1825 days and more in love then day 1

Yesterday Gabe and I celebrated our 5th anniversary. It is amazing to me that it has already been 5 years but at the same time I do not really remember life without him. Over the last week, as our anniversary was coming up, I have been thanking God for giving me such an amazing husband. This year I was able to see him as a Daddy and to say he is amazing at that too is an understatement. Seeing him as a Dad just makes sense...he is a natural. I am more in love with him today than I was when I walked down the aisle 5 years ago. Honey, thanks for being you and letting me be me. You have given me the most perfect son and I hope he grows up to be just like his Daddy!

Gabe took me out to eat and then we stayed at a local hotel. My wonderful sister was in charge of babysitting and from all reports Isaiah did great. He ate and slept like a champ and Isaiah was actually sad to see her go! Me, I didn't do as well! I was up alot last night looking for Isaiah and this morning I was ready to get home to him. Check out was at noon but I only made it until about 9:30! It was so nice to have a night away but there is nothing like the feeling of holding your baby.

Below are some pictures of us before we went out and then a few new ones of the little guy. Can you believe that on Tuesday I will take him in for his 4 month check up. He will have to get some shots too....boo! I am interested to see how much weight he has gained and how long he is now. He is growing out of all his clothes--I put a 6 month outfit on him the other day and it fit great. Why is my little boy growing so fast?!

We (well my mom) got him smiling for once!

Mommy getting some loving before we headed out--obviously Isaiah could care less

Heading to the pool for the first time--he just fell asleep when I put him in!

Isaiah's new favorite past time--eating his hands

3 months!

I am a little late with this one but Isaiah is now 3 months old. I wanted to write down a few of the things he is up to these days.


-he has started to sleep through the night (sometimes) and if he wakes up it is only once at 3:30 am and then right back to bed after he has a bottle.
-he loves to be talked to--and he "talks" right back
-he follows you with his eyes
-he knows when Daddy is in the room and he will smile from ear to ear and just gaze at him
-he has learned how to officially throw fits
-he loves morning time with Daddy (from about 6am to 8am)
-he loves being outside
-he is in size 0-3 month clothes but is quickly getting to tall for them
-his eyes are still gorgeous blue (we thought they might change but they have only gotten more blue)
-loves getting out and about with Mommy
-he is NOT into long naps--he takes about 3-4 catnaps a day
-he is now officially laughing
-loves eating his hands
-sitting up on his own

Me and Isaiah are really starting to get in a routine. I try and stay around the house in the mornings and then we get out in the afternoons. This tends to work best for him because by the time the afternoon rolls around he is ready to be out. He has become so much happier since he had his surgery. Poor thing was just in pain alot--his personality is really coming out now. I cannot tell you how many times I have been told that he is "a strong willed child" and I have to agree but Gabe and I prefer to just say he is very independent! :)

Sorry I have been so scarce around here-life has just been so busy lately. I am loving being home with my son everyday. He is growing so fast!

he loves his Daddy

"Who me?"

He loves watching tv--I don't let him watch more then a few minutes but it is HILLARIOUS!

So perfect!

Ready to go on Memorial Day 2009

Showing off his sitting up skills

I swear he is going through a growth spurt--all he wants to do is sleep lately!

My first Mother's Day

This weekend I was able to participate in Mother's Day for the first time. As I was thinking about being new to this club, I realized that I will be in this club for the rest of my life. If anyone knows me, they know that children have always been a part of my life... from babysitting all through my teen years to constantly being around my friends with kids. (Gabe and I are pretty much the last ones in our group to have children.) I always knew I wanted children but I never could have imagined how much I love being a mom.

I will never forget the day that I found out I was pregnant. It was June 23, 2008 (my Mom's birthday actually!). I was getting ready for work and decided to take a test just so that I could call my doctor and explain to them that something was off. I could not figure out why I was so late! Yeah, I know it does not take a genius to know that being late usually means you're pregnant but you have to understand we only tried for ONE MONTH! I had prepared myself for the journey to get pregnant to be fraught with many months of negative tests. Don't ask me why because I really don't know. I just figured it couldn't be that easy. And to be honest I had a HUGE fear of miscarriage. Again, don't ask me why... I just did. So much so that I was almost scared to even try. I didn't tell many people this, for fear of looking crazy, but it was very real to me. So on that Monday morning I was stunned to see that the stick showed positive. I can't even explain to you the feelings that went through my head. I was in shock!

I look back now and realize that I could have let those "what if's" and the fears rob me of the most incredible love I have ever experienced. My son has taught me what no one ever could--pure joy. In the beginning months when I felt like I was in a fog from just pure exhaustion I would still look at my little boy and just grin ear to ear because he was mine. No longer was I just babysitting, but this amazing child was part of me and part of my best friend. I look at him and can't believe the difference a year makes. This time last year Gabe and I were talking about beginning to try. Now as I type this I am looking at the most adorable guy in the world. Isaiah, thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. In a season of hurt and frustration, you showed your Dad and I that God had so much for us. You showed us that life does go on. These last 3 months have been amazing. Your smile makes my heart melt. You are the greatest gift I have ever gotten. I look forward to all the years ahead, to see what God has in store for you. Always remember that your Mommy loves you more than I can ever explain. Thanks for making me a mom!

Now a shout out to my mom. Mom you have shown me what it means to be a mom. You have always been my sounding board no matter how crazy I sound. You encouraged me to become my own person--to be me and not to make any excuses for who I am. You have always made me feel beautiful even when I wore those dorky socks pulled up to my knees with braided ponytails and a mouth full of braces. Thank you for always making me feel confident in who I am. I hope to pass this along to my son along with many other lessons you taught me. You are truly one of my best friends. You are the best!

--For those wondering: for Mother's Day Gabe took me out to a nice dinner on Friday night (thanks Aunt Kimmy for watching the little man) and then on Sunday I woke up to Gabe and Isaiah making me breakfast. Well Isaiah was just sitting in his bouncer but you know! Gabe got me a gift certificate for a pedicure too. It was a nice relaxing day.--

Just hanging out


Heading out to dinner



This is Isaiah's new big boy way of sleeping--doesn't he look so big!

Hope everyone had an awesome Mother's day!

The First Step: Isaiah's Dedication

Saturday night was Isaiah's dedication and it was such a great time. Gabe and I recently started going to Destiny Church and we LOVE it! Saturday night they dedicated almost 30 babies and children. As I was listening to Pastor Mike talk about what baby dedication meant, it was exciting to know that our church is dedicated to raising up the next generation.

We had a pretty big group join us for Isaiah's dedication. We had well over 15 people (that is how many seats I saved and we ran out) there to celebrate this day with us. Isaiah is the first grandchild on both sides and the first baby in my family in many, many years! We were so sad that Gabe's parents couldn't join us but we will receive a DVD shortly of the service so we can send that to them. Isaiah looked so cute and behaved very well. He slept in my arms until it was time to go up on stage and then he was wide awake. I am posting some pictures below.


Thank you to everyone who came out to be a part of this day in our son's life. Gabe and I have decided we have the best family and friends in the world. God has blessed us with such great people. Thank you for being so good to us!



Today I decided to see what Isaiah thought of driving his car. He thought it was okay... for a few minutes.


Doesn't he look like a stud?!? Gabe says it's good training for driving the Batmobile. I love the shot of his little feet. I know before too long, his feet will be touching the ground!

Look what I can do!

No time to post a long update but here is a new picture from today. I wanted to just try the Bumbo seat out to see how he liked it and he LOVED it! He has had very good neck control since he was about 2 weeks old--I should of pulled the seat out sooner!



Isaiah is getting dedicated tomorrow night at church so I will be back with TONS of pictures!

Feeling good!

*Before surgery--isn't he the cutest patient you have ever seen*

Yesterday was Isaiah's hernia surgery and everything went as smoothly as it could. I was so proud of our little guy. The thing I was least looking forward to was not being able to feed him past 1 am (his surgery was at 7 am). I was able to give him so Pedialyte at 2:30 but that was it. I was dreading the time before surgery where he would just look at me and wonder why I wasn't feeding him. So Gabe and I prepared ourselves for a long night before surgery and you know what...he did aswesome! He got a little cranky (hungry) at 5 am but after crying for about 15 minutes he decided it wasn't worth the energry and just went back to sleep. We got to the hospital at 6 am and they had him in surgery at 7am. I handed off a sleeping baby to a nice nurse who had a warm blanket to carry him in. My mom, grandma and grandpa joined Gabe and I in the waiting room during his surgery. It was so nice to have family there to keep our minds occupied.

*Keep in mind this is after about 2 hours of sleep for me! So dont look too close*

They came and got Gabe and I at about 8 am and told us the surgery was complete and he did great. We went back to recovery and he was just waking up a bit. They wanted me to give him sugar water first to make sure he could hold it down then give him formula. Well my son wanted NOTHING to do with the sugear water so finally they let me go straight to formula and he gulped it down like a champ! We arrived back home by 10:30 am and Isaiah just slept all day. We stayed home today just to recover and he is doing great. He is eating great and not showing any signs of discomfort. He is all smiles so I am pretty sure he is saying, "thanks for taking care of all that!"

*After surgery with Daddy*

Thank you so much for all the prayers and phone calls. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends. We are so happy to be past this little bump in the road!

let the countdown begin....

How cute is he!

Today we had our appointment with the doctor to schedule Isaiah's surgery to fix his hernia. We have pre-op on Monday (the 27th) and surgery early Tuesday morning. I am anxious to get it fixed so that my little guy will not have that discomfort anymore, but then little bits of fear try and creep in as well. He is just so little and for him to have to have surgery--no matter how routine--it just kills me. It is totally up to the anesthesiologist if he wants to keep him overnight for observation (because he is so little) or just keep us a few hours.We are hoping this will be an outpatient surgery but we will not find out for sure until Monday at pre-op. I know that Isaiah is in God's hands and He will take care of my guy.

Here are some new pictures of Isaiah. My son has decided that he HATES the camera. He will be cheesing it up BIG time and then right when I get the camera out, that smile disappears and does not return until I have the camera back in its bag. Today I even showed him the camera and said, "Okay its turned off," and-- I kid you not-- he just started smiling again! Its hilarious but not when you are trying to get new pictures of him.
-ok still working on getting the pictures uploaded but I wanted to post this so everyone was updated about his surgery. I will keep working on the pics!

***edited to add the pictures. My Picasa was messing up but my lovely husband fixed it for me!

"They call me Hugh"Daddy and his mini meDon't you just want to eat him up!

Before mom took me on a walk...After the walk--it must take alot of energy to lay there!