How is it possible that my "baby" is ONE YEAR OLD today?! It just blows my mind! This past year has flown by SO fast, I can hardly believe it! Maybe it's the fact that my two boys keep me so busy, or possibly the fact that we've had three different addresses in the past year. Maybe it has something to do with Jeremy being on night shift for the past three months, making life seem even more of a "blur" than usual! Whatever it is, I am just shocked that my precious Josiah Timothy is one year old TODAY!
I'll never forget Josiah's extra special entrance into the world - via successful VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)! It was something I had prayed for and desired for SO long and God blessed me with fulfilling that deep desire. If you have not read Josiah's birth story/my VBAC testimony yet, please feel free to read it (it can be found in the 2010 archives).
Josiah is SUCH a precious baby! Since the minute he was born, people have always commented "all that hair" of his and his gorgeous blue eyes! Once he figured out how to smile, he never stopped! He is ALWAYS smiling! I was so proud of him when he smiled all the way through his 1 year photos the other day. So precious to see those six little teeth (4 top, 2 bottom) when he smiles! What a sweet boy! He absolutely ADORES his big brother and loves to follow Jeremiah wherever he goes. One of my favorite things to do is to listen to Josiah giggle. Who can make him giggle nonstop? His big brother Jeremiah, of course! It's absolutely precious to witness! Seeing my boys interact warms my heart in such deep ways!
Because he wants to keep up with his big brother, he is on the move constantly - he was sitting up/rolling across the room at 5 months old; crawling, cruising, and climbing the stairs at 8 months old; and just recently took his very first steps at 11 months old. WOW! Josiah's first word was "mama" (yay!)at 5 months old, and shortly after that, he added "dada," and most recently added "hi, bye, uh-oh, and ni-ni" to his vocabulary. It's hard to believe that he'll most likely be speaking in two word phrases/short sentences by next year at this time.
I'm very happy to report that at one year old, Josiah is STILL nursing! This was a HUGE goal of mine and I am SO happy we made it to a year! From the get go, he has been a great little nurser, and I am SO thankful for the precious bonding time that nursing has given me and Josiah. I know it sounds crazy - but sometimes I miss waking up with him at night (he started sleeping through the night at 2 months old), as now he only nurses about 2-3 times per day. I don't plan to "wean" him, but rather let him decide when he is done. I am assuming that when we start adding whole milk to his diet next week, he won't have much more need for "mommy milk." We'll see!
To celebrate Josiah's 1st Birthday, we are having a party at a nearby park (Oak Grove Lake Park) and are inviting lots of the boys' friends to play, have lunch, and eat cupcakes. We are SO excited to celebrate with our friends! God has blessed us with such an amazing "family"/network/group of friends here in this area! We are so thankful!
God is SO good to give us such an amazing, precious, adorable, smiley, snuggly, giggly, loveable little boy!
Josiah Timothy Gerdes - Our lives were forever changed when God brought you into the world one year ago! We are so very thankful for you and we love you SO much!
