Happy First Birthday, Nathan!

What a difference a year makes!! Today, I am reminded of just how blessed we are as a family. A year ago today, we went from a family of three to a family of four. And, I can't even imagine our lives without our sweet baby boy. I remember the first time I laid eyes on my little Nathan...I cried I was so happy to finally meet him. When he turned his head towards me when I first spoke to him, it was like we were connected for life...that was it.

Every day I think about the events that had to happen for my babies to be here today. As I am sure you all know, Kevin and I were "High School Sweethearts." We met at Marian Catholic High School. All Catholic high schools require you to take an entrance exam for admittance into the school. The exams for all schools in the area are held on the same day and you have to decide where to take the exam...you can't take more than one. Kevin was being "recruited" by Mt. Carmel to go there and play football. He was struggling with the decision between attending Mt. Carmel or Marian. Mt. Carmel had arranged for a football player to pick him up the morning of the exam and take drive him to the school to ensure he would be there. The night before, for whatever reason, he decided to take the exam at Marian. If he had made a different decision, we may have never met and fell into that ridiculous high school love. Charlotte and Nate might not be here. It's amazing how things happen to get you where you are.

I am amazed every day at how much Nathan has grown and how many new things he has learned during his first year. I saw his first smile, his first giggle, his first time crawling, his first steps.. He came into this world a 7lb 8oz little baby...now he laughs, waves, walks, says mama and dada, and eats real food!

Nate is so loving. He constantly wants to be hugged, kissed, snuggled, held. If I smile at him from across the playroom, he will coming tearing over, tripping over all of the toys in his path, just to get a hug and a kiss. He loves his sister like crazy and wants nothing more than to play with her and laugh with her.

Nathan is a Hebrew name that literally means, "God has given" or "a gift from God." For those of you who know how Nathan came to be, can you imagine a more perfect name? He was absolutely a gift and we are the luckiest parents to have him as our son! We love you, Nathan Phillip...Happy First Birthday! You are destined to do big things in life, I can feel it...I can't wait to watch you grow and change with every year.