happy 1st birthday Zane! {a year in pics}

My baby is one year old today! I can't believe it.

It's been a long and a short year all at the same time. But I feel like the one year mark came out of nowhere! :) I am so thankful for our little Zane Danial. He is indeed God's gracious gift to our little family. I can't imagine our life without him! :) 

This might be the most pictures I've ever had in a post, but that's okay. :D I am reliving his first year today. {*big mama sniffle*}

One year ago last night, I looked like this- so ready for a baby to come, but not betting on labor coming EVER at 10 days overdue:

And then much to our surprise, he was born only five hours after that picture! {birth story part 1, and 2!}

At 10 lbs. and 22.5 inches, he was the biggest and longest baby I've ever had:

Even at 10 lbs and 3 days old, he looked so tiny then:

He loved, loved, loved bath time {and still does!}. Fitting since he was born in the water! :P

Yeah that's right:

That paci strap is the first one we've ever had and I have three words: best invention ever.

Oh, and his mama loves him so.

The littlest two:

Oh the faces we've seen:

And his sisters are like his little mamas too:

But he always loves his daddy to hold him:

We think they look alike as babies:

First time in the walker:

First sandbox:

This is the first Sophie we've ever bought:

The first time he wore tennis shoes:

His first vacation- he loved it! ;)

But he's not so sure about his sisters feeding him:

Crawling somewhere around 8 months:

Baby peek-a-boo is the BEST:

First time he met a celebrity and pulled her hair:

First bookshelf mess:

We think he may have a sense of humor. :)

He's gone on every date with us since he was born:

He's all over the place now, and loves to make messes faster than his combat mama can catch him. He's like a ninja:

Stop it. This baby looks too old already:

Toddlerhood, this mama isn't ready for you yet:

Best mohawk ever:

And oh those teeth are so cute, but they were a bear coming in for weeks. He does not like teething.

But he loves to eat. :D

At this rate, it won't be long before he's driving. :)

That baby is so very loved. :)

Happy birthday Zaner- we love you so much and are so blessed to have been given a year with you!! :)

what we've been up to for the last few days

A new, unwanted first happened this week: the first stomach bug in our family in over a year, and little Zane's first one ever.  :(

Apparently there's an evil bug going around that lasts for several days. :( Zaner mostly had stomach cramps instead of other symptoms, so I felt especially bad for him being so little and in such pain. It would come and go, and some days were randomly worse than others! Thankfully, he is finally getting better since yesterday.

So far it seems to be only affecting the littles- no one else in our family has gotten it. {praying that Lord-willing, we won't!}. 

It's so hard to see my babies get sick. I was thinking about it as I held him for all of those hours... what about all the children around the world who get sick and have no one to hold them and stroke their silky little heads? :(

I felt so thankful that my little Zane has a mama, and it made me ache and pray for all the little ones who were alone and felt like he did. 

And then I thought of all the mamas who have littles with chronic illnesses, and my heart hurt for them. Imagining having a baby in pain constantly, and not being able to do anything for them... oh, I need to pray for these mamas way more often. What an incredibly hard thing. And you know there are so many hurting families under this trial right now.

Even in sickness, and hours of holding babies on the sofa- there is so much to be thankful for- the blessing of health every day, the blessing of medicine and the medical help that's readily available, the blessing of a God who hears and calms our fears, for milk, pedialyte, and fresh water for the baby, for His gracious timing that we weren't all sick at the same time...

Maybe someday I will no longer be surprised by the fact that there is always so much to praise Him for. :) And hopefully by that day I will also remember that there is always someone to pray for at the same time...

Do you know of anyone we can pray for with a chronic illness today? Or any illness?

seeing big boys in babies, blue eyes, and money well spent

Do you ever look at your baby and wonder what they'll look like when they get bigger? I feel like I can kind of see Zane as a big boy here:

How is my baby 9.5 months old? Crazy town. That's almost a year. {!?!?!}

Also? My baby girl is almost 5 and riding without training wheels as of this weekend:

It's a little sad, I won't lie. All of my children keep growing up. :( Good thing I have a hard-working DIY painter man to console me with flowers:

That giant magnolia he pulled down lasted two days! :) And the orchid was my Mother's Day present. So far I haven't killed it, though I do have to water it precisely with one ice cube per week. {Which reminds me I need to water it since last week...urgh.}

the bird ring was from Holly Lane Designs. I still love it. :D

And the children are loving summer Lego time. I think we can officially toss all of the rest of their toys because Legos are the best pieces of overpriced plastic out there. And they are completely worth every penny. :)

Another thing worth paying extra for? Running into Braum's for basics instead of Walmart. I bought bread, chips, and very expensive half and half but I was so happy not to have to go in the store with the littles at 8:30 at night. That was a win. :)

And you probably already know this about me, but zucchini "pasta" = another huge win in my book. :) {I love it in this Raw Italian Casserole!}

You can't beat it sautéed in olive oil and topped with a little avocado!

And I think this book^ is going to help me ease back into vegetarian eating again. It's adorable {as is the Forest Feast blog!} I can't wait to leave meat behind once the baby is done nursing. It might be weird, but I loved being vegan most of the time.

In the meantime though, I will happily maintain my diet of protein and dairy to keep these baby rolls:

:D I can't stop with the baby pictures, I'm sorry. Those blue eyes kill me.

That was the look he gave me when I told him no crayons. 

We're in trouble, aren't we? ;) 

How has your week been so far?

Are you/ have you ever been vegetarian or vegan? 

Eyes: blue, green, hazel, or brown in your family? 

Rob's are green, mine are blue,  and so are all 5 of my kiddos. They all come out blue and stay that way! :) I wonder if they'll turn colors as they age?

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