100% WOOL(LEY): HE'S NUMBER 1

Happy 1st Birthday Ethan!

It's hard to believe that Ethan is a year old today. The past few days I have been reflecting on the days leading up to Ethan's birth (he was actually due on April 16th, Easter Sunday of 2006, but he arrived a mere 7 days late). My Mom had flown in from Boise mid week as we assumed that he would already be here by the 20th, but the 22nd quickly rolled around, & at 7am my water broke and we headed for the hospital a few hours later. I spent the majority of the day waiting for Ethan to arrive - Scot watched an Av's game, read, slept and went in search of something edible in the hospital cafeteria (which he swears he'll never do again), and my mom and I spent a lot of time talking with my nurse. Eventually, Ethan decided the time had come to join the party and at 8:48 pm he was born. When he came out the nurses said "he looks just like his dad", and not much has changed.

I've also thought a lot about the blessing it was to have my mom

there with me & Scot. When "GO" time came, my mom, in typical fashion, concerned herself with my comfort, wiping my forehead and giving me ice - while Scot counted the seconds for each push as though I had been knocked out and was down for the count (which in some cases isn't too far from how I was feeling). He was quite a cheerleader (and after Ethan was born, he did say I was like the Michael Jordan of childbirth, which is QUITE a compliment - Thank you Scot). I must also congratulate my mom

& Scot on making it through the delivery without incident (my mom was particularly worried - not because she hadn't been through this process 6 times before herself, but because she didn't know if she would be able to watch her child go through the process KNOWING from experience what was to come. Way to go Mom...)

That was a miraculous day - I feel blessed to be the mother of such an amazing little boy & I thank my Heavenly Father every day for the gift that Ethan is in our lives. In keeping with my birthday blogs, let me just list a few things that I adore about Ethan: he has the most pleasant disposition, he is quick to smile, he loves to laugh, listen to music, read books, play & explore. I am thankful that he made me a mother.

We had Ethan's first birthday party bash tonight with Great

Grandpa Bob & Grandma Jerri, Grandma and Grandpa Woolley, Aunt Marcia, Lizzy, Leah, Michael, Daniel & Rachel all attended. Ethan had a great time with everyone & loved all his presents. The highlight of the evening certainly had to be the cake.

We stripped him down & let him have a cupcake (one of the frog eyes). After picking off some of the frosting piece by piece, he exposed the cake and let loose with both hands.

He worked through the cake pretty until he was pretty much covered from head to toe with frosting and cake reminants. Needless to say, he loved the cake & the much needed bath that followed. I captured so many great photos.