Matthew's 1st Birthday Recap

Matthew is ONE!  We celebrated him ALL week long and smothered him with love (and took 1,000 pictures).


We kicked off the fun with a little pre-birthday photo shoot.  He looked so cute in his birthday crown, and we had so much fun with our last monthly photo shoot.

Matthew's birthday stirred up emotions I hadn't felt in a long time.  I was overwhelmed with both love sadness at the same time.  I am so grateful for how far Matthew has come, but I don't think I have fully recovered from the trauma of his rough start.  When I went to get him out of his crib on his birthday, I could not stop crying.  I was thinking about how when he was born I didn't get to hold him.  I barely got to see him for hours, and I could only hold his little finger for days.  All of those feelings came flooding back.  Thankfully, I got it out of my system in the morning and was able to just enjoy Matthew and his special day from there on out.  I barely put him down all day!

After Matthew's nap, we filled his crib with balloons and he had SO much fun playing in there.  All of his brothers had fun playing with him too.

We ended the day with a cupcake for Matthew.  He has texture aversions, so we weren't really sure what he would do with it.  I am pretty sure the only cake that made it into his mouth was via his foot. In Matthew's mind feet are always better than everything else!

Matthew's party was such a fun way to celebrate him and all of those who helped us get through this first year.  Matthew was SO excited for his party that he skipped his nap, so he was a little tired and not his happy self during his party.  I put him in his highchair for some pictures and he just chilled there for quite a while.  When it came time for cake, Matthew did not have much interest.  We ended up saving his smash cake and having a take 2 the next day.  We are so grateful for every person who sent Matthew birthday wishes or came out to celebrate him.  This sweet boy is SO loved!

And here are pics from cake smash take 2:

Matthew received no shortage of gifts for his birthday, but perhaps the most special one is the video that his Uncle Will made for him.  I sent Will a selection of pictures and videos from Matthew's first year and he compiled them into this amazing video that will probably bring a tear or two to your eye.

It is such a special way to remember the journey he has been on in his first year.   

We are so thankful for Matthew and all the love he has brought to our lives over the past year!  We are also eternally grateful for every person who helped us along the way.  Every meal.  Every prayer.  Every text, email or message.  Every carpool and favor.  We could not have made it through his first year without our tribe.