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This past weekend, on Sunday, September 23, 2007, our little miracle boy turned one year old! Amazing! We are so richly blessed to have him in our lives. God has answered many prayers to bring him to this point. Thank you to all of you who have spent many hours lifting up his life in prayer.
On Saturday, we had a party to celebrate his first year. My family, most of Andy's family, 3 of Christopher's great-Grandparents and some great-aunts, and cousins all attended. We had a wonderful time.
First, we started off the evening in the backyard, where Great-Grandpa Tolan dedicated Christopher to the Lord. It was an honor to have him perform the ceremony, and a joy to publicly acknowledge that Christopher is not ours, but belongs to God, and to declare our commitment to raise him as best we can to grow up to love and serve the Lord.
"Christopher Steven Didyk, we dedicate you to God and to his glory, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our handsome little one-year old.
Christopher's favorite part of the day? Having 18 different pairs of hands to hold so he could walk...and walk...
...and walk. The only tiring-out occurred with the 18 pairs of hands...Christopher was ready to keep walking!
Kisses from Aunt SaraBeth.
"Gramma, can I please come in?"
"Hi, Gramma! I want to play with you. How do I get to Gramma, Auntie Meg?"
After the dedication, we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and ate until we were stuffed.
Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Tolan enjoying their meal.
"Are all these for me?" Unfortunately, yes. A little spoiled? Nah!
"Thanks, Babu and Nana! Can I get the train out of the box?"
"Now I can see pictures of my family that live in Indiana so I won't forget them. Good idea, Gramma! Thank you." 
"Oooo...balls...and they pop up into the air...cool! Thanks, Auntie Anna"
Since Christopher is not really "in" to cars, or trucks or animals or really much of anything yet, we went with a cake in the shape of his favorite thing...cupboards. For hours every day, he will sit in front of them and open and shut the doors, sometimes unloading everything from inside.
"Pretty colors."
"Hmm...what's this? It tastes kind of funny."
"Well, maybe I'll eat a little. They did insist on it a lot."
"Um, Mommy, Can I have a bath now, please?"
Christopher playing outside in his Manning jersey from Papa and Gramma.
"Thank you, Gramma."
The Tolan - Didyk Gang.
Rachel, Andy, Christopher, SaraBeth, Cindy, Daniel, Anna Leigh, and Silas.
Christopher with "Gigi" Steury. (GG - for great-grandma) and great-Grandpa and Grandma Tolan.
Our little man continues to bring us daily doses of abundant joy. He has six teeth, is 29" tall, and weighs 19 lbs. He is continuously talking, laughing and entertaining anyone who will watch (and he knows when you're watching!). Christopher LOVES to walk - we have paths worn into the wood floor in our home where we walk in circles around the lower level all day long. He also enjoys reading books and opening and shutting anything he can. Outside is his favorite place, and if he doesn't get to go out every day, he's cranky. When he gets excited about something, he shakes his whole body up and down - it's quite hillarious. He rarely meets a stranger, and if he does, he warms up quickly, especially if you offer to help him walk. I'm sure he'll be walking on his own sooner than we know, as he's already pulling up on anything taller than he is when he's sitting and walking around the edges of all the furniture.
I guess that's about it for now. Thank you to all of you who trekked down or up here for Christopher's dedication and birthday - we enjoyed having you all here. And Christopher says thank you for his presents - he's enjoying them all! Have a great day.
Christopher and I were over at Daddy and Mama's house, when Babu and Christopher started a little game together. Here it is:
Christopher loves to eat. Anything...all the time. It's getting harder to get him to finish his bottle, because he's more interested in eating solid food, especially when Daddy and Mommy are eating too. He enjoys his fruits and vegetables (even brussel sprouts), and we're working on introducing proteins. Black beans are the newest addition to his diet...we've given them to him for about a week now, and the process is usually the same each time. It goes like this:
First and second bite: *Gag. Choke.* "Uh, Mommy, what is that? I don't like it."
Then: "Ok, well, maybe I like them a little. But just a little, don't tell anybody, ok?"
Then: "Just kidding. I like them, Mommy."
And finally: "I can't find anymore, Mommy. Where are they? May I have some more, please, Mommy?"
Grandpa Didyk was here for a few days...Christopher showed off all the skills he's learned since Grandpa was here last time: talking, playing with his blocks, crawling, rocking in his chair......and walking..."Let's go this way, Grandpa."
...and his desire to always eat something. "Mmm, what's in there that I can eat?"
"But, Grandpa, I didn't get anything out of the fridge."
They had fun playing together and walking A LOT. Christopher also went with Grandpa to the store to look at tools and buy an antenna to put in the attic for the TV. He rode in the cart while Grandpa told him all about the things they were looking at.
Our house seemed empty this weekend after Grandpa left, because Gramma also came down and helped Stephanie pack up all her things to move back home to IN. It's quiet around here now.
This afternoon, I was outside in the backyard with Christopher. There was a mosquito on my leg, and I slapped it, which Christopher found hilarious. Andy captured it on his phone so we could share it with you. Enjoy!
We had a fantastic Labor Day Weekend. Some of our friends, Bill and Amber Ballinger, came to visit. For the past 8 or 9 years, Bill and Andy have always gone camping together over fall break and then Labor Day. Then the wives joined them for the weekend, and now the baby.
Friday and Saturday we spent relaxing in Johnson City. Andy grilled BBQ chicken and fruit, which we all enjoyed Saturday evening.
Sunday morning, we loaded up the car and drove to Roan Mountain for our camping expedition.
We hiked to the highest peak that you can see in the background.
Christopher road along in his baby-carrier, which he loved. When he wasn't sleeping, he was talking to anyone who would listen as we hiked along the trail. 
At the top of the bald, we set up our tents as well as a tarp for some shade. Christopher enjoyed a snack with Daddy... 
...before joining everyone for an afternoon nap.
The view was spectacular.
We were right on the border, so we could see Tennessee in one direction and North Carolina in the other.
At one point during the weekend, Christopher was holding Bill's hand and had his other hand on Bill's walking stick. Bill was helping him move the stick, and he was walking right along. So we decided while we were hiking that Christopher needed his own walking stick. He was quite pleased when Daddy made him one. 
Though he took a few steps with it...
...he was much more interested in eating it. 
Daddy, Mommy and Christopher all eating their supper out of a cup.
Christopher spent the night in Mommy's sleeping bag. It dropped to 55 degrees by 9 pm when we went to bed, so it was probably around 50 at some point during the night.
Playing with Daddy in the morning after he woke up. Christopher liked the tent. 
Right around dinner time, huge clouds starting rolling across the mountain top. It would get so foggy that we couldn't see the edge of the pine trees, then it would clear up and we could see hundreds of stars. It alternated between these conditions all evening. It was amazing to watch a huge wall of cloud moving toward you, then wisps of it starting to blow by before being completely enveloped by it. In the morning, the fog was thick and not clearing up anymore. We could see enough to eat, pack up camp and hike out. For most of the return trip, we couldn't see more than 20-30 feet in front of us. 
*Ahh* The end. Just after we climbed into the car to return home, it started raining. We really enjoyed our time together. Christopher did so well and talked non-stop whenever he was awake. He was sad to go home.
Andy, Rachel, Christopher, Bill and Amber.
