Sometimes I forget my baby brother is a DAD. I mean, he still wears his “I’m the crazy uncle” shirt with impressive frequency. But one year ago he and his wife managed to shock our entire family at their OWN baby shower by announcing they were matched with a baby boy. “Oh! And by the way. He’s already born. We’re going to meet him now.” And with that they ditched their own baby shower. Don’t worry- no one held it against them.

I was possibly more excited that day than the days I was in labor with my own children. Our van was packed. It was the day before Easter and my Bradlee’s birthday. We were leaving from the shower/family reunion to make the drive back home. Except now, my newest nephew was coming home and therewas no way I was leaving.

Y’all. It was the. longest. day. We all went back to my parents house, waiting for Brant and Abbey to make the trip across the state to meet their little man and immediately turn around and drive back. But it was worth it. They walked in with the tiniest little bundle of caramel skin and wavy black hair and we were all immediately smitten.

But now here we are mere days from celebrating that tiny boy turned giant baby turning one!

Even today, a year later, I can barely comprehend the craziness of that day- and how much crazier it was for Brant and Abbey. I always tell my friends that are anxiously waiting the birth of their first babies, “It’s so bizarre, surreal. Any day now you are going to wake up you- and you’re going to fall asleep that night as ‘Mom’. If you can sleep. I usually sit up at night staring at that little tiny creature.”

Brant and Abbey had an entirely different experience. They had less than a week’s time to digest “Congratulations! You’re going to be parents!” to “Meet your son!”. They have absolutely rocked it and it’s been a treasure to watch all 3 of them grow.

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Ezra’s 1 Year Portraits

So anyways – now that my eyes are all leaky and I’ve walked you all down memory lane. Let’s get onto the fun part. Like how I hopped in my car last week and drove over to Athens ALL BY MYSELF and Podcasted, Marco Polo’d, and Audiobooked the whole way. No one was fighting with their brother or sister and not one time did I hear. “mom. mom. MAMA. MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMAMMAAMA!” For a mama that rarely gets 2 continuous hours alone, this was pretty glorious.  And it was topped off with a morning spent at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens taking milestone portraits of my favorite (almost) one year old.

FYI- Balloons are CONTRABAND. They are not allowed in the State Botanical Gardens. Apparently they get loose and pollute the world. I have no idea who thinks anyone would ever let that happen and if you happen to come across gigantic blue and white balloons polluting the earth don’t look at me. I have no idea where they may have come from.

This kid can absolutely ham it up for the camera! He can also give a serious mean mug when he’s over it and ready for Aunt Kate to get that weird black contraption out of his face. But I have to give him credit. He was a trooper.

We found one tiny area with cacti and I may have fallen in love. I wish it was a little larger so we could have spent some more time taking photos there. I have a not-so-secret dream of flying out to Utah and taking pictures in the desert one day.

Also- don’t let that size fool you. Ezra does not care one thing about this gorgeous cake. He only wants the balloons and blueberries. Good thing we had a few without helium… they stayed right on the ground and are not polluting anyone’s garden.

Lifehack– See that beautiful cake? Don’t you LOVE how simple and classic it is. My sister-in-law made it. But the truly impressive part is…. this is what it started as. Well, 2 of them. Apparently you just scrape the icing off the top and smash them together. Who even knew?

Yeah.

Mindblown.

How she got this smart so fast, I’ll never know.

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out this cutie! His bear party is this Saturday and I for one am excited about all the cuteness and adventure to come.

If the weather stays nice I may have to drag my crew to the State Botanical Gardens in Athens to check out the brand new kids section and snap a few Easter portraits.

What are your plans for the weekend?  Anyone getting out and enjoying the new Spring weather?