365 Days of Tatum

I'd like to list 365 ways in which you light up our world, one for each day you've been with us.  And I"m quite certain that I could!  Even if I don't list hundreds right now, here's a start.

Mommy and Daddy love you for all of these reasons and thousands more:

• The impossibly delicious back of your neck, where I can't help but plant 1,000 daily kisses
• The way you slap your knees when listening to music--sort of to the beat ;)
• Your squeals of delight when Liam and Sierra (our big doggies) come to say good morning
• That you've never once pulled your doggies' fur, but only given them sweet, gentle pats
• The way you crawl sideways, looking back with a huge grin on your face to see who's following
• That you start waving three pages before the end of the Cars, Cars, Cars book (the final page reads, "Say good-bye, car!")
• Your siren noise (almost a "woo woo woo") upon seeing a fire truck
• That practically every object you've ever touched has at some point been used as a slider to skate across the floor of our kitchen on your hands and knees
• Your obsession with the bath tub and the way you try to climb in as soon as you enter the bathroom
• Your wrestling moves with your giant stuffed monkey and puppy
• The inward-sucking vacuum/gasp sound you make when you're excited
• Your long, sloppy open-mouthed kisses
• The way you nestle your head into the crook of our neck and shoulder when you're tired or cuddly
• Your wild energy, even when it involves multiple attempts to fling yourself from the changing table headfirst during diaper swaps
• The way you curl your toes, even when it makes getting shoes on your feet next to impossible
• Your long, dark eyelashes
• Your HUGE blue eyes (still marveling at those, given mommy and daddy's dark eyes!)
• The way your nose wrinkles when you grin
• Your growls and grunts
• The way your hair stands on end after Sierra has given your head a few good licks
• Your social charm--seriously, I had no idea a baby could elicit THAT many smiles and flirtations when we're out to eat or shopping at the store
• The way you holler when Sierra and Liam play too rough (you worry, I think, that they're hurting each other)
• Your fascination with trees--you love to lie on your back watching leaves flutter in the breeze
• The way you embraced the water this summer, jumping right in and even getting your head wet right away like it was no big deal
• Your love for peaches, grapes, bananas and pretty much all fruit
• Your determination to feed yourself at all costs, even when it gets messy
• Your goofy sense of humor
• The speed at which you crawl--SO FAST!--it's amazing how quickly you can motor from one side of the house to the other these days
• Your dimple
• The birthmark shaped like England on your right foot
• The way you're always getting food in your eyebrows and hair
• Finding goldfish crackers in your diaper
• Your organization skills (you're very into stacking and putting things in and taking them back out of places)
• Your analytical side (you often turn your toys over to examine the back side or underbelly as if you're looking for clues as to how they work)
• The way you've attached yourself to your puppy blankie that you sleep with in your crib
• Your round little tummy that always smells like vanilla pudding
• Your fascination with moving things--trains, mobiles, cars
• The way you're able to fit your shapes into the right holes in your shape-sorter toys (amazing!)
• Your dinner conversation (seriously, you have a lot to say already!)
• The way you sometimes raise one eyebrow
• Your big heart (you love so many people and creatures--mommy, daddy, CeCe, Gramps, Chooch, Grandmama, PawPaw, Sarah, all of your aunts and uncles and cousins, Murray the cat, Sierra and Liam, your dogs....)
• Your great hugs
• The way you point at everything you're interested in seeing
• Your exclamations ("ooooooo!") over things that excite you
• The frustrated sounds you make ("aaaaaaaarghhh!") when you're trying to figure something out
• Your trusting nature (flinging yourself backwards half-way up the stairs with the absolute certainty that there is someone there to catch you...ahem)
•  The way you try to pluck your shoes off your feet as soon as I get them wedged on there in the first place
• Your love of hikes with mommy, daddy and the dogs
• The way you watch football with daddy and do "touchdown!" with your hands in the air
•  Your generosity--you always hold out your hand to share bites of your food with mommy, daddy or the dogs, and you share your toys the same way
• The way you look in footy pajamas
• How much you love to read, wanting to do the same book again and again and again
• Your love of adventure--you enjoy getting out and about and experiencing new things

Okay, I guess it should be pretty clear by now...we love everything about you.  Every single thing.  We thank our lucky stars (particularly the three named Adam, Joseph and Paul) for your place in our lives every day.

Happy First Birthday, beautiful boy!