One Year Old!

Dear Israel,

Happy birthday sweet boy! This month you had so many milestones! We love celebrating your precious life and we are so thankful that we get to watch you grow up.

This month you gained two front bottom teeth! You have tried a lot of adult food and you like anything we put in front of you. You are a great eater! You also consistently hold your own bottle when you get your 3 bottles a day.

My favorite milestone of the month is SLEEP!!!! We used the "sleep sense" program and by the second night you were sleeping through the night and had figured out how to self soothe at night. Your nap habits are still a bit rough but I think that's because you can see around your room and you love to play and kick and giggle until you finally crash to sleep. Sometimes it will take you 45 minutes to fall asleep and then you will only nap for 30 minutes! But you are getting better each week!

You are becoming a lot more vocal (we didn't know that was possible!) and you consistently say "mama" and "dada" now! You melt us. You're also more talkative around people you recognize now.

Your favorite things to do right now are swinging in your swingset, clapping, listening to your dad or puppy sing, watching your parents be silly (we figured out things that get you a guaranteed laugh), banging on your piano and looking at yourself in the mirror.

You are wearing 12 month clothes but you probably need to start wearing 18 month pants because you are so tall! You still have incredibly small feet and are still wearing size 2-3 shoes!

You are still doing physical therapy 2-3 times a week and after a few hard weeks with little progress, we finally received some encouragement after seeing some muscle development. Also, you finally put pressure on your feet and will even stand for a little while with help! We are so proud.

You saw a lot of family this month! First we took a quick weekend trip to Opelika to see Nana and Papa. Then last weekend we had your birthday party and lots of family came in town to celebrate! You did really well with everyone but the day they left you were suuuper cranky so I think you were a bit overstimulated after all.

We also did your baby dedication at church the weekend of your birthday party. It was very special for us and we are honored to have the responsibility to teach you about Gods love and gift of salvation!

Son, we can't help but think about Ethiopia and all of the heritage you left behind as we approach such a big milestone like your birthday. All month your birth family and where you were last year has been heavy on my mind and heart. We are reminded of Gods grace and are driven to pray for your Ethiopia family and for the other kiddos that still need moms and dads like you did.

It is such a privilege to be your parents. You have captured us completely and we love you so much!

Love, Mama

Comments

  1. Happy birthday Israel! God is good...all the time!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Birthday Israel, you are loved! What a special birthday it is too :) praying this is a sweet time for you Bekah as you reflect on Israel's life and birth parents

    ReplyDelete

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