13 months.

oh man, i'm 5 days late on this one....but thats okay.

Your personality is really coming out and it is so fun to watch!  You talk like no other (ALL THE TIME.) and your expressions are hilarious!  You crack us up!!
We have had a fun month of winding down from birthday festivities and preparing for the holiday season coming up!  We are so excited to share this next season with you!  It is going to be so much fun!

We went to Norman for the OU/A&M game.  Amy, David, Caroline, Becca, Kyle and Lucas met us there.  The dads went to the game while the babies and moms shopped, played, ate and napped.  It was such a fun day.

Of course we got a pick in front of the KKG.  Caro will probably want this some day. :)

Hard to believe but you took your first "real" bath at our house.  You have always taken baths in your plastic tub in our shower, but we decided to throw you in the big tub for a change one night.

Cooper Allens birthday party was a costume party and was so much fun.  I had plans of you being an airplane but you much preferred the dinosaur.  You love this costume and were precious in it!

with Parker and Sam

 We visited daddy one day during lunch at his school.

as a big 13 month old...you LOVE...

aiplanes!!!  watching them in the sky and pointing to them...you hear them so quickly!
and your airplane book. but NOT your airplane costume.  still havent warmed up to that guy.

balls!!! your brown soft football.  the balls in the backyard from your party.  your fancy kickballs (cant remember what they are called).  you love em all and love to throw them.  pretty sure we play catch several times a day.

wheels!!! cars, trucks, trains, wagons.  we put your train up a little early this year and it did not disappoint: you love it.  you point to it and want us to turn it on.

being outside!!! i remember megan and jenny a few months ago saying clara and asher always want to be outside, and me thinking that was funny bc you werent there yet....WELL, now were are there :)  you now know where the doors are and what is on the other side of them.  AIRPLANES, BALLS, TRUCKS, GRASS, STICKS, the great outdoors.

speaking of sticks!!!  you usually find one outside and carry it around.  Although, your Annie and daddy have freaked me out about you falling and poking your eye out.  So, we are very careful.

"Rocky" and his friends, violet, cap and edmund.  They go on lots of truck rides.

swings!!!

Sweet Beau and Nate pushing you at the park.  These boys LOVE you and take care of you so well.

Your truck and wagon.  You get gas. Get in your truck, close the door. Get out, close the door, check the gas, REPEAT.  And you LOVE it.  You light up when we get the wagon out.  It is so fun to go on walks in the wagon.

speeches!!!!  you are always working hard on one.  editing, re-writing, proofing, practicing, hand gestures, working the crowd, eye contact, voice inflection.  you do it all, are are REALLY good.  and you think so too.  i can't wait to understand what you are saying.  (actually, the mumbling is pretty cute.) you will talk and talk, and then laugh like you said the most hilarious thing.  "you're hilarious."

what words are you saying? hi, ma-ma, da-da, ah dah (all done), ball, pa, papa, barbara
sign language?  Please and all done.   You say please all the time and it is the cutest and sweetest thing i've ever seen.  Especially when you first started doing it, we would have literally given you ANYTHING you wanted because you melted our hearts so.  We are really working on thank you.  hopefully that will come soon!

what are you eating?  well, you are "allowed" to eat anything but what are you choosing to eat? bread, bread, cheese, bread, plum fruit and veggie pouches (lifesavers!), cheese, a couple drinks of milk with each meal, chicken, beef, and bread.  you are completely done with that childish cereal spoon fed stuff.  on to big boy food. like bread.  (okay, you do eat other things but A LOT of bread.) moving on...

We are still nursing but it isnt so scheduled or necessary.  A few days ago you only nursed 3 times.  Today you nursed more regularly.  I love knowing that you are still getting some good stuff in you to go along with your bread.  I think we will slowly start to drop some feedings in these next few months.

nursery:  you improve EVERY time.  we are so proud of you!  at NEST sweet Elizabeth has stuck it out with you each week and has been such a blessing.  She has rocked, walked, loved, prayed for you, and played with you.  I'm so thankful for her.  This past week you actually played on the floor a little bit with the other kids! SO proud! :)

I love you Oak Jack Hop!

the BIRTHDAY PARTY details.

Well, let me just start by explaining that Amy AND BJ both had cameras and did not hold back.
Which means two things:  I am very thankful for incredible documentation of this sweet day AND i have  2,000+ pictures to go through, edit, select, and do something with. :)

So, first here are the DETAIL pictures of the party.  We had a Cookies and Milk/ 1% birthday party.

the INVITATION:  My sister designed the invites and I love them.  She is incredibly talented and I am so thankful to have her work in all my sweet memories.  (she has done our save the dates, wedding invites and programs, christmas cards, etc..)  Makes it even better knowing she did it!  (p.s. her website is  www.amy-dale.com if you are interested in photography/paper works....she is the best.)

So here is the digital version of the invite (sad, but it is blurry and not a great representation, please use your imagination.):

And the CHALKBOARD DESIGN?!  Oh, that would just be my incredibly artistically talented husbands work.  I told him "just go for it...draw some milk bottles or something."  And THIS is what he throws up there?!  The detail in the bottles blows me away, AND notice the fonts are exactly like the fonts on the invitation!!! He is awesome.

We served a TON of cookies.

8 different kinds: Chocolate Chip Cups, Cookies and Cream, Sand Tarts, Power Cookies (made by Annie B.), Peanut Butter, M&M, Sugar (made by Nonnie), and Pumpkin Snickerdoodle.

It was interesting to see what cookies were the favorite.  

I know for sure the M&M lost.  I think they were the only ones I didn't test before the party, and well, they just weren't that good.

I heard a few ravs and recipe requests for Annie's Power cookies,  a few more for Nonnies Sugar cookies (they are always a hit and pretty much at every family event!)  I think overall, the Cookies and Cream and Pumpkin Snickerdoodle won.

We also had some Chocolate Chip Cupcakes to go along with Oak's Chocolate Chip Cake.

Brant and Greg helped me make this sign to go on the mantle.  Mom and Dad had some scrap wood, so while i was at there house one day, Brant nailed the wood together for me.  Then, Greg painted (well actually, he re-painted after I had painted ;) this is a reoccurring thing in our house), and hung the letters and number sign up.

I loved seeing his monthly pictures all together and looking at the progression of his first year.

For drinks, we had Chocolate and Vanilla (white) milk.  I was a bit nervous about these big (kinda heavy) jugs I had the milk in, but i tend to lean towards look over practicality :).  BUT it worked out great-I don't think we had ANY spills.  There was also Chocolate and Vanilla milk cartons for the kiddos, sweet tea, and water.

This cake has been THE cake in our little family.  It was Gregs grooms cake at our wedding, has been his birthday cake the past 3 years (although I think he is making the switch to cake balls this year) and is now Oaks 1st birthday cake.  We LOVE this cake!

For favors we had mini cookies and oreos in jars, i.e.. "cookies for the road." I painted the labels and tops with chalkboard paint. (note: if you havent noticed, i love all things chalkboard.)

We also had sacks to fill with your favorite cookies and I made "play" cookies and milk for the kiddos to take home.

My mom made this happy birthday banner before Oak was born, for his baby shower.  I love that it will be at every one of Oak's birthday parties.  He is gonna love standing by it when he is 18. :)

It is hard to see, because there is a glare, but I had a silhouette done of Oak at one year.  Lindsey, (outofalabaster.blogspot.com), made it for us, and I LOVE it.  I will take a better picture and do a post on this little treasure.

An ACORN wreath, only seemed fitting for OAK's birthday and the FALL season.  I love it.

This Oak sign was made by my sister, Amy, and was hanging in this same spot when we came home with Oak from the hospital.  It too, will be another Oak birthday staple every year.

I have always hated our backyard.  We NEVER went out there.  I just didn't like it, it was gross, and we didn't want to put money into it.  A couple summers ago, I tried to "fix it up" with a new flower bed and uncovering an old stone patio.  But, we still never went back there and eventually the flowers died and it was still ugly.  ALL that to say, there was NO WAY we could have a party in the back yard.  

But the closer the party got, the more I realized, we REALLY needed that space.  

So, I decided to get a NEW perspective, quit comparing with other backyards, be thankful for mine...and ya know what?! ???

I LIKE IT. (GAAASP.!!!)  

I love sitting on the patio and watching Oak play. We have played in the backyard almost everyday since the party.  It is probably Oaks, (and not gonna lie, mine too) favorite thing to do.

AND it worked perfectly for the party.  It was so fun, a beautiful day, and so nice to be outside.  

I am thankful for our backyard. :)

My sweet mom took Caroline and "ran some errands" the day before the party.  She came home with this incredible rosemary "O" from home depot, a ton of pumpkins, and ballons ordered.  Oh how I LOVE her.

A bunch of balls to play with during the party!

Even our deer friend got a last minute left-over decoration!

We took a big group picture of everyone with our milk mustaches! (Picture coming soon!)

I love the napkins I found at IKEA.

BUT THIS LITTLE GUY, was by FAR the best detail.

So thankful Mom and Amy were here the week of to help me finish last minute stuff.  And even MORE thankful to sweet Greg for patiently smiling the past 6 months and helping me do way too many projects. :) 

The actual party pics coming soon!!!!