We had Isaac’s first birthday party on Saturday, August 22nd. Thank you to all that were there. It was so much fun! He had a great time and is loving trying out all of his new toys. And we were definitely in need of some new stimulation around here. He was getting bored with the old stuff.

On his actual birthday we took him to the zoo so I will work hard to get those pictures up soon as well. No promises though. In the meantime you can see the whole gallery of pictures for more fun: Isaac’s 1st Birthday Photo Gallery

Happy Birthday, 1 year old!

I really don’t know where to begin (or end) this post. Like all moms say, “I can’t believe it has been a year.” It has gone by so fast. Ben and I had such a fun time looking through all of the pictures over the last year and even viewing some archived videos. It made us super excited for the newest addition to the family in December as well.

Isaac – you are such an amazing little boy. You have brought us so much joy, happiness, dirt, adventure, activity and so much more to our lives. I pinch myself daily wondering if you could are really as good as you seem or if it is all just a dream. I keep wondering when you are going to “turn” on us but each new day you surprise us anew with your smiles, your gentle spirit, your curiosity and your cuddles. You have been a blessed gift to us and we hope that we in turn can be as good of parents to you.

Because I don’t even know how to write everything in this one little post, I am just going to list some of the things that make you who you are and milestones that you have reached:

Personality

• You are still very determined. When you set your mind to something you practice until you get it right. It is not a stubborn determination though, more of a calculated determination.
• You are VERY curious. You inspect and dissect everything. You watch us very closely and want to mock or mimic those around you. You like trying out new things and seeing how they work.
• You are still wiggly. You are always moving. You can’t stand to sit still. The only time you sit still is when you are reading books. And even then you take to dancing or bopping your head along with the rhythm of the reading.
• You love to read. You often go grab a book and bring it to me.
• You love to dance and play music. You love to have music playing or make your own music on the toy piano or with your newest instrument the kitchen pot.
• You have a sweet and caring disposition. Several months ago you took to cuddling with us right before you go down to sleep. You love to give us kisses and rest your cute head on our shoulder. You show your caring cuddly side in these moments.
• You are genuinely happy 95% of the time. You are rarely unhappy. You go with the flow and just love life. You smile when we get you up in the morning and you continue throughout the day. I (your mom) hope that I don’t kill that in you. Most days you remind me that there is little in this life worth worrying about. Thank you for your amazing smiles.

Milestones

• You started taking steps about a week ago. You were so proud of yourself when you did it. Now you are getting braver every day and taking more steps. You have learned to control your movements more and fall down less. You are really starting to be able to turn directions and get places in your walking. You are starting to choose walking over crawling to get to places.
• You finally broke another tooth through so now you have your four on the top and three on the bottom. I see the fourth on the bottom poking it’s way through any day now.
• You are eating like a champ! Probably because you have started walking and get much hungrier than before. Some of your favorite foods right now include: scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, grapes, blueberries, peas, green beans, ham, bread, pasta, and pretty much anything that we are eating.
• Not only do you eat a lot but you animate your eating. You are always saying things like “yuummmm” when you are eating. I suppose you want to make sure we keep giving you more!
• You can sign a few things and you have really picked up on this the last week or so. You have been able to sign “milk” for several months now when you want a drink. Now you have mastered “more” and “eat”. It is so cute. Although our trip to the grocery store yesterday was a bit challenging when you kept signing to me that you wanted “more” every aisle that we went down.
• You can say some words. We might be the only ones that understand you but you say them: fan, fish, food, bye, mom, dad, duck, dog, whoa, ooohhh. . .
• You are an animal making sound machine! You can make so many animal sounds it makes my head spin. You get this most definitely from playing with your dad. Your pig sound is AMAZING! I can’t even oink like a pig that well. I am not sure how you ever learned to do that. Here are some other sounds that you can make:

• Cow – “moo”
• Horse – “neigh”
• Rooster – “cock a doodle doo”
• Dog – “arf, arf” (sort of sounds like whining dog)
• Lion – “roar”
• Cat – “meow”
• Duck – “quack”
• Lamb – “baa”

Well, if left on my own I could go on forever about you. But I will save everyone the long reading. I will say it again. You are a blessed gift from God and I pray each and every day that I will raise you in His ways. I do not deserve such an amazing little boy, and that is exactly what you are!

I picked a picture from each of the months of Isaac life. Of course, you can also go back through the blog archives if you want a trip down memory lane:

 

Happy 1st Birthday Isaac!

Many that know me have likely heard this story, however, seven years ago I promised myself and God that I would never forget the significance of this date and it’s impact on my life. Each year I try to take time to reflect on the events of September 24, 2001 and thank God for the life that I now lead.

September 24th of 2001 was a day like most others. With the exception of the torrential down pour of rain that was taking place in Atlanta, Georgia where I lived. It was a Monday morning and I was headed one hour east of Atlanta to Rock Eagle 4-H Camp to meet up with colleagues for a college tour across the state for an orientation trip with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. The driving was treacherous at times. However, as I excited the highway and started my last fifteen minutes of rural road towards the camp the rain let up to a light drizzle.

I am sure that I was traveling at a nice rate of speed. Neither speeding excessively, but not moving slowly either. I was younger and a little more daring in my driving style. At any rate, I was traveling on a stretch of road that had one oncoming lane of traffic while their were two lanes on my side. I remember making a move into the left lane to pass a delivery truck that was traveling in the right lane. The next few moments happened in a split second.

As I cleared the delivery truck all of a sudden a large amount of water splashed my windshield and coated it with an obscene amount of water, more than my poor little wipers could handle. I suppose I should note that I was driving a Toyota Corolla. At the exact same moment my car began to hydroplane into a heavy stream of oncoming traffic to my left. Panic gripped me as I hit my brakes almost simultaneously as I realized in alarm that hitting your brakes was the wrong thing to do when hydroplaning. Too late. My car started into a spin back into the right lane of traffic.

There are two things I remember VERY clearly at this point. First, looking to my passenger seat as the 21 foot delivery truck I was passing was now plowing through my passenger side door. Literally I remember seeing the “Mitsubishi” printed on the front of the truck coming through my passenger window! And second, praying to God that I wouldn’t hit a phone pole. The world went black.

I wouldn’t wake up for another 20-30 minutes after being secured in the ambulance. The rest of the details come from witnesses and paramedics at the scene.

After coming through my passenger side door my car dragged both vehicles off the road. Upon leaving pavement my car began flipping side to side, witnesses estimated that it flipped 3-4 times. The last flip was said to have almost come through the front window of the delivery truck before taking a miraculous turn and landing parallel to the truck’s passenger side. However, the force of the impact and the pull of my car caused the truck to tip over . . .onto my car. So in the end, my car was facing the opposite direction of the truck and the truck was laying on top of my car – crushing my car to the passenger seat. I am still inside.

The truck driver was not injured. He climbed out of his cab and came over to me. He and the others that stopped waited 10 long minutes as they waited for paramedics to arrive. They couldn’t get me out for fear that the truck would move and completely crush my car with me in it.

The paramedics arrived and spent another 10-15 minutes inflating giant air bags to stabilize the truck and then use the jaws of life to remove me from the car. At one point I woke for a brief second. I remember looking up and seeing the truck’s exterior through my sun roof. Things went black again.

I awoke again in the hospital. I was covered in glass. It was in every crevice of my body. I went through a battery of tests and examinations. I waited alone with the tune “It is a Great Day to Be Alive” by Travis Tritt running through my head. I was high as a kite! It might have been the medicine but honestly was more from the fact that despite knowing many of the details explained here, I knew that I was lucky to be alive. Not lucky, blessed, chosen.

I should have died that day. Colleagues that passed by commented that they knew that the driver of that car couldn’t possibly be alive. The highway patrolman came in with eyes wide and said that he couldn’t believe he was talking to me. . .he hadn’t ever seen anything like that. . .let alone the victim walking away. (He still issued me a ticket – which I took gladly knowing it was a small price to pay for being alive). When all was said and done I didn’t even have a concussion. No broken bones. No head injures. No life threatening internal injuries. Just a few scratches on my arm from broken glass, a black eye, and sore neck!

What I realized that day is that God had a greater purpose for my life. At this point I wasn’t exactly living the committed Christian life I had been called to earlier in my life. Not even close. I decided that perhaps that should change. That if God was willing to give me another day to breathe, perhaps I should honor Him by doing more to appreciate and use it. I thought of all the teenagers I was hoping to reach in my life and that perhaps one of them still needed me. I began my life again. Better this time. Determined to not take life and the small moments for granted.

Now if you know me, you know enjoying the simple moments isn’t something that I do well. I am usually busy planning for the next event. Ambitious as they come, that is me! Perhaps that is why God gave me September 24th – to remember the simple things. . .So today I honor Him by stopping for a few minutes and sharing with you the miracle that is my life. What about you? Are you enjoying the simple things? Or does God need to throw a delivery truck in your path to get your attention? I wouldn’t recommend it!

Afterward: A few more miraculous details from that day:

1. The man driving the delivery truck was not suppose to be driving. He was filling in for his 21 year old nephew who had a doctor’s appointment. The man driving the truck actually had rig experience and was able to steer his truck from driving right over my body.
2. I prayed to not hit a phone pole. I wish I had pictures of that stretch of highway. It is lined with fence posts and telephone poles. The driver explained that I missed a phone pole by only 5 feet – 5 FEET!
3. I walked away with virtually no injuries.
4. The truck that was resting on top of my car was a heavy 21 foot delivery truck, in it was 20,000 lbs of lead exhaust pipes! It should have CRUSHED my car!
5. I was suppose to be transporting a co-worker that morning but at the last minute she had to change her travel plans – she wouldn’t be alive.

(The pictures tell the real story. Due to our lack of internet I have not been able to scan them to post them with this story. I will do so by the end of the week.)

So today – I am glad to be alive, walking to Starbucks with my amazing husband and beautiful baby boy. What an amazing gift! Thank you Lord!

As I realized Saturday evening that we needed some one month pictures, I grabbed the camera as I prepared him for his bath. (Keep in mind that Ben wasn’t home because he had a huge project for work the next day). At any rate, we had a rather uneventful bath and I got some great photos of him looking at me and wondering if I was going to dress him sometime soon or just kiss on his baby skin all night. Then I got him dressed, picked him up, and he let one of his projectile vomits go.

And when I say projectile, I mean projectile! If you look close you can see the drops of regurgitated formula that made their way to the carpet. The next photo is of our lovely son covered in that same regurgitated formula (hard to see here) – but the “did I do that” look says it all! Yes, I did another sponge bath to then clean him up! Then finally got him off to sleep! My swaddle isn’t nearly as effective or precise as Ben’s but it works. Ah, what a beautiful thing, a sleeping baby!

Anyway, here are few noteworthy items that we have learned about our son over the last month.

1.    He is quite the little grunter. He starts grunting in his sleep about 30-45 minutes before he actually awakes from sleep. You can tell he really is starting to be awake when he takes his right arm, makes a fist, and stretches it out (pictured below). It is pretty darn cute.

2.    He is eating about 4.5 oz at every feeding now and steadily gaining weight. Although we don’t have a firm number as of yet as what his weight is up to.

3.    In the last few days he has started having more alert time each day. He is happy spending time in his bed batting, smiling at, and “talking” to the colorful caterpillar. (This has made it possible for me to actually get a few things done around the house).

4.    Thumb-sucking. I think we have a future thumb-sucker on our hands. Every once in awhile he manages to catch his thumb as it passes by on his flailing hand – he practically sighs with the joy of it when he does. I probably should be concerned but I think it is pretty darn cute!
5.    He has started to smile! Oh, how awesome that is! And not just the “I have gas” kind of smiles. I actually got a great photo the other day.

Thanks for caring about our little one! We will try to keep better posts and more pictures when the world of internet returns.

Did I mention how amazing my wife is?