Baxter's first birthday

I am trying not to be too excited over Baxter's first birthday because he doesn't care.
But I do.

While we have been raising alpacas for nearly ten years now, Baxter is our firstborn, and this month marks a milestone for us: we raised our first alpaca from birth to his first birthday.

I documented his first 24 hours of life as any first-time parent would, and I'm so glad I did.  

As I watched the video again, all the memories and emotions came flooding back from that first experience.

If you have not seen that video or would like to revisit it, click on the link below.

Since that day, we have watched Baxter as he had his first encounters with his world.    
- his herd
- his home
- how much fun running is
- learning to eat hay & grain
- playing 
- dust baths
- his first shearing
- dirt mounds are awesome
- more running
- snow
- wildlife (turtles, raccoons, woodchucks, wild turkeys, the barn cats)

Now that he is almost a year old, he's just about equal to the size of his mom, Summer, and has inherited her personality as well:  very easygoing and mellow.

He seems quite mature as he mingles with his herd day-to-day.

In their winter pen, there isn't a lot of stimulation for activities but he and his buddy Ace are already starting to wrestle again.

I'm sure that once their coats are off after shearing and the herd is out in the pasture again, there will be more fun runs.