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.

Please Stop it, Snow!

This morning after breakfast I found Joshua perched on the window sill in the living room, gazing somberly at the whirldwinds of fluffy flakes falling upon the existing 2-3 feet of snow already blanketing the ground. "Snow, please stop it. Please stop it, snow," Joshua sweetly implored. Today marks day 6 of our impromptu blizzard-induced family "vacation". It's the third consecutive day that the federal government has been closed, which means Daddy gets paid to stay home with us! And by "stay home with us," I mean "shovel snow for hours on end (not only our driveway, but also those of our elderly and disabled neighbors, as well as the trampoline), only to come inside and referee our cabin-fever-plagued boys' fights". Hmmm... maybe this isn't much of a vacation for Daddy after all! Either way, we are so thankful that Joe got his new job before this crazy winter, since at his previous job he would've had to make up the hours or burn through his precious saved-up vacation time.

Since mid-December, we've only had about two days when our yard was completely void of snow. That's nearly two straight months of snow, virtually unheard of here in Virginia. I'm so glad that the twins' snowsuits I found at Marshalls the night before the first big storm are getting plenty of use. At first I was skeptical about spending $25 per snow suit, but in retrospect they were definitely a good investment! And this time around, I was thrilled to be the recipient of some second-hand boys snow boots on Freecycle. I usually plan ahead and buy the boys their clothes and shoes a year or two ahead of time on end-of-season clearance, but I've never bothered stocking up on snow gear since we usually only get a few inches at most each winter. I guess I should start scouting out some duds for next winter, although I suspect there will be slim pickin's at the stores after this year's whirlwind of wintry weather!

Num num num

While Moses' Biblical namesake was not much of an orator, we have been quite impressed by our 11-month-old's verbal communication skills. "Num num" is what Moses says when he wants to eat or drink something. Usually, he will point his index finger at the object he wishes to consume and say, "num num num" until we figure out what he wants and give it to him. He will even refer to some of his favorite treats by name, saying "baaah-na num num num" while pointing at a bunch of bananas sitting on the counter, or "joooo num num num" while pointing to a glass of juice on the table. We are so pleased that Moses has figured out how to effectively communicate with us this way instead of crying (which is what a certain set of twins often resorted to when they were about the same age)!

Happy 70th Birthday, Papa!

Today we helped Papa celebrate his 70th birthday! Caleb and Joshua helped me bake a carrot birthday cake (Papa's favorite), and Caleb assumed the honors of inserting the candles into the cake when I wasn't looking (but that's ok, he did a decent job). The boys also selected a gift for Papa--a toy red '57 Corvette, which was the same year as the red MG he used to drive back in the day. Maybe we'll get Papa one of those for his 80th birthday ;)

Moses' gift to Papa was wanting to be held by him the entire evening. If anyone else offered Moses their arms while Papa was holding him, Moses would avoid eye contact, turn his head, and nestle it against Papa's shoulder. He really does love his Papa! By the way, this evening Moses also set a personal record in the walking department, taking 13 consecutive steps.

Most people who know Papa cannot believe us when we tell them that he is already 70 years old. He is certainly the most youthful 70-year-old we know. Happy birthday, Papa, and may God bless you with many more years of excellent health! We love you!

Favorite things: Moses' pillow & Joe's O's

Last week Moses and I went to Trader Joe's while the boys were at preschool. As we were walking down the cereal aisle, Moses started pointing and fervently exclaiming, "neh neh neh!" I looked and saw that he was pointing at the Joe's O's, Trader Joe's version of Cheerios. Even though we only have Cheerios at home, Moses used his keen intellect to determine that the contents of those bright yellow boxes must closely resemble one of his favorite treats. His sweet enthusiasm melted my heart and I couldn't resist indulging him with a box of $1.99 Joe's O's. I know, I know, today it's Joe's O's, next it'll be Thomas Trains, but when it's an 11-month-old asking for generic breakfast cereal, how can you say "no"? As I handed Moses a box of O's, his face broke out in a wide smile and he clutched it gleefully throughout the rest of the duration of our shopping trip. When it was time to check out, Moses reluctantly relinquished his box of Joe's O's to the cashier, who detected his infatuation with the cereal box and was kind enough to promptly return it to him immediately after she scanned them. We went to Trader Joe's again today and it was like dejavu: the persistent pointing accompanied by "neh neh neh!", resulting in the blissful possession of his favorite treat. Our Moses is definitely a boy who knows what he wants (and knows how to get it, too)!

Moses' other favorite thing is his plush Restoration Hardware travel (i.e. baby-sized) pillow that Mimi and Papa gave him for Christmas. He loves to bury his face in it, hug it, and roll around the bed while clutching it, all the while grinning from ear to ear. When we lie him down on the bed to dress him or change his diaper, he immediately rolls over and looks for his pillow. Trying to dress or change him before he's found his pillow is basically a futile effort. A few nights ago, he woke up in the middle of night whimpering. He sat up and groped around in the darkness for his pillow, found it, then thrashed around while clutching it against his body several times before falling back asleep. It's definitely one of Moses' favorite things.

Steppin' it up

Moses has been taking one step here and there for a couple days, but today he took 4 steps! He stood up and then walked towards his Daddy. He was so proud of himself!

Elevators and Steps

This morning the boys and I, along with another woman and her daughter, got stuck inside an elevator in the church where our Bible Study meets. We were trapped for half an hour. Being the kind of person who steers clear of the long tunnel slides at water parks, it was quite possibly one of the longest half hours of my life. Neither of our cell phones got a signal, and after the other woman frantically pushed all the buttons multiple times in vain, I discovered a hidden door that opened to an emergency call box that connected us to an operator somewhere across the country, who then dispatched a repair man to the church. We breathed a huge sigh of relief, although we still had no idea how long it would take him to find us, especially considering rush hour traffic on a weekday morning. All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. The boys and I bided the time reciting Psalm 91 and some other Bible verses we've memorized and thanking God for delivering us out of the elevator. I knew I had to maintain my composure for the boys' sake, and as far as I could tell, they didn't have a clue that anything was amiss. It probably helped that an elevator seems like a much larger space to a small child, and that they are yet unaware of what would happen if six people in a small airtight room ran out of oxygen. Needless to say, I don't care how heavy Moses is getting... from now on we will be taking the stairs!

After that, I knew the day could only get better, and it did. This evening, Moses took his first step! I was in the kitchen rolling pizza dough at the time, but Joe witnessed him stand up all by himself in the middle of the living room and take one step forward. He was so proud of himself. Maybe he will be walking by his first birthday after all!