HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY

Remember this? I sure do... and looking at pictures brings me right back to the NICU. I can smell the smell and hear the noises and feel the feelings. That was an incredible experience to all of a sudden, whole heartedly, love someone unconditionally without choosing to. An experience impossible to understand without experiencing it for yourself... Well, this LOVE has only grown a billion times over again through out the past year. He brings so much JOY to our lives.

It's been a year (exactly 4 minutes ago)- Hard to believe... This is how we celebrated the first birthday- just how it began... the three of us.

Spaghetti was delicious.After Dinner, we opened presents:

Our sweet neighbor always finds the cutest books for Dennis. We might have to supervise with this book if we want it to last longer than a day!

Dennis loved the tape on Grandma & Grandpa's package...

What could be inside?
Check out the video at the end to find out what he found inside! (THANK YOU-- ITS SUPER FUN)

I went shopping to buy Dennis some toys and grabbed 4 things that were in the cart at the checkout and when I heard how much I was going to be spending, I decided to put one back. Toys can be so expensive... Well, Ryan decided to buy a toy also... on a different day, at a different store... and ended up buying that exact toy that I put back!!! I guess it was meant to be. The wooden ball drop thingy.

After presents, we had cake!

Dennis snuck a taste while we were getting the video camera all ready. No hesitation there... "hey Mikey, he likes it!"

The best part about getting dirty, is the bath...

Dennis: "Really? a bath too? Just what I always wanted!"