happy birthday, beautiful.

i know, i know brooklyn already turned one in january. but this kid has earned the right to TWO birthday celebrations! april 28 was supposed to be her birthday - well according to the doctors. we all know God had other plans. so on this day every year, we will celebrate our beautiful daughter all over again.

not a day goes by that we are not grateful for this sweet little girl. she continues to amaze us on a daily basis. she makes us laugh over and over again throughout each and every day. she melts our hearts with her sweet little half smile, and big girl hugs. she wows us with new achievements every day. she makes it known that her crazy baby talk really does have a point! and her curiosity never ever ceases. brooklyn is and always has been one determined little girl. we learned that very early on - from day one actually. we firmly believe that b's determination was what kept her alive and able to do so well those 135 days in the NICU. now that determination has carried into brooklyn's daily life and she is well beyond where anyone would have guessed she would be at this point.

what is she doing?

1. ALMOST walking!!!
2. crawling everywhere
3. climbing our whole staircase all by herself
4. standing unassisted
5. saying mamma, dada, duck, and amen. among other things
6. drinking from a sippy cup
7. eating everything in sight. especially peanut butter ;)
8. clapping
9. DANCING
10. turning the pages in her books
11. screeching with delight when she sees any animal (especially doggies)
12. gasping when she's excited

those are just a few of our favorites!

sean and i are having so much fun being b's parents. this has been by far the best year of our lives, and we are so excited for many more to come.