Blessings of a One Year Old

Blessings of a One Year Old- 

Brayden Timothy Stube

Little Man- (as we like to call you) We are so in love with you and the little man you're becoming. Your laughter is contagious and it's your daddy's and my greatest joys to listen to you and Ruthie laugh together. Ruthie is your best friend and you watch her and play with her. You giggle at all her craziness and follow her everywhere. You now growl on demand for her and when she tries to take your toys- you def put up a fight.

For your 1st Birthday mommy and Ruthie decided to make your party train themed- we had a lot of fun going to stores, checking Pinerest, and Google searching. I had a lot of fun and even though you won't remember one minute of your special day- I will remember it always. Unfortunately- for you big day- you slept most the day away- when you finally woke up around 2 pm- we fed you lunch and as i was carrying you in the kitchen, you puked all over me. I thought it was weird that you had such an upset stomach from lunch but slowly more and more clues revealed that you were actually sick and not just spitting up. :( The day of your birthday party- it would come completely clear as your daddy came down with the terrible bug :(.


The Cake-

I was so very excited to make your birthday cake- from early on, I had this idea of putting a track on the cake and have Thomas ride around the track. I was very pleased that it only took me one attempt to get the cake right! Parchment paper is my friend! And it helped that I had the support of my friend Katie. :) AND man! Was the cake a hit- the kids LOVED it!! For Brayden's special mini cakes- I was given a recipe from my friend Shannon-- I couldn't even tell that the cake was missing dairy and eggs! Brayden was curious about eating his cake- but surprised me with how similar he is to his older sister and slowly ate one bite at a time!

The Decorations- as I said, I had a lot of fun on Pinterst and other search engines looking for fun ideas. Here is what I came up with!

So blessed- we were incredibly blessed by our friends and family who came from near and far to be with us on this special day. And to those who couldn't make it- we missed you!

Friday night- around 6 pm- there was a knock on the door. We had just sent the boys out to grab some pizzas. I went to the door and looked at the peep hole to only recognize it was a man. (odd) When I glanced again- he moved out of the way of the hole (again...odd) When I reluctantly opened the door- there was a dog and slowly I realized- I was staring at my brother Evan! What a great surprise!!

I don't know his big boy stats yet- his appt is in another two weeks. So I'll end with a little note to my little man.

Dear Brayden- you are one years old. I remember the day you were born like it was yesterday. The moment my water broke clearly stating that daddy would not be watching the Carolina/Duke game to the long 22 hours of labor- to finally holding you in my arms. I remember the first time I held you and looked at the precious little guy you were. How much love I had for you at that very moment. You  would continue to bring me joy as I learned more about you- as your personality took shape- I knew I was blessed, but to the extent, I'm still discovering. The beginning of your journey was rough- you were born with allergies that we're still learning about that made it very hard to nurse you and for you- gaining weight was a struggle at the beginning ... but now! You are growing and thriving and your early struggles are beginning to fade. 
Mommy and Daddy (and Ruthie too) love you so much. We are so thankful you are apart of this family and we can't imagine life without you little man. We are excited to see what this next year brings. We cannot wait for your first step (which we predict is in your near future). We already talk about our adventure down to North Carolina and running down the beach! Love you little man <3

Love, Mommy