There’s a first time for everything and over the past few weeks we have celebrated many firsts.  On Saturday, September 24th, Tommy (15 months) took his first steps…and has yet to slow down. He’s really proud of himself, can you tell?

Mother Earth graced us with the first good rain that we’ve seen in a very, very long time! My sweet, crispy plants…I totally gave up on you.

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the device below…this is an umbrella.  I was so excited to use it and decided to take a picture so the memory would last a little longer.

Tommy and his cousin Julia shared their first kiss…it was pretty stinkin cute!  It happened so fast so I apologize for the fuzzy picture. My sister Emily and I were laughing so hard to ourselves and just sitting back enjoying the moment that I will catalog in the black-male department for later use. As you can see, Tommy doesn’t quite have the hang of it yet, and I’m ok with that.

All that kissing and hugging sure can wear a girl out!

Ok, so this technically was not a first…more like our 1,999,991st trip to the Breckenridge Train Depot. Tommy is absolutely, positively obsessed with the train and the ducks.  When we arrive for our usual ride (first train at 9:30 am on Sunday) there’s always about 4 kids on the train, and usually they are around Tommy’s age.  This is especially lovely when we go through “the tunnel” because you don’t have a million 6-10 year old’s screaming at the top of their lungs in excitement, which then leads Tommy to scream at the top of his lungs in fear.  *No offense mom’s and dad’s with 6-10 year old children! 🙂

It seems like overnight, literally as the month changed from September to October we were able to experience another long-time friend…the long-sleeved shirt!  Hip Hip Hooray its cool again! Although I ended up swapping this shirt for another in the late afternoon, it was perfect for him for most of the day.

I am in LOVE with these shirts.  When Tommy was 4-7 months during the “winter” last year we lived in these shirts.  They are very thin so they are great to layer with a fleece. The brand is Rowdy Sprout and they are funky and fabulous! You’ll find everything from The Who to Elvis – so cute for little boys and girls. I will caution you they run small and shrink a bit.  This shirt for Tommy (shown below) is a size 2T and he could totally wear a 3T with the sleeves rolled up after one wash.

We, I mean Rob, were also sad to see Baylor lose their first game this season. 😦

Tommy got to meet his new friend Brooke for the first time on Saturday.  He was very gentle (thank God) and loved snuggling with her.  He’s already trying to win her over.

Our final first of the weekend came on Saturday, October 1st when we celebrated my sweet husband’s 31st birthday. Cake anyone?

I did a lot of thinking this weekend about perspective. When you celebrate a birthday with your child you have to take a moment to laugh as your realize just how much your life has changed.  Your birthday…a day that has been forever embedded into your muscle memory as “your day” is now so far from “your day” its pretty hilarious.  The luxury of not having to change a dirty diaper; or one of Rob’s personal favorites, sleeping in until 7:30 am is one of the best gifts you can get! We have been given the greatest gift of all and it fits just right and we think we’re gonna keep him.

One final note to my darling husband.

I have to take a moment to tell you how very proud I am of you and how proud I am to be your wife.  This year has been a year of challenges (good & bad), change, happiness, love and growth.  We have learned so very much from one another and our journey is just beginning.  We have perfected our negotiation skills with each other as we struggled to get out of bed to tend to a crying baby at 2:00 am.  We have made mistakes as new parents and learned from them.  But most of all, we’ve enjoyed every moment together as a family.  There are so many reasons I am grateful for you in my life. Thank you for making dinner every night so that I can spend every second after work with Tommy.  Thank you for working so hard to do what’s best for our family.  Thank you for loving me each and every day no matter what.  Most importantly, thank you for being an amazing father and husband. I look forward to celebrating many more “firsts” with you.  Happy Birthday Rob, we love you.