Happy 1st Birthday, John! (Part one.)

It's crazy to think one year ago we were saying hello for the very first time. Just a few photos in honor of the big day, but I will post more from the celebration that has yet to come!

Summer-Catch-Me-If-You-Can!

 You've missed us, I'm sure! We have been having such a wonderful summer. You will not even believe what we've accomplished since our last post. We'll let the photos do most of the talking, but here is a brief recap:

-John turned 10 months old... and 11 months old... and is freakishly close to 12 months old.
-Our dear DC friends, The Paseks, Amy, Drew and beautiful Mia, stopped through to meet John.
-We bid adieu to New Jersey.
-We took our first family vacation to Massachusetts to visit with Granny, The Murillos and The Chicago Bradys, which also included John's first trip to Cape Cod.
-We set up shop in a hotel for nearly a week...
-...while all of our belongings were en route to our new home in Charlotte, North Carolina. (We landed in our new home at the start of August and so far, we love it!)

John is growing leaps and bounds, and pounds, too! The past few weeks, he's grown so much in so many ways. I think we can officially say he finally sleeps through the night (this trick he pulled out of his back pocket the night we landed in Charlotte - crazy timing), he stands on his own, he refuses most foods that he can't feed himself, he has his very own room, and he even learned how to play catch. With his first birthday just a week away, John is showing us a glimpse of the boy he is about to become - independent, confident,  curious, and fearless, with a side of sweet. He has been a total trooper through the chaos of the last six weeks, and we are so grateful.

Some photos from the weeks...