Happy First Birthday...

...to my beautiful baby boy!!!

Unbelievable how quickly this year has gone by, how quickly he has grown and how quickly we fell in love with the most handsome little boy we know!!!

Watch us celebrate!

CAKE

PRESENTS

My Birthday: Last Year + This Year

My, how a year changes things!

Here a few pictures from my birthday past and present.  I have been immeasurably blessed by all the transformations that have occurred in my life this last year.  I've had my opinions and beliefs altered through my newly gained perspective as a mother.  I've watched my husband quickly and delightedly become a father, which is a title defined by so much more than shared DNA.  Above all, I've been watching this baby grow and develop with unblinking fascination.  I learn new things daily from the fresh and innocent ways he interacts with the world.  The littlest things captivate him and he is always amused by new friends and experiences...something many of us lose the ability to enjoy as we get older.  It is truly a priceless gift and privilege to to be involved in the life of a child.

daddy & judah shoot

[ click on pictures to enlarge ]

the.last.two.months.

Our world has changed dramatically over the last two months.  One morning we woke up without a baby and the next morning our little bubba was here!  He has been the most amazing addition to our lives.  We have cried from joy, from hormones, and from sheer exhaustion.  We've laughed till our sides hurt from the faces he makes, his thunderous toots and the things we catch ourselves doing to make him smile.  There is rarely a dull moment...and if there is we catch up on sleep.  We've been so thankful for our families and friends.  They've made us dinner; given us time to nap; washed our dishes and cleaned our kitchen; done our grocery shopping; sent cards and been overly generous with gifts.  Most of all we are thankful for this gift of life.  We are undeserving of someone so amazing as "little j."  Nothing in life can prepare you for what parenthood feels like.  We whole-heartedly recommend it!

- R + J + j

<3