Baby Brother is One

A year ago the Wallace family welcomed our little miracle baby into our home. After our faith was tried for 2 years as we endured 4 failed pregnancies, we finally got our little "miracle". He is worth every moment of pain, both physical and emotional, every moment of sadness, every trial of faith, and every fallen tear. In the very instant that he was born, I KNEW that he was worth every single thing we had been through. Though we would rather it not be so, we must go through sorrow to know true joy, and what pure joy has come with this sweet baby boy. There were times that I wondered if he really would "be", but now he has been a part of our family for a year. With his arrival, life at the Wallace home has definitely evolved, and just as we have changed, he's changed too! Take a look and see -

the newest wallace on his "birth" day (3/21/06)

a new baby in the house (3/06) - next 2 pictures

Ben was showered with gifts of love - amazing! (4/06)

i love how this onsie says "puppy" on the bum! (4/06)

one of my favorite pictures of katie & ben- i love the look of adoration on katie's face (4/06)

lacey loves being a big sister (easter 2007)

blessing day - with proud grandma judy (5/06)

3 girls & a boy - such a joy! (mother's day 5/06)

don't you just love a sleeping baby? (6/06)

a new son for father's day - daddy looks happy, doesn't he?

typical ben - calm, peaceful, & sucking his fingers (07/06)

a snuggle from dad (at the cabin 7/06)

with big sister, madi, one of ben's greatest fans (8/06)

zobrist family beach trip (8/06)

little "goopy eye guy" in my favorite gymboree pajamas (8/06)

(his clogged tear duct finally cleared up in october - dear friend lesli gave him the jammies)truly an angel (10/06)

our little present from the pumpkin patch (10/31/06)
on his blanket made by aunt jill (11/06)

loving that solid food! (11/06)

meeting (almost 97-year-old) great grandma jo (11/06)

our little pirate enjoying disneyland (12/06)so cute in the santa suit mike & karla gave him for christmas (12/06)christmas eve at mammy's house (12/06)
showing off his new "standing up skills" (1/07) look at those teeth (2/07)I love this baby face (3/07)

Ben & his best blankie & best fingers (3/07)

[WARNING: Now that you've endured all the pictures, it's time for the "words of wisdom." This may be a long post, so feel free to stop reading whenever you like. This post is for a contemplative mom (me) who loves her baby & wants to reminisce a little]

What has been a lifetime for Ben has been but a moment for me. This year has gone by so quickly! At the end of this first year of his life, I cannot help but reflect on some of my memories. It has been a joy to have a baby in the house again. I remember that during those first few months that Ben was with us, I could almost feel heaven surrounding us. I felt a presence that I cannot explain. I just wonder if he had his own little choir of heavenly angels accompanying him for a while, just to ensure that all went well with his transition from heaven to earth.

Ben has been an absolutely delightful and contented baby. Early on Brad nicknamed him Gentle Ben because he always had such a calm & peaceful demeanor about him. From the beginning he has been a dream baby. He always had a tiny little cry that was more like a whimper than a wail. The nurses in the hospital were all amazed at him because he truly didn't cry. Beginning with his first night home from the hospital and continuing till he was about 5 months, Ben woke up only once a night. After that, he started sleeping all night long. How lucky are we? Our bedroom closet was Ben's own little room for about the first 9 months of his life. He has been a little guy (hitting below the 5th percentile for height & weight at all his well-checks). This made it easier for him to sleep in our closet because his bed was a little, portable basinette. He loved his baby bed. Every night when I would put him to bed he would grab his blanket, suck his fingers, & nestle up to the side of the bed. So sweet!

Ben continues to love his blankie & his fingers, but now enjoys lots of room in his big boy crib. I love how he sucks his fingers. When I can tell he's getting tired, I ask him if he wants to go nigh-night. If he's ready for bed, he immediately starts sucking his fingers & lays down in my arms. I think that the affection for his fingers has contributed to his contented nature. He always has something readily available to pacify him if necessary.

We had a hard time coming up with Ben's name. We always knew his middle name would be Bradley, but neither Brad nor I could think of a first name for a boy that we liked to save our lives! We brought him home from the hospital, nameless, & it took us almost a week to finally decide on his name. During that time, he was "Baby" and "Baby Brother" to me. Even after we finally named him, I felt that "Baby Brother" suited him perfectly, & I had a hard time calling him Ben. Many names were considered, including Joshua, William (Will), Samuel, Jesse, Noah (it was raining like crazy the day he was born), and my favorite, Johnny Cash. This was Lacey's pick & she was rather insulted when we didn't choose her name. I know it seems strange that she would want to name him Johnny Cash, but during that time she was listening to the "I Walk the Line" movie soundtrack in Brad's car every day on the way to school. Apparently, she really liked the music! As the days wore on, we knew that we had to make a decision & give this poor baby a name. After looking through some family genealogy, I found the name Benjamin. I called Brad on his cell phone & said, "what do you think?" He said Benjamin was an ancestor on his side of the family as well, so that helped us make our decision, and Benjamin Bradley it was! I like the name "Ben". In my mind, a guy named "Ben" is everybody's friend. "Ben" sounds like someone who is just a great, well-rounded kind of guy. I hope that our Ben grows up to be what I envision a "Ben" to be. Over the past year, Ben has had many nicknames like Baby "B", Benny "B", Buddy "B", "BB", and I call him "little guy" a lot. Benjamin Bradley is such a big name for such a little guy.

Ben is adored by his 3 mothers (oops, I mean big sisters). In fact, he has become another reason for fighting in our home. Yes, the girls fight over him - "It's my turn to take him downstairs! No, it's my turn!" "Hey, I was holding him, you can't just take him away like that!" "I get to get him out of his crib today! - no I get to! - no I get to!" - You get the picture. At least he'll grow up knowing how to handle being popular with the women.

Just for fun, here are a few random facts about - One-year-old Ben

• height - 27 3/4"
  
• weight - 18 lbs 2 oz
  
• four teeth on top & four teeth on bottom - been drooling & chewing like crazy the last couple of weeks as the last 4 teeth have all come in virtually at the same time
  
• trying really hard to walk, taking 5 to 8 steps on his own
• loves to push objects around the floor
• big eater - kicks his feet & moves his hands in excitement as the food makes its entrance
• a momma's boy
• a sister observer
• lights up when he sees his daddy
• not quite as content as he used to be - still a good baby, but definitely lets us know when he is mad or frustrated about something
• Not big on sitting still - especially when it comes to getting his diaper changed or getting dressed. A goer!
  
• very verbal (who wouldn't be with 3 big sisters to lead the way) - he doesn't really say a lot of definite words, but so much very cute jibberish - you just know he has many things to say.
• he does say mama & dada & num (for food) & some word that sounds a little like sissy (or madi, or katie, or lacey - that "EE" sound at the end of these words might be a little confusing for one-year-old) - oh & he also says mim when he sees my mom (the rest of the grandkids call her mammy, so mim is probably his attempt at this).

So you may have guessed that we are all madly in love with our little Benjamin. He is the icing on our cake, the apple of our eyes, the one who stole the key to our hearts - he is our little brother, our little guy, our precious son, our Benjamin. I can only imagine what he will be in the years to come. How blessed I am to be his mother.