Just a quick update tonight. I wanted to post these Monday night, but ran out of time. Then wanted to post them last night, but ran out of time. So tonight I am simply standing up to Time and saying, “Just let me slip in here real quick with this update. Please? Pretty Please?” Apparently, Time is in an obliging mood tonight…

Anyway…. my mom, sister, and two nieces came up to visit for a long weekend. We all hadn’t seen each other in nearly 7 months and it was wonderful to see everyone again! Isabel, Maggie, and Will were adorable and we can’t wait until the Summer!

Yesterday was Will’s one year birthday and we are still in awe over a few things:
1. That a year can pass by so quickly.
2. That at the end of the day, we are actually pretty good parents.
3. Will still seems to like us.
4. We still seem to like each other.

All in all, it has been an unbelievable year and it is even more unbelievable to look back over the past 12 months and see how much Will has grown from a tiny 7+ pound, completely dependent baby into an awefully cute, 24 pound, 2-tooth, sort-of-walking, thinks-he’s-independent little man!

I will say that I have gained much more confidence in my role as a “dad” over these past 12 months. I was so full of worry in the early months that I might not be a good dad and would somehow ruin Will. Well, I can now confidently proclaim that while I might still somehow ruin Will, he and I are going to have a lot of fun getting there together! And that’s what it is about, right? Make the best of every situation; don’t sweat the small stuff; a hug can’t fix everything but it can sometimes make you feel a little better. Basically, just always be there. And after experiencing nights that I thought may never end, diapers that couldn’t possibly get dirtier, laughs that couldn’t sound any more pure, I have absolutely no doubt that I will always be there. No matter what. Happy Birthday Will.

A couple of quick notes on his birthday bash… we had a small celebration with Jess’ parents and Roger’s mom (Will’s great grandma), Jess made his cake completely from scratch and adorned it with Will’s favorite items: blueberries, green beans, and a gorilla! After Will dutifully picked off and ate all of the blueberries and green beans, we proceeded to pound the cake with the gorilla! That’s our boy! Also… the last 2 pictures are of him eating Goulash all by himself. I figured he was 1 now, he could do that. What a mess!