August Turns One!

Wow, what a whirlwind!  August turned a year old yesterday.  It was an exciting, emotional, and exhausting day.  I am glad it's over. :)  Days like that are hard on a momma.  I can't believe it has been a year since I first set eyes on this new blessing.  I am not really sad that he is growing up (ok, maybe I am), but it is just so emotional looking back at everything we have been through together.  From the day we found out we were expecting a baby, to the day we found out he was a boy, through pregnancy, to labor and delivery, to nursing, to enduring the flu, to crawling, to rare and unexpected cuddles, to talking, to turning one, I can't remember life without him.  He is so much a part of me and who I am becoming. 

I know this post is about August and his birthday, but I think it's a time of reflection over the past year for me as well.  I have changed so much.  Becoming a mom has really pointed out to me the areas that I struggle in this flesh.  Patience is something that I have noticed I struggle with.  Patience over a crying baby, patience when I haven't had enough sleep, patience when I think August should be able to do "more", etc.  The Lord is teaching me to wait on Him and rely on Him to give me everything I need.  He is teaching me to be more forgiving and more understanding.  He has got a lot of work to do in me, but I know that He is faithful to complete the work He started.

I have also grown a lot in the past year.  It's amazing what I can accomplish in a short time span.  10 minutes?  Plenty of time to unload and reload the dishwasher, switch over the laundry, start a new load, and pick up the living room, etc.  Things that I usually would put off are now my "quick" chores.  I have become much more diligent about tending to the laundry!  Y'all know me, and that is a big accomplishment!  Remember this?  Yep, that's when we first got married.  Haha.  Times have changed.  I have also learned to be more flexible.  I can now come up with supper on a whim, straighten up the house super fast if someone decides to pop in, and run a quick errand with baby in tow if necessary.  On the flip side of that, I have also learned to stick to a schedule.  Having a baby definitely enforces that.  They need to sleep, eat, play, etc. in a predictable time frame, otherwise your day is chaos...and not fun.   I have learned to get things done in that schedule when I can because I know that is my one chance during the day to get that chore done, unless I want to be up super late, which I don't.  I know Adam likes for me to have all of my work done before he gets home.  He says he can't relax if I'm not relaxed.  I can understand that.  I don't mind doing chores at night, but I know I need to use that time to spend with Adam and recharge for the next day. 

Well, I really didn't intend to go into all that.  Thoughts of a momma. :)  Let's talk about yesterday.  It was a full day for sure.  We have been super busy the last several days.  Just busy with life and church things.  Out late, weird nap schedules, etc. have resulted.  So we started off yesterday sleepy, but we wanted to really enjoy the day since Adam had taken the day off. 

We decided to take August to the Tennessee Aquarium.  We have a fish tank in our living room, so I knew he would enjoy seeing the giant fish tanks!  His daddy loves the aquarium too.  I could tell August was sleepy before we even left the house, but I was hoping that he would still have a good time.  Here he is right before we got there.  Haha.

By the way, he never sleeps in the car!  Thankfully he woke up as we were getting ready to go in. His favorite exhibit by far was the penguins.  I think he had the most energy for them because they were toward the beginning. :)

 

 

 

 

 

It was a really fun time.  We actually made it through the entire Aquarium (both sections) without any meltdowns!  Hurray! :) 

 

After we picked up some lunch and his cake, we came home to get ready for the party crash for a too- long nap.  August crashed, and we crashed right behind him.  We woke up just before 5 (party was at 6).  Haha.  So we did some scrambling!  I felt much better after my nap.  I was hoping I could make it through his party without having a mommy meltdown!

 

After everyone arrived, we ate pizza, opened presents (WOW!  He got a ton! We were not even expecting gifts.), lit his candle, sang Happy Birthday, and then my sequestered tears poured.  Haha.  I flashed back a year ago to when we sang Happy Birthday to August in the hospital.  What a beautiful day that was!  In that moment, I didn't imagine that my little newborn would ever be a 1 year old.  Ohh the tears. :)  And yes, that moment was captured on video.  Here are some clips!

 

 

August wasn't too sure about his cake at first, but after a few licks of frosting, he decided it was pretty good!  We had a really great time celebrating August's birth with everyone.  I love you, baby boy!  Happy 1st Birthday!!!