Red Gate Farm: Our Little Birthday Boy

I can't believe A is a year old! One year ago this week, we were waiting impatiently for A's birthmom to agree to visit a doctor. We feared she was having complications, but she was refusing to go. We were praying for peace and strength, and relying on God to take care of our soon-to-be-son. Then we got the call that he was being delivered via an emergency c-section. The story of the call itself is an amazing one that God played a big part of. Then, due to complications, A spent a week in the NICU, connected to all sorts of tubes. I was separated from my family the whole time, as I stayed in a hospital room nearby, entertaining and getting to know his birthmother for a portion of that time. I saw her tears after she signed the adoption consent forms, and witnessed firsthand how a piece of her heart was left behind when she left the hospital, leaving A in my care. The following months were busy with post-placement visits, reports, doctor visits, and the joyous adoption finalization. There were some fears about his development, as he was delayed in many areas. We gradually became more confident she had used meth during her pregnancy, ultimately causing many of his problems. As a result, those months were also a time where I had to learn to love his birthmother for the simple fact that she chose to give him life, even if her time caring for him in utero was not ideal. Around the time of his finalization, she wrote that she had come to know Christ as her personal Saviour; news that we truly rejoiced at. We watched God's healing power as little A grew, eventually catching up developmentally. We have seen God work in so many ways over the past year. The simple fact that A is alive today is due only to God. His birthmother told us that she wanted to have an abortion before God re-directed her to adoption at the last moment.
.
Now, here we are, celebrating his first birthday. Those memories seem like yesterday on one hand, and simultaneously seem so distant. Grandma (S's mom) came for a visit to meet N for the first time and see the kids, so we decided to celebrate a couple days early so she could join us. Some friends also joined us, preparing a traditional Persian dinner for us to try. A absolutely loved it!

Daddy did M's hair for the occasion....his first ponytail! I was so proud of him!

I made my second attempt to bake a cake from scratch. My first was for JR's 1st birthday, and it flopped miserably. This one, an almond-raspberry cake with buttercream frosting, was at least edible, and actually pretty good (though I don't consider it worthy of passing on the recipe).

. Since A has RSV right now, we decided to put the candle only in A's piece of cake. Didn't want to risk him coughing, sneezing, or blowing that virus all over everybody else's cake! But, it didn't matter, as JR wound up having to blow out the candle anyway.

A looked around like, "Is this for real?", then dug right in!

. He couldn't eat that cake fast enough!
.

He definitely broke the record for being the cleanest baby after a first birthday cake. He liked it so much, he didn't spend any time playing in it, and just shoved the thing in his mouth.

Then we moved on to presents. We had to show him that he could pull the paper out of the bag, but once he figured it out, he found the present quickly (a little eager assistance from JR helped speed things along too!).

M had to make sure little N didn't feel left out of the activities.