She's 3, He's 1 - A birthday party to remember

When the C household awoke on Saturday morning, our kids had two very different reactions:


Isabel was (in her words) "SO 'cited"
for the birthday party!

 

Josiah on the other hand had a 102 degree fever
and did not feel up to a party at all! He barely
felt up to being awake! Poor buddy.

  

After realizing that Josiah was sick, we sent out the appropriate "come-at-your-own-risk" warnings to all of our invited guests, and decided to proceed as planned with the Dora/Diego 3rd birthday/1st birthday bash!

Josiah not surprisingly slept much of the day leading up to the party, and even some during the party, but when he was awake, he was generally sitting in someone's lap quietly taking it all in! What a trooper!



Grandma Tina blessed the kids by making beautiful Dora and Diego birthday cakes! I can't wait until I can learn how to do this someday! They turned out amazingly and so many people commented on them!

Isabel was very excited to pose for a picture with her Dora cake, to have "Happy Birthday" sang to her, and to blow out the candles (which she did all by herself this year!) Josiah couldn't have cared less about his cake, but he humored Mommy by allowing us to put him in his highchair while we sang "Happy Birthday" (I must say Isabel was adorable standing right in front of Josiah and singing the song to him...how sweet!).  We put a piece of the Diego cake in front of him to see if he would have any interest. At first, he didn't have a clue what to do, so I took a bit of the frosting and stuck it in his mouth. That intrigued him and he did pick at the cake for a few minutes, but he was done pretty quickly and wanted out!







Josiah picked at his cake very disinterestedly...

 

...while Isabel literally licked her plate clean!








  The bunches of balloons were a big hit. Even Josiah perked up a little and was trying to bat the big blue balloon around. Isabel is so little I almost thought the big pink and purple bunch of Dora balloons would lift her right off the ground! :)



Isabel had fun stacking all of the new
books that she got for her birthday...



...and reading said books, one by one, in her classic Isabel
way. She also loved her pink princess boots. The minute
she opened them, they went right on her feet and were
not taken off for the remainder of the party! Thanks Aunt
Jessie, Isabel loves you!

And at the end of the day, we even coaxed a smile out of the under-the-weather birthday boy!

Kids - Mommy and Daddy can barely believe that you just turned 3 and 1! Every time we blink, you are learning something new and getting a little bit older. We love you so very much and know that you are going to achieve anything you set your mind to in this life. And our #1 prayer for you is that you will know the richness and blessing that comes with having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Happy birthday to both of you, and don't ever forget how very special you are! Love, Mommy and Daddy

Happy 1st birthday, Josiah!

I will never forget the events of one year ago today, which were sudden and unexpected, and resulted in God blessing us with a miraculous 4lb 9oz son, 8 weeks in advance of his due date.  "Little guy," as he was called for his first three days of life, was covered in immense amounts of prayer both before, during, and after his birth, and we will be eternally grateful to the friends and family who surrounded him and our family with those prayers, and who helped us in so many ways during the 44 days that he spent in the NICU.

This little guy was soon named Josiah David, and the story of how we chose his name is truly a testimony of God's providence, faithfulness, and provision. You can read about it here.

Josiah has continued to live up to the meaning of his name, "Healed by God" or "Supported by God." This past year has continued to be a medical battle for him, with his diagnosis of hydrocephalus which was treated by a VP shunt placement surgery in early November.  Josiah's story has touched many people, who have seen a glimpse of God's glory through his journey.



Today, on Josiah's first birthday, we are thankful to have a happy, healthy baby boy, who loves our doggie, choo-choo trains, riding on Daddy's shoulders, balls, and Cheerios!  He brings such joy to our lives and to the life of his big sister who loves him to pieces.

Happy birthday, Josiah! We love you!