"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love" -Mother Teresa

Pre-Surgery Cleft Pictures

When James was gearing up to have the first of his surgeries, Patrick and I (both being the compliant parents we are) realized that we didn't have too many pictures of James without his NAM or taping. So James and I had a great morning (he was in a particularly good mood) a few days prior to surgery taking a few pictures to help remember the smile that has given us so much joy for the past few months.

For us, his cleft is a part of him. It's not what we see when we look at him. We see his smile; which because of his cleft is unbelievably wide. When he's happy, there's no denying it. He's also got some chubby cheeks (hopefully, he'll thank me for that some day) that help his smile be even brighter. Of course, I'm prejudiced, but I just find him to be the cutest thing to ever live and breathe on this earth.