A New Year for Ally

This weekend Olivia, Katy and I went to Maryland to celebrate Ally's first birthday. The drive to Beth & Rob's was generally uneventful, barring some torrential rains between Petersburg and Richmond. The girls rode like champs, and gorged on snacks and watched movie after movie to pass the time. The ride home was a bit less smooth ending with Katy pitching a fit of royal proportions, and Olivia throwing up from what appears to be her first brush with motion sickness. But all of the driving was so worth it to spend that special day with Ally, Beth and Rob!

Ally is at that wonderfully endearing, charming, sweet, delightful stage where the world is just incredibly exciting, fun and new. She's clapping and dancing and standing and crawling and bouncing and laughing and exploring. I can't believe that a whole year has already passed and that we are celebrating her birthday. That first birthday is such a bittersweet one--the changes in that first year from newborn towards toddler are so monumental. And I know that Beth will be kind of emotional tomorrow as she thinks back to where she was, going through labor, giving birth, holding that tiny little baby for the very first time. What a miracle new life is! The OB who delivered Ryan commented soon after he was born that he doesn't understand how anyone can hold a brand new baby and not believe in God. He is so right.

And so, as this first year ends, and a new one begins tomorrow, I pray that Ally will continue to be the sweet soul that has touched all of our hearts. And that Beth and Rob enjoy all of the "firsts" that are going to occur during this next exciting year. I love you guys!

Ally checks out one of the cool toy "cubes" Grandad made for her.
















Beth & Rob--yeah! They made it through the first year!


























Ally shows off her dancing prowess to Laurie Berkner's "We Are the Dinosaurs."















Let her eat cake! (And smoosh it and smear it and make a fabulous mess for our amusement!)