Deacon's First Birthday!

One year ago today...

 

This little man entered our lives and brought with him so much joy and love!

Today we celebrated Deacon's First Birthday

(yes his shirt says "birthday suit")

 

 

 

We celebrated a year of firsts. First breath, First cry, First smile, First laugh, First roll, First trip to the beach, First Sit, First crawl, First steps, First bites of food, First teeth, First Christmas, First Easter

 



 

 

 

 

I know it's totally cliche but this year has flown by.  We've been busy and we've been tired but we've been totally blessed.  I don't even remember what life was like without this sweet little boy.

Deacon's little personality has been fun to watch blossom.  He is a reserved little guy that keeps us busy but also doesn't mind chilling out a bit.  He is eager to be just like Grace and Noah and will scream until he's given the same food on his plate, the same cups and the same utensil.  I have a strong inclination that he will become a left hander.  Every time I hand him a fork he puts it directly in his left hand.  Neither Kyle nor I are left handed, so we will see if that sticks or if he ends up switching to the right.  Deacon is also a peeker.  He's always peeking his head around corners, or walls, or tables and you see his sweet face, his big eyes and his bright smile.  He also LOVES blueberries.  He can eat an entire pint in one sitting!  It's been fun to watch his gross motor development; sitting at barely 5 months, crawling at 6 months and walking at 9.5 months! He definitely does NOT want to be left out of the fun his older siblings are having.  I feel so blessed by this little boy and I pray for the Lord's protection and blessing upon his life. 

 

 

 

 

     Last year I posted about Deacon's birth here and how beautiful and amazing and crazy that time was.  The past year has been quite the same.  A lot has happened this year, and this little man has been right there with me through it all.   Deacon accompanied me in those first few weeks to several emotional appointments with my mom, chemo appointments, lunches, hair places, etc.  Through it all he was so calm, quiet and a light of hope. 

 

    

When my mom was diagnosed with cancer 2 weeks before my due date last Spring I didn't understand God's timing at all.  Why would God allow this right before I have my third baby?  How would I take care of my mom and a newborn and 2 other crazy kids?!  How would I function on such little sleep?  But Deacon has been nothing but a joy and a beacon of light.  I know in my heart God's timing is perfect, and I strongly believe that.  Looking back now I know Deacon has been a gift to show us that God continues giving us love and hope and joy in the midst of trial.  Now my mom is doing great, she's cancer free and eager to dance with Deacon at his wedding!  Praise the Lord for his blessings and for sweet Deacon.

 

 



Gracie turns 3!

I can't believe I am writing this post.

My sweet Gracie girl has turned THREE!

 

 

April 23, 2010

April 23, 2011

 

 

 

April 23, 2012

 

 

 

April 23, 2013

 

 

 

 

Gracie is a spunky, intelligent, fun loving, silly little girl.  She loves to do her nails, play dress up like princesses, nurture her baby dolls (and baby brother) and then run outside and dig in the dirt and play with her big brother.  She is SO smart.  I have been blown away by how much she's learned this year.  Her artistic talent is starting to shine through as well.  She can draw pictures and color in the lines so well it astonishes us and her teacher!  I am so thankful for this beautiful little girl and her gorgeous curly hair.  She definitely challenges me with her strong will but I love her for it. 

 

The next 3 years better slow down because mama can't handle it!

 

 



9 months in the making

So...

I realized the other day "Oh yeah, I have a blog"

I guess having 3 kids under 5 really does consume all of my time and energy.
I checked the blog and the last time I posted was when Deacon was a month old.  Well, here we are, and he's 9 months old, and A LOT has happened in that 9 months!

 

We had a lot fun summer playing at the neighborhood pool almost every day!

We enjoyed a fabulous week down the shore, playing on the beach, Noah riding a pirate ship, and having sibling date night with a cute little third wheel (Deacon)

Noah started school and played soccer for the first time.

Grace started preschool in the 2's program.

 We put our house up for sale and MOVED!!!!

 this is the house with before it was finished
 (no we don't have a port a potty in the driveway)

Deacon grew, quickly!!  He is now 9 months old, cruising, standing and almost walking
He had multiple ear infections and had to get tubes but has been doing great ever since.
He also has NO teeth yet!

We've loved getting to know this little guy, and his laid back personality.  He's just a loving little guy, almost always smiling, but hard to get to laugh. I can't remember what life was like without him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed lots of fun doing "fall" things.  Hayrides, trick or treating, and picking pumpkins.




Mom finished her treatment like a rock star! I'm so proud of her strength and faith.

And finally...
Kyle and I celebrated our 6th anniversary!!!
 

Deacon: one month old!

Deacon is now a month old, I can't believe it!

Here are his stats:
Weight: 10lbs 13 oz (67%)
Height: 22 3/4 in (90%)

It looks like he's gonna be like his dad, tall & skinny!!

He is starting to look at me or objects and fix his eyes on them. He's sleeping great - going up to 8 hours at night - although he typically does a 6 hour stretch.

He can already roll from belly to back - he hates tummy time! When placed on his belly he just flips right over!

He remains a pretty calm relaxed kid. There's a lot of stimulation (noise) in our house and he just takes it all in & goes with the flow!

Deacon James

This post is a little delayed...two weeks actually, but better late than never!

We are excited to welcome our new little boy into the family.

Deacon James

Born at 2:33pm

on June 1, 2012

weighing 8lbs 10 ounces

measuring 20 1/2 inches long!

Birth Story:

Deacon was induced.  I was 39 weeks 4 days, and due to all that was going on my doctors agreed to induce me.  The night prior to the induction I planned on getting a good night's sleep - since it would be my last for a while.  When I laid down at 11:30 pm, I started to get contractions.  I was up for the next three and a half hours with contractions every 5 minutes.  They never got closer together, and eventually around 3 am they tapered off so I was finally able to fall asleep. 

We woke up at 6 am and called the hospital to make sure the induction was still on and they told us to come in around 7am.  I was actually quite nervous about getting induced because I had heard horror stories and I really didn't want to end up with a c-section.  When we got to the hospital my contractions had started up again, and when they put me on the monitor they were surprised to see the contractions had already started and were every 5 minutes.  Around 8 am the pitocin had started.  I managed to get through the pitocin contractions for 3 hours, and then at 11:30am I got my epidural, knowing the doctor was coming at noon to break my water.  I didn't know how quickly I'd progress after that so I figured better be safe than sorry. 

After my water was broken and my epidural was in I figured it would be a relaxing few hours until he was born.  Not so much.  Around 1pm Deacon's heart rate started to decrease, not in association with the contractions.  They put me on an oxygen mask and turned off the pitocin.  They also repositioned me to see if maybe Deacon was laying on the cord which was causing the decreased heart rate.  I got really worried becasue I thought here comes the c-section, but Kyle and I prayed at around 1:30pm that everything would be ok and that I wouldn't have to have a c-section, and boy did our prayers get answered.  Not long after that the nurses were comfortable with taking the oxygen mask off and the doctor had them restart the pitocin again...slowly.

Within a half hour I had them check me and I was fully dilated and having the urge to push.  By the time they had gotten everything set up and had the doctor come in it only took two and a half pushes and Deacon was out!  I was surprised when I opened my eyes and there he was!!  I thought for sure I'd need to push a few more times! I am so grateful to God that He allowed everything to go well and that I didn't need a c-section.  I'm also so grateful that the doctors allowed me to be induced so Deacon could spend a few days with my mom before everything started.

 I couldn't believe it when they put him on the scale and said he weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces!!  Both Noah and Grace weighed 8lbs 0oz so I was certain that because he was induced Deacon would be smaller.  The Lord provided in this way showing His divine power by giving us a BIG healthy boy.

Noah and Grace came to meet their new little brother that evening - despite all of the tornado warnings and terrible weather!  They were very excited to meet Deacon, but even more so to see me.  They were climbing all over me, and I didn't mind.  I missed them!  The nurse was concerned about them hurting me, but I didn't care.  If they wanted hugs, I wanted to give them!

 They each took a turn holding Deacon and I saw for the first time what I was in for!  The chaos that filled that room when Noah and Grace were there was exciting and scary all at the same time.

 Kyle was great.  He sat with me during the whole labor and we enjoyed having some "alone" time before Number 3 showed up.  We made jokes, laughed and he encouraged me through each contraction.  Best of all he led us in prayer as we asked for God's hand in a safe delivery.  I'm so happy to have Kyle in my life and for the leader that he is in our family.  When Deacon was born I looked at Kyle and he had tears running down his face.  Since we had 2 nurses (one was orienting) he didn't really participate in the birth so was able to just sit there and watch.  He said with having the 2 older siblings he hadn't thought much about this pregnancy or the little boy on the way so all of the emotions of 9 months of pregnancy hit him at once when Deacon was born.

The next morning I enjoyed some very quiet time with Deacon.  Knowing this would be my only chance to enjoy him one-on-one I soaked in every minute.  I even got a photo shoot in! 

Just Born.

 We originally had planned to name Deacon with the middle name Nathaniel, but with all that is going on with my mom, and all of the prayers people have prayed for her, we wanted to honor that.  We decided to name him Deacon James for James 5:15 - And a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick.  The Lord has already provided so much healing, and we continually pray for more.  We can't wait to celebrate Deacon's 5th birthday, and my mom's 5 years of being cancer free!

Deacon also got to meet Great Grandmom Videon.  Grandmom was born in 1922, Deacon born in 2012.  To see 90 years of family and heritage all in one seat was pretty incredible.  Grandmom was tickled to be able to come to the hospital to see Deacon and I, and we were thrilled to have her.

Finally, here's a picture of my parents with their newest and 6th grandchild. 

Deacon has truly been a blessing.  He is a very laid back and calm baby.  At times I feel like he  is an angel that God sent to calm our hearts during this difficult time.  He has been a great sleeper and very tolerant of his older siblings' "love" and "affection" for him.  I don't feel the sleep deprivation that I usually have with a newborn and for that I am so grateful!

My mom has always said God's timing is perfect, and Deacon is proving that to me everyday.  I didn't understand it all at first, and sometimes I still don't, but I know that Deacon came exactly when we needed him to.  He is a reminder that despite everything that happens the Lord still gives and still provides His blessings and His love.

James 5:15

And a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick.

James 5:16

The prayer of a righteous man is both powerful and effective.

Noah turns 4!

All about NOAH

I can't believe he's four!

Noah is a joy.  He says the funniest things.  For example, while watching a movie about Noah's ark, he says "I'm Noah, I save all the animals in the world.  You're welcome!".  He loves the fact that he's named after Noah - Noah's ark has become one of his favorite bible stories.  This year he has grown not only physically but spiritually.  He really seems to understand that God loves us, and that Jesus died for our sins.  The Lord has given him such a big spirit, and I love watching it grow. 

This year Noah's personality has really blossomed.  I've learned that he has a huge heart just like his Daddy.  He feels what you feel, and he feels it deeply.  He also has a passion for life.  He sees the world in such a positive light and his only desire is for everyone around him to be happy.  This year at preschool he grabbed his teacher by the face, gave her a big kiss and said "It's going to be ok!".  That's the perfect example of just how sweet this little man is. 

Noah is also a perfectionist.  When learning to write his name he often got stuck on the letter N, making it look like a W.  Instead of continuing with the rest of his name O,A,H, which were easy for him to write, he would get frustrated and refuse to keep writing.  Eventually with much persuasion and encouragement he learned to write his entire name. 

Noah loves the color BLUE!  He started the year at preschool only coloring with blue.  Every picture he brought home was completely colored in blue.  Blue, blue, blue.  Everything to him is blue.  Finally after 9 months of school Noah started to color with a few other colors.  His blue obsession was so prevalent that all of the kids in Noah's class knew that Noah's favorite color was blue.

Noah has also progressed from his train obsession and has now begun to like superheros.  He has been in love with Thomas the train since he was 16 months.  Over the course of the past year, the Thomas obsession began to fade and he began to love Spiderman.  Noah still enjoys watching Thomas on occassion, and still enjoys playing with trains, especially Geo Trax, but the obsession is no longer there.  Just another testament to how he's growing up!

This year after overhearing Kyle sing 'Amazing Grace' to Grace at night when putting her to bed, one night Noah asked Kyle why he doesn't sing 'Amazing Noah'?  Now we sing 'Amazing Noah' to Noah every night.

Noah has also become more 'independent'.  The other day I told him he couldn't wear his spiderman PJ's that night because they had to be washed (he had already worn them 3 nights in a row!).  When bedtime came around Noah requested his spiderman PJ's again, and knowing that I hadn't done the laundry yet I told him he wouldn't be able to wear them.  He said "But they are clean!" and he had me follow him to the basement and showed me how he had put his PJ's in the washing machine all by himself.  So smart. 

This year's firsts (and other accomplishments):

First trip to the dentist

First time writing/spelling his name

First time drawing a picture of himself

First time going to the Please Touch Museum

First time riding a bike

Able to say his abc's

Able to count to 20

Able to recognize letters and some words

Noah's 1st birthday

Noah's 2nd birthday

Noah's 3rd Birthday

Noah's 4th Birthday!

I look forward to the next 4, 14, 40 and hopefully 80 years of Noah. 
It has been a privilege to be this little boy's mom and I can't wait to watch him grow into a strong man that loves the Lord and serves Him. 

Such an amazing sight

I am amazed at how quickly Noah has learned to ride his new bike. When he got the bike for his birthday I was nervous he was too young for it. Boy was I wrong!! There is definitely a learning curve but he has made incredible progress in the 2 days since he got it! I can't believe my sweet little baby is so grown up. Watching him ride his bike I realize that he's entered a new phase of his childhood. He truly is a little kid now. There's no more denying it!

I've been surprised just how moving it has been to watch him ride his bike. All the joy and pride and amazement I felt when he learned to walk has returned as I watch him ride that bike all by himself. It's true what they say: they grow up way too fast!!


Here's a video of how awesome he did today!!