I've been thinking about this post for about a month now. What to write, when to post it, how mushy to get. Eight years ago this summer I found out that Ally was going to be my college roommate. I was in New York visiting my aunt when we started Facebook chatting - trying to feel each other out. I had no idea at that moment how much I would come to love Ally and her (now) family. I had no idea that I would feel like my life wouldn't be the same without her in it. And now she has a daughter. And it's so hard to explain the feeling of watching someone you love be a mom. It's the neatest thing.
Aniston turned one on St. Patrick's Day. It's hard to believe that it has been an entire year since she came into the world. It's crazy to look at pictures and see how big her personality has gotten. It's crazy to think that she is this little person who will have hopes and dreams and love some day. And it has been the greatest to get to be a part of that.
Saturday was Aniston's 1st birthday party. Ben and I made the trek down to Warsaw, MO so that we could be there to see AE open presents and hate her cake. Seriously, she didn't eat any of it!! We have taken to the habit of mailing a gift for holidays so not only did we take birthday gifts, we took St. Patrick's Day and Easter gifts as well.
I also had the honor of making AE's first year/memory book. I've known for a while now that I was going to be doing this for their family so I've done a lot of Facebook stalking for statuses and pictures to use, and I also had a number of people in Aniston's life write her a letter for her 1st birthday. The letters were a surprise component to the book.
After the party, Ally and her family invited us to drive a little ways to Charley's Buffet for have dinner with them. It's a family-style buffet that's only open two days a week and when we got there the line was wrapped around the entire building. We ended up waiting for about 30 minutes to get in, but MAN WAS IT WORTH IT. They had so many different types of rolls, meets, and sides! PLUS, they had a 30-foot long dessert counter with a variety of cookies, pies, and other treats. To say we left stuffed is the understatement of the year. It was nice though to get to spend a little extra time with them since we don't get to see them that often. Another fun thing about Charley's is that they have a photo booth that you can take pictures at before you leave, so naturally we had to grab a snapshot with Aniston. We are blessed to be her godparents.
Now that the craziness of the party weekend is over, we're back to being long-distance with the Richardson's. It's hard, but we feel so lucky to know them and to (sort of) be a part of their family. Happy 1st birthday, AE! We love you!
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