A Year Gone By

Our baby turned one this week.

I'm really not sure how that happened.

I had a moment in the car on his birthday where it all just hit me, hard.

Both kids were tucked into their car seats in the back, quietly gazing out the window and the silence got me. My eyes started to fill with tears as I realized that an entire year had gone by. An entire year. 

A wonderful year. But a difficult year as well. 

A year full of amazingly wonderful moments, where incredible memories were made. A year full of hugs, baby snuggles and milestones. A year full of so much joy that I just want to bottle it up and keep it tucked away with me forever. A year where two little loves stole my heart and made me realize that parents are somehow designed to have infinite amounts of love--through all of the great times and even moreso through the tough times.

But it was also a year of hard changes. From an unexpected stay in the NICU, to working out the kinks of bringing a new baby home and adjusting to life with a 2yr old and her new little brother...to Terry's job loss and to my job change. It's been a lot.

But we've made it. Yes, we certainly have.    

From a tiny little baby...

(Accidental feeding shot taken by Mya at age 2--turned out she's a bit of an artsy photographer)

to a walking little one year old. 

We have made it.

And we celebrated big time.

Because not only was it Carter's birthday this week. It was also Oliver's. Then we have Mya's birthday in a couple of weeks too.

Oh, and don't forget--Scarlett was just born 12 days ago.

Us Dawson girls apparently only like to have Thanksgiving babies--one a year please.  

So we ate pizza and cake

...one birthday boy fed another birthday boy...

...and we played Sleeping Bunnies, Carter and I on the piano and Terry and the kids on the floor, until the bunnies woke up and hopped around the house on a cake and ice cream sugar high. 

Presents, cake, pizza and family made for a great evening...

and I'm definitely looking forward to another incredible year ahead. Full of good stuff and hard stuff--everything that makes life so darn great.

Happy birthday Carter and Oliver! And Mya...don't worry, you're next!!

   Erica xo