We had such a wonderful four days celebrating you for your 7th
birthday! Instead of having a big
birthday party, we chose to take you to The Great Wolf Lodge, for a
mini-vacation instead. Your birthday was
on Saturday, which was the day we were leaving, so I surprised you by
decorating the house on Friday morning instead. We had doughnuts for breakfast
and spent the day doing things you enjoyed.
That night we ate supper at Steak and Shake (your choice) and went to
Uncle David’s house for cake and presents.
You got a new bike from DD and Mr. Tommy, a slide for the dock at the
lake from YaYa and Top, a kayak from us, and money for your savings account from
your aunts and uncles (Papa had to work but he gave you a tackle box the next
weekend). Saturday and Sunday were spent at the Great Wolf Lodge and you and
Anna Ruth had a blast. Abigail stayed
with YaYa and Top since she was too little to do anything. On Monday, a few friends came over to swim. We
try to get you all together regularly during the summer, so this time we just
made the play date and impromptu birthday celebration. It wasn’t anything
fancy, but you had a good time none the less. I think you had a great birthday seeing as
that it has been a week ago and you are still tired from it all! Happy Birthday,
Buddy!
Sumner you are seven!
How can that be? This sounds crazy, but certain ages sting a little worse than
others… Of course, when you turned 1 was
tough because you were ONE! Three was
another tough birthday for some reason because it seemed like a big transition
between you being a baby and you being a little boy. Now that you are seven, I realize that is
also one of those ages that stings a little bit. I can’t really explain why, it just
does. It hurts to really say it… Seven….
My first baby who I feel like I was just finding out I was pregnant with is now
seven years old.
Sumner, because you were
my first baby, you will always have a special place in my heart (as do Anna Ruth
and Abigail). I remember so many details
about how and when I found out I was pregnant with you. I remember the maternity
clothes I wore. I remember the doctor’s
visits. I remember the shopping I did to
prepare for you. I remember what I was
doing the week and the night before you were born. I remember going to Dr.
Jordan for what I thought was just a normal check-up, only to find out I needed
to go straight to the hospital to be induced because my water was leaking. I remember being so scared when the alarms in
the room started going off and being rushed back for an emergency c-section. I remember the days at the hospital before
going home, and just enjoying becoming a mama!
I remember the little goggles you wore when they put you in the cubical
for jaundice, and how bad you hated being in there. You got so mad you nearly
rolled over from your back to your stomach at 2 days old. I remember what a challenge it was to breastfeed
you… We tried syringes, shields, a tube to trick you with, and even spoon
feeding you breastmilk. I remember coming
home and how slowly daddy drove. I have
never seen him drive so carefully. He
didn’t take the normal route via interstate, instead he drove through
town. We got stopped by ABAC by a train,
and I took a picture.
I remember your room,
too. I remember how we use to put a hand towel on your changing pad because you
had terrible dirty diapers that got everywhere, it was easier to wash the towel
than take the changing pad off every time you had an accident. I remember the little toy that DD hung from
the shelves above your changing pad so you could play with it (mostly stare at
it) when you were getting changed. I
remember your first Father’s Day, Aunt Connie brought a onesie over that said
something about Father’s Day. I remember how you use to scream in your car seat,
which were especially rough coming back from Moultrie. I had to pull over so many times just to try
and get you soothed (or my nerves soothed, not sure which!) I remember how I
could see you on your baby monitor yawing, stretching, and looking all around until
you fell asleep. I remember trying to get you on a schedule, and failing miserably.
Embarrassing as it is,
I also remember vividly how naive I was before you were born, and how fast I
snapped into reality once we brought you home.
Looking back, I think I must have thought I was getting a new puppy or
something instead of a baby! I just thought
it would be like the movies and everything would go so smoothly. I thought you
would sleep and eat when it was convenient and there would be nothing by smiles
and laughter. I truly was not prepared for how HARD it was to be a mama of a
newborn. But I can honestly say, if I
have a magic genie in a bottle, my first wish would be to go back to the day I
found out I was pregnant with you so I could do every little thing all over
again without changing one thing.
Sumner, you just will
never know how much I love you, and how thankful I am for you. By God’s grace and mercy, having you as my
son (and later Anna Ruth and Abigail as my daughters), I slowly changed into a different
person (and I like to think better). Since
you have been born my priorities have changed. I see the world differently (and
unfortunately scarier). I see danger in everything. My prayer life has grown exponentially.
Sumner, you make me so
very proud. You are so caring and considerate
of other peoples' feelings. You love to
make people you love feel special. You
have always had a strong understanding, hunger, and respect for the Lord, which
makes my heart so happy. You are incredibly
intelligent. You are a protector. You
are head strong, which can get you into trouble occasionally. 😊 God made you so special and so beautiful and
I am just blessed to be able to witness all the qualities He instilled in you
shine.
I love you as high as
the sky and the ocean is deep and more and more and more!
Love, Mama
P.S. Please stop
growing up so fast!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment