Here’s the Holloway Band rehearsing for their next gig:

Since we’ve had a lot of projects around the house with the remodeling going on, We’ve gained a little blonde-headed shadow that often imitates whatever we do. Here are a couple of videos showing his busy big-boy activities.

Picking out paint colors for the walls:

Reading the Sunday paper shopping for doorknobs:

A picture…

…and a video

This is what happens when you leave a toddler alone with a spray bottle full of water:

I’m not really sure what kind of style he has. I think it’s a cross between irish dancing and line dancing. Whatever it is, it’s crazy cute.

Here are two fun new skills Caleb learned these past two weeks. I have to credit my mom on the first one:

Kaiden came over to play a couple of days this week. The interaction between these two kids always has everyone laughing. Since Caleb is only four months older, they can interact with each other on a pretty even level. Here’s a video mostly of Caleb showing Kaiden how to play with his toys. As you read from a previous post, Caleb has a very specific method of playing with his toys, You can see him Showing Kaiden how to read his book, thump on the ottoman and click the plastic balls together.

This is the kind of mood we get post-bath and pre-bed.

I’m telling you, this child has been on the verge of walking for two whole months now. He’s taken a few steps independently as seen on his birthday post, but he quickly grows frusterated and gives up.

I’m not one to push his development, but there are times when I have had to walk into the other room and his crawling couldn’t keep up with me. He would get so upset that I left him behind. So to encourage his impending milestone, I bought him a pair of big-boy walking shoes the other day. I made a big deal about how he could walk outside in them and let him walk the few steps he could in stores, restaurants, and to the mailbox. Today when we were taking our daily walk to the mailbox, Caleb squatted down to pick up a rock on the driveway. Since he was still in a crouching position, he figured out that he could stand up again without my help (the sturdy base of the shoes also helped his balance). He did this several times; dropping the rock, squatting down to pick it up, and standing up again. It took 20 minutes to reach the house.

This evening, Caleb was playing in the living room and decided to try out his new skill on his own. Within two tries, he was standing up on his own. Once he realized he could stand up whenever he wanted (with no hands!) he magically acquired last little bit of confidence he needed to walk on his own. 10 minutes later, he was walking all over the house. I still can’t believe he figured it out that quickly. I could almost see the lightbulb turn on.

I managed to get a quick video about five minutes after he learned how to stand up:

On another note, he also discovered my eyelashes today. It’s a miracle my eyes are still in their sockets.

I found Caleb climbing into his toy basket. Here’s the rest of the story:

He likes sharing his cheerios and germs.

1 Year stats: Height= 29 1.2″ (42%) Weight= 20.3 lbs (14%)

Exactly one year ago, we met this little guy for the first time. That same little baby  has blossomed into a playful, spirited little man who is constantly winning the hearts of everyone he meets.

Yesterday was his birthday party and everyone who has been a part of his life came to celebrate his first year. There were lots of cake, piles of gifts, and about half of the graduating class of 2027. At the beginning, Caleb loved greeting his friends at the door (especially little Jason and Jersey girl). But then as the day wore on, he busied himself by defending his toys from baby invaders and watching the grown-ups play ping pong and basketball. He was kind of a grouch toward the end but this was due to a new birthday molar coming in (we didn’t find this out until today).

He loved opening his gifts (well, mostly just playing in the gift wrap):

The cake smash took a little getting used to:

He even showed off his new walking tricks:

I would defintely say the party was a fun success. By the end, Caleb was tuckered out and thankful for bed. This morning, we had our own little family birthday party and opened a his gifts from Mama and Dada.

Many people have asked Andy and me what it feels like to have a one year old. I don’t really know how to reply to that. I think Andy put it best: It feels like forever since I’ve been pregnant, but just yesterday since Caleb was born. This year has been full of  anticipation, miracles, utter exhaustion, smiles, little giggles, terror-filled hospital visits, sweet moments, exciting milestones, learning curves, baby boogies, and furry friends. I couldn’t have imagined when I was in the hospital about to deliver this little miracle, that my life would be full of so much joy, that Andy would come home and immediately run to his little boy and give him a big hug, that family gatherings would now consist of everyone in a circle around the living room watching two cousins play on the floor, or that my heart could even contain all of these emotions all at once. I don’t know what I did in my life to deserve such a wonderful little person. This is just a taste of God’s magnificent grace.

Happy birthday Caleb. You are a much-loved little boy.

On the way home from church on Sunday, Caleb fell asleep in his car seat. I can count on one hand the amount of times he’s fallen asleep outside of his crib or our arms so each time is a momentous occasion. In this instance, we noticed he drifted off with some toy keys dangling from his bottom lip. We had to take a video of it because it was so darn funny.

Here’s a video that’s a few weeks old. I think it’s so funny that I’m putting it up now regardless. Don’t mind the paint cans and clutter. We were in the midst of redecorating the living room: