Happy Birthday Myles!!

Last year at this time...I was dead as a dog tired, waiting for my milk to come in, with a 8lb. 3 oz Myles resting on my belly...which still looked like I was 9 months pregnant. But oh how happy I was!! Oh the staring I did... (Oh the diapers Seth changed.) Oh the beauty of this glorious world! There's absolutely nothing in the world like meeting your own baby for the first time, 40 weeks after they have been kicking around in your womb. 30 hours of labor and delivery (20 hours unmedicated), 4 hours of pushing, and 1 major abdominal surgery later...there he was! He cried and he grunted and I whispered his name into his miniature ear for the first time.

Today I'm so grateful for God's gift of life, grateful for family, filled up with gratitude for this little baby-turned-boy who wakes up happy every morning, who giggles and farts and gets into mischief, who is making his own way in the world, and where he goes only time will tell. Who he will become, what he'll love, the gifts God has blessed him with, all to be revealed in good time. My sweet joy-giver. And that's enough for now.

The photos above are from Myles' first encounter with meat. He was on a vegetarian diet in the womb and throughout his first year of life, but last weekend he wanted a bit of chicken soup from Grandma's spoon. As you can see, at first he wondered, "Am I destined to be a vegetarian, like my mama?" But I think he concluded, "No, bring it on!"

Happy first Birthday, Myles Seth Hendler-Voss. We love you boy.