the state we're in

Initially, Kendrick and I thought we’d have a family-only type of shindig for Conley. But when it came right down to it, we decided this first year of new life was momentous enough to require a little more fanfare. So we crafted the robot (duh) invitations and sent them to family and friends and planned a simple, low-key afternoon of fun at our house.

We ended up with approximately 15 kids and their parents crammed into our tiny house. It was everything I hoped it would be! Simple, fun, relaxed, and celebratory. Conley may not have understood what was going on, but he loved the friends, the food, the singing, and the love! It made me so proud of our little guy, and so thankful for each person who came to love on him with us.

I also have to say a special thank you to my parents who spent several days that week at our house helping me prepare for the party. Their selfless helping hands meant I could actually relax and enjoy our guests rather than worrying about what didn’t get done or fretting about keeping everyone happy. So nice.

With all that said, here are copious photos of our joy-filled day. I mean really, like, so, so many photos.

  

Toward the end there, he really started losing steam, but the boy’s not a quitter. I’d guess that the last 1/3 of the cupcake took him a good 20 minutes to get through as he zoned out and traded “bonks” with Granddad. I think he might have even shared a bite or two.

Again with the glazed eyes as he trades a “bonk” with Nala & Auntie Lauren.

I can’t believe we didn’t get a photo of “the kids’ room,” which was just Conley’s room swarming with tiny bodies and moms. So cute.

The after party. What a day.

The birthday and the party turned out exactly as we hoped.

Small enough for a one year old; big enough for all the love in our hearts.

Itsy enough for Conley’s vocabulary; seismic enough for an atomic bomb of joy.

Tiny enough for our budget; large enough for the sweetest gift of life.

It all feels like such a gift—the beautiful day, the precious family and friends, the sweet moments, and of course, our favorite and best little guy.

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:11

Our tiny baby boy has turned into a real, live kid! We can hardly believe we already have this miniature human on our hands! I know I’ve talked about this before so I suppose it’s all a matter of degree, but it’s amazing to see Conley’s personality emerge more and more as he grows. While I know we have a hand in shaping and molding him, it’s stunning to realize how much he just “came with,” already built in by the God who created him “fearfully and wonderfully,” and we just get to witness the unveiling of this magical, little person every day. I mean, what could possibly be cooler?

The week before his birthday, Conley sprouted four new teeth (top front quadrant) to join the two on the bottom. After a visit to his friend Bradly’s house, he decided he might like to be a big kid like her and his walker had a short-lived renaissance. He also took his first few independent steps, but alas, hasn’t been consistently interested since. He has started crawling on one knee and one foot though, which makes me think it’s not too far off. We’ll see. His words are “mama,” “dada,” and “gaga,” which is basically everything-not-mom-or-dad. We’ve done a little signing with him and his favorites are “light” and “fan.” He also signs some version of “all done” (rarely) and “more” (almost always).

(I love how the walker seems to sort of be walking C in this shot.)

I say “rarely” and “almost always” because the kid is seemingly insatiable. I’m grateful that we don’t struggle with finding foods he’ll eat or worry about not getting enough in him, but we have our own mealtime struggles. Just the sight of food can throw Conley into a loud, desperate frenzy that only countless frantic bites can diffuse. His limited communication skills make it difficult to know what to correct and what will straighten itself out as he gains more words and hopefully gets less frustrated, but suffice it to say that if he has one bite in his mouth, you better have two more ready to go next or he will assume you have grand plans to starve him and he will react accordingly. Mind you, he’s still working on the last bite you gave him. So, we’re working on our table manners and will somehow have to tackle delayed gratification. Still, we’re grateful that he’s an adventurous, willing eater. I like to joke that he has my appetite and Kendrick’s metabolism—lucky guy!

At 12 months, we still followed a 4 hour schedule with 4 nursings and 3 meals a day, however, I’ve since dropped that mid- to late-afternoon nursing to get him on a more regular 3 meals a day routine. We also switched to cow’s milk for any bottles he gets, which has got to be one of the happiest days of a pumping mom’s life. (Well, we’re still half-and halfing it to get him used to it, but we’re on our way.) He’s taking 2 naps and, miraculously, that seems to be going really well for him. We’ve had such napping struggles in the past, but it has really been a breeze for a few months now. If you’re a mom, you know what a difference good, consistent naps can make in your day. I can’t say enough about how grateful I am for it!

We had a birthday party to celebrate our guy’s big milestone, but I’ll save those details for another post. Also, his stats are a little ambiguous this time around as he decided to throw a fit instead of getting weighed at his one year appointment. The doctor was confident his proportions remained pretty stable though—height somewhere in the 90-98th percentile and weight closer to the 50-60th percentile.

Conley, you are a gift to the world around you and you’ve added more to our lives than I can say. Your outgoing, friendly nature is a delightful surprise to these two introverts and a source of so many smiles from us and strangers. You are bold, brave, and have an adventurous spirit and an infectious zeal for life. One moment I wish I could capture in a bottle was one afternoon when we were walking out of church and I had you in my arms. A cold front had blown in while we were inside and as soon as we stepped out the door, a chilly wind hit us in the face. You gasped, momentarily startled, then quickly threw your head back and your arms in the air where they stayed until we reached the car.

You are a treasure, Conley Monroe, and we thank the Lord that he dropped you into our family. What a gift this first year of new life has been. We can’t wait to see more and more of who you are, precious one.

 

A month late. What of it.

Kendrick started a new job in Dallas the first of January, so this month was about finding some new family rhythms. We’re still struggling a bit to figure out how to make the most of our diminished family time, but we are learning to treasure weekends together more than ever. And, to be clear, the new job is a great big blessing that allowed me to quit my part-time gig and stay home with this sweet bug! It’s going to take some adjusting as a family, but God has been good.

  

Conley’s developments included moving from a bottle to a sippy cup and dropping his third nap. He eats everything we eat, unless we’re eating french fries or, say, PIE, but I’m really grateful for his adventurous, unpicky palette. He moves in and out of chattiness, sometimes “talking” up a storm for a week and other times sticking to his standard repertoire of charming grunts. He doesn’t have any real words yet, although he’s certainly communicating some pretty specific thoughts. Also, it’s astonishing to see the words and concepts he can demonstrably understand, even if he can’t verbalize them himself yet. Tiny brains in action are amazing.

 

We made the most of a mild winter and spent lots of time at the park.

 

And took many fun wagon rides.

 

Post-breakfast sleepyhead, greeting the morning.

The porch swing at Grammy & Granddad’s.

 

Thanks to Cup of Jo for this sheepish giggle.

For Conley’s tenth month: less words, more photos.

Thanks to having both of our families local, this marked the first year we were able to stay in the metroplex for Christmas and see most of our loved ones.  Leading up to the holidays, well-meaning people liked to ask if Conley understood any of the festivities. Obviously, it’s been a long time since any of those people had a 10 month old. My response was that Conley doesn’t even understand he has a nose on his face; however, it was still a joy to see him explore the Christmas tree, play with the Nativity, wonder at the twinkle lights, tear through wrapping paper, and most of all, eat up the special time with family. This kid loves a party. Even though I know he didn’t comprehend what was going on, he appreciated the novelty of it all, and his fresh perspective made it so fun for us to experience, too.

 

 

For his first Christmas, Conley received a wagon, a new car seat, some “walker” toys, stuffed animals (they get all his kisses), some stacking ring towers, and so many other fun things. The joy continues as we get to watch him play with and explore his new toys!

 

(Note the wagging tongue, his ubiquitous new accessory. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing that same look of concentration years from now as he’s learning the latest football play—I mean, solving a tough math problem. )

 

Developments in or around his tenth month include cruising, handing us things he’s holding, beginning to babble more (as Kendrick noted, if Conley ever discovers consonants, he’ll have a lot to say), and sprouting two teeth (see doll-faced evidence below)! He had a couple exceptionally fussy evenings before we realized his first little ivory was popping through. The second one showed up just a day or two later.

And chalk it up to inexperience, but I was beginning to worry our boy would never be a reader. He was just always so busy and couldn’t sit still for books. But I’m relieved that month ten also brought a new interest in “reading.” Now we read all throughout the day! He’s an avid page turner and favorites include Brown Bear, Brown Bear, a Peter Rabbit pop-up, and The Going to Bed Book. I love holding him in my lap for storytime!

Can it be that this little guy has been in our arms now longer than he was in my tummy?  In a way, it feels like he’s been with us forever, and it’s sometimes hard to remember our B.C. (Before Conley) life.  That’s okay though because this A.D. (After Delivery) life suits us pretty well these days. 

Conley’s ninth month of life was so fun.  I’m starting to really understand that “progress is a spiral” concept.  I seem to oscillate so quickly between “this is so haaaaard” and “this is so WONDERFUL!”  I consider it a victory if I can keep one eye on the other camp whenever I’m experiencing one of these polarized emotions.  It’s good perspective to remember that, hard or wonderful (yes), the only constant is change.

 

And change he does.  Conley spent much of his ninth month perfecting his crawl.  I wish I had audio to post of the thwack-thwack-thwack sound of his hands and his delirious, anticipatory panting as he high tails it after one of the cats across the house.  He’s so busy, but also becoming a little independent, which allows me a few minutes here and there to work around the house while my little shadow follows closely behind (thwack-thwack-thwack).

We’re still enjoying great sleep at night, from about 8:00pm – 7:30am, while naps are erratic as ever.  At his 9 month appointment, Conley weighed 20 lbs 5 oz (~ 65%) and was 30.5” long (98%), so he’s holding pretty steady on that trajectory.  He’s also nearly half my height (62”), which is sort of harrowing to me. 

I don’t think I’ve written about what a daredevil he is before, but this boy LOVES to defy gravity.  He can’t get enough of Kendrick tossing him through the air, upside down, spinning, twisting, flipping—the wilder the better.  I have to squeeze my eyes shut sometimes and let the boys be boys.  I’m thankful that Kendrick will have a non-me partner for rollercoasters in the future.

Of course, we also celebrated Thanksgiving last month!  Conley made the 15 hour trip with us from Texas to Georgia (and back)—whew!  I have to brag on the little guy who made the trip like a major champ!  He didn’t cry for more than 20 minutes in either direction, which is a miracle!  We were so proud of him, and being with family in Georgia certainly made the car time worthwhile.  Specifically, it could not be more fun to watch Conley play with his adorable 8 year old cousins, Jeb & Jenna.  He and Jeb seem to have a special, “one of the guys” sort of bond that is too precious.  We would love to be closer, but until then, we treasure all the time we get with the Browns and my brother in Georgia.  We have so much to be thankful for this year.

  

Thanks for nine of the most adventurous months of our lives, sweet Conley.  We could not be more tickled to know you or more humbled by and grateful for the privilege of raising you, our sweetest boy.

 

I came across this post a few weeks back about Paul Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward.  I’ve kept it open all this time and I find myself scrolling through it again and again, staring at the photos, savoring the quotes.  I just had to share—I’m smitten with them!  I can’t get enough of their playfulness and the way they look at each other.  Obviously, this is just a tiny, edited glimpse into their relationship, but it sure seems to point to oodles and gobs of mutual love and respect.

Joanne’s quote about a man who makes you laugh jumped out at me because that’s always been my mom’s marriage advice—find a man who makes you laugh.  I’m so glad I heeded her advice!

Check out Paul & Joanne.  Don’t you wish you knew them?  Don’t you think they’d be the best dinner party guests?

I’m a little late with this which makes it difficult to remember exactly what happened in his eighth month, but I would say Conley’s most remarkable development is that he’s become a proficient crawler!  We watched him for days thinking, “For sure, this is the day!”  But when he was good and ready, he took off and hasn’t stopped.  I knew we were in trouble when I left him in the living room one day when I was mopping, then turned the corner into the kitchen and found him sitting there with Maeby’s food bowl in his lap.  Oops!  Operation Baby Proofing to commence stat!

 

If his seventh month was a bit trying, his eighth month was a dream.  Upon the encouragement of a friend, we finally decided to wean Conley from his snug double swaddle.  Combined with the middle of the night wake-ups we were struggling with, that sounds like a crazy idea in hindsight, but miraculously, we had precisely one night of CIO (if you don’t know what that means, I don’t want to talk about it) and then it was back to a full night’s sleep for all of us—swaddle-free (we still use the woombie, but arms-free, and just for warmth)!!  If you could have seen the clouds part and heard the angels sing when we retired the Miracle Blanket—it was a thing of beauty.  We were truly convinced that C would be asking his roommate to help him with his swaddle in college.  I’m not sure I can overstate how elated we were/are!  Bedtime has become much less stressful around here, and his reliable 11-12 hour nights are so sweet.  As an added bonus, he’s also resumed his incredibly reasonable 7:30 – 8:00 wake-ups in the mornings.  Bliss!

Conley is doing great in the nursery on Sunday and Thursday mornings.  The sweet, baby-whisperer ladies who take care of him tell me how much he loves playing with the other babies (they’re surprised he’s an “only”) and that he basically eats the whole time he’s there, since that’s the only way he’ll tolerate the other kids eating around him.  He’s still on a 4 hour schedule with 4 nursings/day and 3 solid meals/day.  He’s doing really well as he’s become more and more flexible staying awake for 2 – 2.5 hours at a stretch and (sometimes) taking 1.5 – 2 hour naps.  We still have our days of nap struggles, but I try to remember how much he’s improved.

 

Still, sometimes I wonder when I’ll be able to roll with Conley’s punches with a little more grace.  To be quite frank, I do more cursing than I’ve done my whole life (including those cringe-worthy middle school years) and probably more praying, too.  I’ve always heard that marriage is like holding a mirror up to your sin; no one prepared me for the ugly reflection I would see staring back at me in the uncomfortably lucid mirror of motherhood.  Ouch.  In my wiser moments, I’m grateful to God for this glorious and painful process of refining my heart.

This month, we celebrated Nala’s (Kendrick’s mom) birthday, mimed our way through Halloween, and dressed up for our parent dedication at church.  The verse of dedication we chose for Conley is 1 Corinthians 10:31: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."  I pray daily that he’ll come to embrace that heart goal early in life.  As Kendrick said at the dedication, I pray that we would model a faith that would make it an easy step for Conley to put his trust in Christ.  And I pray prayers of thanksgiving for the wonderful support team we have all around us, helping us press on in this goal.

 

A few outtakes from our photo session.  We go through many photos of him standing, wiping out, and hanging over the edge of the chair to get one good shot of him smiling at the camera.  But I love the way these show the personality of our never-still boy who makes everything his jungle gym.  I also stay busy praying prayers of protection over his life.   I love you too much, Sweet C.

Before the month gets away from me, I thought I’d post a few photos of Conley’s first Halloween.  Initially, we were thinking along the lines of something super nerdy, like a robot (duh), but it turns out I appreciated the simplicity of this costume instead.

World’s Loudest Mime!

Nevermind the ruching on the shoulders—how cute is this guy?!  We stopped for photos after church on Sunday and by the time he’d made it through the nursery and to our third pumpkin patch of the afternoon (the only one with pumpkins left!  Note to self: don’t wait until October 30 next year.), our mime was not-so-quietly protesting.  So maybe the DIY suspenders didn’t make it on and maybe the make-up was a little less elaborate (and a little more Fester-from-the-Addams-Family creepy) than we intended, but come on—world’s cutest mime is more like it!

We took these a little later in the day on Conley’s new kitty quilt that his Great Aunt Denette made for him.  He loves it.

  

Just keeping it real there.

On the docket for next year: NASA baby!  As if you couldn’t guess.