Camp's 1st Birthday

I'm sitting here in my quiet house, feet up and hot tea in hand savoring the memories of today, and this time one year ago. My sweet boy turned 1 today and I can hardly believe it! Jake and I heard his little voice in the monitor this morning telling us he was awake and playing happily with his stuffed frog and lion. We went into his room together to say good morning and tell him Happy Birthday for the first time ever. I know this sounds silly... but he smiled as if he knew today was going to be a special day. We spent the morning playing with the birthday boy, running errands and icing cupcakes. We had his party at the park near by. It's a special park to us, as we have spent most of the fall days swinging and going for long walks there. I have been thinking about his party for months and had the perfect picture of what it would look like there and what all we would do. Well, because things often do not go as planned, it looked very little like I had imagined and we did hardly any of the things I had planned, but it was still so special.

Once I let go of the picture in my head and I was able to look around and see a beautiful day, a precious little boy, and the most wonderful friends and family anyone could ever ask for. We are truly blessed by the people we have in our life. A great mix of old friends and new but all so special to our family in their own way. I am so overwhelmed and so grateful for their love for us and our sweet little boy.

Once everyone got there we let Camp dig into his cake. His first taste was mostly icing but the look on his face seemed to say "Wow... this is SO good! " and "Are my parents really letting me do this?!" all at the same time. He was quick to dig in as I suspected and soon had fists full of cake and was trying to share some with his dad. After the cake and a quick change of clothes he was off to open presents. (Well, I mostly opened the presents. He sat in Jakes lap and admired my hard work! =) ) Our friends were so sweet and generous. My little boy will not be bored for a very long time. Once the presents were opened he played in his new wagon and went for rides with friends.

When we got home he slept harder than I have ever seen him. He woke up so content and so sweet. It had been a great day.

I love birthdays. I love that there is a day set aside each year for us to intentionally celebrate each other. I love how it causes you to remember. We love to remember as a family. One of our favorite things to do is to tell stories of times past. We talked a lot today about this time last year. I still remember so vividly the excitement and fear of parenthood. The feeling of how much your life is about to change forever. It's been a great year. I love being a parent, but maybe even more, I love seeing Jake as a dad. Camp has changed our lives forever, but for the best.

Camp Daylin,

You are such a precious gift from God. Your dad and I are so thankful that we get to be your parents. I have loved watching you grow up this past year. You are such a sweet boy. You're our sweet boy. I love how you always sit back and assess a situation before you jump in head first. I love how you clap when you are proud of yourself and how you smile with your whole face. I love how you talk so sweetly to your stuffed animals and to me when we are driving in the car. I love your adventurous and bold spirit. I love how you lay sweetly on my shoulder when you are tired. And how you shake your head and act silly to make me laugh. You make me laugh a lot.=) I love seeing you grow and learn new things. You just learned to walk... I knew you would before your first birthday. I am so proud of Camp. I am proud of the fun and tender heart that I already see in you. I pray that you will come to know our saviour at a young age and spend your whole life loving God and loving people. Happy Birthday Little Box. You will always be your mamma's little boy.

I love you,

Mamma