Twelve Months.

One year. One year of firsts. One year of love. One year of fun. One year of Ellisyn. Three hundred and sixty five days since that crazy, scary, wonderfully unexpected birthday. It felt like Ellisyn's first year flew by, and I couldn't help wondering where the time had gone. Ellisyn continued to butt-scoot, try new "grown up" foods, and say little words. It was incredible how much she had grown since that little five pound baby I met in the NICU twelve months ago. Motherhood has been such an amazing adventure, and I'm so thankful to be Ellisyn's mom.

The birthday celebrations started a few days before Ellisyn's actual birthday. Uncle Ryan and Aunt Brandi love to spoil all their nieces and nephews and, as soon as they realized Ellisyn's love for animals, they jumped at the opportunity to buy her her very own pet dwarf hamster for her first birthday. Daniel and I weren't nearly as thrilled as Ellisyn about the new addition to the family, but we couldn't help smile at her reaction to the little thing. We decided to name her Bianca and she is proudly displayed in Ellisyn's bedroom. Saying goodnight to Bianca and blowing her kissing quickly became part of our nightly routine.

On October 11th, we had family and friends join us to celebrate Ellisyn's big first birthday. We held the party in the church gymnasium because E has too many fans to fit in our little house! The guests all had cupcakes while Ellisyn had her very own "smash" cake, which she devoured. She didn't even hesitate digging into that delicious treat. Ellisyn was totally spoiled by everyone, and we're so lucky to have so many people that love Ellisyn as much as we do. She got plenty of gifts, but Ellisyn was just happy to have all of her favorite people in one place! 

Happy Birthday to our sweet Ellisyn Joy Spicer. We can't imagine our life without you in it. We can't wait to see what you're going to do next. We love you so much!