HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!

Today is Ian’s FIRST birthday! It is a very strange day for me. I know this is not the day he was born. I am guessing he is really more like 10 months old today. And even if it was the day he was born, I have no memories of his birth to share. This is a first for me.

Because we were obviously not there for his birth this is the FIRST birthday we will have with him, which makes it even more special! Somehow, I feel the pressure to make this day really magical, so I have future stories to tell of his first birthday with us. But let’s face it nothing is going to compare to a birth story. I have come to realize the only “birth story” I will have for him will be told over and over again. It is the story of his “Gotcha Day”. Every October 27th I will be able to celebrate and tell the story of how wonderful it felt to finally have them in my arms!

Despite his real age, today is a celebration of Ian! We are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives! Today we will celebrate with just the six of us. We will eat his favorite meal, chicken potpie! Lucky for me I made a double batch last time and I froze it. So, I have even more time to spend with this little man! Oh, and of course, we will have cake, chocolate cake!


This weekend we will have a bigger celebration with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and our wonderful neighbors. We are going to have Mwanga Stew a Congolese dish that we all love!

Today, I think even more of the boy’s birth mother. I have no idea if she is even alive. But how I wish she could be here to see how happy her babies are with their family. I wish she could know that they have food, medicine, clean water, and a nice comfy bed to sleep in. I wish she knew how much they are loved……loved by so very many people. Today we will light a candle for her and say a prayer for her and all of the other Congolese Women who are unable to see their children grow up.


So, I tried to take some pictures of him today. It was almost impossible. He was in a snuggly mood and well…it’s pretty hard to take a picture of someone who is attatched to you like a leech! But here are my attempts of Ian on the morning of his 1st Birthday! (Cake pictures will be posted tomorrow!)

Yum!  Yum!

Playing on Mommy's lap.

Ian can crawl, but this is favorite way to get around, scooting on one knee.

Sucking on his thumb and loving on Mama.