Josh is One!

A year has gone by since Josh joined our family and we couldn't feel more blessed! We love him so much and we've had a fun couple of days celebrating the fact that our baby is now a little man (yup he's one year old. You're all right - time flies). So here's what we've done:

Everyone knows that we are 'careful with our money' (some may say 'cheap') so the night before Josh turned one we took advantage of going to a local indoor playground called 'Let's Play!' because it is free for children under one. Hopefully he will get to see it again, but in the event that its a while until we frequent it again, we went to take advantage of one last free entrance. We had tons of fun climbing, crawling, and sliding all over the place. The reality is that Josh's smile and giggle while we are there are worth more than money can buy, so I'm sure we'll be there in the not too distant future - especially with the probability of several feet of snow and temperatures below 'rediculous' coming at us in no time.

While Dad worked on Josh's birthday, Mom and Josh went to the dog park (Copper likes Josh's birthday too. We've only been about three times this year. Before Josh we went more than three times a week. Copper is getting used to being second in line.). It was nearly 10 degrees outside so it was a good time to take advantage of one last outing in Edmonton. Hopefully Josh's future birthdays will present the same opportunity (unlikely).

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lindsey and their boys stopped by to congratulate Josh on his accomplishment of being one and brought him a really nice abacus - never too early to start down a good carreer of accounting (Just joking Josh - you can do whatever you want when you grow up). It was nice to visit, though it was much too short.

We had the official party on Friday the 11th. Marie's family joined us for homemade pizza and cupcakes. It was great to have everyone together to celebrate Josh's first birthday. Josh and Dad had fun feeding each other the cupcakes and Josh was spoiled with several gifts and had a lot of fun watching all of his big cousins walk around. Josh took 6 steps that morning and is really excited about being able to walk - even though his excitement often brings him to the ground to clap for himself.

We can't believe one year has gone by already. For Josh, this is a big day! For us, November 10th will always be a special day because its the day that we first met the boy that we were told we never would. He truly is a miracle! He brings a special spirit into our home. He helps us come closer to our Heavenly Father and to better understand His unconditional love. We wouldn't trade this day, or any of the 366 days that we've come to know Josh so far, for anything in the world.

Truly, these are days to celebrate!