Adventures in Gunder-Land: Happy Birthday Easton

To my sweet baby E,
What just happened? Seriously??? How did a year go by in the blink of an eye? This has probably been the best, busiest, most stressful, challenging, rewarding, hardest year of my life. A year that I would not change for anything in the whole world because you, my sweet little silly boy, have managed to make me smile every single day. I have finished every single night with the same simple words. Thank You God for my 2 sweet boys, Aiden and Easton.
You were planned for, prayed for, fought for, waited for and worth every single second of it. It is so hard to sit back and think that at 21 weeks pregnant you scared us all with your desire to meet us and then how patient you were after 41 weeks in the womb and 30 hours of labor you finally decided to make your grand entrance and it is not shocking that you didn't even cry! When Daddy placed you on my chest you just looked up at me with those sweet eyes…you were content and not a thing has changed!

You are without a doubt the most easy going baby I have ever met. As a baby you would lay in your chair, your swing, your bassinet, my arms or your boppy and just drift of too sleep. We could watch your little eyes get heavier and heavier and then you would just drift off to sleepy sweetness. Just like your brother, you are not a fan of sleeping through the night. Every so often you will but it isn't something you want to make a habit of. You will do a good stretch of sleep but I think you miss me in the middle of the night and the truth is, I miss you too!

When you came out at 8lbs 7 ounces, everyone in the room was shocked. You were measuring so small in all of the ultrasounds and I only gained 12lbs but somehow you managed to beef up! You were such a chubby baby and it was so darn cute. You had more rolls on your arms and legs than the michelin man…Daddy and I would also laugh at how chubby you were…this one picture in particular is a favorite of ours….

Our first night home is the only time in your whole life where you were inconsolable. For some strange reason you would not latch…you cried and cried and cried. Finally I pumped some milk, dumped it on my chest and BOOM you were latched! From then on you have been the most efficient breastfeeder ever. You latch and are done in less than 5 minutes. I was also so nervous that you weren't getting enough but by the looks of you, I think you are getting your share…

On my birthday, April 15, you gifted us with your first smile…and you have not stopped smiling yet! You are always happy. You laugh, squint your eyes and nose, giggle and give us that wide mouthed grin all of the time! You are so incredibly happy. You make it hard for anyone in your presence to not be warmed by your constant happiness! You find the smallest things hilarious. You and your brother have such a contagious laugh that you two will sit together for what seems like an hour and just laugh at each others laugh!!! You wake up with a smile and even sometimes smile in your sleep! You are so FULL of personality.

You are such an independent little guy. You never liked to be spoon fed so I handed the spoon over to you and you were happy to attempt to feed yourself. You are into everything and you put everything in your mouth! Your brother was never that way so mommy has to be very very careful. There isn't much that makes you mad, however you will throw the biggest fit if you find dog food and I take it away from you. You LOVE dog food BLAH!!! I have to feed you and Buddy at the same time because you will not let him eat his own food!!! Buddy never complains though because he knows that you always feed him when you are in your high chair! The sound of your sweet walk almost brings a smile to my face. I can tell when you are doing something or getting ready to do something you aren't supposed to do…you go from a pitter patter to a full on elephant stampede…whether it be the dog bowl left unattended or the gate to the stairs left open…you find something enticing and completely dangerous and go right for it! Even better is when you know you are about to get caught…you laugh and laugh and laugh. There is no such thing as "no" to you…you just laugh at me and shake your head "no"!!!

I am so amazed at how sweet, loving, happy content and just plain lovable you are. You steal the heart of everyone you meet! I love you and your brother more than life itself and we are so blessed that there are so many others who love you boys as well. I absolutely love it when others refer to you as "their boys"…I know it is out of pure love for you! The purest and sweetest love is that love between you and your brothers. I intend to do a separate post on that but let me just tell you that you two love each other so much. You safe your biggest smiles and your deepest laughs for your big brother. There is no one that lights up your eyes more than him. You always give me a wonderful smile in the morning but it is nothing compared to the excitement you exude when you see Aiden. He brings out the best in you..and you bring out the absolute best of him. You two loved to play in the pillows and laugh your little heads off.

The Good Lord knew that this year was going to be challenging for me and Thankfully he Blessed me with such a wonderful little man! I have looked forward to this month and dreaded it all the same. I don't want you to grow up too fast. Your daddy has missed so much that for some reason the big 1st Birthday just seemed too much for me to bear. But it's here and I feel like together, my sweet boy, we have accomplished something amazing! We did it together…both of us missing so much. So much that you probably don't even know but unfortunately I was keeping counts. I followed your every move with a camera in hand to capture each and every aspect of your movements, your personality, and your daily routine! There were many nights that I felt a guilt so strong that I Prayed for some sort of internal peace. Yet you…..you have lived this past year like happiness was the only way. That a smile was the only emotion you knew and patience was given to you at conception. You waited for me when I was frazzled, you knew when all I needed was an extra hour of sleep, and you (and your brother) so small, innocent and completely unaware of the weight on my shoulders, you got me through this most difficult time. You boys allowed me to look like I was navigating this deployment with grace and a super power…but the secret is out…I am so lucky because you made it so easy on me.
I will never forget one significantly hard day….I planted myself on the floor and let the emotions release. You came over, plopped down in my lap, looked up at my tear soaked face and whether you meant to or not, you reached up and wiped away a tear. To you, it was probably out of curiosity but to me it was a sign! We are in this together…and we did it! Happy Birthday E!!!! Mommy and Daddy love you with every fiber of our being. Daddy will be home in 2 days…lets hope the next year is filled with double the fun…is that possible?…but hopefully it feels like it takes twice as long!