Happy 1st Birthday, Moses!

I seriously can't believe that Moses is already one year old! It seems like it was only yesterday--not exactly one year ago--that I was laboring at home in the birth pool, in full swing of my second sleepless night of labor, with still more than 12 hours to go before rushing off to the hospital where my 9 lb. 14 oz. gentle giant finally made his unplanned debut. I guess you could say that Moses' birth was a character-building experience that has made me a stronger person, but I sure am glad it's one that (God-willing) I'll never have to repeat!

Fast-forward one year. Moses has a busy (but thankfully much less dramatic!) birthday ahead of him, starting with Bible Study in the morning, followed by his one-year-old doctor's visit in the afternoon, and then dinner and birthday cake with Mimi and Papa in the evening. I'll update later with Moses' one-year stats and any other fun facts that come to mind, but first I'm going to go do something I wasn't able to do exactly one year ago: enjoy a good night's sleep snuggled up in bed next to my sweet one-year-old baby boy. 

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Moses behaved very well at his 1-year check-up this afternoon, happily "talking" to Dr. Irwin all throughout the visit and not making a single fuss. The doctor remarked that Moses seemed to be very verbal, especially considering how it's often difficult for younger siblings to get a word in edgewise with the older siblings doing all the talking. We are also thankful to report that Moses' hydrocele has vanished. We'd been told he would probably need to have it surgically removed, but delayed doing so since the pediatric urologist who had been recommended to us wasn't in our insurance network. When Joe got his new job, we switched insurance companies, but as it turns out, we won't be needing the urologist's services after all. Thank you, Jesus, for healing Moses!

By the way, here are Moses' 1-year stats. He is 30 inches long (75th %tile), weighs 22 pounds (35-40th %tile), and has a head circumference of 19 inches (90-95th %tile). And for the record, he has the biggest feet and hands of any other baby I've seen. I forget how huge they are until I see him next to another baby the same age, and then the dichotomy becomes quite apparent. Also, every time I change Moses' diaper or give him a shower, I am in awe of how tan his skin is, even the skin that never sees the light of day in the dead of winter. It's even a few shades darker than mine, and obviously a lot darker than Joe's. Also, Moses has the cutest brown (yes, his hair is getting lighter... oh well, I enjoyed having my dark-haired baby while it lasted!) curls gracing the back of his sweet head.