Austin turned one year old on August 24! We are thrilled to report that he had a fun and love-filled birthday. We celebrated with 77 of our friends and family members in our backyard and had a wonderful time. Austin got to try his first piece of cake and he loved it, but mostly he enjoyed spending time with all of his favorite people. We spent 11 months thinking about and planning for this party. When I said that we promised him a big party at his bedside in the hospital last September I was not trying to be dramatic. At that time, we were not given a lot of reason to hope that Austin would be here with us to see his first birthday. So when we made that promise it was a way for us to hold on to something positive in the future. But in my heart I always knew we'd have this party and celebrate this wonderful day with all of the people that supported us and helped us through that horrible time. And here he is, Mr. One Year Old, doing so great and right now making his way across the dining room floor to get into his brothers' toys. (So far he is rolling across the floor, not quite crawling yet, but getting around just the same!) Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all who came to the party or made a donation and marked this occasion with us. I guess to some a baby's first birthday party is not that big of a deal but to us this was one of the most important days of our lives. Hope to see you all at his 2nd birthday party next year!
