

Stand or pull up on anything

Sometimes cheerios fall out of who knows where

When told "don't touch" that must mean "oh I must want/need to touch that"

Diaper change = wiggle time

Bath time = drink dirty water time

Papi = happy, smile, laugh, play time

Mama = whine &/or cuddle while sucking thumb and laying head on her

Uncle Jesse = dance and jump

Uncle Joel = adorable picture

Nana & Granddad = giggle and fun times

ipad, computer, phone, camera = MUST TOUCH!

Mirror = need to kiss myself

Sometimes you step in spit up

Outside = favorite

Banana = Gods gift to man! Greatest single item on the planet

Soccer balls = super fun

Other kids = intriguing

Cabinets = made for getting into

Hats = evil

Coats = a little less evil

Naked = freedom

Mailing a package at the post office = not worth it with a squirmy baby

Reading in the morning = interesting for 2 minutes

Growling = aren't I cool? Can you believe I can do that!?

Car seat = no thanks!

Thumb = perfection

Burps = hilarious!

Bubbles = don't taste good

Blocks = made for tearing down

Is it time to eat yet?

Flash = unnecessary

Toilets = MUST TOUCH!

Mamas toes = must bite!

Painted finger nails = very interesting

Blowing bubbles with gum = what the heck was that? Can I see in your mouth?

Metal bowls = made for throwing

Grass = feels weird

Teeth = strange objects that just show up in your mouth one day

EVERYTHING = made to stick in mouth

Adele = girlfriend

Cutting finger nails = no thank you!

Dimples, rolls, dark eyes, smiles, tiny toes, cuddles = Mamas favorite!

Jeremiah Small, a true hero of the faith

I have nothing to say, yet so much on my mind. Yesterday was a horrible day for those of us who knew and loved Jeremiah, but an amazing day for him as he got to see Christ face to face. It seems as though when someone dies those left behind praise that person beyond what they should really be praised, but that is not the case with Jeremiah. He was truly nothing less than a hero, giving 6 years of his life teaching in Iraq. Im sure he would have given many many more had his life not been cut short. Martyrs are not common in modern day, but Jeremiah was killed because of his faith. I can not even begin to express the pain and heartbreak we are all feeling. Jeremiah you were truly an amazing man who many looked up to. We can only hope to have half the faith you had. What a picture of the gospel you were in your life and now after your untimely death.  We just sang one of your songs in church this past month and I leaned over to my mom and said "oh look, Jeremiah." You were one of those people that you would see across the room and get super excited just because you were there! I will always remember the summer you were here in Franklin for several months. You came to the church every day and worked in Wilbur's office and that is how we got to know each other. You just instantly felt like a brother. I already miss you, but know you are so much happier where you are. I praise the Lord for having known you and know everything is in His time and for His purpose whether I can see it or not. Thank you for being my friend.

Here is a wonderful tribute to Jeremiah: What it means to kill a teacher

Sleep

Well, I swore I would post another blog once I started getting sleep again. At two months Santi was sleeping 7 hours at a time, would wake up and eat, and then sleep again. I thought he just liked to sleep and really we were going to have an easy time of the whole "sleeping" thing. Was I ever wrong! This kid likes to eat! I mean seriously he eats more than I do. So with that said, he wakes up in the night to eat too! There has been one night in his entire life where he has slept through the night. ONE! And that apparently was a totally accident! That means I don't ever get to sleep through the night. For about 2 months he has been getting up twice a night, which let me say is MUCH better than three or four. But still, twice is not wonderful. The last five nights he has only gotten up once. It has been heavenly! I cant wait to get to the place where he sleeps all the way through, but once a night is so lovely I really cant complain. Last night was the best so far. He went to sleep at 7:30 and woke up at 4:30, then went back to sleep after eating until 7. Im praying that once he starts teething again he wont go back to the twice a night thing! Im still not sure how people do this more than once in their life!! I feel like I have added 15 years to my life in the last year.

Now that Im done complaining let me explain what a joy this last year has been. I have loved seeing Santi figure out the world around him. He is learning everything from scratch and its adorable to watch. What a sweet baby he is! Teething and not getting sleep have been horrible, but the rest of the time he is a jewel! He laughs and smiles all the time! He loves people! He will smile at pretty much anyone, yet he would prefer that his mama hold him or play with him at all times! Its crazy how one little person can change your life and bring you so much joy just by being!

Its so crazy to think that Santi has gone from this little baby who couldn't do anything!

To this big baby who wants to do everything himself!