Speaking of the (little) man of the house, John Paul Lee turned ONE year old on July 13th.  It seems so crazy to think that a year has already gone by.  We brought home a helpless, 8 lb. bundle of joy and now we have a walking, (baby) talking, climber who does his best to get into everything and anything possible.  

*On a sidenote, other mothers out there have probably thought of this but my sister and I were discussing our kids having birthdays and while everyone celebrates a birthday for the person who was born it really is a day for their mothers (and probably fathers) as well.  It was so wonderful to reminisce and think back to those days leading up to his birth, the anticipation, waking up in labor, arriving at the hospital and then obviously that moment Ryan refers to as "a beautiful, bloody mess."  July 13th will always be JP's birthday, but it will also be a day that Ryan and I remember the miracle that changed our world!

So back to the birthday,  We traveled back to the midwest for two weeks at the beginning of July.  We were able to make a trip to St. Louis (seeing the Schroeders and the Morans), to Bardstown (seeing Meema and Boompa), to St. Joseph, IL (seeing the Jacobs and the Reffetts), Chicago (seeing the Wronka and Ross families) and Herscher/Kankakee and Bloomington, IL to see the rest of Ryan's family.  John Paul was an amazing little traveler.  He fussed for only about 60 of the 3,000 miles on the road!  While staying in Bloomington with Ryan's sister and her husband we got a chance to celebrate the birthday boy.  Erin helped me prepare an awesome birthday party full of food, drink, and decorations and Jaye helped me make the most awesome birthday cake a boy could ever have!  

We had a terrific time celebrating and JP even figured out how to open some presents.  I'm sure the next holiday will bring even more joy in this, right now he just wants to eat the paper he rips off.

For his actual birthday we were back in Denver.  Kati and Wyatt took us out to lunch downtown on the 16th Street mall at Rock Bottom Brewery and we met up with the Rothgery's a week or so later for a cookout that Paul and Carly could attend as well.  

Hopefully as life gets back to "normal" with Ryan heading back to school and me cutting hours I will be able to keep the posts, pictures, and updates up to speed!  Thanks for the patience!