Fabulous Friess Family: Happy 1st Birthday, Paxton!

Paxton moments after he was born.

One year later.

Happy first birthday to my little guy!

Definitely no longer a baby. He fancies himself a big kid. He's been walking since the end of August which thrills him to no end. He very clearly indicates what he wants (screeching!). He gives wonderful loves & hugs. He sings along to music with a darling little voice. He is growing very fond of warm milk with honey. (Who wouldn't?) He loves to read story books, especially those with fuzzy things to touch, so much so that he is no longer interested in nursing at bedtime. He has darling little curls on the back of his head that I love. He loves to eat -- cheese, peas, green beans, carrots, apples, yogurt, cereal, bread, meat, chicken... almost everything. In all seriousness he eats more than Bennett and Sarah combined (though admittedly Bennett does not add much to the equation.) He loves to hear himself talk. He is thoroughly delighted with life and a joy to be around.

We celebrated his birthday last weekend along with his uncle John and cousin Caden. We got a rocking moose which I thought might still be too big for him. But he was thrilled and started rocking out right away. He loves it.

Grandma Sharon got him a drum and other musical instruments. He knew what to do as soon as it was out the box. He has playing the instruments all week. (Thanks, Grandma!)

Caden turned 4 the end of August. He had a little birthday party with Bennett, Bailey & Addie that day, but we were finally getting around to celebrating as a family. What a smile!

John's birthday (along with his grandpa John's) was yesterday. This is a typical "animated father" look. "Isn't this great?!"

Caden got a baseball mitt for his birthday and couldn't wait to play catch with his dad -- except John didn't have a mitt. So John got one for his birthday. I hope he remembers how to use it.

Sarah LOVES the men in her life. Grandpa is a favorite. How could he resist that hug?

Wendy did a fabulous job on the cakes, thanks for Whole Foods. She even got a little owl cupcake for Paxton that was so cute.

At first Pax wasn't so sure. It took him quite a long time to figure out what was going on.

When he finished digging through the frosting and got to the cake, he was thrilled and really started to eat. (He and Sarah will have to share cake from now on. Sarah will only eat the frosting.)