Three years ago today, I was somewhere in my second trimester pregnant with our sweet Landri. And two years ago today she was a mere 6 months old.  But even crazier is that one year ago today, Rex was born!  And one week from today, I start my third trimester with baby number 3!  What a busy, fun, love-filled time in our lives as we celebrate Rex’s first birthday! PS.  Here’s a look back at Landri’s first birthday for fun.

If I had to use one word to describe Rex, I would have a hard time deciding between “wild” and “crazy,” and would probably end up settling on “daredevil” with no fear. Don’t get me wrong, Landri is pretty wild and crazy herself, and while she has no fear (this two year old child will chase cows and goats), I wouldn’t call her a daredevil as she seems to always have had an innate touch of common sense when it comes to her personal safety. Rex on the other hand, completely seems to lack this attribute. The boy will happily and enthusiastically climb, tackle, and attempt to destroy – anything and everything he can get his chubby little hands on. And along the same vein, he has zero fear of water. Like NONE. It’s actually quite terrifying to take him swimming, and hence why he will be starting survival swim lessons pretty soon hopefully.  But in all seriousness, he is already going for doorknobs, slamming drawers and cabinets (and consequently his fingers), moving and pushing furniture across rooms…and he loves outlets on the wall everywhere he goes.  And whatever you do, don’t leave the baby gate to the stairs open or the front door ajar, or he’s GONE (we have learned this the hard way)!!  Rex also still loves our dog Smoke. In fact, I would go as far as to say he’s a little obsessed with Smoke. He gets very happy every time he sees the dog, yelling and clamoring to get his hands on Smoke.  Another thing Rex loves – and this is a bit random – are socks!  He seems to really like all socks but he especially likes his own, I think because he can practically stuff an entire one of his socks in his mouth.  He loves to carry them around with him everywhere, it’s very odd. And there’s one other noteworthy thing to mention as far as things Rex loves goes, and that’s pictures of Scott. He gets really excited, flinging and flailing his arms about, pounding his hands on whatever is in front of him, smiling, screaming and shouting, “a-DA! a-DA! a-DA!” which is Rex-Speak for Daddy. Speaking of words, he understands more than he can say, but he also says “Mama” and “ball” of course. He is constantly “talking” and babbling even though 99.9% of it doesn’t make any sense. He’s a fairly loud little child, always making noise of some kind.

So besides loving to tear $h!t up (did I mention that he also opens and empties the drawers of our dressers all over our bedroom?), Rex’s other two main loves are balls and food. I’m not sure which he loves more – I honestly think he may love them equally. Rex can eat almost forever. He can down several adult slices of pizza in one sitting, or suck down a pouch of baby food in less than 20 seconds!  As far as balls go, he can play basketball and/or catch forever, either by himself or with someone. He “dribbles” balls around the house with his hands (picture how a soccer player dribbles the ball, but imagine him crawling and using his hands). He throws balls and retrieves them over and over. He shoots hoops in his basket repeatedly. When in doubt, if Rex is crying, just hand him a ball and he’s likely to perk right up. Next in line for his love and affection come all TV remotes and cell phones. He will do ANYTHING to get his hands on either of these items, hence why the daredevil characteristic is so scary.

While there are lots of things that rev Rex’s engine, there are a few things that he doesn’t care for.  Topping this list would definitely be having his face/nose wiped. There isn’t an easier way to pi$$ him off! He also isn’t a huge fan of diaper changes and wriggles around like a greased pig trying to escape the changing table, grabbing for anything he can get (and you better hope it’s not his poopy diaper)!  Of course he doesn’t like being hungry or tired – but who does? All in all, even though he’s a wild child, he’s pretty easy going and not too much makes him upset. Well, I guess Landri jacking with him annoys him sometimes, but like the hunger and sleepiness, who likes that either, LOL!

What does Rex look like these days? Well, he’s still a delicious chunky little monkey. Scott gave him his first haircut a couple weeks ago and despite it being uneven, shorter hair looks good on Rex. His hair is definitely blonde in the back and definitely rust orange on top. It’s very bizarre. He is a BIG TIME drooler, soaking shirts down to his belly sometimes, requiring multiple outfits changes in any given day. He has a wonderful happy smile that shows off his 6 teeth (4 on top and middle 2 on bottom).

So there are a couple weird things about our little Rex. One funny Rex quirk is that he randomly hits himself on the head. I’m starting to wonder if they sing a song at school with hand motions that do this (“if you’re happy and you know it, pat your head” or something). He also has a new favorite song: Stay Human (All the Freaky People in the World) by Michael Franti & Spearhead. Go ahead, get on iTunes and listen to it! So random and hilarious! He also has a weird OCD thing with putting objects into containers. It could be a toy in a toy box, trash in a trash can, clothes in a hamper, it doesn’t matter. He just loves to put things inside containers.  And this is totally random, but I’m not sure where in the post it goes, he gives great (open-mouthed) kisses. It’s ADORABLE and disgusting at the same time (especially if you consider the drool factor).

I’m not sure how this hasn’t come up yet, but Rex walks very well. He toddles around all over the place and I love it! SO much better than crawling!! He still falls sometimes so there’s room for improvement, but he’s rapidly becoming more proficient at this important skill.

Scott Says…

M: If you had to describe Rex using only one word, what would it be and why?
S: Active because he’s active.

M: What is your favorite thing about Rex?
S: How he likes to throw balls.

M: What is the funniest thing about Rex?
S: His big front teeth.
M: (laughing) That’s true!!

M: What is your biggest fear for Rex?
S: That his sister hurts him.

M: What are you most looking forward to with Rex?
S: I don’t know, there’s a lot of things I’m looking forward to.
M: Like what? Pick one!
S: Teaching him how to play sports. Hunting, fishing.

M: What do you think Rex’s opinion of Landri is?
S: He likes her.

M: Now that Rex is a toddler, what are you glad to see go?
S: Bottles. I hate bottles.
M: Good thing it’s a three month break! (Scott rolls his eyes)

M: What is the craziest thing or most surprising thing that Rex has done?
S: I don’t know.
M: You don’t think climbing up the slide is pretty good?
S: Yeah.

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And some pictures from the last month here: