Reflection

The boys' first birthday has come and gone. We had an awesome first birthday party. Just last week we went to the pediatrician for the 12 month well check. The boys got a great report! I love hearing the doctor tell me how good they look. Ryan wasn't able to get any shots due to the medicine he takes for infantile spasms. Typically, a 12 month old would get a chicken pox vaccine and MMR at the well check, but our pediatrician didn't want to give Stokes and William the chicken pox vaccine if Ryan wasn't getting it because it's a live vaccine. So, they got MMR and a different one instead of chicken pox. Of course, I can't remember what that shot is! All 3 got a quick finger prick blood draw, which came back normal. Yay!

I've heard that the 12 month well check is a tough one for a lot of babies. They tend to react more to the shots and aren't comforted quite as easily after getting upset from the prick. It may be because we got a different shot than what is typical, and maybe it doesn't hurt as much, but my little guys were so tough! They hardly cried at all and settled right back down afterwards. I'm sure it helped that we had Dum Dum suckers to put in their mouths immediately after the shot, but I was so proud of them! I really was a little nervous after hearing stories from other Mamas, but I worried for no reason...like usual.

Updated weights:

Stokes - 18 lbs, 8 oz (2.55 percentile), 28.25 inches
Ryan - 20 lbs, 3 oz (12.21 percentile), 28 inches
William - 22 lbs, 7 oz. (42.32 percentile), 29.5 inches

As I reflect today, I am really in awe of the progress my boys have made and the huge changes I've seen in each of them over the last year. I am totally falling into thinking in terms of cliques about how fast they grow, how quickly time seems to pass and how everything in regards to kids seems like it was "just yesterday!". I was walking around Kohl's baby section yesterday and I saw some sleepers in newborn size. I was suddenly taken aback by how small they were. My heart constricted. I felt a twinge of sadness that my boys are getting so big. It's such a strange contradiction how I want them to grow up and start doing more things on their own, but at the same time I want them to stay small and keep all their baby features and mannerisms. I know they will always be dependent on me in some way or another, but right now I absolutely love the fact that they are pretty much completely dependent on me and I need to appreciate it and relish it each and every day.

Today is the 13th anniversary of 9/11/01 when the World Trade Center in NYC was attacked by terrorists. Just last night President Obama was on tv with an announcement about the US response to the ISIS threat. What a world in which we live. Now that I have kids, I have a whole new perspective about the world and what I want it to be like for them. I don't want my boys to live in a terrorist-run world or live in fear of random attacks. Thank God we live in this, the greatest country in the world. I hope that my boys will live with the comfort and freedom that we have now.

The day those planes hit the twin towers still out in my mind, as I'm sure it does yours. I was a sophomore at Clemson and was worried about my dad, who was living overseas at the time. I was in complete shock and disbelief that it was happening. The non-stop coverage on all the news channels really helped it to sink in. The images were devastating. What were you doing on that day in 2001?

In addition to reflecting about my boys today, I am also thinking about this day in history. My prayers are with those that lost loved ones that fateful day and anyone whose life was directly affected by those terror attacks. I continue to pray for our country and our world.