Nostalgia

How strange is it that we were once as little as Elena? Not so strange when I see how she's grown in a year. Then year upon year...and you have a person our size. Incredible. Here's a post to me being nostalgic as I find photos of her in her first few weeks and compare them to now.

one week old

one year old

2 months old

one year old

It seems like she's really grown taller the last few weeks.

By the way, the infant seat will be retired soon. :)

Cousins

I'm so thankful for the opportunities we've had to spend time with my new niece. While in OR we stayed with Mike and Erika so the girls (me and my sister and the two cousins) had lots of time together. Here's a little glimpse of how they "interact".

Birthday BBQ

Some photos of the events surrounding Elena's first birthday cake experience.

Uncle TJ helping Elena out--she stands on her own and has taken some tiny steps but hasn't ventured beyond that yet

Nothing like a summer BBQ with friends and family--there's not a whole lot of grass like this in Tijuana

Elena really got into opening gifts--now when she sees a gift bag she wants to get into it

Steph, her mom, & little sister with their babies

Colton was loving the free access to juice :)

Boys on the farm

Steph and Katy

Elena's cousin--little Addison, 2 1/2 mos old

First Birthday Cake

While in Oregon visiting family, we celebrated Elena's first birthday a little early. (She'll actually be one on June 12). We had a simple get together at my sister and her husband's place out in the country. It was the ONE sunny day during our whole visit, so we were thankful. As nearly all parents will remark, we can hardly believe our little baby is almost one. The growth and changes she's made are incredible. We look forward to another year full of more!