Saturday at Disneyland was pretty special.

It has been one year since Riley has been living with us – what a way to celebrate! I realized it when we were on the monorail riding in – and I think I may have scared my train car when I yelled, “It’s been a year!”.

Things I want to remember about Riley at this point:

• His new favorite show is Jake and the Never Land Pirates
• He was absolutely fearless when he met the characters at Disney! He ran up, hugged them, danced with them – so awesome.

Saturday night, Brian took Riley back to the room for bath and bedtime. Julia, Nate, and I wanted to do something special for Riley. On Friday, I had the pleasure of hearing Maxine Clark, the founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop, speak. I shared this quote from her yesterday:

“It’s not what you have, it’s what you give that determines your legacy.” – Maxine Clark

As we were wandering back to the hotel from Disneyland, we saw the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Downtown Disney and decided that it would be the perfect gift for Riley.

They picked out the cutest puppy and had the sweetest idea. They put two hearts inside him. They held the hearts close and whispered prayers for Riley as they put the hearts into Patches.

We had a pretty rough dentist appointment this morning and Riley held Patches close the entire time. I see a very special bond forming!

I am so thankful for Riley. He keeps me young and makes me slow down. What a blessing he is in our life!

Disclosure: Our family was invited to the 2014 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. We were provided hotel accommodations, park tickets, and delicious meals. We were not asked to post, but these are the moments of my family – moments I want to remember. Thank you for sharing them with me!