Our Yearling

In the blink of an eye, Tobin is one. How that happened so fast, I'm not quite sure. Nevertheless, the calendar says it is now January 12, 2009; and that means a full year has passed since that indescribable night when he was born. I hope to post more birthday pictures tomorrow, but for tonight here are some recent photos of him that make my heart lurch when I see them because I realize that my baby, my little Tobin Bear, is progressing steadily along the inevitable path of growing up. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way; but my heart can still lurch, can't it?

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~ Jeff took these pictures of Tobin on the rug on December 13...I love his wide-eyed curiosity as he watches the people and things around him so intently
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~ at Christmas, my brother brought us this carseat that their youngest son had outgrown, since they knew we would soon need to use our infant carseat for the new baby; and these pictures were taken on January 4, the first time Tobin rode in it...this was also the first day that Tobin didn't have any kind of morning nap; and by the time we were on our way home from good old Country Cookin' in the early afternoon, he was exhausted...to me, he looks so little in this big carseat!...I like the way protective big brother David is watching over him in the bottom picture (taken, by the way, after we got home and were parked in our garage, not along the way somewhere; we may be country, but we do not let our boys wander around the minivan while we're driving) :)

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~ another first for Tobin, this one on January 7: after-dinner storytime on Grandma's lap...I'm sure this scene will be repeated countless times during the coming years until Tobin is too big to fit on Grandma's lap!

Happy first birthday, sweet Tobin! You have lit up our lives this past year, and we will never stop thanking God for the profound gift He gave us in you.