Our Baby is One!

It is hard to believe that a year ago we were celebrating Thanksgiving from a hospital room. I can still remember the day like it was yesterday although Preston says I have a skewed view of how long everything took (we were there all day but in mind mind it seems like a few hours). What I remember most from that day were the overwhelming emotions we experienced. In one single moment my life was forever changed. I felt a sense of love, pride, and joy that I had never felt before. It was a truly amazing day and weekend.

This weekend while celebrating I have experienced many more emotions. I find myself tearing up just thinking about how fast these past twelve months have gone. I wish I could snap my fingers and start back over again. I swear you never believe anyone when they say "it goes fast" but it does... a little too fast.

Tomorrow we will celebrate with our closest family and friends with a "back yard carnival." We are really excited about it. My mom and I joke that this is practice for her wedding because it has gotten a bit out of hand. Our philosophy is that you are only one once so we are going all out! Even though ER won't remember, I hope she will be able to look back on the memories we made and appreciate the effort we made!

Friday we celebrated her birthday all day! After her favorite breakfast and long morning nap we ventured out to a newly renovated park downtown. Needless to say with the holiday it was a bit hectic and crowded but we still had a great time. She loved walking around (yes - we have walker now!) and meeting new friends. She really enjoyed watching the train and boats too. After we got home and her afternoon nap was over we gave her her birthday present from us. We gave her a Smart Trike and she loves it! She keeps opening the blinds to look outside at it. She also points at it too. That is our hint that she is ready to go for a ride! To celebrate we invited the grandparents over for dinner and cupcakes. We had a yummy steak dinner with pumpkin cupcakes. ER loved her cupcake! She picked it right up and tried to put the whole thing in her mouth. I hope she will do the same with her cake at her big party! Everyone had a great time and enjoyed reminiscing about the past year. We are really lucky to have such supportive parents in our lives. I don't know what we would do without them! Ella Ruth sure does love them!

Here are some pictures from the big day!