"Dedication Day" 2011

Yesterday was dedication day at our church, and it brought back so many memories from last year when we dedicated Micah ourselves. We had the privilege of being accompanied by both sets of grandparents, and it was just such a cool day and an amazing reminder of the many blessings God has given us.

I thought it would be neat to capture Micah yesterday and compare him to a year ago, when he was such a small little baby. Amazing what a year can do at this young little age;) Check it out for yourselves! Dedication Day, 2010. And dedication day, one year later!

15 months old

And how fast time flies! Sometimes it seems that just yesterday we were bringing Micah home from the hospital, while other times it is hard for me to imagine how life was without him. No matter how you look at it though, Micah is 15 months old and I am more in love with him than ever.

We've had a great month and I feel like his communication skills are growing day by day. He's not really saying a whole lot outside of "Hi" and "ball" but as I said in my last post, he knows many, many words. He also has begun to literally run in excitement, loves being outside, loves playing and loves to eat. He's had a bit of a growth spurt lately (growing 2 inches in 3 months!) and seriously seems hungry ALL the time. Because he now signs "eat" when he's hungry, he seems way hungrier than ever before, haha.

He had a couple of meetings with the concrete, first scraping his nose and forehead, and the second busting the top and bottom of his lip. He's also worked towards really dropping that 1st nap, and although the past couple days have been a bit of a set back, he's doing well the last 2 weeks at getting a good amount of sleep with just one nap. AND, we had his 5th tooth pop through!! Dr. Natalie says he's about at a 10-11 month old when it comes to his teeth progression, haha, and also said it seems to be right in stride with his height. We keep waiting for him to sprout up, as Christian and I are not short, and it seems like he might be starting to get there.

15 month doctor stats:
Length - 31.5 inches, 39%
Weight - 23.75 pounds, 64%
Head circumference - 19 inches, 81%


Below are just a couple of pictures taken recently to show Micah at 15 months.

Showing his "all boy" side at the arboretum.

Showing his "all boy" side riding in a John Deer Gator. Look at that face!

"Look at me go, guys!"

Communication with a toddler...

It has been fun watching Micah communicate with us a little more lately. He still has minimal to say verbally, but he absolutely knows a ton of words! When we ask him where things are on a walk or ask him to point to certain items on a page, it is clear how much this child actually knows. He has also been learning sign language from reading "Baby's First Signs" books from the library, with "eat" being one of the first (and most often used!). The first time he communicated accurately with me, using that sign, was such a cool experience. How amazing to watch your child all of a sudden begin to "talk" with you! Just this morning, as Micah was waking up in his crib, I saw him doing the signs "eat" and "more" to himself (we have a video monitor, thus I am able to see him without actually being in his room). Clearly he was one hungry boy this morning :).

I have talked before about the example that parents are for their children and how children are like sponges soaking in all that is around them. This was shown to me again yesterday, as we went to pray for our food at lunch and Micah clasped his hands together, waiting patiently. We have prayed with Micah at meal times, before bed, and other various times since he was born. At the beginning he was especially fussy all through prayer (with Christian and I questioning what was going on :)). Lately he has actually been sitting quietly through prayer, and then immediately upon saying Amen, he would point and "umphh!!" for his food or milk. Then yesterday when we said "Let's pray first, Micah." he actually put his hands together, knowing exactly what was coming! It just melted my heart to watch my little boy ready to pray to God. Not that he knows exactly what's going on, but we are building a foundation so that one day he will.

I love this communication stage with Micah and know it only continues to grow from here! How blessed we are to have this innocent little human in our possession and I just pray we are able to raise him in a Godly home, that will ultimately point him towards the the love of Jesus and the freedom that He brings.

Arboretum Fun with my boys!

This morning we headed out to the Morton Arboretum - a 5 mile run for mom and dad, and then playing at the Children's Garden for Micah. What a great morning and a great time we had! Micah has begun the transition from 2 naps to 1, and it will be so nice once he's completely there because it makes the morning wide open. This past week in particular has been one in which I really think he's showing signs of readiness, as he refused to go down for his morning nap on 2 of those days. And usually if we are able to get him out and about he does pretty good of not getting too cranky. Of course this is happening as I am about to start school back up, therefore I can't even tell Micah's new daycare provider about his schedule, but such is life.

"Hi Momma. I'm having so much fun here!"

"I need to get going though...there's just so much to see."

"Well...sure, I can stand and wait for a snack. Anything for food!"

"You, on the other hand Momma...that's old hat! I need to explore."

"Now, what have we here?"

"Oh, now these are pretty cool."

"Seriously, these are so fun! And I love being able to play with them since Daddy's picked me up!"

"Thanks for a great day guys! I just love being a kid."
(And might I add, like father like son?!?! :) )

So on that note, if you think of us, say a little prayer as it's about to get that much more busy. With me starting school, Micah going to a new person (who just had a baby in June as well as a 2 year old little boy) and the fact that Christian's schedule tends to amp up a notch or two this time of year, it's going to be a hectic fall. We are blessed, however, beyond measure and grateful for all that God has given us. As we move to enter a busier season of life, we know God remains on the throne and in control.

Bigger Picture

Christian and I were taking Micah to a park yesterday, and he essentially whined and whimpered the entire way there. During our drive, Christian and I talked about how that reminded us of what we must do sometimes with God. You see, we were driving Micah to a place he would enjoy. A place he could run around (and yes, the boy is actually starting to run just a little bit every now and then:)). A place he would appreciate and have fun. The problem was, he couldn't see the bigger picture and therefore was upset about being strapped in his car seat for the drive to the park.

How often do we whine and whimper about something we are going through, not understanding the bigger picture God has in store for us? How easy is it to complain about our lot in life? Why me God, why this, why now? And yet we are unable to see what God sees. Unable to understand what He is preparing us for and unable to appreciate the lows in our lives for the highs it will surely bring.

Micah is the perfect illustration of that, in more ways than one. Having 3 miscarriages was certainly not something I was grateful to encounter (nor would ever wish to experience again!). I was absolutely in the lowest of the lows. When I look at that sweet, precious little boy of mine, however, I am beyond grateful for what I have been through, knowing that God was preparing our hearts to be his mommy and daddy. That bigger picture was no where close during those lows of my parenthood journey, but I am so thankful for the blessing and joy that Micah is in our lives.

If only I'd known...

how much fun Micah would have had at the Splash Pad this summer, I would not have spent the money on a pool pass! I literally just thought of this little park yesterday, which is so unfortunate because it's free and something that doesn't freak me out, yet allows Micah to experience the water environment. Oh well - maybe next year I'll take advantage more...

That being said, we went yesterday by ourselves, and met my friend Carrington and her 3 kiddos there today for a picnic lunch and some splashing fun.

"Oh Momma, this is just so much fun."

"Do you want to come in here with me?"

"No? What if I pretend to be walking the balance beam? Will you come and help me then?"

"Well, okay. I guess I'll just keep playing by myself."

"I would open my eyes, but the water is splashing right in my face!"

"Oh, what have we here? Look at this water squirting out!"

"Momma!! Can you come in now? I promise it's not that cold!"

"Please? This kid is going to get me if you don't come quick..."

Meanwhile..."Oh, this water is just so cold!"

"Maybe if we run it will warm us up quicker."

"Ahh, so much better! Now I can actually touch the water without freezing!"

Father's Day (x2)

This is a long overdue post, but right after these pictures were taken we headed out to Breckenridge and the summer seems to be a blur ever since. Before we left for Colorado, however, we were able to celebrate Father's Day a second time with Christian's parents and spent the day with some yummy food and a trip to the park. Micah had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa and we are so grateful they are close by to spend quality time with their grandson.

"I'm ready to get in my trike now, Grandpa."

"I know what this means! It's park time."

"I don't need that trike anymore, I can walk on my own now!"

"Now, let's see if I can get through this without hands..."

"Whoo hoo! Success."

"Slide time. And next to Daddy is the best:)"

"Wait, this doesn't feel very good...it's kind of hot..."

"Daddy, I told you! I don't like this!"

"Now, that's better. The swing is the place for me."

"Thanks Grandma for pushing me."

"Look over there!"

"Phew...all this activity has made me quite thirsty."

"And tired. I'm ready to go home and take a nap now."