Maverick's 1st Birthday!

The Birthday Boy! 

 Maverick & his buddy Jonah

CHEESE!

 Such a cutie!

Showing us how old he is...1yr old!

Mommy and Maverick

Maverick's 1st Pumpkin experience

 Trying to figure it out...

 Not sure what he thinks of the pumpkin goo...

Pumpkin goo feet!

Maverick's Pumpkin Birthday Pie!

Watching his video from daddy(and waving at him)

 Birthday Bow :)

His 1st cars! (no more giving me a hard time about him not having "boy toys")

Pie anyone??

Present time!!!

I can't believe the day has already come and gone, the day our baby turned 1year old!!!  It's weird that its over and we officially have a toddler now... I know it is cliche to say this, but it went by so fast!  Maverick's actual birthday was a great day.  We got to start the day by skyping with Elisha so that Maverick could open his presents from daddy while he watched.  I always love watching them interact because it is reassuring to see and know that Maverick has not forgotten his daddy and I love that Elisha is able to be a part of our big moments even though he is so far away.  Maverick and Elisha got to spend about an hour together opening presents and smiling and waving and blowing kisses and chatting before moving on to the next activity in our day.  Grandma, Grandpa, Desiree, Alyssa, Jonah and the Stephan clan all headed to the Pumpkin Patch with us to get pumpkins.  I have been praying daily for cooler weather to arrive so that we could start enjoying fall, and true to God's perfect timing, we had a beautiful, and very cool day for Maverick's birthday.  We were able to stay at the pumpkin patch long enough to enjoy a little bit of everything(as you can see in the above pictures), and then got our pumpkins and headed home to carve Maverick's 1st pumpkin!  I figured it would go one of 2 ways: he was either going to love it and be a complete pumpkin mess or he would be weirded out by it and want nothing to do with it... his reaction was the first one.  By the time he got done sticking his hands in all the pumpkins and "helping" everyone carve their pumpkins, he was one big pumpkin mess!  Seeds between his toes...on his cheeks...in his hair...and all over his cute little 1yr old self!  I am always sad when he has a "1st" that Elisha is not here to enjoy with us, but my good friend Alyssa was great at capturing our day of firsts so that we could share them with him.  

Later in the evening, we had more birthday guests arrive for dinner, pie and presents.  I made a completely "Maverick friendly" dinner and pie and I think he liked it!  Cooking for this little man has been a challenge, but I finally feel like I am getting the hang of it and we can enjoy meals that feel a little more normal now.  I didn't get a picture of all the gifts before he started digging in, but I can assure you, he is one BLESSED and LOVED child!  We had a perfect ending to the birthday party when Elisha was able to skype us again before he headed into work and everybody got to say hello and Maverick got to show his daddy all of his birthday presents.  Also, it was perfect timing that a birthday package that Elisha had sent Maverick 3wks ago arrived right on time- not a day early or late! It was a video of Elisha reading books and talking to Maverick and a copy of all the books that he read for Maverick to follow along with... I love it!  Maverick sat there and tried to interact with the video, thinking it was daddy on skype... he waved at him and pointed at him and "chatted" before realizing it was a video.  He watched the video again this morning, this time he actually watched it and would point at the books and smile.  

I loved the whole birthday day, but it was definitely full of lots of different emotions.  I loved celebrating Life.  I loved watching and being a part of some "firsts".  I felt Blessed every time I looked around and saw the people that were celebrating with us, the ones who have walked alongside us this first year and been such a huge encouragement and support!  I felt Proud as I watched our son, who is no longer a baby, do "kid" things and knowing that we had done some things right to make it to this day.  I felt Joy knowing some exciting things are on the horizon; the coming years are filled with so much learning and I can't wait to watch it all and be a part of it all!  I felt a little sad... wishing so much that my husband could be there to celebrate our son with me and wishing that he didn't have to experience the whole day 2nd hand... BUT I also felt Peace because I know & have seen God's faithfulness in holding our little family together in His Hands, and I trust that He will bring us through this even stronger and better than when we started!  Its the little things, like Maverick laughing when he saw Elisha on skype during his party, that make me smile and know that God is still working things "together for good" even when there are less than ideal circumstances.  

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Maverick's first year of life!  He is not at all lacking for love, and I am so grateful for all the amazing people, both family and friends, who are a part of our lives!