Thinking back to the beginning . . .
Benjamin Isaac 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.
Last year on this day I wrote :: And, dear Isaac, now you are 4. Wow, buddy! This all goes so fast. But you are so amazing! For 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.
And today I can say - You are 5! And you've learned to ride a bike without training wheels. And you are learning to read. And I can still hold you - even though you are quite a bit taller! You're still kind of a skinny sort of a guy. :) And you have learned to ice-skate. And you are such a thinker. You have a huge imagination - I love to watch you play.
Happy Birthday, Isaac! May your joy be full - all of your days!