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Dear Daniel,

One year ago today, God changed my life forever. Never in my wildest dreams could I have possibly imagined how much. No parent truly realizes the changes and sacrifices they will make for such a precious gift. Daniel, you mean so much more to me than I could have ever imagined. Not a day goes by that I don't look at you and thank God for giving me one more day of your smile. The way you tug on my neck so I'll hold on for one more second. The way you say mama melts my heart with every breath you take. To know that sometimes I'm the only one that can calm your tears delights me. Your little hand at your mouth blowing me kisses. The way you seem to fit in my arms just so when I hold you close. Even on those sleepless nights I can praise God that I have a reason to be exhausted.

One year ago today, I held you for the first time and couldn't believe that God had trusted me with one of his most amazing miracles. The joy, honor and fear of it all washed over me. To know that I was responsible for His creation. To care for you and raise you to trust in our Saviour. To know that you were not only a part of me and your dad, but a part of God. To know that you weren't truly and wholly mine, but God's. To know that my love for the Lord was so much stronger because He blessed me with you. Because He was and is always faithful. Praise be to the one and true God who moves mountains!

One year ago today, I looked in your eyes and saw your father. My love for your daddy is immeasurable. My love for him grows each time I see him kiss your precious head. To see you both asleep in the recliner gives me such peace. Your laughter makes him smile a smile that he saves just for you. I love that smile! When he sweeps you up into his arms I know that he would do anything to help and protect you. And to see him reprimand you reassures me he will also guide you. Not only guide you through this world but down the path of righteousness. Because your daddy loves you more than any man on this earth!

One year ago today, I became your mommy. And I will always and forever be Daniel's Mommy!

I love you Puppy, a whole sky full!

Daniel's world

Daniel has changed so much in the past several months I don't even no where to begin!

He's not walking yet, but has taken a few steps. I am sad to say that I missed his first ones. But the ten other people in the same room got to see him. At least we were with family.My Uncle Roy asked me how long he had been walking and I told him he wasn't.

"Well, he just did!" I couldn't believe I missed his first steps. His MOMMY!

But we were able to get him to take a couple more steps so we could get it on video.

That will come soon.

He has a mouth full of teeth! Okay, I'm exaggerating. But it seems like he's gotten all his teeth over night. He has three working on four on the bottom and the same on top!

Funny thing is he already knows what they're for. He puts them to good use with some of his favorite foods. Or as soon as something is in his hands, it goes right to his mouth.

We've had lots of drool, trouble sleeping, yucky diapers, etc. The list goes on. . .

Needless to say, this last round of teething has been very difficult for all of us!

While Daniel may not be walking, he is cruising on everything possible.

Push toys, furniture, or Mommy and Daddy's hands have all proved to be very helpful in getting around. Of course his crawling skill has tripled! He's faster than ever.

When it comes to eating he's a pro! He of course is a Huffstetler and doesn't struggle with this a bit. He especially loves veggies, which makes his mommy very proud. He also loves yogurt. If you show him the container he goes nuts. And gets upset when we get to the bottom and tell him he's all done. (Like I said, he's a Huffstetler and loves his food!) We introduced the sippy cup at nine months and didn't turn back. It came to a point that he preferred them so the bottles were completely gone before 1o months! He is on whole milk now. While he wasn't on formula for long, that stuff smells horrible and cost a ton. Thanks to Gran she kept us well stocked.

Pacifiers are slowly becoming a thing of the past. I remember before having a baby I swore I would never use them. But I gave Daniel his first before he was a full 24 hours old! :o) I was so disappointed in myself but then he went to sleep! HEAVENLY!! We started "forgetting" it for nap times at school then at home. Now we're down to only in the car or at bedtime. Even then he doesn't use it much. However, if he does find one laying around he puts it straight in. I can't stand to see him playing with a paci in his mouth! I will ask him to hand me his paci and he obliges with no fight. Good boy!

We've been working on teaching him sign language. Just the very basic signs to start out with. (more, all done, milk, etc.) Although his sign isn't always accurate, he's seems to be picking it up. He certainly understands it if we sign it to him! He enjoys watching his Baby Einstein video that shows him the signs. He will watch the video then turn and watch me do the sign. It's really cute! I think the one sign he picked up on faster was "all done". He let's you know when he's had enough.

As far as speech he of course keeps it very basic. He now uses Mama and Dada in the correct context. And has now learned "yuck". It's especially cute when he says it while changing his diaper. I'm pretty sure that's where he picked it up at! :o)

Saturday we celebrated his first birthday a few days early. I can’t believe it was already time for that! We had a wonderful time with everyone that was able to come. We decided to keep it to just the family and had it outdoors since we live in a cozy two bed, one bath home. He had so much fun playing with everyone and playing with all his new toys. His top favorite was a big red ball Krystyna got him. Luckily he didn’t focus on just that and was eventually distracted by some of the noisier toys he received. He really needed some toys more geared to his age. I think he was getting bored with his rattles! :o)

We grilled hot dogs and had cupcakes and ice cream for dessert. His “cake” was a stack of cupcakes that I put together. The single one on top had chocolate icing. He was absolutely adorable! He really wanted to chow down but I guess he just couldn’t wrap his head around how he was going to go about it. It was just so funny. He eventually figured it out and got icing everywhere. I was holding back tears of laughter the entire time.

Well, I think I’ve covered all the bases. I will be posting pictures and video soon. I promise! :o)

We're back from our blog break!

Look what Daniel learned to do while we were gone!

Okay, okay. But I just had to share this video! :o)

Updates about . . . crawling, cruising, teeth, drool, and daycare . . . are coming!