Twenty one months ago I was standing in the bathroom at our house staring at a pregnancy test. I looked at it and said, "Oh my!!!" Izzy was standing next to me and said, "What, mom? Do you have a boo-boo?" Well, not exactly :) Jeff was upstairs asleep, taking a much needed nap to get through our busy life. I remember going upstairs and telling him the news very quietly, almost hiding at the side of the bed. And after that, I don't remember a thing! Ha ha! I'm pretty sure I didn't black out. :) And I'm certain he was happy. I was too. I was excited. But I was a bit shocked and scared, too.
We had a three year old and one year old at the time. Addie was still called "Baby Addie" (in fact, she was until up until the day Jonah was born). I co-slept with her, nursing her in the night. I had visions of doing this with two babes- literally surrounded all night by kids. I couldn't do it! Fortunately it all worked out and she weaned before Jonah was born :)
I had lots of worries during my pregnancy. I said a lot of prayers, in distress, thinking about how I could possibly handle this load. Every time I felt down on my knees I would read and be encouraged by some sort of message that said, "You can do it. I will provide." And I believe that. And I suppose God's answer to my prayer has helped get me through this year.
It's been hard but sooooo joyful!!! I wouldn't change a thing. (Well, perhaps I would go back in time and establish a savings account titled "babysitting fund"). I've never worked so hard in my life. But I've never had so much real, meaningful fun, either. I mean, these kids amaze me. And Jonah has just brought so much joy to our family.
He constantly smiles. The girls regularly crack up at his antics, whether it's his all-out run to get to the stairs when they are unguarded for a second, or his relentlessness in playing with and chasing after balls. Last night it was his eating dirt out of the tomato plant:) In a typical one year old way, he's just so happy to greet the day and see his sisters. They will run around the house doing something crazy and he just follows. He has no idea what they are up to, simply that he has just got to be part of it.
This might be why he's been walking for about six weeks now. He was so determined! The second he figured out how to take a few steps, I could tell he was going to give up the crawl soon. I asked Jeff to get the crawl on video because it wouldn't be around long. Sure enough, he was done with it about four days later (and fortunately my hubby video taped it before it was gone!)
He's just "all boy". I knew there would of course be differences, but I didn't know they would be so obvious, and so soon. He plays with balls (and LOVES them). The girls would just watch the balls roll by and look at me as if to say, "And?". Jonah chases those balls like a dog! And he is a magnet to cars and push toys. Those cars are occasionally played with by the girls, but Jonah seeks them out on a regular basis. I'm not sure if the push toys is a boy thing (especially since his favorite one is a stroller!), but he loves those too.
Of course, he also is interested in what his sisters like...when they are creating art, he wants a crayon or marker. He often gets one before I notice. I usually catch on once I see some Jonah "art work" on the kitchen floor or his face :)
Anyway, I need to clean my office at work now! I just wanted to share a bit about our journey here and our wonderful, loved son who turns one year old today! I never would have planned life to work out this way. But we were open to the possibilities and we are so very happy that this is where we are. Thank you, Lord, for Jonah and our family!
Pardon the typos- but, like I said, I need to start vacuuming!
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