July 21....

First off, thanks to those of you who wished Luke a "Happy Birthday" on my previous post.

Today, July 21, was Luke's actual birthday. This blog post may get long and much of it will be for our memories, but please enjoy reading and looking at the photos :)

Here's a photo of me, taken in the morning one year ago today. I was induced, so this photo was taken about 10 minutes before going to the hospital. Wow! Was I really that big? Apparently, I was.



After arriving at the hospital and the pitocin getting started, labor progressed at a nice slow pace. But, I did dilate O.K.

I remember all day being HOT in the labor room! So, the nice nurses kept the room cold and even got an extra fan. Then, everybody except for me was COLD. Here's a photo of Marc that we laugh a lot about now. He was so cold that he ended up with a blanket around him during all of my pushing. The nurse took this photo between contractions. Some might say that was tacky, but really, if you would've been there, you'd laugh like we are laughing.



Finally, after waiting all day to dilate to a 10, I started pushing around 7:00 or so in the evening. That's when things went south.

I pushed for several hours. Luke did not want to come out. So, around 10:00 P.M. one year ago (almost to the minute as I'm typing this), the dr. said we'd need to do a C-Section. Though I was disappointed, I didn't protest. I was EXHAUSTED. I was emotionally drained from things not going too well. So, Luke was born at 11:02 P.M. via C-Section.

Here's one of the first photos of our little boy.



I remember seeing him for the first time. It had been such a long day. I was still lying on the table while they finished up on the C-Section. I couldn't see him real well, but I do remember having tears come down my face -- out of joy as well as thankfulness that he was out and safe. The nurse anethescist at my head wiped my tears at that point.

The next four to six weeks or so seemed like a bit of a hurricane. Breastfeeding didn't go well at all, and I made many trips to the hospital to visit the lactation consultants. Because Luke didn't feed well, he didn't sleep well -- even for a newborn. I was exhausted. Marc had started a new job two months before, and so, he didn't have bunches of time to take off.

Then, things started to improve. By 8 1/2 weeks, Luke slept through the night, and he has done very well with that ever since. We're SOOOOO thankful for that.

Even through the challenges, we have THOROUGHLY loved and enjoyed our son. He's such a gift from God, and we're amazed that God has entrusted him to us.

******

Now, to his big birthday (or our big day since Luke didn't realize this day was any different than any other day)....

Marc is currently home on a required furlough for his job. So, even though he's not getting a paycheck for a couple of weeks, it was nice to have him spend the day with us on Luke's birthday. I don't go into work on Tuesdays, so I was home as well.

This morning, we took his usual photo in the chair. Also, he wore his "1" shirt from his Grandma Koehn.

A little flashback, though....

Luke, at two months....



Luke, at four months....



Luke, at six months....



At eight and ten months....





Tired of photos yet????? Here's today's photo!



After the photoshoot this morning, Luke played with some toys -- how many of his days go.



Now, if you know Marc, this won't surprise you. Marc said, "I think Luke would like to go and get pizza for his birthday lunch."

So, because Luke said so, we went and got pizza for lunch -- a buffet, nonetheless. (We did have a coupon, though -- that always helps).

Here's Marc, demonstrating his happiness for pizza and of course, Pepsi!



Each time Marc went back up to the buffet (which was several times), Luke had to watch his Daddy -- very cute from my perspective.



Other than that, Luke did very well for our lunch out. I had brought a few things for him, and he also really enjoyed the cinnamon sticks off of the buffet.



After his afternoon nap, Luke's friend Ava came over to bring him a present. It was a NEW BATHTOY -- definitely something he'll use. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of that.

This evening, I made him his favorite meal -- grilled cheese! Then, Luke and I went for a nice walk and even met up with his Daddy, who was on a run.

What a fun day for our family!!!!!

Again, thanks for reading my long post.

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!