From There to Here: A look back at Jack!

As I mentioned in the epic post about Jack's birthday a few days ago, I wanted to take a little stroll down memory lane to remember back to when our first-born was our only...

...and how we got from there...

(Jack's first Christmas, 3 weeks old)

 to here...

:-)

Jack is growing into such a special young man with each passing year. We love his smile & sense of humor, his kind & tender heart, the way he thinks of others (like bringing home little treats from school or Awana for his brother & sisters), and most importantly his love for the Lord & thirst to know more of Him & His Word! We are thankful for Jack's bright & inquisitive nature & the way he soaks up knowledge like a sponge...he doesn't forget anything (except for when I tell him he needs to start on his homework) and he notices every little detail around him (except for the dirty socks & things strewn all over the floor of his room!) But our smart, talkative, funny, always-throwing-a-ball or diving-on-the-floor-to-catch-one big guy was once the little baby who made

this couple 

into a family...

On a cold, cold night in Chicago at the very end of November...

My due date was a week away, our Christmas tree was up & decorated (do you see the cradle ready in the background!), & we were trying to get a lot of Christmas shopping done before the baby arrived. It was a Thursday, the week after Thanksgiving, and we had spent a large part of the day shopping at Old Orchard, followed by a big Costco trip. We finished off the day with a nice dinner at our favorite diner on Lincoln Ave, Salt & Pepper's. I remember walking across the street to the Jeep & it was dark & cold & misty...I was thankful for our heated seats & we wondered if there would be snow flurries! When we got home, we had bags & packages & boxes everywhere...I generally always unpack & put things away after a big Costco trip, but for some reason this night we decided to leave a lot of things until the morning. I can't remember now, but we must have had other projects to work on because I do remember that I did not end up getting in bed until after 2 am! Just a short time later, at 3:30 am I awoke with a start to the sound of a loud POP and the bed was instantly soaked! Jeff was instantly awake, as well...my water had broken! We hopped out of bed...me to go & call my doctor & Jeff immediately started stripping the sheets & started the laundry! My doctor called me back about 15 minutes later & I had not yet had any real contractions, just some tightening. She told me to go back to sleep, get as much rest as I could & to come in to the hospital around 8 or 9 in the morning...with this being my first baby, I guess we were all thinking things would take a while...Jeff went to take a shower. I changed into fresh PJs, packed a bag for the hospital (I had not done that yet!) & went to lay down in our guest bedroom...by that point, I had started to feel more discomfort, but no severe contractions yet...I looked at the clock when I laid down & closed my eyes...exactly 2 minutes later I was up & experiencing my first big contraction! I knew that sleep was going to be out of the question, so I went to tell Jeff. We called the ER & they said I should not wait until the morning & should come in right away...so we headed off to the hospital, IL Masonic, which was only 5 minutes away. I was experiencing contractions probably every 3-5 minutes & they were strong. Jeff drove me right up to the ER doors, got me settled inside & went to park the car while I was wheeled down many long hallways, up an elevator, until we finally reached the L&D floor. Jeff met me upstairs. It was probably around 4:30 or 5:00 am at this point. I was sent to the triage room so they could make sure that I was "really" in labor, HA! I was the only person there, but I still had to wait...eventually a nurse asked me some questions...and then I had to wait some more...in the meantime, I'll never forget that we found a huge, used syringe on the floor beside the bed I was sitting on in the triage room...that has always just stuck in my brain. In a little while the nurse came back & did an exam & determined that I was, in fact, in labor! I was transferred to a Labor & Delivery room probably around 5:30 or 6 am, having pretty regular contractions every 2-3 minutes. I was 4 cm dilated, so I asked for an epidural. Again, it seemed to take the anesthesiologist forever to get to my room. Jeff says he will never forget the way my signature looked when I signed the consent form for the epidural! But an hour later, the epidural meds were kicking in & I was relaxed once again. They told us that it would probably take me about an hour for each centimeter to go, so we anticipated meeting our new baby sometime after lunch. Jeff & I hung out for a while & then he decided to go find a newspaper & some breakfast. I tried to get some rest. Not too long after, a nurse came in to check me again & guess what, I was at 10 cm & ready to go! She said that my doctor was preparing to do a c-section on another patient & would be there in about 30 minutes. About 5 minutes later, my doctor walked in & said let's get started! (The c-section patient was running a fever, so they had to wait.) I said, "But Jeff went to get breakfast, he's not here!" She said, well let's start pushing & I'm sure he will be here before the baby! So at about 9:00 am, I started pushing...Jeff got back by the 3rd push. It was actually fairly quiet & calm in the room. It was just me, Jeff, the doctor, a nurse & a nursing student...after about 15 minutes pushing the nursing student got lightheaded & almost passed out (poor thing!)...so the nurse had to take her out of the room to get some air! So for a while it was just me, Jeff & the doctor...I can't remember if the nurse had returned by the time Jack arrived...Our precious baby boy was born at 9:30 am, just 6 hours after my water broke! Jack Holden weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces & was 21 inches long, and he was precious right from the start!

We stayed in the hospital that one night & were ready to go home the following afternoon. I will never forget the feeling of walking into our house for the first time with baby Jack & everything feeling so different, so much more...substantial. That tiny, new person totally changed our lives, in ways we had expected & in ways we never could have imagined, but all for GOOD!

We spent a lot of time those first weeks like this...

...snuggling & resting, nursing & changing diapers...

Getting to know each other, falling in love, becoming a family...

Okay, I promise, Jack really didn't sleep all the time!

But he was a good baby...

A happy little fellow, who quickly learned to smile & giggle & melt our hearts!

And, of course, since he was our first, we felt that he was advanced at everything...a genius, naturally!

And he grew & continued to amaze us & delight us & fill us with such joy!

And before we knew it, he was having a birthday!

And he was walking...

...and talking...

...and starting to develop a little personality (& some attitude, too!)

But he still had an easy laugh...

...and enjoyed a good snuggle!

But he was quickly growing into a busy, busy, big boy, too!

Here Jack is at 22 months & I think Darcy looks a lot like him in this picture.

And here I think he looks like Drew!

Birthday #2!

Still our handsome boy, and pretty soon a new title, too...

Big BROTHER!

And now we are a family of 4!

Jack settled into his role as big brother with ease!

I keep showing photos of Jack making this face because he STILL makes this face today when I take too many pictures!

A 3rd Birthday!

Family photo in December 2004 during a trip to NC for Christmas...

And, soon, another transition...a move 800 miles away from city living to life in the country!

But Jack is still smiling!

 Family photo shortly after the move, fall 2005

 And another birthday, #4!

 We had a "farm" party with a hay-ride, but for some reason Jack wanted a "sailboat cake"!

 Always a ham!

 Always a protective big brother!

 And another birthday...#5!

 We're back to the football theme cake/parties!

 And not too long afterwards...another new baby sister!  

By now, he's got the big brother thing down...

On to bigger challenges...like Kindergarten!
(Notice the lack of shoes...he forgot to put on shoes for his first day of K! Of course I ran home to get him some, but that is one day we will not forget!)

Really growing up before our very eyes & becoming a big kid...birthday #6!

K graduation

Birthday #7

(And this is pretty much how I feel like time moves now...it just skips from one event to the next!)

And soon, another new baby to welcome...

...finally, a baby BROTHER!

Summer 2009 loving lake life & water sports!

Fall 2009, working on his mad carving skilz!

Birthday #8! (Notice another football cake!)

Best buds!

 Everyone loves him, Jack is just our all-around great guy!
And we are so thankful for him every day!
Jack, we love you SO much & are so blessed to have you for our son.
We pray that you will always walk close to Jesus, hide His Word in your heart, obey His commands & share the Good News with everyone you meet! We pray that you will continue to grow as Jesus did, "...in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Luke 2:52