Our dearest littlest turned one this past weekend. His first trip round the sun completed. And what a special trip it was.

Jude manages to touch almost every single person he encounters. He and I often get stopped in public by strangers who just want to connect with him. I don't claim any part of that–it is who he is, and is perhaps one of the many gifts he holds. I just get to watch and feel grateful that he has so much positive and well-intended energy flowing his way.

We celebrated with a party that brought some of our dearest folks together in the bright Spring sun. It felt fitting to have all that love surround our little blue-eyed boy, for he gives us all so much. I know now, in a way I don't think I did with my older children, that the time does indeed go by so fast. I know now to savor each milestone and hold them close right in the moment they're in.