Happy Birthday Chaz!

Well, our “baby” turned 3 today! I can’t believe it! I know it’s so cliché they grow up too quickly, but time really does seem to fly by! 3 years ago I went into the National Naval Medical Center to get an amniocentesis to see if Chaz was ready, and we got to meet him that same day! There was nothing nice and smooth about it, and he spent some time in the NICU, but everything turned out just fine! 🙂 He was the first baby I left the hospital with breastfeeding exclusively, and he didn’t wean until he was 2 1/2. He was such a sweet, peaceful baby, but around 4 months he changed. I could barely put him down – EVER. I was full-on attachment parenting with him, and I honestly don’t know how I could have chosen differently. Joey had started his chemotherapy around that time, and I thought the stress of the household was affecting him. Of course, later we found out he has Sensory Processing Disorder, and everything that started happening at that time makes perfect sense. So, to say he’s been a “momma’s boy” might be an understatement! It might STILL be an understatement! He is my little buddy – or as I say “my sweet boo.”

Chaz has such a strong personality. He is really going to be a go-getter when he’s older – I just know it! He knows what he wants, and he knows how to get it. And if he doesn’t get it? Well, he’ll make sure he does! I found it rather amazing that our first two kids were so incredibly different. I assumed our 3rd would be more like one or the other or somewhere in between. I was wrong. He is totally different than either of them and not anywhere in between! I have learned so much through him – including being humble because if there was anything I thought I knew I realized there is so much more to it. Parenting has been an amazing journey, and I thank God he blessed us with three amazingly unique children. I have truly learned a lot and grown as a person and in my relationship with Him as well. I have learned about sacrifice, humility, and what it truly means to be accepting – and flexible! Those are lessons that I will always treasure. Parenting continues to refine me. I also experienced disappointment as we learned Chaz would be our last but have been filled with joy knowing he needed that extra attention he may not have gotten if we had another. I saw God’s plans play out so perfectly.
So, today, we had a blast just having a fun day to help celebrate Chaz’s birthday. No big birthday party this year, but they didn’t even seem to mind! We just enjoyed the day together and let Chaz pick out some new toys! He picked out 2 car track sets, of course, because he LOVES cars, and we just had fun playing with them together as a family. His siblings were even extra sweet to him today! I’m excited to continue to watch him grow and see the man he becomes! Happy Birthday Chaz!