Look how far we've come...

This week has been rather unusual in the sense that 6 of my friends have delivered baby boys in the last 5 days!  This caused Gregg and me to take a look back at our first days with Zeke, and see how far we've come.  That first night in the hospital we were overwhelmed with a baby that wouldn't stop crying.  We didn't know what to do, and we just wanted to get some sleep.  An amazing nurse took him for several hours so we could sleep. 

We woke up somewhat refreshed and determined to implement Dr. Denmark's schedule as quickly as possible.  We did a modified version, nursing Zeke at 2am, 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, and 10pm for the first couple of weeks.  At 2 weeks we dropped the 2am feeding and put him to sleep in his room.  We also chose to sleep him on his tummy from the very beginning.  We had to place him on his side in the hospital because of their rules about sleeping babies on their backs.  We trust Dr. Denmark and all of the mothers who have followed her recommendations for generations.  We prayed about these issues and were confident that we had made the right decision.  We have decided to go "against the grain" in regards to a lot of our parenting decisions, and I have a feeling that will not change as he gets older!

Now that Zeke is 1 year old, we continue to follow a structured schedule, and he is thriving.  We look at our friends who are beginning this journey with newborns and pray that they would trust their instincts and enjoy this time with their newborn babies.

I recently received the final set of "milestone" portraits from Summer Adams, our photographer.  We documented Zeke at 4, 8, and 12 months for these sessions.  Here is a look at the photos from the beginning until now....Enjoy!

Four Months Old:

Eight Months Old:

One Year Old:



"From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." (John 1:16)

We count Zeke as one of the greatest blessings of our lives.  What a year!!!

Zeke's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Zeke's first birthday with friends and family at Gymboree Play & Music in Kennesaw, GA on January 22, 2011.  I decided I wanted to do a camouflage/baby woodland animals theme, to go along with Zeke's nursery (and his daddy's interests!).  The party was scheduled to begin at 4:30pm, so we had the day at home...just the three of us.  Zeke took a long nap to get ready for the afternoon of fun!

I did several things to prepare for the celebration.  I had been working on perfecting a spice cake/cupcake recipe that was gluten free and had no processed sugar.  I also found a cream cheese frosting recipe made with honey.  Teresa (Auntie Tessa) came over the Friday before the party to help me make the cupcakes and spend some time with the birthday boy.  The muffins did not turn out very pretty, but after Teresa and I both "tested" them, we decided they were yummy, so it didn't matter how they looked!



The spread (my cupcakes on the right)

My mom got Zeke a cake from Whole Foods that I had ordered in case the guests were afraid of my healthy creation!  I ordered a sign that we will use each year that says, "Happy Birthday Zeke," and has a baby deer on the front. 

Woodland cake with a baby bear in the right corner

We also had Chickadee Chickadee (one of my friend's children's clothing company) make a personalized t-shirt with a "1" on the front and "Zeke" on the back. 

I ordered Hershey bar wrappers that said "Happy First Birthday, Zeke."  Where the ingredients would typically be listed, it said, "Thank you for joining us to celebrate the sweetest addition to our family."  My mom also found camo bouncy balls, pencils, and pads of paper to put in little camo baggies as favors for the children. This may all seem a bit excessive, but your first child only turns one once, and I decided to go all out.  It's funny because before I had him, Gregg and I decided we'd do a simple first birthday.  I guess that went out the window...haha!


Favors!

The party was a lot of fun.  The teacher led the kids in activities and songs.  She was full of energy and did a fantastic job.  I certainly couldn't have done it!  Here are a few photos of the kids playing:

Granddaddy had just arrived!



My mom really helped make everything run smoothly!

After the activities, we headed to the front room for cake.  We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Zeke and he looked around confused.  I'm sure he was wondering why everyone was singing and staring at him!  Kariss helped him blow out his candle, then we gave him his cupcake.  Because we follow Dr. Denmark's eating and scheduling guidelines, Zeke still eats pureed foods (or mush as we call it).  He's not used to a lot of texture, so he didn't really know what to do with the cupcake.  He thought it was something to play with, not eat.  He ended up eating mush instead!



Kariss was a great helper!



Ahh..mush!

Overall, it was a great day of fun and celebration.  It is hard to believe that it has been a year and I know each year will continue to pass in the blink of an eye.  That is one reason I chose to write this blog.  I want to look back at these times in our life and remember the details that so easily slip away.

Happy Birthday, Zeke!!!

Thank you to all of our family and friends who have prayed for us and continue to do so.  We count you all as blessings!

 



Happy First Birthday, Zeke!!!

Zeke,
It is January 19, 2011 and today is your first birthday.  As I mentioned yesterday, on this day in 2010, we arrived at the hospital and began to wait for you to enter the world.  Wynna, Aunt Jami, and Auntie Tessa joined Daddy and me as we watched my contractions on the monitor and wondered what time you'd finally decide to arrive.  At 5:44pm, you were here after only 3 pushes!  That is significant because Jill Grant and Audrey DePaula began praying for you before I became pregnant, and one of Jill's prayers was that I would only have to push three times!  God answered that prayer!!!

I will never forget the moment I saw your sweet face.  Kim Long was our midwife (we prayed she would be on call, and again...God answered).  Kim placed you on my chest and I felt the most unexplainable joy.  It almost felt as if I was outside of my body looking in on this amazing event.  I had dreamed for so many years of having a child, and there you were.  They had to take you to check your breathing, and Daddy went with you.  Those few moments were scary for Daddy and me because you still had some fluid in your lungs.  They cleared it out, wiped you off, and let me hold you again.  The whole experience was better than I could have dreamed.  About an hour later, they took us up to our room where we would begin our lives as your parents!

Now, as I look at the person you are becoming, I continue to be amazed.  Each day you develop more of a personality.  You love to smile and laugh.  You're very intrigued by how things work and love to build things with your toys or anything you can get your hands on, really!  You make the funniest noises and expressions.  You have this little sing-song thing you do, that sounds like you're going up and down a musical scale.  We wonder if you might be gifted with a nice singing voice like Daddy.  You still have not said a word that is referring to something specific, but I'm sure it won't be long.  Although you pull up and cruise along furniture with ease, you have not taken your first steps yet.  You did stand up once by yourself last week at Wynna's house, but once you realized what you did, you sat back down!

I know you are too young to understand what is going on as we celebrate your first year, but I hope you'll look back on the pictures and this blog and know how much we love you.  We have a little birthday party planned for you this weekend, so I will be sure to post pictures and tell you all about it.



Birthday candle in your morning mush!



"Blowing" out your candle!


"Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another." (1 John 1:16)

This verse sums it up.  Because of what Christ did, we have been saved and have been blessed more than we ever deserve.  Daddy and I thank God for the gift of His son and the gift of you.

Happy First Birthday, sweet boy!
Love,
Mommy