Posted in Family

Our little boy is 5 today!  Where have the years gone?!  Sometimes when I hear myself say things like that, I think I sound so old.  The years just seem to fly by at times and I'm doing my best to try to enjoy the days and not live with regrets. 

Our precious Daniel.  A blessing from God (as are all children!).  A strong role model in the book of the Bible bearing the same name.  I pray that as he grows that Daniel will be able to stand strong in a culture that has turned from God.  I pray that He will hold fast to God.  I pray that he would love God wholeheartedly.

Five years ago we welcomed a healthy, blond-haired, blue-eyed baby into our family.  We were thrilled to meet him!  It had been a long and hard pregnancy - periods of it that I don't even remember.  (I have Hyperemesis Gravidarum which makes for very sick and very rough pregnancies.)  Lots of meds, IVs, hospital visits ... it was all worth it though - every moment - to welcome Daniel into our family.  Thank you God for blessing us!

Daniel is such a delight to me.  I love his smile and the way his eyes light up.  I love his impish grin.  I love his giggle and the silliness that is still a part of his personality.  I love hearing his stories and seeing where his imagination takes him.  I love seeing what interests him.  I love seeing him play with his siblings.  I love his hugs and holding his hand. 

We spent the last week at the beach and I loved being with him and watching him collect shells.  He learned about various shells - olives, augers, baby ears, "fairy boats, and more.  He has a good eye and is persistant and careful in looking for shells.  He also enjoyed watching the crabs along the surf and digging in the sand.  He likes to walk along the shore (so do I) and hold hands.  Mostly though, he loves looking for shells. 

Daniel is creative and likes to paint and will spend time getting his pictures just right.  He had good attention to detail and is proud of his work.  Daniel enjoys listening to stories, riding his jeep, playing inside and out and collecting things.

Daniel has grown in so many ways over the last year.  He deals with sensory issues and has made a lot of progress in both the types of foods he is willing and able to eat as well as in dealing with things around him (noise, people, dirt, distractions).  I'm happy to see he making such progress and excited that he is able to enjoy his world more these days.  I have to admit that some of his "quirks" are ones that I have too (not liking to have my hands dirty is one of them).  They aren't all bad.  LOL

I'll post more pics later in the week.  We had a party for Daniel while we were at the beach with my family.  We also spent today just playing and doing the things that Daniel wanted to do - games, playing playmobil, riding his jeep, going to McDonalds, watching a movie and just hanging out with his family.  It was a low-key and fun day.

Daniel - I love you very, very much!!!  Thank you God for blessing our family with Daniel!

Love,

Mommy