Celebrating Two

This month Carter turns two. It seems like yesterday that I found out I was pregnant and was dreaming of all the days of mommyhood.

Carter made life "different" six weeks into my pregnancy. What I thought was a bout of food poisoning or the stomach flu turned out to be almost a full nine months of weakness, vomiting, and an aversion to anything but root beer and plain carbs--even water tasted awful and triggered nausea. Strange!

All the suffering of nine months disappeared when Carter was born, however. After 18 hours of labor (and vomiting in labor, mind you), Carter was emergency vaccumed out. He came out with the cord twice around his neck. He was dark gray and completely limp. There was no apparent life at all. The NICU team rushed in and bagged him with oxygen for 10 minutes. Ryan and I prayed and wept. It was one of those moments where shock keeps you outside the situation and helps you from completely falling apart--like you are watching something happening to someone else.

After 10 minutes of petitioning our Heavenly Father, God gave us a healthy baby boy. I loved Carter immediately, but I love him even more now that I know him.

Carter is nothing what I imagined when I dreamt about him. He is better. He is the soul God created, and I thank God so much for letting me rear this child. He loves to laugh and be funny. Like his daddy, he likes to be giggling and telling jokes. He loves to dance. He'll dance anywhere, but if he hears music, he moves. It is half Irish jig and half crazy man. Much to my dismay, he likes junk food. He is infatuated with trucks, cars, trains and the trash truck. He loves balls and sports. One of his first words was "baketball." (basketball) He loves attention and will show off for anyone, as long as they oblige him with a laugh. He loves the park, and he knows when I spell out the word "P-A-R-K" to Ryan. We have a codename for it now--Treeland. I'm sure he'll figure that out soon enough.

He suddenly says please and thank you to everything--it just clicked. I am always concerned that his little heart be thankful for God's blessings. When daddy goes to work, I explain that he works hard to make money for things we have. Carter thinks this mainly consists of balls and bikes. The other day when Ryan was home working on the computer, Carter ran up to him in a hug and said, "Thank you, dada for money." Wow! I don't know if he really gets that Ryan works hard for us, but I was blown away. Now if only he can understand it ALL really comes from God!

He is more active than I EVER imagined. People tell me he's just a boy, but I think he's on the active side of the scale. He loves to swing on things like a monkey, climb planters and short fences, kick balls, run races, and throw things in the air. We HAVE to get out of the house each day to burn some of that energy. He's already had stitches on his lip and had a toenail fall off--all consequences of crazy stunts. He doesn't like to sit still to color or do puzzles. He'll sit on my lap for a story, but that is usually when he is sleepy. Which reminds me, he loves to sleep at night. Who wouldn't, with all that activity during the day?

I can't sum up Carter in a blog post. He's such a blessing in my life. Ryan and I thank God for allowing us to participate in his life. Every day, he makes me chuckle and smile. He's just like his daddy--full of light and full of joy.

May I always trust God with whatever plans He has for Carter, and may I be a godly example that plants seeds in him. I pray that he, God willing, submit his life to our Lord someday. For now, thank you God for the past two years of knowing this little soul. We are thankful!