Happy Mother's Day!

Today was a very nice day ... Shawn, Laura, my family and friends helped make my 1st Mother's Day very special. This day can be hard for many women desiring to be mothers, and I pray that all of those women will one day get to experience their very own Mother's Day celebration.

Shawn and Laura woke me up with a big kiss and a present and card to open. They got me a gift basket from Bath and Body Works. Laura even added her own artwork to the card ... something I will always treasure. We attended church with my parents and then had a wonderful lunch with them after. The weather was just gorgeous today, prompting Shawn, Laura and me to take an after-nap walk. A good day was had by all!

As for news about Laura ... our little girl is growing up!! She turns one at the end of the month -- we can't believe she is already almost a year old! We also think we are going to have a little climber on our hands. This week she mastered climbing up and down the stairs. Coming down she sometimes gets a little sidetracked and forgets to stay feet-first. Fortunately for her, one of us is always there to prevent the tumble down the stairs! Just today she climbed up on a little bench so that she could dig deeper in her toy box! We've also seen her trying to climb up bookcases. I guess it won't be too long before she climbs out of her crib -- just the thought of that makes me nervous!!

She is getting closer to walking and talking. She is really starting to mimic sounds and try to repeat words. So far we have heard Dada, Mama, juice, duck, and oh no. The last was said after she climbed on the fireplace, (a no-no in our house) and Shawn was walking across the room to pick her up and move her to a safer location.

Her personality is really starting to show. She loves to laugh and really enjoys life ... especially eating! The range of table food she is eating grows every day. She had pizza the other night and loved it! We treasure every day with her and feel very blessed to have her as part of our family. Being a parent is great!!