Happy 1st Birthday, Judah!

On June 13, 2016 at 1:53 am Judah Penn Egli made a quick and powerful entrance into the world.

On Tuesday, as a family, we celebrated the 1st birthday of this joyful little guy.  

I made him a cake.

We sang Happy Birthday.

And we gave him a present.

Then on Saturday June 17, we gathered by the lake with some of our closest friends and our French "family" to celebrate some more.

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Judah's birthday gave us an excuse to gather.

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Ultimately though, we were seeking to create space for friendships to develop and community to be experienced.

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God answered our prayers!

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Judah is so loved!  There was a moment during the party when Jordan wasn't sure where Judah was (don't worry, we knew he was safe!); and I felt like I hardly spent time with him all day as he was with everyone else. 

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What a gift to have Whitney, my best friend since 3rd grade, present at Judah's 1st birthday party!

(Not only does she love Judah well, but she was a HUGE help!)

At 1 year old, Judah has 7 teeth.  Just in the last 10 days he has learned to clap, blow kisses, make the Indian noise, and scoot ALL OVER!  He loves making a cheesy face at us, eating whatever we are eating, and FaceTiming with his grandparents and aunts and uncles.  He babbles constantly (but why does he only seem to say "mama" when he's whining ?).  Last week he learned to go from laying down to sitting up, though only when he's in his crib, supposed to be sleeping; we even found him nearly standing in his crib one day (so his dad quickly lowered the matress).   

When I look at Judah, I see God's goodness.  

We prayed for a healthy, content, adaptable baby.  God graciously answered with Judah. 

*Andrea, thanks for capturing so many great photos at Judah's party!