and just so she knows she has a mama too... ;)

more to come soon! i promise.

da da.

a year ago we were scheduled to take a long awaited trip to st. john. well along came brooklyn FOUR months early and the trip was postponed... until now.

many of you remember a year ago, moments after her birth, brooklyn grasped sean's hand - a moment neither of us will ever forget. well, the time has come - here in st. john - for b to say her first words... "da da." yep, that's right, NOT ma ma, da da. i would have been jealous, but brooklyn's sweet little da da put us all into a world of sweetness and i was left with nothing but joy.

here are some images that will make you see why she said "da da" before anything else:

bff's

mama + me

the other day we took brooklyn and riley to an awesome play space here in jp called mama + me. it was SO fun to watch the girls explore and play with new things. michelle brought her camera - i did not! and took all of these awesome photos:

green hat.

auntie katrina gave brooklyn this hat for her birthday.

birthday dress and bunny.

one.

i know, it's been almost 2 months since b's first birthday party. we're a little behind in posting. but i'm saying here, publicly, that i am determined to post once a week. i haven't been good about writing to b or creating a baby book, so this is it! for now. this will be what brooklyn reads when she grows up. so i best get better at keeping up!

our house was FILLED with those who have prayed, cried, laughed, supported, and loved us this past year and singing happy birthday to a girl who has overcome SO much in one year was something i will never forget. they say it takes a village to raise children - our village has been our strength and our joy throughout this past year, and we will be forever grateful for you all.

here is our sweet girl eating her first cupcake!