Riley's 1st Birthday

On October 3rd, 2008, Eric asked me to be his wife. Exactly three years later, on October 3rd, 2011, our beautiful Riley was born . The memories I have of her birthday are vivid enough to have happened an hour ago. We spent this past week celebrating her first year of life, and also giving ourselves a little high five for surviving our first year as parents.

10/03/11 & 10/03/12

On her actual birthday, I took Riley to her weekly library reading class. She was showered with all sorts of attention by her classmates, and she ate it all up! That evening, we had a little celebration with just us and Riley's grandma Oberly. Riley got to eat cake for the first time, and loved it for all of 3 minutes.

The next day kicked off the Riley Festival here in Greenfield (name/date of the event is a total coincidence, I swear). We stopped by to kill some time before Bao and Nana got here. Once they got here, it was full on party planning mode. (We had originally planned to celebrate Riley's first birthday outdoors at a park, but the weather had other ideas. We very last minute had to change all our plans, and this little side note is a HUGE thank you to Bao and both my Moms and Erin for helping make Riley's bday possible). The change in weather turned out to be a blessing in surprise though, I think. By the end of the day, Riley made it clear that her birthday party was the best day of her life. She was all smiles all day, and babbled herself to sleep at night as if she was replaying her day. The look of pure joy on her face all day made me happier than words can ever describe.

This was, hands down, one of the most memorable weekends of my life, and more importantly, one of the best weekends of Riley's life. When I think back on this past year, I get sentimental about how quickly the time has flown by and I get overwhelmed by how generously God has blessed us. I am thankful for a beautiful and healthy baby. I am thankful for all the support, help, advice and love we've gotten from family and friends while trying to figure out life as first-time parents. I am especially thankful for a husband who is a loving father, who continues to amaze me and who I continue to grow with as our lives constantly change and our family continues to grow.

Happy birthday to my sweet Riley. I love you so much and I am thankful for all you've taught me and all the joy you've brought into our lives. There are moments when you look at me with your dorky little smile and I get completely wrapped up in awe of you. You will always, always be my number one girl and there is nothing I love more than being your mom. Love you, sweetheart!