Happy Birthday Maxwell!

NOTE: I originally started this on his actual birthday, May 4 (sorry it was posted late).

Four years ago today, Maxwell was born at 5:52 PM. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long. He was helpless and we were to help him grow and thrive. We have had our fair share of feeling helpless as we have tried to do just that.

Today we had a special day doing almost everything Maxwell wanted to do (you still have to maintain boundaries, right?!). We had waffles for breakfast, Freebirds for lunch, cake after his nap, and time outside with his new birthday presents (most of them were outdoor toys). All in all we had a great day...but that isn't the most important part. We want to share some things that we love about Maxwell--a blessing so to speak.

• We love how loving Maxwell is--he will often spontaneously come to us and say, "I love you daddy" or "I love you mommy". He apparently does the same thing with his teacher, Mrs. Lisa.


• We love listening to him sing and watching/listening to him listen to music. From Watermark/Mrs. Christy to Kindermusik, he is really developing quite an ear for music.


• We love watching him with his baby brother. He really does love Miller and is very sweet to him (we are enjoying it now since Miller can't take toys away from him).


• We love that he loves, yes, I mean loves, his friends. Not a day goes by that he doesn't ask to play with a friend or have a friend come over. Having a brother is going to be great for him as Miller grows up.


• We love his laugh...I mean, when he really gets to laughing, I can't help myself. We also love that he wants so desperately to make others laugh (unfortunately, as a boy, he thinks that sometimes involves words like poop and toot).


• We love that he wants to please people (us, his teachers, his friends)--for now, we see this as a good thing! Our prayer is that this will translate in his life into wanting to please the Lord...and not worry about pleasing man.


• I (Matt) love that he asks me almost every day, "Do you have to go to work today, daddy?"


• We love how passionate he is about everything and how he wants to share it with everyone. Give the boy a new toy/CD/radio/etc. and he wants to take it everywhere with us and show anyone who will listen (and often many who don't listen because they don't know he is talking to them).


• We love how kind he is...when a friend is sick, he wants to pray for them; when he sees one of us crying, he wants to know why; when Miller is crying, he tries to make him feel better by turning on music or making sure Maria knows that he is probably hungry.

After 2 1/2 years of trying and 10 months of pregnancy, we look back on that almost 3 1/2 years of waiting for him and realize it was well worth the wait. If we had conceived at any other time, we wouldn't have our precious Maxwell. Thank you Lord for choosing us to shepherd his heart for you and your glory.