"ONE" AMAZING YEAR

It's amazing to think that we once counted James' birthdays in weeks. Then it was months. And from here on out we'll be celebrating the years... Today James turned one-year-old. That's 12 whole months. A whopping 52 weeks. And our little man sure has changed over the past year...

How do we love thee? Let us count the ways...

We fell in love with your tiny hands, your hairy ears, your crooked toe, and your sweet little lips the moment we laid our eyes on you:

We fell in love with your smile just before your one month birthday, and you have blessed us with your happiness every day since (even through teething and your few sicknesses):

We fell in love with your michevious looks by the time you turned 2-months-old, and you started giving us reasons to smile until our cheeks hurt and laugh until our bellies ached:

We fell in love with your adorable laugh at the 3 month mark, when you surprised us by going from "crowing" to "giggling" overnight:

We fell in love with your voice around 4 months, when you proved to be more of a babbler than we ever anticipated (even with your Mommy's history) and even a singer:

We fell in love with your persistence by the time you were 5-months-old, showing us that you weren't going to stop trying to crawl or speak words, no matter how hard it was or how frustrated you got when you couldn't yet do it:

We fell in love with your loyalty at 6 months, when you began to show such an obvious preference for us above all others:

We fell in love with your flexibility around 7 months, when we learned that you are a crowd-pleaser and an excellent traveler:

We fell in love with your ability to imitate us at 8 months, which is something we have continued to find highly entertaining:

We fell in love with your appetite during your 9th month, when you showed us that you were willing to try anything, and liked almost everything we fed you, making every meal with you a pleasure:

We fell in love with your sense of humor by 10 months, when you started to do things because you knew you'd get a reaction from us (whether positive OR negative):

We fell in love with your independence at 11-months-old, when you proved that you are already learning to do so many things on your own (but we also love that you'll still reach or call out for help when you need it):

And today, on your 12 month birthday, we have fallen in love with you all over again. You are our greatest blessing and the biggest joy in our lives. We love your ability to brighten our day with your smile, a laugh, and some snuggles:

This year has gone by so fast. Too fast. It's sort of bittersweet to watch our little baby boy become a toddler... We're so proud of you James, and we will always treasure the many memories of this first year! We swear it seems like just yesterday that we welcomed you into our world:

Happy 1st Birthday James! Mommy and Daddy love you!