Wednesday, November 11, 2009

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!

Has it really been a year already? It some ways this past year seems like an eternity but in others it seems just like yesterday.

Braden enjoying some baked beans and a hotdog. The white shirts were probably not a good idea!
Reed loves to pile food in his mouth like he has to hurry before Braden takes it from him. Neither one of them are clean eaters at all! I hope that they stay good eaters like they are now. They will eat just about anything you put in front of them except for potatoes and peaches!
Braden loves to crawl everywhere...he gets faster each day that passes. Braden is such a happy little boy and I absolutely love his laugh. He loves for you to chase him and he will stop every few feet and turn around and grin at you then giggle and keep on crawling. He has this little grin that spells "I am a little mischevious" but I love every bit of it!
Braden does not even know what an encouragement he has been for his "little brother" this past year. He was always so good to be drug back and forth to Vanderbilt almost every day for the first three months of his life to go visit his brother. Braden is by far his brother's best physical therapist...he pushes his brother like no one else can and Reed watches every move he makes. I am so thankful that God blessed us with Braden and I cannot wait to watch B and R's relationship grow each day.
Oh sweet little Reed...how far that you have come this past year. When I look back at pictures with where his journey started, I am amazed at how God has brought him this far. I cannot look at pictures from his first two months of life without being totally humbeled and amazed at how God worked through this little guy at such a young age and taught us so much. I never truly knew what it meant to completely put my faith and trust in God until we were told that Reed had a heart defect then needed to wait for a heart transplant. Who would have ever thought that we would be thankful that our son's heart was so bad that he would need a transplant.
Reed is such a sweet boy who has about the sweetest smile. He is definitely a little fighter and has battled through more than most of us have our whole lives. I am so thankful that he is so young that he will not remember any of this...hopefully!

The boys getting their birthday cakes. Ryan was the reason for the KU jerseys in the background. Family of four soon to be five in April! B couldn't even look up at the camera because he was so concerned with eating his cake! Braden's first year in picturesReed's first year in picturesI couldn't believe that they kept their hats onBraden and Reed were clapping for their own birthdays!