Just in case I forget...

At 10 months old, I have a few favorite quirks that make me smile:

• The way you twist your tongue in your mouth over and over again.  It's as if you are trying to turn your tongue upside down!
• The way you make a "pop" noise.  You especially like to imitate me if I make the "pop" noise first. One night, I was trying to rock you to sleep, but you just kept going, "Pop, pop, pop, pop," instead of calming down.  I finally burst out laughing!  Of course, you starting belly laughing, too...Daddy had to rock you to sleep that night.
• The way you love it when I take your beanbag-style pacifier between my teeth and shake my head back and forth.  You take it from me, only to hold it back up to my mouth.  You laugh each time I shake your pacifier back and forth.  If you could talk, you would say, "Do it again!" over and over...
• The way you can't help but laugh if I start laughing.  Then your belly laugh makes me laugh more...it's a vicious cycle!
• The way you carry everything in your mouth, kinda like a dog.  You crawl around carrying socks, ropes, washcloths, and pretty much anything else you can get your hands on
• The way you would rather play with almost anything over playing with a toy.  Some of your favorite "toys" are keys (not the play kind), the handle off of a Victoria's Secret bag (basically, a rope), bows, straws, Christmas ornaments, shoes, paper, doors (open, close, open, close...), and the dishwasher.

These are some of my favorite moments from the past month:

• We were playing peek-a-boo with a small blanket.  I would put in on your head, and you would pull it off.  "Peek-a-boo!" I proclaimed as you pulled the blanket off and smiled proudly.  After a few rounds, you decided not to take the blanket off right away.  Instead, you started crawling blindly. You plowed right into your walker.  I couldn't help but laugh!  We tried again, and this time you ran into a toy.  Silly Roman...
• We were shopping at Target, and you were in the front of the shopping cart.  You usually sit up tall, looking around.  This time, you leaned over until your head was on the side of the shopping cart.  I tried repeatedly to sit you upright, but you screamed if I tried that.  You had just woken up from your nap, so I knew you weren't tired.  Still, you would rather lean over, almost laying down.  I finally had to put my purse next to you so you could lay your head on it.  You are hard-headed like your mama!

Just in case I forget...

Our faves from when you were about seven months old:

I love how you "army crawl" all over the floor.  Every once in a while, you stop to do the plank position for us.  You have discovered that you can get up on your knees and hands, but you are not quite sure where to go from there...so you just rock back and forth.

I love how you sleep on your side, clutching both of your stuffed animal pacifiers.

I love how you babble and talk to yourself in a sing-song voice to help you fall asleep.

I love how you wrinkle your nose when you smile.

I love how you belly laugh when Boo, the stuffed animal, barks at you.

I love how you hate mirrors when you are in a bad mood (or just tuckered out).  It seems to make you cry to see yourself so grumpy.

2013 State of the Union

I guess this is more like our "State of the Family" for the Walkers.  As we look back on 2013, we discovered that God has blessed us in more ways that we can count!  We serve a big God who is capable of big things!  The blessings of 2013 far outweigh the trials of the year.

Blessings:

1. God provided us with a healthy baby boy!  Over the past year, Roman has been our joy, love, and comedic relief!
   
2. Right before Roman was born, I was able to resign from my speech pathologist position.  I have been a full-time stay-at-home mommy ever since!  It is a joy to spend my days with sweet Roman.  Thank you to my husband, Jonathan, for working hard to provide for our family.
3. Roman started sleeping through the night on July 12, 2013.  He was a little over four months old.  This allowed Jonathan and I to actually start spending quality time together again.  What an answer to prayer!
   
4. Roman's baby cousin, William, was born October 23, 2013.  Roman is so excited to have a playmate who lives just a few hours away!  We visited him when he was only days old.  I can't believe Roman was once so tiny!
   
5. We finished off 2013 with a wonderful family vacation to Colorado.  Thank you to my parents, DeeDee and Papa G (to Roman and William), for providing for and planning our trip!  We enjoyed skiing, snow-mobiling, snow-tubing, and shopping while there.  Roman and cousin William also spent their first Christmas in the snow-covered mountains of Durango.  Great memories and sweet fellowship with family!
   

Trials that God so faithfully brought us through:

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison."

~II Corinthians 4:17~

1. Many sleepless nights while Roman was very young.
2. Colic and gasiness that seemed to keep Roman crying all day long.
3. Sleep-training.
4. Unsuccessful scar revision surgery (post shoulder-replacement surgery).  

We know that blessings are not a guarantee in this life.  We have also learned that trials are inevitable.  When hard times do come, they are always for a purpose (James 1:12).  Thank you, sweet Jesus, for blessing us with another wonderful year!