The Most Amazing Year

On Thanksgiving Day, our little turkey turned one. It was so nice to have the entire family there to celebrate with us as he went head-first in to his cake. We spent the day showering Andrew with gifts so that he would not lose interest in gift-opening. We figured we could give him a gift every few hours and by the end of the day, he would have opened everything and been temporarily excited about each thing. It worked like a charm.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the traditional goodies - Turkey, stuffing, rolls, etc... and then we finished it off with a bit of singing, candle lighting and yummy cake time.

As Thanksgivings go - it was pretty darn good. We had "mommy, daddy, mamaw, granny, pappy, uncle Mike and uncle Matt" all here to celebrate with Andrew on his big day. He was relatively oblivious to the whole thing, but still really enjoyed having everyone showering him with attention.

The last year has been so amazing for our little family. Jeff and I have been blessed with the most energetic, sweet and loving kiddo. He is so independent and curious and wants to soak up what life has to offer. I think, if given the chance, he would be a world explorer at this point - but he would insist upon pushing each thing he explored across a room.

It's funny how you can look back on life and think about how things are now and how they used to be. I think about the lack of my ability to sleep in, the lack of freedom to do what I want when I want to do it and the fact that most of my evenings out now end by 7pm. I also think about how each morning I get to greet a child who is so excited to be alive that he laughs as soon as you walk in the room. I think about how having a child makes you really embrace the importance of family, how exciting it is to get to re-invent Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and much more all over again. This is the reason for life - this is exactly what makes life fun and exciting. It's not as much experiencing life but watching your baby experience life. The things we take for granted today are the most intriguing, exciting and amazing things to them.

So, Happy Birthday to my sweet turkey. Life with you has been amazing, challenging, rewarding and tons of fun. I look forward to so much more and cherish the time we have had together thus far.

I could not imagine a better life.

Much love to my Andrew and his awesome Daddy.