Happy Birthday Isabel Grace!

It is unbelievable how fast a year can go by. It was just a year ago that we were at bible study on a Monday night and we tried to subtly sneak out because I thought my water broke but I was not sure. By the time we got home, I was sure. I was so excited because I knew that within 24 hours, we would be meeting our little Isabel Grace! Little did I know that she would be ready to meet us six hours later! She has been going 90 miles a minute ever since then. There is no way that I could've been prepared for motherhood. It has been way better than I ever imagined, even with the ups and downs. We struggled the first few weeks with jaundice, nursing, and Isabel's weight gain. I knew it would be hard, but again, I couldn't be prepared for the first few weeks. Colin and I felt strongly that nursing was important to us and God heard our prayers and as many said it would, after about 6 weeks, everything just clicked. Then came what we thought were allergy problems. We were finding blood in her stools. This is very scary for a parent. We first suspected it was an allergy to cow's milk so I eliminated all dairy from my diet. No ice cream...are you kidding me? But it was that important to me. The problems continued so we eliminated the next most common allergy: soy. And they still continued so I eliminated the 8 most common allergens from my diet (dairy, soy, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish) and kept a detailed log but still were seeing the same problems. There were many days that I was very disappointed and felt like we were going to have to give up nursing but after a few trips to the GI doctor, we determined that she had Nodular Lymphoid Hyperplasia which is a disorder that she would outgrow. We praise God because she did outgrow it and have had no more problems! And so here we are...celebrating her first year of life. I am amazed by her each day as she grows into a precious little girl. She brings joy and laughter to so many peoples' lives and she makes me proud to be a mother!

Happy Birthday Isabel Grace! We love you deeply!
Mommy and Daddy