Benjamin Isaac Patten was born January 18, 2005 at 5:58 p.m. He was 18 inches long and weighed 5 pounds, 14 ounces. (He was just over a month early.)
Shortly after he was born,
Isaac took a trip to the NICU,
in a city 2 hours away
from where he was born,
where they worked on his lungs
for a long time and gave him surfactant and lots of oxygen
and special care.
I saw Isaac for a moment before he left. And in that moment, I had a very strong sense of a huge guardian angel watching over him and going with him.
Ben brought this picture to me the next day. I couldn't leave the hospital - I'd had a c-section - so I didn't see or hold my little boy for 2 1/2 days.
Even when he lost weight so he was just over 5 lbs, he was by far the biggest baby in the NICU!
And so a year flew by . . .
Isaac started walking at 17 months; until then, he was the fastest crawler, ever!
2nd Birthday
First catch!
Almost 3 years old.
And, dear Isaac, now you are 4. Wow, buddy! This all goes so fast. But you are so amazing! For a week or so before your birthday, you were really worried about getting older. So, I kept telling you all the cool things you are going to get to do the older you get - go to work more often with Dad, go hunting and fishing more often with Dad, learn to read, learn to ride a bike with no training wheels, oh, oodles of stuff. On your birthday I picked you up and gave you a hug and you, with a HUGE grin on your face, said, "I'm 4. And you can still hold me!" Yep. And I'll hold you in my arms for a long time, and in my heart for ever.