My 1st Birthday Party!

Such a happy family!


Connor and his "Auntie Darby"

Having some fun before everyone gets there! Connor and his friend Caly


What is under here?
Hmmm... that looks fun!
This ball is squishy!
Uncle Brett is dying to get a picture of him and Connor in camo!
Darby, Bob, Brad, Robin, Ryan, Aunt Linda, and Uncle Ron

(Thanks Bob and Robin for traveling so far to come and see us! That was very sweet of you! We loved getting to spend some time with you all!)


Grannie, Pops, Great Uncle Brian, and Great Aunt Lady

(Why such serious faces?)
Connor and his Great Grandma


The "edible" cake
" Why is everyone singing?"



Enough!!!!Get this outta here!Try some Aunt Hillary. They are good!Darby and Robin My Mom also got a special surprise when her special friend Robin came! We kept it a surprise and she screamed when she came in. She was holding Connor and it scared him to death! Thanks for coming Robin, you made Mom's day (ours too!)


Ok, somebody wake me up! Please, anybody... I cant believe that I am doing a post about this already! As you can tell I am in denial that Connor is officially turning one tomorrow! At this time last year, I was lying on the couch resting (as I was advised by every mother I knew) and eating one of my favorite treats (McFlurry), and having a breakdown about Cooper (my other baby-the dog) leaving with my parents until we got home from the hospital, whenever that might be. The Cooper thing is another story entirely that I will have to save for another post, it really is quite funny. I can only say that it was the "hormones"!


Anyway, I feel like this is so surreal... However, it is here and my baby boy is officially going to be 1 year of age tomorrow! I can only imagine what this next year will bring. Everything is going to change as he will start walking soon, then start talking and so many other "big boy" things! Yeah, this first year was tough but as I am told I haven't seen anything yet. Connor really has been one of the best babies that I have seen thus far, well except for the sleeping thing. That

is the one thing that I would like to leave behind! I cant wait to experience this next year with Connor and watch him continue to learn and grow into a little man! Words cannot express all of the love, joy, and amazement that I have experienced in this past year! God is so GOOD! God has continued to show me more about myself as I am attempting to raise this little boy. I am so thankful that He has blessed us with Connor and entrusted us to raise him in a loving Christian home so that he can one day pass this along to his children the way our parents have to us.


As you can see we had a great day on Sunday celebrating Connor with family and friends! It was such a great day and I want to personally thank everyone that came! There were some of you who traveled from long distances and that was so sweet of you to do that for Connor! He will look back at these pictures someday and know how much he is loved! It meant so much to Brad and I that we had so many people that wanted to come and spend the day reflecting on Connors first year with us. There were also a few that couldnt join us such as Connor's Great Pawpaw, Connor's Great Grandma, Connor's Grannie-great, An Am and Pete and many others. We were sorry you couldnt be with us, we know you were there in spirit and know that you were missed dearly.


I got a special treat because my very dear friend Darby came down on Saturday to spend the day and night with us before the party. Darby, words cannot express how much I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to come down and spend time with us! I think you know that I couldnt have gotten through the party without you, you helped me SOO MUCH!! I havent done a post about it yet, but Darby saved the day by helping me find a cake mix with no egg or milk products. After 2 failed attempts at making my own, I called her for help before she came out here. She went to a health foods store and found a cake mix for us. When I ordered the cake for the party, I asked the lady behind the counter if they could make one without egg and milk and they just laughed at me! What was I thinking? It was worth a shot. However, through this experience I have learned alot about the ingredients for baking. Eggs and milk are REALLY important! Darby and I did manage to find an egg substitute at Kroger. I didnt know they made such things... Ok, so the cake mix turned out great! The icing was another story altogether! It came out like cement and I practically had to mold it on the cake with my hands it was so stiff. It tasted like sugar and shortening (which is pretty much all it was). I just knew there was no way Connor was going to touch it, let alone EAT it! You cant see it in the pictures but Connor shivered with a horrible face a couple of times trying to eat it! Ha! I am not sure if it was because it tasted so bad or because this is the first real sweet treat he has had in his life. It sure made for a funny video though!

As you can see by all of the toys, we are in for a long December! Many more presents are to come in the next few weeks... Pray that I can find the room for all of them! Ha! It is nice to have something new though to occupy him. Thank you to everyone for his gifts, he loves them all!