On March 13, 2004 at 9:02 p.m. Isaac Thomas Stone came into this world. His birth was magnificent, if only for the fact that he weighed 9lbs! I was in labor for 26 hours; I had two epidurals, neither worked. After pushing for more than 2 hours, they used a vacuum to assist in delivery. It was traumatic for me but as of today, 4 years later, I can barely remember the pain. All I remember was seeing him for the first time and thinking that I would never be the same again. And I wasn’t.

My pregnancy with Isaac was fairly uneventful. Life was very difficult at the time I was pregnant, as we lost Kevin’s mom to a battle with cancer when I was about 3 months pregnant. It was very emotionally tough the 6 months between D’Lynne’s death and Isaac’s birth. However, his birth brought healing and comfort to a family in need. Isaac will always remind me that God is a Healer.

Isaac got his name from the Old Testament story of Abraham and Sarah. Sarah was 90 when God told Abraham they would bear a child. Sarah laughed at God. So, a year later when their baby was born, they named him Isaac, which means laughter. Even in grief, our household is full of laughter and I thought it was appropriate for our first child to be representative of the joy that exists between Kevin and me.

Isaac was a colicky baby, allergic to milk at first. He started out as pretty difficult but by 8 weeks old he was sleeping through the night and giving me very little grief. He crawled at 6 months, walked at 10 months and was pretty much speaking sentences by 18 months. He was and still is an over-achieving typical first child. He has a pretty serious personality and he really likes to understand the world around him and how it works. When he was little, he always had a furrow in his brow. We called him Walter because he looked like a grumpy old man.

Isaac loves music and movies. He will memorize the songs to movies and sing them all around the house. These past few months he has been learning his letter and is fascinated with how things are spelled. I suspect that he will be reading some beginner books in the next year. He derives so much joy from learning. You can see the satisfaction in his eyes when he grasps a new concept. It is contagious.

Isaac is also famous around our house for being precocious and saying very adult things at opportune times. The minute we laugh, he gets this mischievous look on his face and starts thinking of what else he can say to astound us. When he does this, it reminds me of myself as a child and I smile on the inside as I see a part of myself in my firstborn child.

 On March 8, 2007 at 5:35pm Joshua Kenneth Stone came into this world. He weighed 7lbs 7 oz and was hungry immediately post partum. (Little did I know, this baby would prefer to be on my chest, not just post partum, but 24-7 for the next 4 months) I arrived at the hospital at 7 a.m. that morning, received an epidural that worked and 9 hours later he arrived with only 3 pushes. His birth was much easier however; my pregnancy with him was where I paid my dues. I had to give myself Lovenox shots twice a day from week 7 to week 36. After that I switched to Heparin, which was comprised of 4 shots a day until week 38, when he was delivered. I took the shots to combat a genetic mutation called MTHFR. While I only have a single mutation, not a double, it was determined that the MTHFR was causing clotting in the placenta and was the reason for my previous miscarriages. At week 7 we thought we were going to loose Joshua’s pregnancy, however the Lovenox shots kicked in just in time to fight the over coagulation my body was demonstrating.

The above picture was from the night before I had Joshua. Note the bruises on my belly from the shots and the cankles. Gotta love the 3rd trimester!!!

After my third miscarriage and my diagnosis with a genetic disorder, I had a breakdown. I assumed that I would never have another child. Not because I couldn’t but because I didn’t think my heart could take another possible loss. As I sat there that day after my doctor’s appointment I opened up my Bible and asked God to tell me something, anything, that would bring me comfort. This is what He said:

“But this precious treasure, this light and power that shines within us is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and not ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

It may not seem like much but I could hear Him saying that although my body was weak, He would deliver a child through me so that He could have the glory. He is a keeper of promises, even when circumstances seem grim.

Joshua’s name is also from an Old Testament story. His name means, the Lord is God. Essentially it is the declaration that God is Almighty and He is the only One. In the midst of my personal anguish over miscarriage, God was and still is, sovereign. Joshua is representative of that sovereignty.

Joshie was an easy baby for the first few weeks. He slept well, he ate like a champ, and he smiled a lot right at 4 weeks. After that however, things got a little tough. He decided at some point that sleep was unnecessary and by about 10 weeks old, could go most of the day without a nap. He has been slower to reach all of the “milestones” but his temperament has developed into a sanguine, affable, joy of a child. He is usually ready for anything and his favorite thing is to get in the car and go someplace.

As of his 1^st birthday, Joshie still isn’t walking but he is very close. He can crawl amazingly fast and he prefers that mode of transportation at this point. Joshua is infatuated with his older brother and will do anything to get close to him. I hope that this continues, as it is my deepest desire that my children have a close relationship.

I know, mostly, what this next year will hold for Joshua, first steps, words and lots of learning. What I don’t know is how I am going to handle my baby turning into a little boy. The second time around it is so much more difficult to let them grow and be independent.

• started out the week with jet lag from a trip across the country for work.
•  then I had a root canal.
• then my youngest got pink eye… in both eyes. You really haven’t lived until you’ve held an 11 month old down against his will and tried to put drops in his eyes.
• then I had to plan/shop/prepare for a birthday party for both of my children. Did I mention their birthdays are only 5 days apart?

Next week I have to travel again for work. I am exhausted and ready for March to be over.

Kevin: Dude you only have like 4 minutes left of HD on your DVR!

Josh: I know, this is stressing me out.

Kevin: Man, when mine gets down to like 9 hours, I just start deleting. Like, that, right there, that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has got to go.

Josh: Yeah, it is sooooo gone. Look at me, right now, I am just deleting like crazy. Bye Bye Mickey.

Kevin: Don’t delete that Dirty Jobs man, that one is classic.

Josh: Never.

Dear Joshie,

I am sure you won’t remember this but, you love the mornings. You babble and squeel until I come in your room and pick you up from your crib. You laugh out loud the minute I open the door and it instantly makes me happy. You say “da da da da da” into infinity. At first I was upset because you said “Daddy” before you said “Mommy” but at least you first word wasn’t “dog” like your brother…

When you are really tired you say “ma ma ma ma ma” and then “ny ny ny ny ny” until I scoop you up and put you in your crib. Not that you readily go to sleep - you are not a big fan of naps. However, I love that you want me when you feel tired. I like to think that it is because you know where safety and peace can be found. I hope to always provide that for you.

You have also started this adorable thing where you crawl to wherever I am and sit down. You then promptly put your head down and both of your arms in the air (think field goal). This is your way of saying “I would now prefer to be held.”

I was cleaning out the bathroom today and I ran across my positive pregnancy test from you. I know that seems gross that I kept it, but it was so amazing to find out I was pregnant with you, that just looking at that plus sign (now faded) makes my heart feel full and complete. Joshua you have no idea what a blessing you are. You have changed me and challenged me so much from the moment I found out I was pregnant to now… and I suspect for as long as I am privledged to be your “ma ma ma ma.”

You turn 1 in less than a month, I suspect you will be officially walking by then. I can’t imagine how that will change the dynamics of our already busy household but I am ready for the next challenge. In the meantime, I am going to keep writing all of these things down, the little things you do because I just don’t want to forget.

I love you Joshie Bear.

My sons are three years apart, almost exactly. I found a pic of Isaac from this exact day, three years ago. I thought it might be fun to see the comparison between brothers….

Here is Isaac:

And here is Joshua at the exact same age, almost to the day:

It cracks me up how they look so much alike yet they are also so very different. Clearly blue eyes are one of their common traits.

Joshua, is 5:30 AM really necessary? Nobody likes that time of day, not even “morning people” (who are crack smokers if you ask me). Please, I beg of you, you must start sleeping later. I swear that getting up so early is making me look older and I don’t need any help with that.

This is Josh. He has ears like his Mom and I thought it would be fun to see what we could put on them.