My Baby is ONE!

Judah turned a year old today! Where does the time go. It seems like just yesterday that David and I were headed out the door bright and early for my scheduled c-section. I remember that I was so ready to meet Judah but that I was grieving for my Jonah and the change he would have to experience giving up his role as an only child and having to "split" the love and attention with his new brother.

Judah struggled during his first couple of days in the world. He had difficulty breathing due to a partially collapsed lung and he was born with a rarer form of mono that meant he not only had to be in the NICU but in isolation from the other babies. Judah had significant odds stacked against him (especially from the mono) but despite having an ear infection on his 1st birthday, he has proved to beat the odds.

Judah is my smiley baby. He has brought me so much joy. He is so cuddly and he quickly dives onto my lap any chance he gets. He is passionate as demonstrated is his beautiful happy demeanor that can quickly change into a fiery temper when he does not get what he wants. He has always been easily soothed by being held which I love to do even with the sore back that comes from holding him for long periods of time.

I truly cannot believe how quickly this past year has gone. Judah went from sleeping a couple of hours at a time to sleeping through the night, eating anything that we put in front of him, crawling, walking, and now almost running. He laughs out loud, plays peekaboo, likes to hide in drawers and pretends he is talking on mommy and daddy's cell phone. He is very entertaining. And his smile quickly reminds me that any stressful day is going to be alright.

One of my greatest joys over the past year has to be watching Jonah and Judah become buddies. Jonah is so sweet to Judah...helping him walk across the room, encouraging him when he does something new and being excited to see him when he wakes up from his naps. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE seeing them love one another and it only makes me excited for the things to come. I don't mean to sound unrealistic. I am fully aware that there will be times when they can't get away from one another fast enough. I can only pray that Jonah and Judah will be as great of friends as David and his brother are... Judah has been sick today. The sweetest moment of the day was when Jonah asked if he could lay beside Judah and so he crawled up onto my bed where Judah was sleeping and gentle put his arm around Judah telling him "it'll be okay little buddy". Ah, what more could I ask for? It makes me teary even recalling the moment.

Happy Birthday Judah. I love you so much!

Judah Walking...

It has been so cool to see Judah really get the "walking thing" over the last couple of days. He has transitioned into walking much more than crawling. Earlier, he was even trying to walk on top of our bed.

Birthday Celebration!

I love times when I can escape back to the computer for a few minutes. I especially love it when I have the opportunity to do so when David is entertaining the boys in the other room. I can hear every word and sound but I am out of sight and so they are fully content without mommy for a few minutes. I adore hearing the boys laugh with each other. A few times, Jonah must have even been tickling David because he was letting out the laugh that he laughs only when he is being tickled. It is pretty funny. I keep hearing loud thumps but I will trust that Jonah is safe as he is jumping off of whatever it is that David is allowing. It is really quite loud but I haven't heard any tears yet, so it must be okay?!? Ah, now they are reading books and David and Jonah are attempting to say Spanish words. What a great daddy! I love these moments when I can just sit here and enjoy the ways my boys interact with each other.

I can hardly believe how quickly Jonah and Judah are changing. Judah will be turning 1 on December 11th and we actually celebrated his birthday this weekend. He was so great watching him dig into his cake. He was not a bit shy about it. I recall Jonah sort of picking at his cake but Judah...he picked up the entire piece and I believe that he was trying to figure out how to get the entire thing in his mouth but it just wouldn't fit. I am sure that he would have eaten more had I given him a second serving. I feel that with yesterday came a new level of walking for him as well. Judah seemed quite confident in his new skill and seemed to want to prove it by walking with items in his hand, like Jonah's guitar and Jonah's drum stool. Not just little items but ones that could easily topple him over. He is becoming more and more stable nonetheless and soon I know that his walk will become a run.

Wow, the thumping is back and it is louder than ever. I believe David is still reading books and that Jonah, being a three year old, no longer can maintain his focus. He is jumping off of his bed... Such is my life with boys!

Whatever you do don't blink...

Some days I honestly feel that if I blink, I might just miss something...these days specifically with my boys. They are growing up so fast. Jonah is 3 and Judah is about to turn 1. We are actually celebrating his 1st birthday this weekend. Judah is walking all over the place and Jonah is becoming the sweetest ornery 3 year old I know.

I am amazed at how time passes so quickly. James 4:14 says "Your life is like the morning fog--it's here a little while, then it's gone." I think that morning fog is beautiful and mysterious. Yet, it is amazing that sometimes I miss it completely. Some days it appears and is gone before I have even taken the time to look outside of my windows. I do not want any day to be here and gone without being present in it. I want to notice life...I want to experience it fully...and that means the highs and the lows. If I were to say that I only wanted to feel the joys of life, I could name countless pains that I wouldn't trade for anything. I want to be conscious of my life and of the lives around me. I want to observe and yet I want to participate even when it hurts. I pray that my boys too will learn to live a life full of experience and that they will understand what it means to notice the morning fog.

Zoe Zola

The boys and I recently made a last minute trip to Ohio to see our favorite 6 month old little girl, Zoe Zo Zo...as Martha and Jonah like to call her. Martha has also gotten used to calling her Zoe Zola which is her Kituba middle name, a language spoken by Eric when he was growing up in Congo. Because Zoe is not that typical of a name, I don't use it that often except when I am speaking about my daughter, Zoe, or Martha's daughter Zoe. Each time I see Zoe and am able to hold her and interact with her, I find it all the more honoring and precious that Eric and Martha would choose to name their daughter after my beautiful Zoe. Zoe just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. She is such a good baby who is extremely content just lying there smiling at you. Jonah adores Zoe Beth. He loves talking to her and even gave her a couple of drum concerts. I think she was pretty enamored by Jonah as well. Judah...well...he was very interested in Zoe except for the times when he was trying to eat her nose and touch her eyeballs. Zoe was a great sport!