Brody's 1st Birthday Party

   This time last year on Wednesday night, August 25th I checked in at midnight at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. My induction process started at that time. On Thursday, August 26th at 5:03 p.m. Brody Martin Wood came in to the world. I never imagined in a million years how motherhood was going to be. I never ever dreamed how wonderful it would be or how I never felt love for another human being like I feel for my child. One of my good friends said that when you have a child it is feeling like you are watching your heart walk around outside of your body. That is so true, I love him so much I feel like my heart could burst. It makes me realize how much God loves us as his children. If I could love my child as much as I do, that is only a fragment compared to the incomprehensible love that God has for us. Now to me, that is good news and that is exciting to be loved that much by the God that made the universe.
   
    Being a mother has been the most challenging, fulfilling, but most wonderful job that I have ever had. It is the most meaningful thing I have ever done in my life. I pray every day that God continues to work through Phillip and I to be good parents to Brody, to develop in him a hunger for God, a love for the Lord, character, and integrity. I am honored to be a parent and am so thankful and there isn't one that that goes by that I don't realize how blessed that I am. Being a parent has brought me closer to God, made me more selfless than I ever thought was possible, and is shaping me into a person that needs Jesus more each day. I just wanted to express in two paragraphs my feelings on being a parent and how much I love my little Brody Martin Wood.
         
         My parents were in town in July, so we decided to have Brody's 1st birthday party then. In a perfect world we would be having it the weekend of his birthday and both my parents and Phillip's parents would be able to be there, but that is not the case and that's ok. When you have family that lives out of town you just do your best to make events like this work. It worked out great though we spent fourth of July with Phillip's parents in Branson, Mo and came home and my parents spent the week with us. That Saturday we had Brody's birthday party. This year I wanted it to just be us and my parents. Next year we will invite Brody's friends! I decided to do a Mickey Mouse theme and I had so much fun buying decorations. We had a great time with Mom and Dad and made some wonderful memories celebrating Brody's birthday!
                                     
                   Brody and Poppy playing on the floor!

Brody with Poppy and Marmie shopping at the mall. 

Happy Birthday Brody! 

Brody's smash cake.

My dear friend Lindsey Conner made this shirt. It turned out so cute!

Marmie and Brody with their cool shades on!

Brody's presents were kind of big so we decided to cover them with sheets! 

Marmie and Poppy gave Brody this car! He loves it!

Big Daddy and Mimma gave Brody this wagon. They were skyping with us when he opened it! We enjoy going for walks in it. It has two seats with seatbelts. It's great!

Shug taking a ride in the wagon with Brody. 

This horse didn't go over so well! Now slowly but surely he likes it and isn't scared anymore. I think it made him feel insecure moving on the horse without being strapped on. 

Opening more presents! 

Brody ready for his smash cake! 

Digging in to his first cake! 

He loved it! 

Happy 1st Birthday Brody! We love you more than you will ever know! 

Love, 

Mom and Dad

Brody 10-11 Months Old

I now have a baby boy who is 11 months old! It is hard to believe that Brody is about to turn 1 year old. He changed so much during his 10-11 months of life! I think that some of the biggest changes in Brody's life have happened during these two months. He is now clapping, pulling up, closing doors, opening and closing drawers and cabinets, climbing up slides, playing peek a boo, saying "mamma" sort of, sounding out words ( I think they sound like these words) such as duck, dog, cat, etc. He waves, gives high fives, throws food to the dogs, loves  books, talking a lot, screaming just for the fun of it, playing with door stoppers, enjoys watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, standing up in his bed and playing with the mobile hanging in his crib, hates getting his diaper changed, loves taking his shoes off, and now loves putting his arms around our necks and giving us a big hug! I love that little boy so much! 

Here are a few pictures where I tried and capture him at 10 months old. 

These were taken at the water park on our Fourth of July trip to Branson, MO with Phillip's parents. Brody loves swimming! He kicks his legs a lot and likes splashing the water with his hands!

 One of Brody's favorite things to do is play on the floor with us. He enjoys us crawling around on the floor with him. I will hide from him and call his name and he will crawl and find me.  I thought this picture captured that as he is playing on the floor with his Poppie.

When Brody smiles he loves to show his teeth! He totally knows when I get out the camera to take a picture of him and always shows off for the camera!

These are some shots of the week my parents were here in July! He was about 10 months and 2 weeks old. 

Marmie and Brody with their shades on!

He loves his Daddy! He gets so excited when Phillip comes home from work!

He is usually very content when we push him around places in the stroller. As long as I give him a toy to play with, he is pretty content doing that and looking around. The more active he gets, the more he does want to get down from the stroller especially when we aren't moving. 

Brody loves toys that have a door that he can open and close. He is obsessed with opening and closing things. He loves going in bedrooms and closing the doors. He can't get enough of opening and closing drawers and cabinets ( until I baby proofed them). This is a picture of Brody playing with his cousin Ryder in July when we went to visit them in Louisville, KY. He loved this toy!  

These are some pictures of Brody at 11 months. 

Brody with his early birthday present ( 1 week early) from me and Phillip. 

As I mentioned earlier, he is into everything and is such a guy because he loves any kind of electoronics. He likes remotes, TVs, anything that is plugged in, any kind of cord etc. In this picture I had packed for our trip to Oklahoma City for my sister's wedding, and he decided to go through my bag and pull out his baby monitor and noise maker that he sleeps with!

Right around the time Brody turned 11 months old he all of the sudden figured out how to open drawers and cabinets. He did this right before we went to stay with my parents in Texas. While we were gone Phillip was kind enough to baby proof the cabinets in the kitchen! I do have one cabinet that he can get in to that has some plastic bowls and pots and pans. 

Brody's Big Daddy and Mimma got Brody this wagon for his birthday. Now that the weather has gotten cooler ( in the lower 90's and upper 80's) it is now fun to take the wagon on walks. He loves it! 

A lot of changes happened when Brody turned 11 months. One of the biggest changes was that he has started to stand up more. He loves pushing this toy around the living room. He also has stood up several times by himself without holding on to anything!

Brody's favorite foods are muffins, cheese, watermelon, peas, goldfish, chex cereal, mashed potatoes, veggie straws, chicken, and lots of other food but those are some of his favorites. When he turned 11 months we changed from formula to organic whole milk. He seems to like it just as much as formula, so it hasn't been that big of a transition. It is a lot more convenient than having to mix up formula every time we fix a bottle. After he turns one I am going to start working on the transition of switching from the bottle to the sippy cup. 

Brody now has 8 teeth, 4 on top, and 4 on the bottom. His two "I" teeth came in the first week of August when we were in Texas visiting my parents. So far those have been the most painful teeth that he has cut. 

At Brody's last appointment, he was 23 pounds, 28 inches long. He is wearing 18 month old clothes. He can still wear some 12 month stuff but it is getting kind of snug. 

He is still taking a morning and afternoon nap, he usually sleeps about 3 & 1/2- 4 hours a day and 12 hours at night. He still goes to bed between 7-7:30 p.m. and wakes up between 7-7:30 a.m. 

I love being with him every day and watching him grow, develop, and change. He keeps me on my toes and I love every minute!