birthday...chapter 1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY-BOY!

It's hard to collect my thoughts as I reflect on the significance of this special day. Was it really 365 days ago that I was given this wonderful boy to hold for the first time? Could I have imagined how amazing it would be to have the privilege of being his mom? It's true -- the time really does fly and they grow so fast. We feel very blessed and lucky to have such a sweet boy to love and take care of.

Since today was a work day for both of us (I was at a Treasury conference in Boston until noon), we're celebrating Riley's first birthday over a three-day period. In the morning rush to get ready, we managed to get a picture with his newest stuffed animal, Clifford.














Clifford was an early present from late Grandpa Berg, who knew how to pick out the perfect presents for his grandkids.

This afternoon, we celebrated with his first birthday muffin from a local bakery which specializes in gourmet muffins. Riley had the Boston Creme...

First I put it on a special plate I made for him...:














...and lit a candle, but Riley wasn't feeling very patient:














So I sang Happy Birthday, made a wish, blew out his candle and let him get to work. He started with the icing (yum!):














Then, discovered the creme (yum-yum!)














In the end, he was pretty much wearing it, but I didn't care. It was fun to celebrate this milestone even if it necessitates a bath afterwards:














When Jonathan came home, we opened all but one of his presents. He received two books -- 10 Rubber Duckies and My First Sushi (yes, it's a board book!) -- a Zutano outfit he'll wear tomorrow, and a gift card to toys-r-us from Suzie.

He enjoyed the cards and ribbon the most:




























He did settle down long enough to read his books with Daddy:














Tomorrow, we have his party and Sunday we'll be celebrating at Grandma Berg's, so you'll see chapters 2 & 3 then.

We love our birthday boy!

Shelby