Sunday, September 7, 2008

Happy 11!

When I first brought our oldest child home, I was a nervous wreck. I was young, inexperienced, and scared! Here was this itty bitty person in MY hands. That kind of responsibility was terrifying to me. I was OK when DH was home. But the first day he returned to work I cried my eyes out. I felt inadequate and like there's no possible way I could do this. Be a good mom. I was even afraid to undress and dress him, I felt like he would break!




But, he and I learned together. With a lot of help from DH I grew confident and enjoyed watching this little guy, our son, not only sustain but GROW



And grow...



...and grow...



...and grow...- before our very eyes. I loved watching him walk (at 10 months!). I loved hearing "mama" (although dada came first of course). I loved the way he looked at me and only me in that way. He was completely in love and so was I. I learned to embrace and treasure the bond of motherhood.



Our family grew too!













I've gotten to carry, birth, breastfeed, & enjoy 4 more children after our first. And they've all brought something to my life. But I will always treasure my learning experience with our first. Even the mistakes. ;-)





So now, I'm learning how to raise a pre-teen. And he's learning how to balance becoming a young man and staying a child. Being a big brother and being the oldest child. And he does both Gracefully...

...most of the time.



When he goes to bed at night with questions or fears he asks me to give him the chapter of the Bible that will help those questions/fears. Then we discuss what he reads, sometimes for hours. He loves football (playing and creating plays), drawing, learning the drums at band, learning guitar with grandpa, singing at church, acting at the community theater, wrestling with his baby brother. But above all he loves God. And that's awesome.

Happy Birthday sweety! We are SO proud of you!






2 comments:

Dy said...

OMG, Jess! I was scrolling through, reminiscing.... that's our little Ry-Ry... awwww, so sweet... yeah, *sigh* he's really grown... HOLY COW - *choke* *cough* *sputter* - he's a YOUNG MAN. He's really grown, and he's so handsome (he's always been handsome, but like a little boy - you can see how much he's changing). Believe me, I don't say this as a perv. I say it as an auntie who feels suddenly really stinking OLD.

Ah, well, happy birthday, Ryan. I hope this is a beautiful, wonderful year for you.

Love,
Dy

Michele said...

WOW! Happy Birthday, Ryan! Time has flown by for us old people *cough* and I am sure you can't wait to grow up while some of us would love it if you guys could just stay small for a little while longer. You're an awesome big brother and eldest son! Happy birthday!!

Jess, we gotta figure out how to keep these kids from growing up! LOL I can't believe Ryan is 11 and Emma will be 10. Seems like yesterday when he was toddling around your apartment in AZ and I was still nursing Emma. Now they are turning into little adults - well,, not so little, Emma is getting so dang tall.