Isaac's Birthday - Entertainment

After Isaac observed us opening his birthday presents (all the while never letting go of the red balloon), we moved the party outside.  We spread out Isaac's pool on the ground and let him sit there with his red balloon and pack of 100 balls.  We didn't even blow up the pool or put any water in it!  He was quite happy to sit and watch Alana and Peter play with his new slip-n-slide:)

Isaac is quite easy to please.  (I adore those dimples!)

Isaac's Birthday Party - Presents

I went round and round with what to do for Isaac's birthday party.  I struggled because we did a "big" party for Alana and Peter for their first birthday parties, but Isaac is so content with just his family that I knew he could care less about a big party.  He has also been struggling with a cold/teething for the last couple of weeks and I knew that was likely to make for a grumpy first birthday.  I was right too.  Isaac grumped and whined all day yesterday while his nose ran continuously.  His mood improved greatly for his small party, but I'm so glad I kept it small and simple.

My parents came over and I made baked ziti (something Isaac loves).  We gave him this balloon first thing and Isaac was THRILLED!  We really didn't need to give him anything else.  He barely stopped holding it the whole night.

Knowing that anything we got for Isaac would probably be played with by all the kids, we decided to go with a blow-up pool.  Fun for everybody.  As you can see, Isaac was still captivated with the balloon. 

My parents got Isaac a bag of balls for the pool.  He did finally let go of the balloon for those balls.  He will have so much fun sitting in that pool on hot summer days with 100 balls surrounding him. 

All night, Isaac kept saying "ball" over and over and over and over.

More to come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAC!

One year ago today, this precious baby was born.  It may have been his birthday, but I was the one that got the present.  My sweet Isaac has been a blessing and pure delight since the day he came into the world.

Having had a miscarriage before Alana and another very difficult one when she was about three, Tom and I weren't sure we would be able to have any more children.  Then years later, I got pregnant with Peter.  We were thrilled!  However, Peter's life began with open-heart surgery at two months old and a long recovery from that and several other complications.  Because of that, I felt like I lost Peter's baby days.  His entire first year of life was a blessing because he was here and improving every day, but it was also stressful.  Peter was recovering from all he had been through, and so were we.  I was always sad that Peter's first year had been so hard, but my most prominent emotion was total gratitude that he was here and God had seen fit to spare his life.

How little did I know that God was not done blessing me in the area of family.  Because He is aware of every single emotion and thought of this mother's heart, He knew I missed something with Peter.  God gave Tom and me the surprise of our lives when we found out I was pregnant with Isaac.  We were shocked.  I love the look on my children's faces when we surprise them with something really special, and I'm guessing God does too when He surprises His children.  It took Tom and me every day of the nine months I was pregnant to adjust to the idea of three!

After an extremely pleasant (although painful) labor experience, Isaac was here and I was in love.  I am not normally a believer in "love at first sight," but that was certainly true with Isaac.  I loved him immediately and I love him so much more now.

Isaac's first year of life has been so fun and SO easy!  He ate like a champ right from the start and he still loves to eat.  He slept through the night early on and did it consistently from two months on.  Isaac transitioned easily from sleeping in our room to sleeping in a room with his brother when he was not even four months old.  I thought for sure that would be one of the most difficult things we would face, but like everything else where Isaac is concerned, it was a breeze.  He loves Peter and I couldn't separate them for anything now.

Here is Isaac on his birthday a year ago.

Here is Isaac today. 

At one, Isaac:

• has 8 teeth
• drinks from a sippy cup all day, but still takes one bottle at night before bed (which I'm going to hang onto for as LONG AS POSSIBLE)
• sleeps from about 8:30 to 7:30 - and wakes up partying with his brother in the morning:)
• still takes 2 naps a day - a morning nap of an hour and an afternoon nap of about 2 hours (although I don't think this will last for a whole lot longer)
• eats pretty much all regular food - graham crackers are his favorite!
• crawls everywhere, but is pulling up and walking along furniture - I think walking is still another month or two away for him
• plays VERY contentedly
• is happiest in his mama's arms

Isaac also LOVES balls - of any and every kind.  His first word (other than "Mama" and "Dada") is "ball" and he says it all the time.  It's funny because Peter has always been into vehicles (trucks, cars, trains, etc.) from the time he was a little baby, and Isaac seems to be into balls.  It will be funny to watch if these differences continue.

Isaac also loves these two people!  If I let Alana and Peter play outside while Isaac is awake, then he just crawls around and whines, or stand at the sliding back door and watches them.  Isaac is so funny because he doesn't have to be playing with them, but he wants them nearby always. 

We chose Isaac's name for two reasons.  One, because of the story of Isaac when Abraham was going to sacrifice him out of obedience and God provided a ram instead.  We could definitely relate to that experience after all we had went through with Peter, but also Abraham said, "The Lord provides" after that and provision from God is what we have learned to depend on in a whole new way ever since Peter was first diagnosed.  Financial provision, mental provision, emotional provision, but mostly "grace sufficient" provision.

The second reason is because the name Isaac literally means "laughter."  After a time of many tears, God brought us laughter.

We are so very blessed.



Isaac, we love you so much! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OUR PRECIOUS BOY!

May 2012 Devotional

Bonding

Before I had children, I heard other mothers talk about bonding with their babies. I didn’t exactly understand what they meant until I had children of my own. I bonded with all three of my babies in a different way and with a different timetable – sometimes it was gradual, sometimes it was instantaneous. But with each of them, there was a moment when I knew my heart was knit with theirs and theirs with mine. They are my children. I belong to them and they belong to me. Nothing would ever change that fact. Nothing.

I have yet to experience anything in this world quite like the bond between a mother and her baby. For instance, a few nights ago, Isaac was crying out in his sleep. I went in to check on him and he was tossing and turning and crying every few seconds without waking up. He was probably having bad dreams or maybe some discomfort from teething. I watched him for a minute to be sure he was still asleep and then I very gently laid my hand on his back. As soon as he felt my touch, his entire body instantly relaxed. I rubbed his back for a few minutes and he never moved or made another sound the rest of the night. Isaac never woke up. Even in an unconscious state, Isaac was immediately comforted by the touch of his mama.

As women, we are naturals at nurturing. It is part of our God-ordained calling to take care of those we love. We do it in different ways, but nurturing is part of our makeup. I wonder though, as we excel in nurturing and care-taking, do we practice being nurtured?

Part of the rhetoric of the culture and age in which we live is:

“Take care of yourself.”

“Make time for yourself.”

“Do what you enjoy doing.”

“Have some me time.”

Although I understand the sentiment behind some of these statements, they are in opposition to the truth that we cannot take care of ourselves. The need of a child to be parented doesn’t end with adulthood. We are still children needing the guidance, wisdom, leading and nurturing of our Heavenly Father.

That night, as I watched Isaac respond so completely to my touch, I wondered how many times do I toss and turn and cry out, and let’s face it, often whine, instead of turning to the tender touch of my Lord. I took great pleasure in being able to comfort my baby, so I know my perfect Father takes great pleasure in comforting me.

In the night when it is dark, and your mind is disturbed, turn to the Lord. He is waiting to say, “Shhh my child. I am here, even in the darkness. And I love you.” And the proof of that is in the touch of His hand – scarred by the nail that pierced through it.

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17

Scripture Memory - May 15, 2012

I know, I've been terribly slack in the blog world lately.  We've been dealing with a stomach virus that wasn't satisfied until it had passed through every member of the family (except Isaac fortunately) and a nasty cold that got ahold of all three kids.  None of it was too awful, just wearying on this mama.  Anyway, I have much to post so hopefully I'm back on the blogging wagon:)

I've started a Bible study in the Psalms, so I've decided to focus my Scripture memorization on a portion of the verses I'm studying:

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup,

You hold my lot. - Psalm 16:5

I love this verse.  It is a good succint statement of the way I want to live my life.

Happy May!

Easter 2012

I'm finally getting an Easter post done, even though it was almost two weeks ago.

Here are the kids on Easter Sunday morning. I didn't try to color-coordinate Alana and Isaac, but it worked out that way. Peter's expression cracks me up. So typical for a 3-year-old boy that doesn't want to stop for pictures.

This was much better, although clearly quite fake:)

My beautiful girl. I have some WONDERFUL pictures that my friend Nancy took of Alana that I'm going to share soon.

Alana and Peter with their Easter baskets from Nana and Grandpa. Isaac was far more interested in lunch to explore an Easter basket. Silly boy should realize that there's candy in there!

Our traditional sunflower cake for Easter. Super-easy, chocolate cake with Peeps around the edge and chocolate chips in the middle. This is the height of my cake-decorating skills, so enjoy it:)

We had a great Easter celebrating spring, new life and most of all the Risen Savior!

Scripture Memory - April 15, 2012

Oh my, I've been so negligent of my little blog lately. We've been unusually busy for several weeks and then last week Tom was off for spring break so I didn't do anything more than necessary.

It's time for our next verse:

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. - Exodus 20:12

I'm really going to try to post more this week.