Noah's First Birthday

So I'm sure you are all just on the edges of your seats wondering if I ended up sneaking in to see my baby last night. Brian definitely was. It was the first thing he asked me this morning! :) Well...I just couldn't resist. I had to hold him one more time before he became a one-year-old. I quietly went into his room around 11:50 and got him out of bed. He didn't stay asleep as well as I had hoped but didn't ever fully wake up. I held him and rocked him. I so wanted to tell him all my thoughts and feelings at that moment but I didn't want to do anything to cause him to wake up more. Instead I sang to him Noah's Song silently in my head. (Click the link to read the lyrics or here to hear a recording if you have never heard it (and I'm not sure who the people are. It was the only video I could find)...Christy & Nathan Nockles wrote it for their son Noah. Such a fabulous song about about little ones!) I also prayed for this new, exciting year we are entering and for wisdom and patience for Brian and myself. After whispering happy birthday, I gently laid him back in bed around 12:10 and watched him get comfy and snuggle with his "Ellie." It was such a sweet time, and I'm so glad I got to spend it with him. Maybe we'll make that a yearly birthday tradition.

My original plan for my post today was to write about our day as it was happening, document it in photos, and then edit and publish it at the end of the day. That didn't really happen.  My day didn't start out quite as early as I had planned. I definitely slept through my alarm. Then, rather than being productive during nap time this morning I organized photos in iPhoto and posted photos to Facebook. I kind of thought I deserved a little break on my son's birthday, so I decided to take one! And, it turns out it's not really easy to do all the photo taking of a wiggly one-year-old when you are the only parent at home! All that being said, here's what I have! 

When I got out of bed at 6:51 I rushed to get ready, since, as mentioned, I was already behind. With Noah's birthday being on a Wednesday, there was no way we would be able to have a birthday celebration for him in the evening, so we had plans to celebrate over birthday breakfast. Surprisingly enough, he slept extra long. In fact, we actually went in to wake him up at 8:00. (He usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30.) After getting him out of bed, Brian and I started his birthday day by singing "Happy Birthday" to him.

After going through our morning routine, we headed to the kitchen for his favorite breakfast, pancakes and bananas. 

We're having a whole birthday extravaganza, but it won't be for another week and a half, so we got a little gift for him to open on his birthday before the party. 

Unfortunately, it is also a "regular day," and Brian had to head to work after our mini celebration. Noah and I played on the floor with his new phone for awhile and then decided to snuggle and watch a Baby Einstein video together before his nap. He napped for almost two hours. When he woke up around noon, I got him ready, and we went to meet Brian for lunch. 

After lunch, I wanted to stop by Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things. Here's where things get a bit crazy...  I pulled into a parking space, parked, and got out to get Noah out of the car. He had an odd expression on his face, and I said, "Bud...you don't look to good..." Then, he threw up. A lot. I grabbed a rag and cleaned him up as much as I could without getting him out of the car seat because I knew he wouldn't want to get back in if I got him out. I rushed to get us home and undressed him in the car so I would stay as clean as possible. This was around 2:00. I start teaching on Wednesdays at 3:00. In an hour I needed to get him cleaned up and re-dressed, take off the car seat cover, clean it and the car seat, get things ready to go to church because we have to leave immediately after I finish lessons, pick up things around the house, then nurse him and put him in bed for a nap. Needless to say, it was kind of a frantic hour. I was relieved that my first student was 5 minutes late. That extra 5 minutes was much needed! 

I finish teaching at 6:15, and we rush out the door to church on typical Wednesdays. I got a text around 6:00 from my wonderful babysitter telling me that Noah had been sick a couple more times. I finished my lesson and went to check on my sweet birthday boy. He was in the process of getting cleaned up again and seemed to be feeling okay. (He is on a new antibiotic for an ear infection, and my guess is that it's a little rough on his tummy. We go to the doctor in the morning for his 1-year vaccines and will ask about it then.) I made a quick call to Brian to let him know we were going to stay home from church...mostly because I didn't want him to get sick in the nursery! My sweet boy and spent the next hour cleaning and playing around the house. 

(And I got him dressed back in his birthday clothes and attempted to take photos...) 

Soon it was bath time. I let him spend a little extra time playing in the bath since it is one of his very favorite things to do. After his bath, I got him ready for bed. We, of course, had to read On the Night You Were Born, which, of course, caused me to get a little tear-y and choked up. I fed him, and we snuggled. I ended his first birthday day much like it started by singing Happy Birthday as his bed time song. It was pretty much a perfect day...minus the whole getting sick part, of couse! 

Happy 1st Birthday sweet Noah Michael. Your Dad and I love you so much and are so blessed that God chose us to be your parents! Thank you for all the joy you have brought and will continue to bring to our lives!