Today is Sutton’s first birthday! There are no words to express how amazing it feels to have precious Sutton one year older, and how much joy he brings into our lives with his curious nature and his lively smile. Every day he is learning something new - discovering wondrous things in the small and mundane. As much as I’d like to think Brad and I are teaching Sutton when we read to him, sing to him and make him laugh, I can’t help but realize how much he is teaching us. I have found that great, unexplainable newness that we all felt as children, and am reminded by my son that there are extraordinary things in the ordinary. It really is like peeling back the layers on life, and seeing it all in a new light. I can’t express how thankful I am to have this sweet child in my life, and how I would go through all of it again and again just to have him.
To celebrate Sutton’s first year of life, we are hosting a small birthday party for him this coming weekend. It will just be a small get together of our closest friends and family. These were the people that were really there for us, lifting us up in prayer and loving us through the most difficult time of our life. For our family, it will be a celebration of life and love, with a fun fall theme and delicious treats! But just because we are celebrating Sutton’s birthday in a few days doesn’t mean that this weekend was devoid of any indulgence. This past weekend was Sutton’s first NICU Reunion! It was a perfect autumn day with so much love and gratitude in the air, that I often got lost in the emotion of it all. We were welcomed with hugs and name tags, and the NICU staff really went above and beyond to make the day special. There was so much to enjoy - pumpkin picking, games, face painting, cotton candy, a professional photographer, music and delicious food for all of the families. It’s a strange thing to realize, but the NICU is where most of us learned to be parents for the first time. Where we held our babies for the first time, visited and comforted them, bathed them and fed them. Sutton’s stay in the NICU was almost three months long, so the relationships we built within the NICU are deep and strong ones. Just to see the look on their faces when they saw how big Sutton had grown to be was priceless! It was just so wonderful to reconnect with all the other parents and visit with all of the doctors, neonatologists and nurses that were apart of our journey. As I watched older children run and play, healthy and capable, I realized that I was looking at former preemies that had grown and thrived. It was inspiring to see. Learning and loving through the help of the NICU was an amazing part of our journey, and it was such a cathartic experience for us to go back, give thanks and celebrate the life of a boy. Our son. One year older.
To celebrate Sutton’s first year of life, we are hosting a small birthday party for him this coming weekend. It will just be a small get together of our closest friends and family. These were the people that were really there for us, lifting us up in prayer and loving us through the most difficult time of our life. For our family, it will be a celebration of life and love, with a fun fall theme and delicious treats! But just because we are celebrating Sutton’s birthday in a few days doesn’t mean that this weekend was devoid of any indulgence. This past weekend was Sutton’s first NICU Reunion! It was a perfect autumn day with so much love and gratitude in the air, that I often got lost in the emotion of it all. We were welcomed with hugs and name tags, and the NICU staff really went above and beyond to make the day special. There was so much to enjoy - pumpkin picking, games, face painting, cotton candy, a professional photographer, music and delicious food for all of the families. It’s a strange thing to realize, but the NICU is where most of us learned to be parents for the first time. Where we held our babies for the first time, visited and comforted them, bathed them and fed them. Sutton’s stay in the NICU was almost three months long, so the relationships we built within the NICU are deep and strong ones. Just to see the look on their faces when they saw how big Sutton had grown to be was priceless! It was just so wonderful to reconnect with all the other parents and visit with all of the doctors, neonatologists and nurses that were apart of our journey. As I watched older children run and play, healthy and capable, I realized that I was looking at former preemies that had grown and thrived. It was inspiring to see. Learning and loving through the help of the NICU was an amazing part of our journey, and it was such a cathartic experience for us to go back, give thanks and celebrate the life of a boy. Our son. One year older.
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