Raphael's First Birthday!

Raphael turned one last Sunday, July 24. It's hard to believe that it has been a year since he was born. He came two weeks early and surprised us all. I totally thought I was having a girl and was shocked when Lyndon said "it's a boy!". That day was a crazy one. But he came and he was perfect. My little perfect angel. We had not completely decided on a name for him. We had a few that we had picked out, but when I held him in my arms for the first time I knew that his name was Raphael.

 At twelve months Raphael is very curious. He is a really fast crawler and likes to put everything into his mouth. He likes to be involved with what the family is doing. He says "mama", "dada", baba", your typical baby babbling, but it is so sweet. He loves to eat. Every time we feed him he eats like he has never been feed before. He is a great sleeper, as long as he is in his bed. He loves swimming and tires to be very independent in the water. He loves to flirt with just about anyone. He waves bye-bye to everyone on the train. He gets lots of attention from everyone here in Singapore. He is Lyndon's mini me, but has my dimples. He has the cutest smile and I could go on and on about how much I love him.
Getting a family photo done looks like this. 
And then this.
Holing up one finger because Raphael is one!
I was lazy and did not anything special for his cake, just threw on some whipping cream and raspberries. I was tired and he does not care what was on it. It was a hit though. 
The birthday boy!
This is what he was thinking in these next few photos: "I guess I'll try it. I do love food."
"It's alright."
"Mmmmm! This is delicious! I'm so glad I am old enough to eat cake now. "
"Finger lickin' deliciousness. Wish I could feast like this every day."

He got his little green cart to push around. He is in love with it. He takes it and walks, walks, walks till he runs into something because he has not figured out how to turn yet. Walking on his own is just around the corner. 
With each of my kids my heart grows larger and more full with love than I ever could have imagined. This year has been a very challenging one, but we made it! Loved celebrating our Rapha! Happy first Birthday baby boy!

Here is a video of our three birthdays! My favorite is hearing Henry's sweet little voice when we were singing to Raphael, and Rapha smashing his face into his cake.

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