Ela is One!

Last week, Ela turned 1 year old.

We made it through a year of interrupted sleep, diaper changes, baby feeding and limited mobility. BUT it's really not about those. When I look back on the year, I remember more family time, giggles, scrunchy funny faces and just more joy every single day. Babies are naturally gifted to make us appreciate the important things in life.

On her actual birthday, it was just the four of us at home. In the afternoon, the family picked me up at work  and we went to Party City to grab some balloons and decorations. Then Neil went to karate with Rich and they came home with a small cake for smash cake! Ela enjoyed smashing the cake more than eating it.

So it was a very simple celebration as far as first birthdays go but we had a birthday lunch with Filipino friends the following Saturday. Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for this litte girl's life. She is a bundle of positive energy and has done a great job of rolling with the the things that come with being in this family. It's great to see the sibling relationship with Neil and how that shapes up in the future. Thank you, Lord!

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