Josiah's 1st Birthday

Of course, the biggest event of September was Josiah's birthday. At one, he is eager, energetic, jolly and hungry! He is such a joy, even though it takes a LOT of energy to chase him. 

We planned a family celebration with grandparents and cousins, but the Hackers were sick, so we celebrated with Mimi and Papa. 

Josiah loves his Papa

His shirt says, "I'm the birthday boy!" He's walking well with help, but not on his own yet. 

Mimi holds the candle juuuuuussst out of reach. 

Digging in! (Gluten free chocolate cake made with this recipe. It is YUMMY by any standard--not just GF standards. Since we're not dairy-free, I just use regular milk, or sometimes coconut milk instead of the rice milk.)

What a goof!

Josiah: "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

He was such a mess that he went straight to the bathtub!

September Recap

September began with a trip to the Colorado Springs Balloon Festival. During Labor Day weekend, hundreds of balloons launch from Memorial Park each morning. Then they come back in the evening for a "balloon glow." Not being morning people, we opted for the evening show this year. Maybe next year we'll make it downtown for a launch. 

The day after Labor Day, we welcomed the 51st class of the Focus Leadership Institute. (I can't believe I've been doing this for 10 years and 31 classes now.)

Josh spent most of September traveling on a video project for USAA (well, he was a subcontractor for the subcontractor for the contractor for the project for USAA. :)) He went to Washington, D.C., San Antonio and San Diego (pictured below)
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We also went to our first family USAFA football game with the local Institute alumni and fall students.