You've had a birthday, shout hurray!

My baby is 1!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY ZOEY!!!!

(at exactly this time last year, I was in a lot of pain, exhausted, and starving... but that's beside the point)

Everyone keeps asking me if this year just flew by.

Honestly, no.

And then I get a bunch of looks like I'm a horrible mom, so allow me to explain.

Can I believe that Zoey is a year old? Not really. She's pretty much grown out of being my baby into toddler-dom and fast approaching 20.

Yet... it seems like FOR-EV-ER ago she was a brand new babe. In a good way.

This year has brought so many changes, and for the first time in years I'm not looking back over the last year and thinking "holy cow where'd the year go." 

Zoey allows me to be more present. During the college years it was so easy to wish away the weeks and months til midterms were over, or this class, or the next vacation was coming, whatever. 

With Zoey, I feel so much more aware of each day (sometimes painfully so, as I'm dragging along trying to keep up) but more often in a wonderful way that I haven't enjoyed since before high school. 

We love our Zoey. She makes us laugh, brightens our mornings, keeps us on our toes, and has turned us into "those parents" who are convinced we hit the mega millions are far as cool babies go.

So here's an obscene amount of photos from a year in the life of Zoey... because it's my blog... and i do what i want.

More on her birthday party tomorrow!