Happy 1/2 Birthday, Isaiah!!!

I still can't believe you've been here 6 months! It feels like you've always been a part of our family and yet it feels like yesterday that we found out we were pregnant with you. That was such a joy-filled day for me and Daddy. We couldn't wait to tell everybody that you were coming soon! We ran out and bought cute little clothes (I got you a onesie from Seattle with little whales on it that you can't fit into anymore), Daddy wore a t-shirt that said, "I'm going to be a Daddy!", I got bigger clothes, we moved all the furniture out of your room and cleaned out our closets to make room for you. We picked out furniture (that was so fun), we painted your room bright green because we didn't know at the time if you would be Isaiah or Ella. We stocked up on bottles and burp clothes and diapers. We had family and friends surround us and lovingly give us showers for you (where they give a lot of presents to the person having a baby so they'll have everything they need). Your grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins all oohed and ahhed over our very first pictures of you...and you only looked like a little peanut, so that's what we called you. You were also called "little bit." We prayed for you and many other people prayed for you. We talked to you, read to you and sang to you. We told Max all about you. We laughed when you kicked me...which was all the time! You were (and still are) a very energetic baby! Daddy loved to kiss my tummy and feel when you would move around, and our favorite doctor's visits were when we got actually see you! I remember talking about how big your feet were! You were wholely loved even before you were born.

I can't describe what a gift you are to us. You continue to amaze me and teach me new things about myself and God everyday. What a little mommy-sanctifying machine you are! (Mommy needs that) You are so filled with wonder at our "huge" house. You haven't even spent time outside yet! You love different textures and colors and you have to "feel" everything. You also put everything in your mouth. Maybe that's why eating is your favorite part of the day. You went through an entire box of rice cereal in just over two weeks when you first started eating.
You also have the sweetest, most precious smile I think I have ever seen. I cried the first time you looked in my eyes and smiled. I still choke up sometimes. You make me laugh hard every single day, and I could get lost looking into your huge light blue eyes (I prayed that you would have your Daddy's eyes and God agreed). They earned you the nickname "Big Iz" from the very beginning.

And, little boy, God has graced you quite a bubbly personality. I am listening to you talk to yourself in your crib right now (you should be sleeping). You love to talk and yell really loud. You don't like to be still at all unless you're eating. You would much rather practice standing and flip yourself over to reach what you want. Right now your favorite toys are your exersaucer and the crinkly star that you chew on. You don't like doing the same thing for very long and you really don't like to take naps (you're yelling about that right now). You love to see your Daddy walk through the door, but you don't like being taken away from me (we're working on that). You don't really like baths yet, but you're trying. Your newest trick is getting your knees under you and rocking back and forth as if you're threatening to crawl any minute now. The last few nights Daddy and I have turned on your video monitor and watched you work at this as you talk to yourself. No tv show can compete with that entertainment. You are so funny! You've been falling asleep with your little bottom up in the air lately and I'm always afraid I'm going to wake you up with my giggling. Sometimes you laugh when we tickle you, and Isaiah, that's better than the most beautiful music to me. It's a rarity that you let us hear it so we just sit on pins and needles waiting for our chance. We are your captive audience.

There is so much to say about you. I could go on and on. You have been a picture of the sweetness of God's heart to me. I see His kindness and precious favor in you. What a Father He is and what good gifts He gives us. Our prayer and desire above all is that you come to know Him as your Daddy and love Him above all else. We pray that your heart will be captivated by Him and who He is, and that He would continue to shape you and all the little things that make you who you are into a beautiful man that brings Him much glory.

I hope to continue these letters to you as you grow. I'm closing this one with a poem that I can't take credit for, but Daddy and I feel the same way the author does. I changed a couple of words to make it about you:

"How many times I've stood beside
Your bed when you're asleep, and tried
To find the words for my desire:
That you might be a living fire
For God. Sometimes I say, "O Lord,
Make [Isaiah] great! Open your Word
And let him see enough to break
His heart and then, for Jesus' sake,
To heal the remedies of grace;
And give him strength to run his race."

Sometimes when you're asleep, I touch
Your face. If you could know how much
The warmth of your life means to me!
For every freckle.....let me see.........
Perhaps a million dollars?.........No.
They're not for sale! And for the glow
In your calm face there is no price.
Which means I have a very nice
And costly treasure lying here.
It's what we mean when we say, "Dear."

Tonight I'll probably just stare
At you and marvel that you're there
Asleep, and that you've just turned eight [6 months],
And say, "O Lord, make [Isaiah] great!"

--by John Piper (for his son Abraham)