Bryson's 1st Birthday Pictures

In February, we took Bryson to Portrait Innovations to have his 1 year pictures made. We also had a few of him and Will taken since we weren't able to during Christmas. Overall the experience was terrible and I will never step foot in that place again. We went to the one at Patton Creek in Hoover and it was the most chaotic, unorganized place I think I have ever been too. We had a 3:00 appointment so I was a bit surprised when we arrived a few minutes early and saw how packed they were. Maybe I'm naive but I thought since we had an appointment at 3 that we would have been taken back at 3. Oh no, apparently they accept walk ins there so I think that's what put them behind. We waited for almost an hour with 2 babies before they called our name to go back. Then while we were getting our pictures taken, these kids kept coming in and trying to get Bryson's balloons and just annoying us. Their parents were no where to be found. The actual photo session time went great. They were pretty quick but could get some awesome pictures. When they were done, we still had to wait almost another hour to even look at our pictures. Needless to say I was very unhappy at this point. I know a ton of people that have used them before and they all just buy the $9.99 package and get a free CD with their pictures on them. Of course I know that legally you aren't supposed to print from them, but everybody does. While we were looking at the pictures, we were never offered the $9.99 package. She told us to chose the pictures we liked by putting 2 pictures on a screen and choosing which one we liked best. It was pretty easy to do that until we got to the cake smash pictures, where they all look almost identical and you can't not have some pictures without the others. I knew it would be that way but we were just going to get the $9.99 package and print/make a collage card from the CD. I know that the employees have to tell us that we can't print from the CD but this lady told us that we could, but the quality would be bad. At this point I was furious and just ready to go. I think after being there for 3 hours, we finally decided what pictures we wanted. I have also been told by friends that have been there that you will get your pictures before you leave. So on the way out we pay and then are told we would have to wait another hour to get our pictures. That's when I just laughed, and walked out. Even though the experience was horrible, we still got some good pictures. Here are some of the favorites. Warning, it's still a ton!

12 Months!

It is so hard to believe that Bryson is already a year old! His birthday was March 1 and we all took the day off and went to the Georgia Aquarium. He had a blast! Before going to the aquarium we had his 1 year well visit appointment. Everything went great! He stood on the scale like a big boy with his clothes on and weighed 25 pounds. When they took his clothes off and laid him on the baby scale, he weighed 23.8 pounds. He is also 30 inches tall. I don't remember his head circumference but all his measurements were in the 50th percentile. As long as he doesn't get sick, we don't go for another doctor visit until he is 15 months.
Here are some things he is doing at 12 months:
-He is now on whole milk and will get a sippy cup of milk at breakfast, lunch and dinner, and will be offered milk at different times during the day.
-He gets juice at snack time only.
-He can wave bye and tell you bye-bye and will also blow good bye kisses.
-He can say anything that starts with a "b".
-He repeats everything and has a huge vocabulary for a child his age.
-His favorite foods are: yobaby yogurt, anything pasta, chicken, and goldfish.
-His least favorite foods are any vegetable, but he is now getting a little bit better about eating them.
-He is still in a size 3 diaper, but I think it's about time to move up to a size 4.
-He wears mostly 12-18 months clothes, but he can still fit into some 9 months shirts, but then some size 18 shirts are too small.
-He goes to bed around 8:30 and has to be woken up around 6:15 for school.
-He takes 1 nap on a cot a day (or in the pack n play at home) from about 11:30-2.
-He can clap his hands.
-When he wants something he will say "that" and point at it.
-He is still rear facing in his car seat and will continue to stay that way as long as possible since rear facing is the safest.
There's probably a ton more I could list, but that would take all day.
When we got to the Aquarium it was lunch time, so we decided to just eat there. I knew it would be expensive, but not near as expensive as what we actually paid. If you ever plan a trip to the Aquarium, eat before you go. Since it was his birthday but we weren't going to have his party until the following weekend, we got him a cupcake to eat with his lunch to celebrate. After lunch we began our walk around the Aquarium. Bryson had a blast! At some exhibits he was more interested in the other people then all the fish. Here are some pictures from the Aquarium.

 This is when he started to get really sleepy so we decided it was about time to go.

Bryson holding up 1 finger for his 1st birthday!

After the Aquarium, we went to Centennial Park before heading home. Since it was a work day, we practically had the whole park to ourselves. Here are some pictures from there.

 This is the main reason we had to leave the park.

 Gotta love that poop face! (he's going to kill me one day for having these)

We left the park just in time to beat the Atlanta rush hour traffic. Once we made it back home, we went to eat dinner at Lucia's in Helena with Robert's family. Bryson got a few gifts there and of course, more cake. We had so much fun taking the day off and spending it with Bryson on his birthday. It definitely is now a family tradition. With all the craziness with the birthday celebrations, we never got around to taking his 12 month pictures at home, but I think it's easy to tell how much he has changed over the past year. He is the most amazing little guy and our lives are so much better with him in it. We love you Bryson! Happy Birthday!