Happy 1st Birthday! Wow...

June 5th was a very special day for us, but one filled with very mixed emotions for me. It wasn't just a celebration of a birthday, it was a celebration of life, of miracles, of our amazing baby girl; but it was also a reminder of the extreme pain and fear that this day last year brought to our lives, and for what seemed like an endless hospital stay. Life was going great and the rug was pulled out from under my feet. Fortunately though, the sad thoughts came and went quickly and I was truly able to celebrate Eden and the extraordinary journey that we started one year ago.

Here's a little flashback of where she started at just 2 lb 4 oz...




Our family has come a long way since this first family picture was taken!

We look so much happier now! :)


Fortunately we had a couple toys in some of the pictures there in the NICU and when I take her picture next to those same toys today I just can't believe she was really that tiny.
This is when she was three weeks old.

Here she was almost two months old.

And this was just this week. Crazy how far she's come! And you gotta love the squinty eye smile... thanks for passing that along Brad.


Now today she weighs a whopping 15 1/2 lbs, is 26 1/2 inches long and is still wearing her 6 month clothes. She's small for a one year old, but huge considering where she started! :) She has made amazing progress and we are so extremely blessed to have her in our lives.

So back to the birthday celebration - we had such a fun party for Eden, despite the fact that she really didn't know what exactly was going on. We were surrounded by family and great friends and are so blessed to have all these amazing people in our lives.

Thanks to everyone who took pictures for me, especially Jesse. There are so many cute ones that I have to post a ton so here we go! ...

Everyone gearing up for cake! Everyone except Eden that is...

Unfortunately she never really ate any, she just played around in it. At one point she did put her fingers in her mouth, but that didn't really intice her to try anymore. Oh well, she still had fun.



Me and my brother Michael.


The Justice crew.


Eden had lots of friends and cousins to help her check out her new toys.


The kids had fun playing in all the water toys. Austin was the lone ranger and stayed out there when all the other kids came in to dry off.


She got so many awesome presents! Thanks again everyone for the great gifts!


Mom, Dad and Michael enjoying the delicious array of food.


Our awesome friends who we basically consider family... the Picketts!


This grandma is never off duty...


Dad, Kally and Lincoln.


Brad was the grill master and made what felt like hundreds of shish ka bobs. They were delicious!


Brad's parents and Jeff came from California to celebrate with us and hang out for the weekend. We are so grateful they made the trip!


Eden got this adorable swimsuit and I couldn't wait to try it on her.


These are our dear friends Gina and Eric who are both nurses who took care of Eden in the hospital. We can't thank them enough for all they did for Eden and for us. We definitely felt at ease when they were there to care for her.


We didn't even have to get this toy out of the box and she was already loving it!


Overall it was a great day and we are so grateful for all the family and friends who came to celebrate with us. Happy birthday Eden, we love you!